The Defender (The Carrier Series Book 2)

by Diana Ryan

  When silence was upon us, I suggested we get going. I grabbed my purse from the bed and my white mittens and scarf from on top of my dresser. The October nights were getting pretty chilly, and I didn’t know how late we’d be out.

  Adam and I walked down the hall, and found the girls were sitting around the TV in the living room eating the pizza they had ordered. We bid my friends good night and then headed out the door.

  As we climbed the stairs, he patted his jeans pockets. “Hold up! I forgot my phone in your room. I’ll be right back.”

  “Sure.”

  I stood at the top of the stairs and stared out over the rooftops on the other side of the street. The sun was almost set, and a gentle orange glow was casting its light onto my eyes.

  What would tonight hold for me? I knew I would have fun with Adam, of course, but would I allow myself to find more?

  Adam opened the door and jumped up the stairs two at a time. He held his phone up for me to see. “Got it.”

  We walked across the front yard to Adam’s car, and I got in after he opened the door for me. I let out a profound sigh as I watched him walk around the front bumper.

  Pull it together. Just let tonight happen naturally.

  He opened the door and I smiled uneasily at him as he sat down. “You ready, Miss Ava?” He moved his hand over and patted me on my knee. The sight of his face was calming, and I suddenly felt a wave of excitement brush the nerves away.

  I returned the smile and nodded my head. Keeping his gaze at me, he started the ignition and I left my worries right there on the curb as we set off into the sunset.

  Adam took me to a restaurant downtown that oozed a Midwestern supper club feel. There were deep red linens over the tables and little yellow opaque glass candle holders flickering light onto the faces of the hungry patrons.

  The menu was full of classic American fare including juicy hamburgers, fresh shrimp cocktails, and ample T-bone steaks. An antique, opaque glass relish tray welcomed our arrival to the table. I loved it all mainly because it reminded me of a place my parents used to take us on Saturday nights when they didn’t feel like cooking at home.

  Over dinner we settled into our familiar and comfortable dynamic. We chatted about our week at school, and I told him about my nerves for the upcoming PRAXIS test—an exam I had to pass in order to be accepted into the School of Education. Adam assured me I would pass, but I wasn’t so sure. There was a lot of pressure associated with the test. If I wasn’t successful, I would have to change my major or transfer schools and start all over somewhere else.

  I asked Adam more about living in London. It was very fascinating to hear about another world. So many things were different from the way I lived my life, and I thought it would be interesting to someday visit London.

  Right in the middle of dinner, Adam’s phone rang. He took it out of his pocket and checked the screen.

  “Sorry, Ava. I really need to take this one.”

  “No problem,” I replied.

  Adam got up from the table and answered the phone as he shuffled past the tables and out the front of the restaurant. I wondered who was on the phone and why he had to go all the way out the front door to have his conversation.

  While he was gone, I finished my chili and sipped on my Diet Coke. I replied to a text message from Elaina, and then looked at the dessert menu for almost ten minutes before Adam came back to the table.

  “So sorry, Ava. Please forgive me. It was my mother and I just couldn’t get her off the phone.”

  “Is everything okay?”

  “Yes, she was just complaining about—” Then he paused a moment. “You know what? It’s no matter. Anyway, I’m back here now with you and off the phone.”

  “I guess I’ll forgive you. Just don’t do it again.” I winked and took another sip of my soda, my eyes still holding his.

  “Ava, I’d love for you to meet my family.”

  I almost choked on my drink.

  “You need to come back to London with me sometime. You haven’t lived life until you’ve taken a turn on The Tube.”

  “The what?” I said, picking up my napkin and wiping the dribble from the corner of my mouth.

  “The Tube. The London Underground.”

  “Is that a band?”

  He snorted. “The Tube is the oldest underground railway system in the world!”

  “Really? And it still works?”

  “Well yes, but they’ve been working on updating it for the past few years. It’s quite slick, actually.”

  He paused and pushed some food around on his plate. Was he nervous about something?

  “You’ve been on a subway, right?”

