Ghostly Issues (A Harper Harlow Mystery Book 2) (22 page)

Jim lifted his foot from the accelerator and the car started to slow.

“I think Jared wants me more,” Harper replied, readying herself. “I also think he’s definitely going to kill you.” She didn’t give thought to what she was about to do, instead throwing the door open and flinging the seat belt off as she rolled to the side and out the door.

Jim realized what she was attempting at the last moment and tried to speed up, but it was already too late.

Harper hit the ground hard, the force of the collision knocking the breath out of her. She pushed herself to her feet, her hip screaming in protest. Derek appeared on the street next to her and together they watched Jim slam on the brakes.

“He’ll come back for you,” Derek warned. “He’ll kill you now, just like he killed me.”

“He’ll have to catch me first,” Harper said, turning toward the woods and forcing herself to break into a run despite the pain. “I have the upper hand out here. I know exactly where I’m going. Come on!”

“This isn’t good,” Jared said, his heart hammering as he looked over Harper’s abandoned car. “She wouldn’t just leave her car here for no good reason. Stone has to have taken her.”

Zander’s face was grim. “I’ll kill him if he touches her.”

“You’re going to have to get in line,” Jared said, shifting to look over his shoulder at the spot Mel paced while talking on his cell phone. “Who is he talking to?”

“My mother.”

“Why?” Jared was beyond frustrated.

“Because if anyone in this town has seen Harper in the past few hours, my mother will find out,” Zander replied. “I … .”

Jared’s phone dinged with an incoming call, and when he glanced at the screen he was almost overwhelmed with relief. He pressed it to his ear. “Harper? Where are you?”

Zander moved closer, excited. “Tell her I’m going to kill her for scaring me like this.”

Jared held up his finger to quiet Zander as he listened. Zander was horrified when he saw Jared’s relief turn to anger … and then outright fear. “Where are you now?” He listened. “Keep going toward my house. We’re on our way. I have Mel and Zander with me. Whatever you do … keep your head down. If you have to hide in the woods and can’t make it to the house, I’ll come find you. I … wait!”

Jared was anguished when he pulled the phone away. “She jumped out of Jim’s car and is in the woods behind my rental. She’s still at least a mile away, but she wanted me to know that if something happens to her, Jim is the one who did it.”

“Come on,” Zander said, striding in the direction of Jared’s car. “Don’t get morose. Harper is tough and strong. She bested Jim once before. I hope she kicks him in the balls again.”

Jared continued to stare at his phone a moment, hoping it would ring and Harper would tell him she was okay. “I can’t lose her.”

“You’re not going to lose her,” Zander snapped. “Suck it up. She needs us.”

Jared snapped out of his reverie and jogged toward his cruiser. “I’m seriously going to snap that guy’s neck.”

“Now you’re going to have to wait in line,” Zander said.

HARPER’S
chest heaved as she bent over to catch her breath, leaning her head against a tree and listening to the sounds of the forest around her in case Jim made his presence known. He was behind her, Harper managing to put a good amount of distance between them before he hopped out of his car and followed her into the trees. She had no idea where he was now.

“How close are we to your boyfriend’s house?” Derek asked, glancing around. He whispered even though Jim couldn’t hear him.

“I don’t know for sure,” Harper admitted, her voice low. “I have a general idea where we are, but I think we meandered around a little bit. I might be turned around.”

“That’s not the best way to stay alive.”

“I’m sorry my terror and panic have been inconvenient for you,” Harper muttered.

“You shouldn’t have stopped to call your boyfriend,” Derek chided. “We lost time.”

“I had to make sure he knew what was going on in case … .” Harper didn’t finish the sentence. She didn’t have to. If anyone knew what worried her, it was Derek. “Do you remember how he killed you?”

“He hit me in the head with a beer bottle,” Derek replied. “I don’t remember anything after that. I’m not sure if I died right away or hung on a little bit. I guess it doesn’t matter now.”

“You’ve got a hard head,” Harper said, straightening and staring out into the darkness. “I’m surprised that killed you.” She was going for levity, but it sounded lame. Any head injury could kill someone. “I shouldn’t have said that. I’m sorry.”

