Her Terrifying Love

Part 46

They found an open coffee shop, which seemed like an odd choice for a place to calm their frazzled nerves, but at that hour of the night, they had few options. Bleary-eyed college students drank caffeinated beverages while working on their laptops. A girl in pajama pants lie sound asleep, her cheek flattened against the sticky tabletop.

Jack and Lyla didn't speak. What they'd experienced out on that dark road defied explanation. They sipped their lattes, Jack gazing out the window deep in thought, Lyla staring at him. She began by stealing discrete glances but soon went into a full-blown stare mode.

He was incredibly handsome and his concern for her safety made him all the more attractive in her eyes. Through all the nightmarish horror of the past few weeks, those moments that she shared with him were among the best of her life. What she felt sitting across from him in the coffee shop was more than infatuation. Lyla was in love. 

He rubbed his eyes. "We should probably get going," he said.

She nodded. He collected the coffee mugs and walked them to the counter at the rear of the coffee shop. She yawned then heard a quiet voice behind her. 

"Unfinished business," it whispered. 

She jumped when she saw Clarisse, the clairvoyant, reflected in the window. Lyla whipped around. Clarisse had vanished. 

As Jack approached, he read the distressed expression on her face. "You okay?" 

"Yeah. Just tired, I guess."

They exited the coffee shop and walked to his car. He opened the passenger door for her, but she didn't get in. 

"You sure you're all right?" he asked.

She answered by pulling him into a kiss. He slipped his arms around her waist and kissed her back. Lyla didn't want to go home. She wanted to remain out on that dark sidewalk forever in his arms.

                                     .........................................................................

The next morning after breakfast, Lyla followed her dad to the front door. When he opened it, they discovered the detectives climbing the steps to the front porch.

"What is it now?" Ryan checked his watch.

"May we come in?" Morales smiled politely.

"I'm going to be late for work, and she's going to be late for school."

"This will only take a minute."

Steiger stared blankly, his expression gave nothing away.

Morales pressed, "You wanna talk about this in the privacy of your home or you okay with your neighbors listening in?"

Noticing the nosy neighbor on the sidewalk eavesdropping on their conversation, Ryan waved the detectives inside. He closed the door behind them as they crossed into the living room.

Morales reached into her pocket and produced a bracelet. "Lyla, is this yours?" She adopted her friendliest tone.

"It looks like mine." She examined the bracelet.

"We had the dogs out searching the area for Mr. Ames when we found it."

A vivid memory flashed into Lyla's mind, a memory of the forest on that cold night. Keenan gripped her face. 

"I'm going to teach you a lesson you ain't never gonna forget," he raged through clenched teeth. 

She jerked her face free. His foot slipped on the wet leaves and gravity took over. He swung for her wrist, but his fingertips only made contact with her bracelet. The bracelet snapped and launched into the darkness as Keenan toppled backward, eyes wide.

The detective continued, "We found this bracelet in the woods alongside the road." Morales locked eyes with Lyla. "Tell me, why would you leave your car on the road and climb up into those woods in the middle of the night?"

Lyla regretted admitting that the bracelet was hers and now the detectives had her cornered.