  “Yeah. When I was younger, my parents used to take Laura and me to Chicago once a year and we’d ride the subway down to the theater district to catch a musical.”

  “Well, I’m sure it’s nothing like The Tube. You just have to come.”

  His sweet smile was adorable. Was he really asking me back to London to meet his family? The nerves had returned in full force.

  As dinner finished, Adam graciously picked up the check before I could grab for it, and when I offered to pay for half, he refused.

  Definitely a date.

  I was surprised to see Adam getting out his car keys as we left the restaurant.

  “Pioneer Park is only three or four blocks down the way. Why don’t we leave the car here in the public lot and take the sidewalk following the riverfront down to the band shell?”

  Adam smiled at my suggestion, but then said, “Are you sure? With the sun set it’s pretty cold outside.”

  I estimated it was barely forty degrees as a chill ran down my back. “Yeah, it’s nice out,” I lied, as I put on my hat and mittens, shivering again.

  The sidewalk was pretty empty this time of night, but I could see a crowd of people up ahead at the park. Old-fashioned black metal streetlights handsomely lit the way, and the sound of the river lapping up on the bank set a very familiar romantic mood. A warm yellow glow radiated from the stage in the distance and the sounds of instruments warming up was quite inviting.

  Fallen leaves crunched under our feet as an autumn wind blew off the river and past our faces. I shivered again and Adam moved in close to put his arm around my shoulders. “Here, borrow some of my heat,” he said.

  I rested my head in the crook of his shoulder. It was nice to feel attended to and our position was warm and very comfortable. I closed my eyes for a quick second and took a deep breath. He smelled like a scent I’d smelled before, but I just couldn’t put a finger on what. I slowly turned my head into his shirt and discreetly took another deep breath.

  Instantly, as if there was poison in the air, my brain felt like it was on fire. I stopped dead in my tracks and bent over in pain.

  “My head!”

  And then I saw him again, the man from my visions—the drop-dead gorgeous guy with dark hair and incredibly beautiful blue eyes.

  “Ava. Ava, come back to the present.” Adam had bent down near my face and was coaxing me away from my dream man. My vision was getting hazy, and the burning pain in my head was fading away.

  I stood up rubbing my temples and breathing heavily. “God, I hate when that happens.” As soon as I had stepped away from Adam and tried to focus on the present, my throbbing pain was almost diminished.

  “Are you with me?” Adam had concern on his face, but he tried to hide it, smiling inauthentically. “You’re going to be okay.”

  “I hope so. I’ve been having fewer of these painful visions lately.” At least it seemed that way.

  “Well, that’s good. No. That’s great!” He took a few steps closer to stand facing me, hands on my shoulders. He was studying my eyes, searching for any leftover pain. After a moment I moved my hands down from my head and stared deep into Adam’s face. I really was thankful for his patience.

  “Now,” he said, “I think I can hear the band starting. Are you up for some jazz?”

  “Of course. L
et’s go. That’s why I came!”

  “Aww, and here I thought you wanted to spend time with me.”

  “Well, that too, Prince Adam.” We smiled at each other and then continued down the walkway. Before we could get a few paces in, I felt Adam’s palm find mine and take hold. I was wearing mittens, so the whole thing felt a little muted, but I knew I was wanted and needed in that moment, and I realized that was a feeling I sorely missed.

  Whatever happens, happens. Just go with the flow, Ava.

  The band was in the middle of a song when we arrived at the park. Many couples had brought picnic blankets and lawn chairs, but suddenly I realized Adam was unprepared. Were we going to have to stand for the entire concert?

  Adam held my hand and led me through the maze of blankets and chairs as if he knew exactly where he was going. Over to the right side of the crowd, somewhat near the back, I noticed a green fuzzy blanket laid out with a small picnic basket and another felt blanket neatly folded on top. There was a little sign that said, “Reserved for Royalty.”

  Adam stopped us right in front of the blanket. “Well, Princess Ava, here we are.”

  “You did this?”

  Adam sat down on the blanket and I followed his lead, picking a spot right next to him. With our shoulders touching, he leaned over and grabbed the extra blanket, held the corners, and spread it out over our legs.

