by Clare Revell
DC Blondell tried to take the box. “Maybe I should open it.”
Faith looked at them. “I don’t think so. You two are just jealous because I got mail and you didn’t.”
Joel raised an eyebrow. “No one knows we’re here, remember.”
Faith looked at the box. “Rick does.”
“He wouldn’t send a parcel. He said no contact, didn’t he? Let’s take it up to the room.” He handed her the keycard. “Come on.”
DC Blondell looked at the receptionist, pulling out his ID. “I’ll need a description of the courier who delivered it and details of what company they worked for.”
She looked at the ID. “Of course, officer.”
DC Blondell looked at Joel. “Take her up to the suite. I’ll be up shortly.”
Joel finished checking in and then took firm hold of Faith’s hand. “Sure.” He led her to the lift.
She hesitated for a moment. “I want to open this first. Can we sit here for a minute?”
Joel shook his head. “You’re just like a child at Christmas, but no. If DC Blondell wants us upstairs out of the way, then we do what he wants. I’d rather you didn’t open it at all, but it’s your parcel and your call.”
“Fine, upstairs it is.”
Joel led her upstairs, finding the suite with relative ease. He unlocked the door and let her go in first. He shut the door and put the cases down. “Do it carefully.”
Faith rolled her eyes and sat on the couch. “It’s hardly likely to be a bomb, now is it?” She pulled off the ribbon and opened the box. Color drained from her face as the box fell from her fingers, spilling its contents on her lap. “Joel...” His name came out as a strangled gasp.
For a moment he thought she was going to faint and wrapped an arm around her. “What?” He looked down at her lap. His skin grew cold and clammy. Something crawled over him making him shudder. Oh, Lord God, protect us. How did he find us?
Three black lily of the valley stems lay there. A white card with a black border lay beside them.
Faith
A lily of the valley for each of you. You, your lover and the cop.
Isaiah 47:3
See you soon, love you to death
Damien.
8
Faith sat on the leather chair, her shaking hands threatening to spill the glass of water into her lap. Joel sat beside her, his arms firmly around her. Her stomach turned and she hoped she wasn’t going to be sick again. Once was enough. How had Damien found her? Had he been at the park and followed her from there? Or had someone said something?
Her Bible lay open at Isaiah forty-seven. The verse Damien had quoted reverberating around her mind. I will take vengeance; I will spare no one.
DC Blondell was in the bedroom on the phone.
She looked up. “I want to call Grace. I need to speak to her, make sure she’s OK. He said he’d spare no one, so maybe Grace is at risk as well.”
“Rick said…”
“Stuff what Rick said.” She took his phone and hit the speed dial button for Elliott’s landline number, hoping Grace was in.
Elliott answered on the second ring. “Wallac residence.”
“It’s Faith. Is Grace there?”
“No, she’s walking Patches. How are things? We weren’t expecting you to ring, not after what Rick said.”
Tears filled her eyes and she dropped the phone. “She’s not there. It’s Elliott.”
Joel snatched it up. “Bro, we got problems. Big problems.”
Faith tuned him out as he spoke rapidly. How could they go from being so safe and happy one minute with him kissing her, to running for her life again the next?
He hung up just as DC Blondell came back into the room. “We need to get out of here,” he said.
“Agreed. DS Chadwick is setting somewhere up.”
Joel shook his head. “I have a better idea. Somewhere no one will think of looking.”
Faith looked up. “Where?”
“Best no one but me knows. I’m abandoning the tour and going off radar for a couple of days.”
“I don’t think so—” DC Blondell began.
Joel cut him off, using a tone of voice Faith hadn’t heard before. “Look, officer. Damien knows where we are and presumably knows where we’ll be every step of the way. He probably got ahold of the itinerary somehow. Best bet is to go somewhere he doesn’t expect. We’ll go to one of my old writing haunts.”
Faith got up and ran to the bedroom, wanting some privacy. She dropped to her knees beside the bed, praying the same thing over and over and over. The door opened and she looked up as Joel came in. He sat on the floor beside her and she leaned into him.