“It’s fine,” Derek said. “I did have a hard head. You still have your hard head in place. We need to keep it that way.”

“Why are you trying to help me?”

“Because you tried to help me even though I wasn’t ready to listen,” Derek answered. “You’re a good person and you don’t deserve to die. I was a bad person.”

“You didn’t deserve to die,” Harper countered. “What happened to you was … a tragedy. Jim took advantage of your fear and confusion and used you as a weapon. No one blames you.”

“I blame me,” Derek said. “If I had been strong enough to tell my parents what was going on … .”

“Why didn’t you?”

“Because my father looked at me as an athlete and … man,” Derek explained. “I didn’t want him to stop looking at me that way when he found out I … was different.”

Harper’s heart went out to him. “He wouldn’t have stopped loving you,” she said. “He was your father. He might have been surprised at first, but something tells me he would’ve understood and loved you no matter what. That’s what a good father does … and you would only seek out the respect of a good man.”

“I’m going to miss him,” Derek said.

“You’re going to go to a better place,” Harper said. “I promise I’m going to help you do it … just as soon as we get out of here and make sure Jim is behind bars. Come on. Jim is out there somewhere and we can’t afford to wait here and let him find us.”

“Maybe we
should
wait here,” Derek suggested. “He’s trying to get ahead of us. What if we wait and then turn around and go back to the road? He wouldn’t expect that. You might be able to steal his car … or at least hide close to the road until your boyfriend shows up.”

It was an interesting thought, and yet Harper almost immediately discarded it. “What happens if he’s waiting for us to do that? I told Jared we were heading toward his place. That’s where he’ll be.”

“What do you think he’ll do when he catches Jim?”

“Kill him.”

Harper started walking again, trying to keep her feet light as she listened. Derek watched her back as she moved forward, and even though he couldn’t do anything to stop Jim, she was thankful for his company.

Moving through the trees when she could barely see a thing – her only landmark being the moon as it periodically peeked through the treetops – was disconcerting. With every step Harper convinced herself she was giving away her position. Every sound caused her heart to jump. Every furtive shadow made her dig her fingernails into her palms and ready herself for an attack. After what felt like forever – she couldn’t keep track of real time passing because her mind was a mess – she caught a glimpse of something through the murkiness and pulled up short.

“What do you see?” Derek asked.

Harper almost wept with relief when she realized what she was looking at. She’d taken a more roundabout path than she realized, and instead of coming up to Jared’s house at the side like she initially envisioned, she’d almost gone too far. She was looking at the light above his garage. “Jeff.”

“Who is Jeff?”

Harper ignored the question and picked up her pace, moving toward the garage with relief. “We’re there. We’re almost safe.”

“Almost,” Jim said, moving out from behind a tree close to the garage and cutting Harper off from safety.

“Holy crap,” Derek muttered as Harper took an inadvertent step backward. “How did he get ahead of us? I told you we should’ve gone back to the road. Now look what you did.”

Harper ignored him. “You need to go, Jim,” she said, her voice even as she tried to pretend she wasn’t terrified. “I called Jared. He knows you took me. He’s on his way.”

“See, you keep saying things like that, and yet I don’t believe you,” Jim said. “I think you’re making it up so I’ll think I’m in trouble and run. What you don’t seem to understand is that I’ve been waiting for you for a really long time. I’m not going anywhere without you.”

Harper licked her lips as she glanced around. The area was quiet … too quiet. If Jared was here he would be calling for her. She would see police lights. She would hear … something. It was deathly silent.

“Derek told me a few things while we were walking in the woods,” she said, changing tactics. “He told me all about your drug operation. He told me how you recruited him first because he was gay and you wanted to blackmail him. He told me how you encouraged him to go after Lexie because of her father’s access to pharmaceuticals. He also told me that it was your idea for him to date Lexie because she made a good cover. You’re sick and twisted … even more than I originally thought.”

“You talked to Derek when?” Jim asked, glancing around. “Derek is dead.”

“That doesn’t mean he’s still not here.”

Jim frowned, knitting his eyebrows together as he considered Harper’s statement. “People have been saying you can talk to ghosts for as long as I can remember,” he said. “Is that what you’re trying to tell me? Did Derek’s ghost tell you all of these things?”

