People mingled and mixed, passing each other without a care, but no sign of a hooded man. Why had he bumped her? He must have touched her with his bare hands for the Starfire to notice and warn her, and brief as it was, it could only be the detection of the Starfire energy in another. Then the Shirukan soldier had survived and hid among the humans. That might have been him at the museum.
Worse, he hadn't given up capturing her.
She trembled, wary of being in the open. "He is bad man."
Scott straightened, his eyes scanning the people around them with a new intensity. "The one threatening you?"
"Yes."
"He came from your homeland?" He focused on her.
"Yes."
"Do you have a name?"
"No, but he and others killed Jerantis." She took a shaky breath, but for once restrained the tears.
"Now he's after you?"
"Always to be killing me. Jerantis…protected us."
"You mean this creep and his gang were after you the whole time?"
"Yes."
"Why? What did you do?"
Now the tears came. She wanted to tell Scott, but not at the risk of losing him. If he didn't like that she wasn't human... "Nothing. They not liking us."
His blue eyes studied her with an intensity that made her want to hide. "Why, Paddy? Why would they chase you here? You can tell me." He pursed his lips for a moment, his eyes and his hands dropping to her hands, which he caressed. "Please, Paddy. I want to help."
You can't. She bit her tongue. If the Shirukan had found her once, he would find her again. Why hadn't he attacked her there? Was it because of the numbers of humans around? He didn't want to expose himself? Their security might attack him. He was being cautious, so why touch her? What did he want?
"He to be finding me again. I put you in danger." Emotions lumped in her throat. She should leave Scott to protect him, but the mere thought made her heart ache.
"We'll contact the police. They can watch for him and catch him if he comes for you."
"I not knowing him."
Scott pulled her hands to his warm lips. His kiss on them calmed her with the reassurance that he would do all he could. "Then we'll leave. I have two weeks of personal time to use. We'll leave tomorrow. It's short notice, but this is an emergency. We can take the camper, just the two of us. It's all ready; I just haven't had a reason to go anywhere."
"Seeing places?" What wonders would he show her? Better yet, where could they go where she could fly? "Mountains?" She'd never seen anything as spectacular as what she had read about in his books and seen on the television. Inar'Ahben was covered by ocean, and the searoot islands had some small hills and ridges, but nothing like mountains.
"If you want."
Her heart lifted at the prospect of seeing more of Earth, and at getting away from the city where the Shirukan could find her. He might not be recovered enough to fly and follow them. And she wanted to see mountains! "Yes. Yes. Very much."
He stood up, still holding her hands, and pulled her to her feet next to him. "Then it's settled. We're going camping."
12
Under the outdoor garage lights, Scott secured the trailer hitch to the bumper of his truck and finished connecting everything. After a quick check of the lights on the travel trailer, he locked both doors for the night.
All done. That was easy, but he'd had everything ready a couple months ago, including full propane tanks. At the time, he'd had nothing else to occupy him.
Now he was glad he had prepped it earlier in the season, and he couldn't wait to try it out. It also meant they would be harder to track—no hotels.
He was glad to have talked to the police earlier, too. Just because they would be gone didn't mean the problems had to be here when they returned. If the police knew someone might be watching the house, maybe they could catch the guy. It seemed so obvious. If the man after Padina could find her in the mall, he could find her at home.
Why had he exposed himself, though? That question set off warning bells that wouldn't quit. Something wasn't right. Why would someone pursue Padina here to kill her?
Or was this all a game by Padina?
Ridiculous. Scott knew her well enough to trust that she was honest. Didn't he?
She hadn't done anything wrong, and she could have at any time. She'd certainly done nothing to harm him. One way or another, he was going to find out what was going on, and maybe getting away for a week or two alone together would reveal something that he hadn't seen in his little time with her in the evenings.
Getting away was the only option they had, although his supervisor hadn't been happy to learn any of it, even going so far as to say he knew there was something funny about the situation and warning him that maybe it was all a set up by Padina.
Scott refused to believe that.
He locked everything up and returned to the house, where Padina sat reading like she did every day. It amazed him that anyone had the patience to read the whole encyclopedia cover to cover. "Don't you get tired of that?"
"Tired? Yes. It being busy day."
"No, I mean tired of reading the encyclopedia. Isn't it a bit dry?"
"Dry?" The frown was cute on her. He'd be damned if any expression wasn't cute on her, though.
"Dry." Oh, the English expressions he took for granted. "Not interesting. Pure information without any excitement. Dry."
"No. Information is good. I like learning." She closed the book and stood up. "All is ready?"
"Almost. We'll stock the trailer fridge tomorrow. The rest is ready." Here she came, each step bringing her closer to where he wanted her. She used to act like she didn't want anything to do with him, but the last couple of weeks had changed that. He wasn't complaining but hoped it was for real and not a game.
She stopped with a smile on her face. "Ready for bed?"
Yes, he was, though not to sleep, but he respected her enough not to say what he really thought. "I'll see you in the morning."
Her embrace stopped him from walking off, her arms tight around his middle and her face pressed against his chest. "Thank you, Scott."