Joel wrapped his arm around her. “How are you doing? Or is that a silly question?”
“I’ve felt better. Where are we going or aren’t you telling me either?”
“I just don’t trust the cop, that’s all. He’s always on his phone. But we’re going to a big town we can get lost in.” He pulled her close and kissed her forehead. “I promise no one is going to hurt you again. Not if I have anything to say about it. I—” He sucked in a deep breath, then looked at her. “I love you.”
She stared up at him. Had she heard him right? He sure knew how to pick his moments. “Joel?”
He kissed her gently. “I love you,” he repeated. “I’ve fought it for a while, scared of being hurt again, but I can’t stay scared forever.”
Faith leaned against him, her whole body shaking. Despite the terror rocketing through her, Joel made her feel safe and he loved her. “Joel, I—”
His fingers pressed lightly against her lips. “Don’t say anything. Not yet. Not until we’ve prayed this whole thing through.”
“But…”
DC Blondell knocked on the door.
“We’re busy,” Joel told him.
“We need to go.”
“Take the bags down. We’ll be there in five minutes.”
“Mr. Wallac—”
“I said give us five minutes.” Joel turned back to Faith. “Now, where were we?”
She patted the floor beside her. “Just about here. You were going to pray for the both of us.” She reached up and touched his face. “And I’m pretty fond of you, too. Just don’t want you getting hurt because of me.”
He kissed her cheek. “Darlin’, I would die for you.”
“I appreciate the sentiment,” she said, “but I’d prefer you alive. So would the others.”
Joel knelt beside her. “Then I suggest we pray and get out of here.”
~*~
Rain glistened in the car headlights as they cut a path through the darkness. Joel glanced over at Faith as he drove. She’d been sleeping the past forty-five minutes. Hopefully she’d feel better for it when she woke. He was glad he’d told her that he loved her and was fairly sure she loved him even thought she’d only said pretty fond. She hadn’t rebuffed his kiss or any of his advances such as they were. In fact she had returned each kiss with equal passion. It felt right, she felt right, but now everything was turned on its head.
Lord, am I doing the right thing here? Or should I just turn around and head to the nearest police station? My agent still hasn’t returned my call. Nor has Rick. Surely neither of them would have given her away. It doesn’t matter what happens to me, Lord, but keep Faith safe. And please protect El and Grace. Keep them safe and out of this mess.
The darkness deepened and the storm became a downpour. He glanced in the mirror at DC Blondell. “Maybe this isn’t such a good idea, after all. I didn’t want to stop overnight, but I don’t think we have much choice now. I can’t drive in this. We’re almost at Caergele. I’m going stop there.”
DC Blondell pulled out his phone. “OK. I’ll let the boss know.”
“Right.” Joel took the next turning off the main road and headed towards the center of town. The rain wasn’t letting up, and he had difficulty seeing where he was going. A little help, please, Lord.
Just as he wa
s about to pull over to the side of the road and stop, a travel lodge appeared on the left. Gratefully, he pulled into the car park. “This will do.” He jumped out of the car, pulled up his collar against the rain, and ran inside. The girl behind the desk looked up at him.
“Hi, can I help you?”
Joel shook the rain from his hair. “Hi, I need a single and a double room if possible.”
Sara checked. “I’m sorry, but we don’t have two rooms. We’re pretty full tonight. The weather means we have a lot more guests than normal.”
“Do you have a single or a twin? There are three of us, but I don’t mind the floor or a chair. I can’t ask the others to sleep in the car. I’ll pay extra for the room if there is one.”
She looked at him. “Excuse me for asking, but are you Paul Darrow?”
He nodded slowly. “Yeah.”
“My mum loves your books.”
Joel watched her type rapidly. He wasn’t going to hold his breath. Maybe he could scrounge a few blankets on account of her mum being a fan.
Sara looked back up at him. “There is one room. It’s a twin, on the ground floor. I won’t charge you for the extra person as they’ll have to sleep on the floor.”
