Jack Kursed Read online

  "It's okay. Don't tell anyone else this, but I've got some pictures of you in my wallet."

  "I love you."

  "I love you, too."

  That was difficult to say the first few times, but he'd gotten used to it, and liked how it sounded coming out of his mouth.

  "When are you coming back?" she asked. "I miss you."

  "Things are going pretty well here. I think I'll get done ahead of schedule. With a little luck, I might be able to catch a flight out tonight."

  "Yes!" she shouted, throwing her hands in the air. She glanced at Erica to see her teacher still making dinner in the kitchen. "Erica doesn't really cook all that good."

  "Well," he corrected.

  "Well!" she said, putting her hands on her hips. "She doesn't cook all that well!"

  "Hey, I'm right in here," Erica said.

  Jack chuckled. "Hey Erica? Can you hear me over there?"

  Erica turned the stove off and stepped in front of the iPad, giving Tiffany a playful shove. "Hey there, sexy, what's up?"

  "Yuck," Tiffany said. "You called my dad sexy."

  "Hey Tiff, give me a minute alone with Erica."

  "Okay, I'll go upstairs and change clothes. You aren't gonna kiss the iPad or anything, are you?"

  "Would you get going?"

  "Okay, okay. Come back tonight."

  Erica watched as Tiffany ran up the stairs. She moved the iPad to the bar and took a seat.

  "Thank you so much," Jack said. He'd thanked her repeatedly over the past few days. "Thanks for house-sitting and watching after Tiffany for me."

  "Are you gonna thank me when you get back?" she asked with a sly smile.

  "I think I can do that."

  Jack planned on getting Erica naked as many times as he could. He was nervous when they first reached for each other in his brand new bed. It was a good nervous, a type of nervous he never felt before. He wanted to please Erica, to make her happy. He was almost surprised that he was actually succeeding. Although he could never sleep, it was relaxing to hold her in his arms after making love.

  "We went to the mall the other day. I got some new clothes I want to show you. Well, not really clothes."

  "I like the sound of that. Wait, are we talking lingerie? You didn't take Tiffany into the store, did you?"

  "No, genius. She was with Victoria. But yes, we're talking lingerie."

  "The three of you went to the mall? That would be something to see."

  There was a knock at the front door, followed by Victoria's head poking inside the living room.

  "Speak of the Devil. Your sister's here."

  "Victoria!" Jack called. "Come say hi to me on Skype on the new iPad. I love technology."

  "My favorite brother," she said, standing next to Erica. "Call my cell phone. I need a private talk for a minute."

  "Sure. Erica, are you wearing shorts?"

  She backed up so Jack could admire her legs. She gave him a mock irritated look, but couldn't wait for his hands to touch her again.

  "Okay, I'm happy now. Hanging up."

  Victoria answered her phone on the way out the front door. The sun ducked behind a few storm clouds, but the morning heat still felt great. She sensed a day on the beach in her future.

  "Everything okay?" Jack asked. "Thanks for looking after the two of them for me."

  "No problem. Everything’s fine here. You might hear about a suddenly-bankrupt billionaire or two on the news, and the market will drop a little, but that’s a small price to pay for keeping ghouls out of the living room. Now, tell me, what are you really doing?"

  "I told you, I'm on business. I have to make money sometimes, you know. You were just on Skype. You saw the beach behind me. I'm at the hotel right now on break."

  "Whatever. Look, Jack, I need to tell you something. I wanted to do this in person, but I have to head back to Baltimore soon. I tried to tell you when I first got to Parkville, but then Tiffany fell in your lap, and I had my own selfish reasons." She took a breath. "I'm glad I don't have to make the decision coming your way."

  "Victoria, you're rambling, and I'm kind of on the clock. What's up?"

  She closed her eyes and hesitated. Many times over the decades she imagined giving Jack his special news, but never honestly thought the day would come. Now here she was, standing in his yard, with his daughter and girlfriend in the house behind her.

  "The way I can move in the sun, it wasn't science or technology. It's magic."

  There was a long pause.

  "What...what are you saying?"

  "I've found a witch. A full-blooded witch."

  *****

  Jack's hand shook as he held the phone to his ear. The patio door in the hotel room was open behind him, leading directly to the beach. It was already hot in the Virgin Islands, and yet a cold chill ran down his spine. It was a good thing he was sitting, as his legs might have given out.

  He could barely speak.

  "A...witch? He’s still alive?"

  "Alive and well, about four hours from here. He’s nineteen, just graduated from high school. He’s a good kid, and I call him a friend. You wouldn't believe how strong they've gotten."

  He laughed into the phone. He’d given up hope long ago, and now Victoria was telling him his chance had finally come. There was still hope his curse could be lifted.

  But all he could think about was getting his business done, hugging his daughter, and kissing his girlfriend the moment he saw her.

  He heard someone just outside the door.

  "Thank you for telling me," he said.

  "Are you okay? What are you gonna do?"

  "I...don’t know. And that’s a great feeling. Look, I’ve gotta get back to it here. If you’re gone when I get back I’ll call you. It’s nice to have my sister back. I love you."

  "I...love you, too, Jack."

  The door opened. Jack hung up and leaned back in his chair.

  "Officer Mark Taylor," he greeted. "It’s been a while."

  The former police officer stopped when he saw Jack and dropped his tennis racket to the floor. His mouth hung open in disbelief.

  "Oh, I have a friend here that wants to say hi."

  Jack reached down and tossed the severed head of Dom the henchman at Mark. He caught it and immediately dropped it to the floor. He almost let out a scream, but Jack was on him, running a knife across his throat. Mark fell next to Dom’s head and bled to death as he gurgled on the carpet.

  Jack’s business was done.

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  I live in Maryland with my wonderful wife and four cats. I love gaming, computer technology, movies, and of course, reading and writing. I love science fiction and especially horror. Ghosts, vampires, werewolves, zombies, anything supernatural, all beautiful subjects.

  I’ve been writing since I was twelve years old. There’s just something about creating a story that I like. It’s always fun to try to come up with something that hasn’t been done, or is unique in some way. It’s fun to build a character, give him a personality and background.

  Visit my website at http://www.glennbullion.com

  If you enjoyed Jack Kursed, you may enjoy my other works below. Alex Teague and Kevin Mishnar, two characters who had roles in the novel you just read, have their own stories, Demonspawn and A Witch To Live.

  Total works by Glenn Bullion:

  Demonspawn

  Dead Living

  Mind Slide

  A Witch to Live

  Jack Kursed