“No!” she screamed and reached out as if her hand could stop the bullet that was sure to come.
Dov turned at her scream, heard the report of the shot gone wild and saw the gun fly from the kidnapper’s hand. He turned back and ran toward the shooter. A well placed kick insured there would be no further interference. People were opening their doors and calling for help. His arm was torn and bleeding and he thought the door might have crushed a few ribs, but he called the white light and blew past Col and the woman.
Col felt Hope stiffen as Dov flew by, but there wasn’t time to explain. He could hear the approaching sirens of emergency vehicles and they couldn’t afford to be seen. He, too, called the white light.
Chapter 6
The service alley was neat and well-manicured, nothing like the one behind the Guardian House on Hayden Avenue. Dov leaned back against a dog eared privacy fence with the hand of his good arm splayed against his injured ribs. His breathing was heavy and he winced with each breath.
“Sorry about that. The idea was to startle the driver, unlock the door and bring the van to a stop.”
“Who are you people?” Hope asked. She, too, was leaning against the fence, but unlike Dov, she was pinned in an upright position by Col’s meaty hand.
“Shit, bro, and here I thought you meant to wake up half the block. And those electrical wires were a nice touch. You know how I feel about electricity.”
“What are you people?”
“Fuck you. I said I was sorry. You know I’m not good at thinking on my feet and I didn’t hear any bright ideas coming from you?”
“How did you move so fast? What was that bright light?”
“Dumbass.”
“Shithead.”
“Jerk wad.”
“Gentlemen, language please!” The shock was wearing off and anger took its place.
The twins looked at her as if they’d forgotten she was there. They looked back at each other and burst into laughter.
“She just called us gentlemen.”
“Can we keep her, Col? Huh? Huh? Can we?”
“This may be amusing to you, but it is far from it for me.” She slapped at Col’s hand and he released her. She held up her finger like a parent scolding an errant child. “I have questions and I deserve answers.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
Hope almost smiled at Dov’s wide eyed response, but she kept her face stern and her finger raised. She’d dealt with boys like these before although the others weren’t quite as big.
“Who are you? What are you? Who were those men in the van and what does any of this have to do with me? And don’t try dancing around the answers because I won’t have it.” The pointed finger alternated between the two as she spoke.
Dov spoke rapidly. “I’m Dov. He’s Col. We’re Paenitentia which means we’re not quite human which is why we can do that white light thing and move really fast. We were following you…” He saw her frown, “not like stalking or anything. We were supposed to keep an eye on you, keep you safe, but we fucked up…” another frown “sorry, sorry. We made a mistake and those guys came and got you and we don’t know who they are or why they want you.”
“Dov!”
“What?” Dov asked defensively. “Look at her. She’s like that teacher we had, An Aldun. It doesn’t matter what we tell her. She’s not going to believe us anyway. Besides, you’re going to thump her and she’ll forget the whole thing and then we’ll go home.”
“Where Nico will beat the crap out of us.”
Dov rubbed his shoulder and bleeding arm. “He’s too late.”
“Nico?” It couldn’t be the man she’d met the other night. “Very kind, tall, um, long dark hair pulled back, speaks with a slight accent.”
“Except for the kind part, that sounds like him,” said Dov, but his eyes were on Col. “So, uh, how do you know Nico?”
Hope flushed a deep red. “He helped me out of some trouble a week ago.”
“And you remember it?”
“Well yes, why wouldn’t I? I may have been a little tip… upset, but that’s no reason to forget a kindness.”
Col raised his hand in front of her face. “I need to touch you.” She took a step back, alarmed. “No, no, nothing bad. I just need to put my thumb on your forehead. Okay?”
She didn’t answer, but she didn’t move away. Col centered his thumb above her nose and pressed ever so lightly. He closed his eyes and felt the push leave him. He opened his eyes.
“Do you remember my name?” he asked quietly.