"You're welcome." He held her soft body, hesitating to push her away when she didn't seem like she wanted to let go and he didn't want her to. But they needed rest before starting out early in the morning. Since he was driving, he needed rest. "Good night."
Her arms tightened around him. "So much you doing. You not knowing all."
"You're in danger, and I'm already in hip deep." Whatever the threat was, this strange man scared her. He hadn't threatened her in the open mall, although if he really wanted her, he could have caused trouble there or come after her sooner. Or maybe the stranger waited for her to be alone so he could take her without Scott getting in the way.
That wasn't going to happen. "I won't let anyone take you."
"You are too good to us."
Us? Oh, right. The baby. It was easy to forget when she didn't look pregnant.
"I being not good for you. I bring danger."
"Don't worry about it. We'll take care of it together." His life had been too dull anyway. Predictability had been good, but it had been empty until she came.
"No. You not…understanding." She loosened her hold on him and bit her bottom lip. It popped out from her teeth when she looked up at him. "So much you not knowing. You say you hardly know me. You know me but not. Yes?"
His stomach twisted into a knot at what might be coming and his breath stalled in his lungs in expectation. How bad was it?
One hand remained around him but the other reached for the crystal pendant she never removed and clasped it. The blue-green crystal matched the color of the marks on her hands. "I am being person you know inside but not out." Those brown eyes dropped from him to the pendant. "You want knowing but…is hard to be telling."
He could only imagine the horrors she might have seen, and if she remembered with the clarity of an eidetic memory, maybe it was better if she didn't tell him yet. "When
you're ready."
Her touch on his face sent chills of anticipation through him. "Are you ready?"
Him? "I don't know." He was ready for one thing, but that probably wasn't what she meant. "I have no idea what you're talking about."
"I am not like you, but I liking you very much." Her eyes searched his, her fingers along his cheek luring him down.
"I like you too, Paddy, very much." Very, VERY much. She was making this too easy. All this time he had anticipated something more and almost had it at the mall earlier, and now his insides turned to mush at the invitation she presented. He leaned close...
The pleasure of her kiss raced down his body, which sought comfort in holding her tight. He wanted more, much more, but he could wait; he'd waited this long.
She parted from the kiss but not his arms, leaving a sense of satisfaction filling him and a freedom to touch her as he'd long desired.
"You love us if different?" Her eyes searched his as if needing extra reassurance.
Scott caressed that sweet face. "I think I've seen the worst." Foreign, pregnant, under threat from some outside force, helpless, and hiding feathers that could have simply been cleaning up a mess she found…What more could there be? "We'll get through this together. We'll figure out who's after you and have them arrested. You'll be safe, Paddy."
For a moment, she frowned, but she relaxed and laid her head against him. "You are too good."
"It's a curse." His attempt at humor garnered no reaction. "Let's get some rest. We have a long day tomorrow." With his arm around her shoulders, they walked through the darkened house to the bedrooms.
There they stopped and Scott bent down for another kiss. "Good night."
In the wan light through the windows, she hesitated, her mouth open as if to speak, before backing into the room and closing the door.
He stared at the door, his thoughts telling him one thing while his heart told him something else. Both agreed on one term—he had to free her of the person or persons that threatened her and the unborn child.
* * *
In the early hours of the morning, Scott locked up the house with the sky lightening to the east and stars still twinkling in the west. Excitement and fear mingled within him as he joined Padina in the pickup and turned the key.
Camping was fun. Driving not so much. Padina didn't drive either, so no sharing the task. He'd known but hadn't considered it until half a day from the cities heading west, when he wished he could take a break without pulling over to rest. Still, he drove on.
They reached the South Dakota border a little after noon and continued west. He hadn't seen the Black Hills since the family visited Mount Rushmore when he was in high school and his older sister, Ann, prepared for her freshman year of college. Padina would enjoy it, he hoped. They weren't exactly mountains but close enough, until they reached Jackson Hole. From there, they'd head north to Yellowstone and maybe continue west through Montana into Idaho and head south to Colorado before returning.
They arrived in Rapid City with daylight left. Scott had almost forgotten the fun of traveling, until they reached that first night's campground stop. Padina explored like a child. He had to laugh as she asked questions or pointed out facts she had learned from reading. He could only guess where she had come from that everything piqued such curiosity, although heaven was as logical a place as any.
If the mosquitoes hadn't come out in hordes, they could have sat outside, but Padina itched her shoulder red, until he put some cream on it.
Just as well. He was tired after driving all day, but sharing the one small bed in the trailer made sleep difficult, especially when she insisted that he lay close to her. But that was nothing compared to her kisses and her touch. Although it went no further, he knew it would happen sooner than later, but he left it up to her. Not knowing what she had been through, he didn't want to push her for too much too soon, but he could hope.
13
The next day proved more fruitful for adventure with the Black Hills towering around them, but driving on those narrow and sometimes steep roads while hauling a trailer gave Scott a few scares. It also christened him in fire in how to handle the trailer.
Frequent stops to entertain Padina made the day pass quickly. After night fall, they found a place to camp and settled down to bed together again.
Sometime during the night, he swore she left him, but probably only to use the bathroom. After being up half the night before, he was tired and fell right back to sleep. The next morning, she slept late.
