Dream Phantom

Chapter 28

Dani's eyes narrowed on Lilah as she sat across from her at King's diner. She felt Jax's hand lightly squeeze her knee as if to reassure her that everything was going to be fine.

"My step-father doesn't typically come to places like this," Lilah said.

Roberto, who was sitting beside her, shrugged, "That's why we asked your sister to invite him here."

"Cheyenne said she'd be here any minute. She thinks I'm meeting them," Lilah looked at the time on her phone. "I don't see how this is going to work. It's not like he's going to admit anything. She doesn't admit anything either."

"Then what makes you so sure she's even a victim?" Jax asked.

"She has to be," Lilah said. "He hurt me. Surely, he'd hurt her too. She won't admit anything. I know it's selfish of me, but I don't want to risk everything by accusing him unless I know for sure that he's guilty."

Roberto stole a glance at Jax who was staring at Dani. Originally, the plan was to have Dani see George Reeves' nightmares. They nixed that plan and decided to plant a bug to eavesdrop instead.

"Jax hid a recorder at that booth," Roberto pointed to an empty table in the corner of the diner. "Dani will sit them there. You just have to wait and let things happen."

"What if this doesn't work?" Lilah ran a hand through her blonde hair and began tapping her nails nervously against the table. "What if he gets suspicious?"

"It's going to be fine," Jax said as his phone rang. He answered and immediately frowned. "Alright, we'll be right there."

"What is it?" Lilah asked.

"We have another victim. The medical examiner is already there. We need to get to the crime scene."

"With a circle engraved on his palm?" Dani whispered. She clenched her hand which still had the faint scar from her dream.

Jax placed an arm around her, "I'm here for you. You know that, right?"

"We can't leave now," Lilah protested. "What about Cheyenne and my step-father?"

"I'm here," Roberto reminded her. "In case you haven't forgotten, I'm also a cop."

Lilah eyed Roberto, "You know what's at stake here. If I fail, so do you."

"You two better go," Dani said.

"I'll call you," Jax whispered before kissing Dani's forehead and heading towards the diner's exit.

Roberto watched them leave before turning back to Dani, "I'm sorry. You shouldn't have to do this."

"I already told you, you're family. Of course, I'm going to help you."

"I know you don't like Lilah."

"That's true. I don't," Dani nodded. "I can't imagine a lot of people do. I'm still not convinced this isn't some big scam on her part. I talked to Jax about all of this and it doesn't make sense."

"What doesn't make sense?"

"Omar, the murders, Oliver, my dreams, and now Lilah. It's like someone has cursed us. How could so many bad things happen to us? Wasn't the Maestro and majestic waters enough to deal with?"

"Some good things happened too," Roberto reminded her. "You reconnected with your mother, you met your brother, and you married Jax."

A coy smile stretched across Dani's face, "That's true."

"Flowers grow among weeds. Sometimes life is about remembering not to let the bad outshine the good."

"That isn't always easy," Dani said. "Right now, Jax is trying to solve the O murders. I'm so worried about him. Not to mention Oliver being in the hospital. Dolores is with him right now."

The jingle of the door opening caught their attention and Cheyenne walked in alone. She was a younger version of Lilah with her blonde hair and delicate features. She was wearing a sweater despite the warm weather and looked around the diner aimlessly.

"George isn't with her," Roberto muttered. "We need him here."

"No," Dani shook her head. "This probably is going to work out for the best."

"What do you mean?"

"Think about it. His worst nightmare may or may not be getting caught. Hers will definitely be about him. Let's forget the recorder. It can't work without Lilah steering their conversation. She's not here so we'll move on to plan B."

"What's plan B?"

Dani grinned, "Me."

Roberto smirked, "Look at you, Dani. Being married to Jax is turning you into a detective. So you're hoping you can see her nightmares? Of course, her worst nightmare will be about the man that's hurting her."

"If Lilah is telling the truth," Dani reminded him. "I'll go talk to her. You text Jax he didn't show."

She didn't wait for him to respond. Instead, Dani greeted Cheyenne and purposely took Lilah's sister by the hand to escort her to a booth.

"I'm here to meet my sister," Cheyenne said.

Dani patted Cheyenne's hand, "That's fine. You can sit here until she arrives."

Dani hoped that the skin to skin contact would be enough to see Cheyenne's worst fears.

~~~~~~~~

Dr. Wilcox shook his head in dismay as Lilah and Jax entered the garage where the body of a young doctor had been found.

"He's got the O?" Jax asked as he strode past them to examine the body. He thought of Dani and looked over at Lilah who was listening to the medical examiner go over what he had found. Engraved in the victim's palm was an O. "Who are you and what do you want with Dani?"

"What was that?" Lilah asked.

Jax shook his head, "The FBI is going to take over if we don't figure this out soon."

"He's not leaving any evidence. It's like these murders are being done by some kind of ghost."

A shiver ran down Jax's spine as he thought of Dani's last nightmare. Were they really up against a ghost?

~~~~~~~

His figure crowded the doorway. He was coming closer, his nude body sending a wave of revulsion through her. A thin patch of gray hair covered his thick chest. She squeezed the cold handle of the knife she had hidden beneath her blanket. She was ready. This time she would stop him.

He stepped closer and she bounced forward, a scream on her lips.

Dani shrieked as she jumped forward. Jax was working a double shift so she sent him a text about her dream starring Cheyenne. She placed her phone back on her nightstand and laid back down, closing her eyes.

"Dani."

The voice was almost inaudible but Dani recognized it.

"Dani, can you hear me?"

Dani opened her eyes and gasped. Standing before her was Oliver.