“You’re Col, right? And he’s Dov. I’m very good with names.” She touched her forehead. “What did you do? Nico did something similar the other night. It tingles.”
“Holy hellions, Batman, we’ve got us another one.” Dov was grinning ear to ear.
“Batman?”
“Never mind. You’d have to watch a lot of late night TV.” Col wasn’t smiling. “Hope, I think you need to come home with us.”
“No. I’m grateful for what you did, but I don’t know you and I’m not in the habit of going home with strange men.”
“I think we’ve proven that we’re not out to hurt you,” Col argued.
“Be that as it may, I wouldn’t be comfortable sleeping in a house with two young men.”
“It’s not like we live alone,” Dov argued. “There’s seven of us if you count Grace. She’s Canaan’s. He’s our Liege Lord, you know, like our boss.”
“And she’s his wife?”
“Not exactly…”
“Then my point is made. I’ll sleep in my own bed, in my own home, thank you very much.” She looked around and pointed toward the nearer end of the alley. “Now, if I’m not very much mistaken, I need to go about a block and a half that way.”
Dov raised his good arm to Col and moaned with pain. “Help me up, bro; I don’t think I can make it on my own.”
“What a wimp,” said Col as he hoisted Dov to his feet.
“What’s wrong?” Hope asked at the same time. She peered more closely. Between her initial fear and the darkness, she hadn’t seen the blood. “Oh heavens, you’re injured. We’ve been standing here blathering while the poor man’s in pain.” She knelt beside him to examine his wounds. “He needs a doctor. We need to call an ambulance. And the police.”
Dov answered Hope with another moan. “Please. No police. Too many questions we can’t answer. No doctor. No ambulance. I’ll be all right,” he breathed, gasping for air. “My arm’s torn up and I broke a few ribs when the van hit me. Oh,” he groaned and grabbed his arm.
Col rolled his eyes. Paenitentia healed quickly. The cuts would be healed by the following night and the ribs in two or three days.
“He’s… OW!” Col grabbed his leg where Dov had kicked him. Dov turned his back to Hope and winked broadly at his twin. “Oh,” said Col, catching on, “He needs a place to rest, that’s all. I’ll never get him home in this condition.”
Hope made the decision. They had rescued her and Dov was suffering for it. An injured man was different from a single man. “Can he make it to my house?”
*****
Col burst through the gym door into the kitchen of the Guardian House. Grace, burdened with a huge bowl of mashed potatoes, scowled at his filthy clothes.
“We’ve been waiting dinner for an hour for you guys. I’m not doing this anymore.” She looked behind him. “Where’s Dov?”
“Busy.” He knew it was rude, but it wasn’t his secret to tell. “Where’s Nico?”
Grace started to speak, but saw the look on Col’s face and changed her words. “In the parlor. Pacing.”
“Thanks.”
But whether it was for the information or the two rolls he grabbed from the basket on the island, Grace wasn’t sure. Something was wrong. Nico, the epitome of cool, calm and collected, had been pacing the floor and watching the clock for the past two hours. Now comes Col, torn and filthy, without Dov and without explanation. She hurried to the dining room to tell Cana
an.
They were headed to the parlor, followed by Nardo, when they heard Nico roar.
“YOU LEFT HIM IN HER BED?”
They plastered themselves against the wall as Nico barreled into the hallway, then followed him through to the kitchen with Col following behind saying, “No. No. It isn’t like that!”
When she saw where Nico was headed, Grace called out, “You can’t go out now. It’s almost dawn.”
Nico turned and snarled, his fangs showing long and sharp, “I’ll make it. Dov may not.” And then he was gone.
The group turned as one to stare at Col who took a step back and raised his hands.
“What have you two done now?” Canaan asked with a threat in his voice that would be hard to ignore.
“I can’t tell. We promised Nico.” Col held his ground.
“Oh, you’ll tell,” said Canaan, advancing until he was a foot from Col’s chest, “And you’ll tell us now.”