“I’ll take it.” Joel spoke quickly. “Thank you.”
She slid a map over to him, marking it with crosses as she spoke. “This is the main car park. The room’s just here. I’m afraid dinner is finished, but room service is available until ten. Breakfast starts at seven thirty in the morning.”
“Thank you.” He paid cash for the night and took the key. He paused. “Do you have a piece of paper, and I’ll do an autograph for your mum.”
Three minutes later, he headed back out to the car. To his relief, Faith was still sleeping. He looked at DC Blondell. “They only had the one room. I figured we’d bunk together as its one night.”
DC Blondell nodded. “So long as there’s a chair or floor, I’ll be fine.”
Joel pulled the cases from the car and set them next to the car. Leaning in, he gently shook Faith’s arm. “Hey, Faith. It’s time to wake up.”
Faith’s eyes snapped open and she gazed at him. “Where are we?”
“Caergele in Wales. It’s raining too hard to go any further. We’ll have to share a room, though.”
She yawned and stretched. “It’s fine. It’ll be better than sleeping in the car all night. How long was I asleep?”
“Almost an hour.”
Faith jumped from the car and pulled her coat over her head as she ran towards the building.
Joel picked up the cases and followed her towards the main doors. “The storm just appeared out of nowhere.” He held the door open for her. “Did you want something to eat?”
Faith shook her head. “No. I just want to sleep if that’s OK.”
“Course it is.” He consulted the floor plan and headed down the corridor. He unlocked the door and felt for the light switch. “Here you go.” He followed her in, DC Blondell right behind him.
Faith glanced around. “It’s umm—”
“Compact.”
She yawned. “Tactfully put. Not the word I’d have used, but that’s fine.”
Realizing she was shattered, Joel pointed to one of the beds. “Sleep.” He watched as she dropped her coat to the floor, kicked off her shoes and curled up, not bothering to change. He covered her with the quilt and sat next to her praying aloud. Once her breathing was deep and regular, he sat on the other bed. He could feel the officer’s displeasure from here.
Lord, what do I do here? How do I keep her safe?
DC Blondell looked at him from the chair. He’d found a blanket and spare pillow in the closet and looked quite comfortable. “You two take this faith thing seriously, don’t you?”
Joel nodded. “We do. What about you?”
The silver haired man shook his head. “It’s not for me. I’ve seen too much bad stuff to believe in a God like you both seem to do.”
“Bad stuff happens, but it isn’t God that makes it happen. It’s sin.”
DC Blondell shrugged. “He could stop it.”
Joel shifted on the bed. He may only get the one chance to speak to the man about his faith and ought to make it count. “He could, but then what becomes of our free will? We chose our own path—to do otherwise would mean God isn’t who He says He is. Jesus did so much for us, it’s only right to give something back to Him.”
“I don’t know…”
Joel pulled out his Bible. “Here, look…”
DC Blondell took it. “What am I looking at?”
Joel’s phone rang as he pointed to the passage. “I’ll just answer this. One minute. Hi, El.”
“Hi, not answering the phone while driving, I hope.”
“Nope, we got caught in a thunderstorm. We’re currently in a Travelodge in the middle of nowhere.”
“Are you both all right? Grace is really worried. We both are.”
He laughed. “We’re fine. Faith’s asleep and I won’t be far behind her. What about you two? Are you safe?”
“We are,” Elliott assured him. “We’re at Dad’s for the next week or so. Rick insisted we leave town and I wasn’t going to argue. So other than you, no one knows where we are. Rick didn’t even want to know. Grace says hi and sends love to you both. As do I.”
“Love you both too, bro. Night.” He slid the phone into his shirt pocket and looked over at DC Blondell. His eyes were closed with the Bible open on his lap.
Joel lay on his side, watching Faith sleep, hoping he’d get another chance to talk to DC Blondell in the morning. He pulled out his phone again and sent Elliott a text telling him they were currently in Caergele and heading for Cardiff in the morning and asking him to pass their exact location onto Rick.