While waiting for her to wake up, Scott sat in a lawn chair beneath the awning, sipping hot coffee in the fresh air and staring at the pine trees climbing steep cliffs around the campground. The sun shone through the highest trees and the faint scent of pine perfumed the cool air. Man, he missed camping. Maybe one night he'd dig out the sleeping bags and invite her to sleep outside under the stars.
Voices and the clinking of metal came from some of the other campers and travel trailers nearby. "I know what I saw!" a woman's voice scolded from what must have been an open window. "It wasn't a bird. She was beautiful. A real angel, wings and all."
A man scoffed.
Coffee burned down Scott's throat in his haste to swallow. He coughed and fanned his hot mouth and the now fuzzy-feeling tongue. He couldn't have heard what he thought he heard. Someone had seen an angel in that campground…last night?
Good God! It couldn't be, but what else or who else was it? He'd suspected for a while but tried to excuse it. She had gone out last night, or at least left the bed, and he'd fallen back to sleep and didn't notice her return.
His hand trembled on the coffee mug.
He'd seen the signs—the feathers, the wings he told himself were an illusion, the fast healing. What about the marks on her hands? What was Padina Shartrael? How could she be pregnant, or was that a lie?
How did she hide the wings? Her back had pressed against his chest at night and he'd touched her back with his hands and felt nothing.
Except for an odd bony growth several vertebrae below her shoulder blades.
Hot coffee splattered over his legs. "Shit!"
He jumped from the chair and the wet spot on the grass near where he'd sat. Coffee dripped down his bare shins below the denim shorts, leaving a growing red burn. Good thing he hadn't worn socks, only his sandals.
Still, he'd have to clean up and ice the nice little burn. At least the coffee hadn't been freshly hot; he'd been sitting a while.
Padina slept inside. If she'd been flying during the night, it explained why she would sleep so late. Why would an angel need to sleep?
She couldn't be an angel. If not that, though, then what? How else could he explain things? She said she was different, but this was the last kind of "different" he expected. Who was after her? He might be getting into something far worse than a simple case of abduction, but he couldn't exactly go to the FBI and say he was living with an angel that someone was after—they'd laugh in his face and send him a one way ticket to loonyville.
There had to be a logical explanation.
He opened the front door of the trailer and cringed at a faint creak. Once inside, he held it from slamming behind him until it snicked shut.
After wiping the coffee off his legs, he hung the washcloth over the faucet and stepped lightly through the short hall, past the tiny bathroom, to where she still slept in the double bed. The ice could wait.
Diagonally across the mattress opposite the back door, she slept on her side, the light sheet draped over the curves of her body. The relaxation of her face—no tears or red, swollen eyes—held his gaze. No woman he'd ever met could compare to the ethereal beauty lying there in the dawn light from the two windows, mostly from the one on the side next to where she slept.
Seeing her like that, he couldn't wake her. The discussion could wait. Maybe…Maybe if he caught her at night if she snuck out, he would know. She couldn't deny it then, and he wouldn't be making a fool of himself if he was wrong and upset
her needlessly.
That's what he'd do. Upsetting her when she seemed to be enjoying the new sights was out of the question. He wanted her to be happy. She'd suffered enough without worrying about the man after her, if it was a man, and didn't need him to turn on her besides.
Scott could stare at her all morning if it would last. Unwilling to wake her, he laid down on the bed facing her and stared, his fingers tracing the line of her jaw and the elegant arch of her brow.
"Why did you come into my life?" He whispered the question, traversing the memories back to the message Kat handed him from the hospital a lifetime ago. He hadn't known what to expect, but it wasn't the Padina Shartrael sleeping inches from him. "There must be a good reason."
She shifted bare legs and inhaled a deep breath. Brown eyes blinked open and a smile stretched across her face.
"Morning," Scott said. "Slept well?"
"Yes." Her hand slid over his. "Wake up better."
She pulled herself close to him for a quick kiss. Oh, man; he was such a sucker.
"We need to get on the road if we want to visit a few more places before crossing Wyoming. Grab something to eat. I'll get everything ready to go." The little bit that involved, but it would waste time while she ate a quick breakfast, and get his mind off the possibilities of their relationship.
Now he was glad he hadn't headed north to reach Jamestown, to visit his parents. For one, he wasn't ready for them to meet Padina. Discovering she wasn't what she seemed would have been awkward.
Scott rolled over and stood up next to the bed. Padina sat up but made no move to get up. "You're gonna love the drive."
"Mountains? Yes?" Anticipation rushed her words and lifted her expression. She was cute in her excitement for such a common sight.
"You'll see." He stepped out to roll up the awning and pack up the lawn chair, leaving her privacy to change.
After she dressed and ate, he put everything back together for another day of travel. They made a few stops to restock food and clean the tanks for the travel trailer—they didn't desperately need it, but he didn't want to be caught unprepared—and she had to stop at nearly every cave advertising tours. By nightfall, they hadn't left the Black Hills and found a quiet place among the trees at a campground near a cliff overlooking an open valley.
When Angels Cry Page 8