*****
Nico pushed the Harley to the limits of safety as rode through the city to Hope’s little house. The sky was lightening with the faint rose of dawn as he put his shoulder to the front door. The jamb snapped with a satisfying crack as the lock gave and the door burst open. He charged up the stairs to the bedroom where he found Dov sitting comfortably against the headboard, pillows fluffed at his back. He was bare-chested and strips of torn sheeting wrapped his torso and padded his shoulder. A cup of tea in a china cup sat on the nightstand.
Dov grinned. “Hey, Nico.” The gin faded. “What’s wrong?”
“Where is she?” Nico snarled.
“Downstairs making me something to eat. She loves me. She called me a gentleman.”
Nico’s jaws clenched and he took a step toward the bed, but a choked sound from the door had him turning. Hope stood in the doorway, a kitchen knife raised and ready to stab. She began to shake, so badly that the hand with the knife, still raised, began to bang against the door frame. Everything on the dresser crashed to the floor.
“I-I th-thought they came back,” she stuttered. I-I thought they’d hurt Dov.”
Her face paled to a ghostly white, the small band of freckles over her nose standing out in sharp contrast. Her breath came in short, shallow pants. Her green eyes glittered with shock.
“It’s all right, Hope. I’ll take the knife,” Nico said softly. He held out his hand.
“No,” she whispered, “Don’t t-touch me.” She turned and fled down the stairs.
“Stay here,” Nico ordered Dov and followed. He found her sitting in the same chair he’d sat her in the first night they met. She still held the knife.
“What’s wrong with me?” she asked, staring straight ahead.
“Nothing,” Nico whispered.
She continued to stare across the room. “Oh yes, there is and my father always knew it. He told me I was only safe among the flock. If I ventured too far away from their prayerful protection, evil would find me. The devil seeks the devil’s handmaiden.”
“Hope, it doesn’t work that way. I am familiar with much that is evil and you are not a part of it.”
She looked at him with guilty eyes. “You can’t know that. You don’t know what I’ve done. I dishonored my father when I ran away without his consent or blessing, when I chose to follow my mother’s calling. I met Lenny and became a willing purveyor of evil. Not only did I profit from it, I used it to seek out and invite abominations into my home. I have visited the devil’s dens of iniquity, imbibed in his brew, invited strange men into my bedroom, indulged in thoughts of sins of the flesh, provoked men to attack me and now…” She looked down at the hand still holding the knife and dropped the blade to the floor as if it burned. “Thou shalt not kill,” she whispered. Her eyes filled with tears. “I am the devil’s handmaiden.” She hung her head in shame.
“You haven’t killed anyone.”
“I would have,” she said softly but with conviction. “I almost killed you.”
“But you didn’t and there’s nothing sinful in coming to the defense of an injured man. That’s bravery, not sin.
She shook her head in denial. “I’ve never been brave.”
Nico crossed the room to stand in front of her and used his index finger to lift her chin. When she would have pulled away, he gripped it with thumb and forefinger forcing her to look at him.
“You’ve lived a sheltered life,” he said quietly, but firmly. “You’re naïve and inexperienced in the ways of the world. Not evil. I tell you again, I have seen evil, up close, both in myself and in others. I recognize its stench. There is none in you. You are not evil. The devil, as you call it, has no hold on you.”
“Then why is all this happening to me?” she pleaded.
He lifted her hand to his lips and kissed it. “I don’t know, but I vow to you on what little honor I have left, that I will find out.”
She said nothing, but there was belief in her eyes.
Still holding her hand, he stepped back. “Now, there’s nothing we can do until nightfall. You are exhausted and need sleep which you will get in your own bed.” He half smiled when her eyes widened. “Dov can use the couch. No argument now. He’s young and healthy and not nearly as injured as he would have you believe. He’ll be fine. I’ll keep watch. Tonight, we’ll move your things to our home. There’s a woman there, Grace, and another, Manon, across the way. They’ll be a comfort to you and can teach you things you need to know. They’re like you, Hope. Something special.”