  We sat and listened to the smooth jazz for a while. Adam was a perfect gentleman and asked if he could put his arm around me—to keep me warm, of course. I snuggled in and enjoyed the good music with a good friend.

  He’s becoming more than a friend, my heart yelled.

  “What’s in the basket?” I asked, trying to distract myself from the truth of my heart.

  “Dessert,” Adam said smiling. He leaned over and pulled out a small plastic container of various cheesecake samples. There was a thin slice of strawberry on each piece. “I hope you like cheesecake.”

  “My favorite! You didn’t make those, did you?”

  “I’m sorry, I cannot take credit. The best baked good I can make is a box mix of chocolate brownies.” Adam took two forks out of the small basket and offered me the plate of dessert. “Dig in!”

  I took my fork and dug a bite off a slice. “This is so delicious. Thank you for bringing it.”

  Adam nodded, his mouth full of his own delectable bite. The music played in the background as we sat and indulged. Beyond Adam’s head I could see the sky full of beautiful sparkling silver stars.

  “Here, try this one.”

  Adam’s fork slowly approached my lips, a bite of chocolate cheesecake on the end. I opened my mouth and closed my eyes, slightly smiling as I waited for the fork’s cold metal to touch my tongue. Finally I tasted chocolate and closed my mouth around the fork as he gently slid it out.

  Pleasant tingles ran down my spine.

  Uh-oh.

  “Ava,” he said quietly.

  I opened my eyes.

  “Did you ever mistakenly discover something wonderful, and then realize that was why you were put on this Earth?”

  I looked at him nervously. “Are you talking about cheesecake?”

  Adam chuckled. “No, Ava. I’m talking about you.”

  Uh-oh.

  He moved his fingers over the blanket and grabbed my hand. We were in our own world, unaware of the fifty people around us. His eyes were locked on mine, obviously searching for some kind of affirmation of my feelings.

  My cheeks turned pink and my heart began to race, but I couldn’t find a clear answer in my heart.

  Suddenly the song ended and the audience began clapping, bringing us back to reality. The band started playing the first ballad of the night, and we noticed several couples standing up to dance in the grass.

  “My lady, would you give me the pleasure of this dance?”

  My heart felt like it was beating in my ears. “Sure,” I replied quietly. I swallowed loudly. This meant we were going to get closer to each other.

  Adam stood up and held his hand out to help me up, and then led me off the blanket to a free patch of grass nearby. Keeping perfect eye contact, Adam slowly took the hand he was holding, placed it around his neck, and then carefully ran his palm down my arm, ending at my shoulder. I eased my other hand up to his shoulder as he gracefully inched his fingers around my waist.

  He pulled me in close as we swayed to the music, our eyes comfortably locked. His face was perfectly handsome in the moonlight, and I began to feel my heart drop its wall of protection. Maybe I could let myself fall for him. It felt pretty wonderful being wanted again. I suddenly realized how lonely I’d been.

  As we danced, he hummed the tune in my ear and whispered, “You are so beautiful.”

  I could not stop the smile from my lips.

  Adam carefully brushed a piece of hair from my face with his thumb and tucked it behind my ear. Then, still holding my head in his hand, he slowly moved his face closer and closer to mine. My eyes instinctively closed, waiting for what I knew was coming next.

  Uh-oh. Uh-oh.

  I wanted to kiss Adam. It felt right. He let his nose touch mine and then I could feel his breath so close to my lips, hovering there with careful anticipation.

  “Adam,” I whispered, surrendering to my feelings.

  BOOM!

  I screamed as some invisible force blew our bodies back several feet. My head slammed into the ground, and I looked up to see pieces of glass and flaming plastic shoot through the crowd. I felt one whiz by my head seconds before I covered it with my hands. A bright, fiery blaze and thick, black smoke poured out of the place where a car had been in the lot behind the bandshell.

  “For the love of the Queen,” I heard Adam say. “They know we’re here.”

  There was mass chaos. People were screaming and running everywhere. Others were injured on the ground, some even on fire. My head started to throb and panic filled every part of my body.