He trusted the cop sent to protect them about as far as he could throw him.
Not far at all.
~*~
Just after eight thirty the following morning, Faith sat on the bed, looking out of the window. Joel had gone to get a paper and buy sandwiches for the trip. Soon after he left, DC Blondell had slipped out; adamant he couldn’t get a signal on his phone.
There was a knock on the door. Faith grinned and got up. It would be Joel or the cop and both deserved to be teased for knocking. She opened the door. “Did you forget the—?”
“Hey, babe.”
Her heart stopped as a very familiar figure shoved a gun into her chest and pushed her back into the room. “D—Damien…”
“Thought you could hide, did you?” His free hand gripped her tight enough to hurt.
“H—How did you find me?” She swallowed hard, fighting the panic filling her.
“Easy when you know how. Friends in the right places and so on.” He shook Faith hard. “You and I have unfinished business.”
“The police know where we are. They’ll be here any minute.”
“I think you’ll find the cop’s gone for coffee. I wouldn’t worry about him. Or that lover of yours.”
“Joel is not my lover. He’s a gentleman. What have you done to him?”
“Nothing yet.” Damien grabbed her hair and twisted. “You’re mine, and it’s time I reminded you of that fact.”
Faith’s hands rose to her head and she let out an involuntary cry of pain. She’d forgotten, become complacent. How could she have done that? He was going to kill her. Oh, God, please let it be swift…don’t let me suffer before You call me home.
“You don’t need him. You have me and we have things to discuss.” His nails scraped down her face, but she refused to look at him.
“Joel will be back. He promised he wouldn’t leave me.”
Damien’s cruel laugh filled the room. “Did he tell you he loved you? You don’t seriously think someone like him would be interested in a mouse like—?”
“Actually, yes he would. I—” She broke off as a thunderous look crossed his face. His eyes narrowed as he leaned down, raising his hand.
She’d forgotten rule number
one. Thou shalt not interrupt.
And now he’d make her pay.
~*~
Joel queued in the small newsagents next to the Travelodge to pay for his paper, the food, and cans of soda he’d picked up for the journey. Huge mountains looked down on the tiny village, their tops lost in the clouds and constant rain. He paid and picked up the carrier bag. He ran back to the lodge and down to their room. He frowned seeing DC Blondell standing outside the door. He fixed him with a firm stare. “Who’s with Faith or did you forget your key?”
The cop laughed. “She’s busy.” He shoved a gun into Joel’s side. “Damien’s with her. He wants a quiet chat, sort out a few things.”
Joel tried to pull away, but the sound of the gun hammer rising froze him in his tracks. “Rick knows where we are. You rang him last night.”
“Actually, I called Damien. DS Chadwick thinks we’re still on your ‘book tour’.”
Grateful the cop didn’t know he’d texted Elliott, Joel glared at him. “I never did trust you. Have you betrayed us from the start?”
“You and I are going for a drive. Move.” He dragged Joel down the corridor towards the lobby.
“No.” Joel tugged free and punched him. As DC Blondell staggered backwards, Joel tried to grab the gun, with the intention of taking it away from him.
DC Blondell regained his balance and hit Joel hard, sending him flying to the floor. “Try that again and it’ll be the last thing you ever do.” He yanked Joel upright and pushed him face forward into the wall by the lobby. He pulled the cuffs from his belt. “Joel Wallac, I’m arresting you…”
Joel struggled, desperate to get back to Faith. “You can’t do this.”
“I think you’ll find I can. You just assaulted a police officer.”
The first rumble was so faint, Joel wondered if he imagined it. He looked at the picture on the wall. Was it moving? As he watched, there was another rumble. What sounded like a freight train started to get closer and closer. The picture jerked and fell to the floor as the entire building swayed.
Joel staggered. “What’s going on?”
The whole building shook as the rumbling got louder. Earthquake? He reached out and grabbed the door frame for support. As he glanced at the front of the building, it exploded inwards in a thick choking mass of mud and dirt. Glass, wood and debris accompanied it at a breathtaking speed.
