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strangers. Strangers who d had the most amazing sex and connection Evan could ever
remember. The tender, generous man he spent last night with, and this morning the
last few days really couldn t possibly be a cold-blooded murderer. But then, didn t
Riding with Heaven 83
friends and acquaintances of every mass murderer say he was always such a nice quiet
man after the fact? And then there was the evidence he d seen with his own eyes: the
domino with the JF carved into it. Not to mention the very undeniable fact that an
officer of the law knew Lucas to be Domino.
The thundering in his ears began to recede enough for Evan to catch the last few
words Trooper Canton was saying: & help to apprehend him.
What? Evan looked up at the officer, whose features were nondescript, his gaze
calculating.
A flash of annoyance crossed the man s long face. I said, I need you to help me
apprehend Frobisher.
Wh-what do you want me to do? Evan asked, and the skin on his scalp pulled
tight, felt like a million little insects were crawling over it. Lucas was Jerry, yet Evan
couldn t help feeling how wrong this all was.
Denial. That s all it is. Denial. Refusal to believe he d fallen for a serial killer. Who
wouldn t grab at any straw to disprove something like that?
You just go stand on the other side of the vehicle, Canton said. Where he can
see you when he comes back out. Do whatever you need to do to get him to come
around to you. I ll take care of it from there. Got it, son?
Evan nodded. He didn t trust his voice to speak. Didn t trust his intuition that,
ironically, screamed bloody murder.
With feet encased in cement blocks, he dragged himself with great effort back
around to the passenger side of the Tahoe while Trooper Canton faded into the
shadows around the corner of the weathered building.
Evan stood there, shoulders hunched against the biting wind, staring across the
parking lot to the front entrance of the gas station convenience store. Neon lights in the
store windows cast abstract blue, red, and yellow paintings on the sidewalk that
stretched along the front of the building. An old Esso sign hanging from a metal beam
swung back and forth in the wind, creaking in eerie complaint with every push of
84 L. C. Chase
invisible hands. A loose sheaf of paper skittered over the cracked asphalt surface of the
parking lot, which looked surreal, like the set from some postapocalyptic movie.
The ever-present wind, cold and menacing, whispered in his ears, taking up
conversation with his conscience. Maybe Lucas wasn t really Domino. What if the
trooper got it wrong? And how did the trooper know Lucas was Jerry just by the name
he d given, anyway, unless that name was a known alias? Better to be safe than sorry,
they say. An adage he d had to learn the hard way, and not one he needed a repeat
lesson in. Ever. A heavy price had already been paid for that lesson.
Bells jingled when the front door of the store opened, and Evan pulled his
attention back to his appointed task. He watched as Lucas approached with stained
jeans over his forearm and a fresh coffee in his hand. Watching the man who d made
him feel more than any other, and in such an amazingly short time, Evan did not want
to believe the worst. He didn t think he was that bad a judge of character; he had never
misjudged someone so completely, so near fatally, before. So why now? Why this man?
Lucas smiled when he saw Evan standing by the SUV. Dimples created dark holes
in his cheeks in the low light.
Damn, that smile and those lethal-weapon dimples. Damn you, Lucas. You can t be
Domino. You can t.
The smile faltered, faded, and Lucas s stride slowed. Something in Evan s
expression, even though he tried to keep his face as blank as possible, must have
triggered something in Lucas. The change was nearly imperceptible, but Evan could
have sworn Lucas straightened his spine and rolled back his shoulders, like he d just
been put on guard, and his demeanor shifted into that take-charge, don t-fuck-with-me
mode.
Evan. Lucas s voice was low, tone commanding. The same tone that made him
shiver for a whole different reason. Tell me what s wrong.
Uh, I& Oh God, killer or not, Evan couldn t do this. Didn t want to see the
truth.
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You re shaking like an earthquake.
Without waiting for Evan to answer or figure out what he d been trying to say in
the first place, Lucas placed his coffee and jeans on the hood of the Tahoe and began
walking around the nose of the vehicle toward Evan.
Just as Lucas rounded the passenger side corner with clear concern in his eyes, a
mere four feet from reaching Evan and wrapping those strong comforting arms around
him, movement from the shadows behind drew his gaze. He knew Lucas had noticed
too, because he seemed to pull into himself and shift his attention into reverse, like a
dog or horse would flip their ears backward to hear what was coming up behind them.
The next few moments flew by at hyper-fast-forward speed, yet simultaneously
stretched out in slow motion.
Lucas began to turn around. He reached behind his back for something in the
waistband of his jeans but came up empty-handed. Evan suddenly felt certain that this
was all wrong, and opened his mouth to warn Lucas. And Trooper Canton charged out
of the shadows like a raging bull, raising something in his hand. The stick-shaped object
connected with Lucas s skull with a sickening crack.
Lucas raised a hand to his head and pulled it back and stared for a long second,
stunned at the blood streaked across his palm. He looked up, and just before he
crumpled to the ground, Evan heard him rasp, Run.
But Evan couldn t move.
Every single bone and muscle in his body had seized. Lucas lay in a heap on the
cold, dirty asphalt. Blood began to trickle down the side of his face, over his cheekbone.
Run. Lucas s voice echoed in Evan s head, and yet he couldn t pull his eyes away
from that trail of blood.
Run.
Blood dripped off Lucas s chin and made a deafening plop as it splattered onto the
ground.
86 L. C. Chase
Run.
And then time zoomed forward fast enough to give Evan whiplash. Everything
around him suddenly grew louder. The smell of gasoline and salt water on the wind
was stronger. The sense of doom that settled over his body became a living thing.
And dark red blood followed gravity. Plop.
Well, don t just stand there! Trooper Canton yelled, startling him out of his
paralysis. Here! Canton tossed a set of keys to Evan, who caught them on autopilot.
Go bring the squad car over and help me get him into it.
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