“He’s standing right next to me.”

“Really?” Jim appeared amused. “Tell him I’m not sorry he’s dead.”

“I think he’s already figured that out on his own,” Harper said. “You’re done here, Jim. You know that, right? There’s nothing left for you.”

“You’re here.”

“I won’t go with you,” Harper said. “I’ll die first.”

“You don’t really have a say in the matter, Harper. I’m stronger than you and there’s no way out of this.”

“I could run back into the woods.”

“I’ll catch you,” Jim said. “You can’t take me by surprise this time. Personally, I can’t believe you had the stones to jump out of a moving car. That was a bold move. I didn’t see it coming. I knew you would try to escape, but I thought that would happen when I got you out to my cabin. I have to give you credit, though. You’ve led me on a merry chase.

“Unfortunately for you, I’ve been watching you for a long time,” he continued. “I used to stand outside of your house and watch you and your live-in homo watch television together. It was pretty disgusting the way you were always loyal to him. Don’t worry, I’ll … beat that out of you.”

Harper swallowed hard.

“It took me a second to figure out your plan when you jumped out of my car,” Jim said. “Then I remembered where your boyfriend lived. I followed you out here the other night, too. You spent the whole night here with him. I’m starting to think you’re a slut.”

Harper narrowed her eyes. “You’ve been following me all this time?”

“Off and on,” Jim replied. “I’ve always had a crush on you. I didn’t lie about that. I think you and I are going to be happy together … once you have a chance to get all of this rebellion out of your system, that is.”

“I’ll never go with you,” Harper said. “You’ll have to kill me.”

“You keep saying that, but I think once we’ve had a chance to bond you’re going to change your tune,” Jim countered. “I think that spending so much time with Zander has confused you. You’ll start thinking straight when we’ve spent some time together.”

“You’re just … sick,” Harper spat.

“You’ll learn to love me,” Jim said, taking a step forward. “Now, if you’re done playing your ghost games, I think we should get moving. It’s going to be a long night and I want to get you settled in your new home.”

“Think again,” Jeff said, stepping out from behind the garage and taking Jim by surprise as he swung a shovel toward his face.

Jim saw the blow coming and managed to deflect some of it, but the shovel landed on his shoulder hard, causing him to cry out. Harper took advantage of Jim’s confusion and scurried away from him, keeping her eyes on Jeff as she gave Jim a wide berth. When she hit Jared’s lawn – which really did need a good mow – Harper turned to Jeff and found him grappling with Jim over the shovel.

“Run,” Derek instructed. “You have to get away from him.”

“I’m not leaving Jeff,” Harper snapped.

“You have to,” Derek said. “Jim will kill him and then he’ll come for you. This is your last shot to get away.”

“Like hell,” Harper muttered, her eyes landing on the rake leaning against the back of the garage. “I think I know how to turn things in our favor.”

JARED
slammed his cruiser into park in his driveway, leaving the lights on and hopping out of the vehicle on a dead run.

“Harper!”

Zander and Mel followed, their keen eyes scanning the yard in search of movement.

“She might not have made it back here,” Mel said. “The county boys are searching the highway right now. If they find her … .”

“She’s here,” Jared said. “She has to be.”

“We’ll find her,” Mel said. “It’s just … that’s a long hike in the woods when you’re alone and someone is chasing you. Jim could’ve gotten her. He could’ve … .”

“Don’t you dare finish that sentence,” Jared hissed. “She’s here. I’m going to find her.”

“I’m with him,” Zander said, moving toward the tree line. “My Harp would never leave me. She loves me too much. She’s also fond of Jared. I’m still her favorite, though.”

Mel rolled his eyes. “I love Harper, too,” he said. “I’m just saying … .”

The distinct sound of scuffling hit their ears and Jared was already running in that direction before Mel could finish what he was about to say. When the trio rounded the corner of the garage, they pulled up short at the sight in front of them.

Jeff had the handle of a shovel wrapped around Jim’s neck, holding him in place, and Harper was practically screeching as she took on the struggling man with a rake.