  Adam pulled me up from the ground. “We’ve gotta get out of here, now!” he yelled in my ear.

  He grabbed my hand and I ran right alongside of him, confused, horrified, and scared.

  “Adam, what’s going on?” I hollered, my head aching.

  “I don’t know. But we’ve got to get back to the car as fast as we can!”

  I knew it was true. If there was some kind of psycho car bomber on the loose, I was in no mood to stick around to see him. We finally arrived back at the parking lot and quickly jumped in the car. It was pretty quiet this far away from the park, but we could hear the fire trucks approaching and I could smell the smoke in the air.

  Adam spent no time waiting to catch his breath or for me to buckle my seatbelt, but started the car instantly, squealing the tires and almost running over the stop sign at the exit. My body slammed into the passenger side window as Adam took the first corner out of the parking lot rather sharply. I quickly clicked in the seatbelt, and then braced myself with both hands on the dashboard in front of me.

  “How’s your head?” he asked as he drove like a maniac through the back roads of Point.

  I ran my hand over the back of my hair. “Hurts like hell. I think I whacked it pretty hard when I fell down from the blast.”

  “I’ll take a look when we get out of this neighborhood. Put some ice on it when you get home and take two acetaminophen.” He cranked on the wheel, turning unexpectedly into an alley and I slammed into the door again.

  “Please! Slow down!” I begged. Tears began to form behind my eyes. My head ached and I felt incredibly shaken. I moved my hand over the console and placed it firmly on the middle of his thigh.

  Adam slowed down and looked over at me. “You’re right. I’m sorry to scare you, Ava. I just need to make sure you are safe.”

  “I’m fine, Adam. I just think I’d like to go home now. I’d like to be safe in my bed.”

  “Right. I bet you are as anxious as I am.” Adam drove the rest of the way home in silence. I could hear his phone vibrating several times in
his pocket, but he ignored each call. When we got to my house he didn’t say anything. Was he simply feeling uneasy because we almost got bombed out of the park? I stared at him for a few seconds, but he just looked out the windshield.

  This was the second time he acted weird when he was dropping me off at home. Not that much about tonight was actually normal, but I expected him to act differently somehow.

  “Here,” he said finally, “let me look at the back of your head.”

  I turned and looked out of the passenger side window. Adam carefully moved my hair, inspecting my head. He ran his gentle fingers over the base of my skull and felt down my jawline and then around my neck. “How do you feel?”

  “My head aches horribly.”

  I turned back toward him and he suddenly had a tiny flashlight out, shining it into my eyes and then peering strangely into them for what felt like a little too long.

  “You’re not bleeding and you don’t have a concussion. But I’m sure you’ll have a headache for a while. Go inside and place a cold washcloth on your head. A good night’s sleep should help.”

  “Okay. Thanks for dinner and everything.” I opened the door to leave, but just as I was about to get out, he grabbed my left hand, holding it with both of his. His warm touch and soft skin took me by surprise. I felt my heart accelerating.

  I turned my shoulders around and he looked me right in the eyes. “Ava. I had a wonderful time with you tonight.” Then he smiled an odd, inauthentic smile. “And I’m sorry about your head.” He released my arm and I said good-bye.

  I shut the car door and walked across the lawn, confused over my cracked-up life. Good thing what just happened would be covered in the news. Otherwise my friends would never believe what happened to me on my non-date.

  Chapter Nine

  The news was calling it “Disaster at the Riverfront.” Several people were critically injured from flying debris and fire, and the whole south side of the band shell was ruined. A police investigation confirmed it was a car bomb, but could not find conclusive evidence as to whom was responsible.

  Adam called the next morning to make sure my head was feeling okay and to let me know he had to work at the radio station a few nights and had some fraternity event he was chairperson for on another night, so he probably wouldn’t see me for most of the week. Although I knew I’d miss hanging out with him, I welcomed the chance to focus on my schoolwork and be alone with my thoughts. There was something magical about Adam, but I still had some strong feeling inside me telling me not to give my heart to him.