“I can stay here. I don’t want to impose.”
“Someone is looking for you and until I find out who it is, you can’t stay here. Besides,” again the half smile, “I’ve broken your door. Grace will be more than happy to have someone to talk to other than the smelly beasts, which is how she refers to us, although to be fair, I think she considers it a term of endearment. I promise you’ll like her, everyone does.”Hope readied herself for bed, all too aware of the men downstairs. No. Man downstairs. She refused to add lying to her list of faults. Dov was a pleasant young man who, she suspected, was much as he appeared; open, friendly, incautious and non-threatening. A firm hand and a stern voice would keep him in his place. Nico, however, was different. She thought it would take a great deal more than a firm hand to keep him from his intended course. But what was his intended course?
She understood her own silly, schoolgirl attraction to him. He was, after all, the first decent man to treat her as anything other than Preacher Parson’s daughter and she knew, in her heart, that true love and commitment were a far cry from a foolish crush. She had no illusions that her feelings might be returned. A man like Nico would never be attracted to an oversized frump like her. So what then was the motive behind sending the twins to watch over her? And why the seriousness of his vow to discover the source of the threat? She would think about it later, after she’d had some sleep.
Chapter 7
“Oh Gracie, we’re home,” Dov called in a sing-song voice.
“Good lord, Dov. What have you done to that jacket?”
“You see how she is,” Dov said over his shoulder. “She cares more about the jacket than she does about me.”
“You’ll heal. The jacket costs money.”
“Of which we have plenty,” said a deeper, stronger voice. “Now get out of the way and let them through. You can yell at him later.”
Hope heard a scuffle and a squeal as she followed Dov up from the garage, through a pantry and into the largest kitchen she’d ever seen. A broad chested giant held a much smaller woman close to his chest with her feet off the ground and flailing in front of her.
“Put me down, you big oaf,” the woman demanded.
“Ask nicely and give us a kiss.”
“Please put me down, you big oaf,” she said and bussed him on the lips. When he put her down, she shook her finger at him. “You’ll pay for that.”
“I hope so,” he said and they both laughed.
Hope reddened at the public display of affection and what it
implied.
“Hey you guys, behave. You’ve embarrassed Hope,” said Dov which caused Hope to redden further. He stepped to the side so she could move forward.
“You’re right, we’re being rude. Hope, welcome to our home. I’m Grace and the big guy is Canaan.”
Grace was an attractive young woman who looked to be around Hope’s age. She stood about five feet six and had long, curling dark hair with a distinctive white streak at her temple. Hope’s father would have called her attitude saucy, an unflattering term, but Hope was reassured by her openness and familiarity. When Grace held out her hand, Hope took it willingly.
“Your kindness is most welcome,” Hope said quietly.
She felt an immediate warmth like meeting a friend after a long absence. It was as if she knew this woman, though she was sure they’d never met previously. She’d never felt such a thing before and she smiled tentatively at the welcome. She started when Nico spoke from behind her.
“Dov has made the proper introductions I see.”
Dov cringed. “Not really.”
“Then allow me. Hope, may I present Lord Canaan, Liege Lord of this House of Guardians and his lady, Grace. My lord, my lady, this is Hope, a woman who needs our help.”
Canaan scowled and Grace giggled when she said to Hope, “Do you feel like you should curtsy? Don’t.” She looked up at Canaan, “Oh stop it. It had to be said. It’s what we are. Now that it’s said, we can ignore it.” She turned back to Hope. “I’ll explain it all later. Let me take your coat. Breakfast is almost ready. They told you about our schedule, didn’t they?” and at Hope’s confused look, “They’re night creatures so majority rules. We eat breakfast around six in the evening and supper at four or five in the morning. Don’t worry, you’ll get used to it. No one’s going to scream rise and shine. At least not the first day you’re here.”
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