Dream Phantom

Chapter Four

Helen sighed as she stared at her reflection in the mirror. She had missed out on so much of Dani's life. She thought it had been for the best but clearly she had been wrong. It had taken months to get Dani to warm up to her. Now, she was afraid that the walls Dani had just let down were about to be put up again.

Dani wouldn't be safe if she became pregnant. He'd come for her just as he promised. The problem was that she had no way of knowing who or what he would appear as. In her dreams, he took on many different forms.

Helen bit her bottom lip until she tasted blood. How do you stop an enemy when you have no idea what he looks like?

~~~~~~

"Are you sure you want to go home?" Jax asked as he and Dani walked slowly to their car, hand in hand

"Was there somewhere else you wanted to go?" Dani released his hand and turned towards him. "Is something wrong?"

"I've just been worried about Roberto. He's been acting strange."

"Because of Gladys?"

"She still blames him for what happened," Jax stared at the pavement of the parking lot. "I feel so guilty. If he hadn't been my partner, none of this would've happened."

Dani placed her hands on her husband's shoulders and gave him a light squeeze, "It wasn't your fault. It was Carter's fault. He was the one that hurt Gladys, not you. He hurt all of us."

"I know but that doesn't make it any easier."

"Do you want to stop by his place and check on Roberto?"

Jax shook his head, "He's not at home. Knowing him, he's probably at the bar by now. It's where he's been spending all his time."

"Really? Poor Roberto, this must be harder for him than I thought."

"I can't imagine what he's going through," Jax pulled Dani into a hug and kissed her neck, "Dani, promise me you'll never leave me no matter what I do or how stupid I act."

She felt a pang of discomfort as his words reminded her of the time she told Jax her worst fear would be him leaving her. Shortly after that, Jax tried breaking up with her.

"How stupid are we talking here?" Dani said, trying to lighten the mood. "Do you mean leaving the toilet seat up kind of stupid? Or peeing on an electrical fence kind of stupid?"

Jax leaned his head back to look down at her and chuckle, "What are you talking about?"

"I read a story once about the Grim Reaper and some guy who died and had to help him so could figure out who killed him. There was a guy in the story who peed on an electrical fence and he was electrocuted."

"You read some weird stories...now promise me. Promise me, you'll never leave me."

"Well, we are married...so I suppose I already did make that promise."

Jax tightened his hug, "Let's go check on Roberto."

Fifteen minutes later, they were parked in front of a place called Randy's Roadhouse. A long line of motorcycles were parked up front along with a few older pickup trucks. The neon sign was blinking and the place needed a fresh coat of paint.

"How about I get off and you stay in the car?" Jax asked. "I'm afraid you'll need a tetanus shot if you go in there."

"Fine by me. Just be quick, okay?"

Jax leaned over and kissed her cheek, "I'll be right back."

When Jax left, Dang saw a woman stumble out of a nearby truck. She fell onto the floor and began sobbing. Dani wondered if she should ignore the woman but her conscious won out and she found herself getting out of the car and walking towards the crying lady.

"Hello? Ma'am are you okay?"

The woman threw herself against the dirty pavement and Dani grimaced,  wondering if she should just walk away.

A car door slamming behind her caught Dan's attention and she turned to see a man near the passenger side of Jax's car with her purse in his hand.

"Stop!" Dani yelled as she ran towards the thief. He was too fast for her and disappeared before Dani could catch him. She turned back to the woman only to see that she too was gone as was the truck she had came from.

"They just totally scammed me," Dani muttered. She'd have to file a police report now. She headed towards the entrance of Randy's Roadhouse to get Jax when she remembered what was currently in her purse.

Her birth control.

She sighed, "And this," she said talking to herself, "is why lying is bad and always catches up with you."