by Clare Revell
Liam shook his head as he went into the other room. “See you at seven.”
“Seven? I thought you said eight.”
“I did. But if I’m knocking on your door at eight, then we need to be up and dressed first. Especially as I have to go through your room in order to get out.”
“Ah, I hadn’t thought of that. It’s confusing, all this room switching.”
“Confusing, aye, But necessary.” The door clicked shut behind him.
Jacqui moved to the windows, pulling the shutters closed. Dusting off her hands, she crossed to the bed and pulled her Bible from her bag before lying on the bed.
The huge ceiling fan provided some relief from the heat, but not much. The netting made her enclosed bed hotter than an oven. It was, however, better than being bitten by a million mosquitoes. Checking the Bible notes, she turned to the evening passage in Zephaniah chapter three verse seventeen. The LORD your God is with you, He is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, He will quiet you with His love, He will rejoice over you with singing.
17
Liam jerked awake, his heart pounding as he sat bolt upright. What had woken him? He glanced at his watch and pressed the back light button. Surprisingly it was only eleven thirty, although it felt so much later. The sound came again. Footsteps on the wooden verandah stopped outside his door. He pushed back the thin sheet and stood. He crept silently to the door just as the handle moved. The door shook a little and he was very grateful it was locked.
“Jacqui, are you awake?”
Vince? What did he want?
“Jacqui?”
Liam prayed that she was sleeping soundly in the next room and if not she had the sense not to answer if she heard him. The door shook again, then the footsteps moved away. Liam sat by the door, praying for protection for the both of them while they were here for half an hour before going back to bed.
What seemed like only moments later, his alarm went off loudly and insistently. He thumped it and opened his eyes. Sunshine glinted around the shutters. He lay there for a while. Had he dreamt the events of the previous night? Either way he wasn’t going to tell Jacqui. She didn’t need to know. It would only worry her, and there was enough to worry about as it was. But his spur of the moment decision to swap rooms, was already paying dividends.
Stretching he stood and pulled out a change of clothes. Deciding on the usual trousers rather than shorts, he dressed. He’d packed them on Patrick’s say so, but hadn’t worn shorts since he was shot, choosing to hide the scars that so disfigured him. For one thing, if Terry hadn’t already worked out whom he was, bullet scarred legs would tell the entire world. And for another—he wasn’t ready to reveal those scars to Jacqui, just yet.
Stretching again, Liam pushed his hands though his hair and then reapplied the deodorant. It was far too hot here, much hotter than he remembered. He buttoned his shirt as he wandered over to the window and flung the shutters open wide.
His whole body went numb with shock. Hair stood up on the back of his neck. Burned out buildings lined the side of the compound immediately opposite, the remains of the school house, offices, refectory. The steps Sally had been standing on led up to a shell. The burned chapel stood to the right, and the destroyed play area to the left.
For the first few months after Sally died, Liam had seen the attack play out in his dreams night after night. He heard the screams, gunshots and crackling of the hungry flames which ate everything around him. Since Jacqui came into his life, the dreams had diminished, but this brought the images crashing back with a vengeance.
He staggered backwards, choking and gasping for breath. He sagged down onto the bed, his hands over his face. He could see it in front of him—the gunmen appearing and firing, the bullets spinning Sally around, before ripping into him. His jaw, shoulder and knee hurt like they hadn’t in a while. Fire exploded around them as he crawled to where his wife laid bleeding and dying. The smoke was raw and bitter in the back of his throat. Tears burned his eyes as he struggled to breathe.
He didn’t know how long he sat there before the connecting door opened and closed and Jacqui pulled him into her arms. He was aware of her speaking, but it took a few seconds to realize she was praying. When she finished, he looked up at her, his cheeks wet and his eyes sore. He hadn’t even realized he was crying. It was something he never allowed himself to do. He hadn’t cried for Sally since she died.
Jacqui pushed a hand through his hair and down his face. “Better?”
“Yeah. Sorry, it’s just so hard being here.”
“It’s all right. I understand.”
Liam rubbed his hand over his eyes and leaned into her touch. He relished the contact, needing the love she offered in the place of so much death and destruction. “Good job, there’s a connecting door. I almost locked it last night.”
“I had a plan if you had. I’d have convinced Simeon I’d locked myself out and got him to let me back in. No doubt he has keys for everything.”
Liam nodded. He needed to tell her to put a chair under her door, just in case Vince decided to come calling again.
Jacqui kissed him gently, not moving her hand, and he returned the kiss, wrapping his arms tightly around her. For a few minutes nothing mattered except being there with her. Then she pulled back slowly and looked at him. “Want to tell me about it?”
He took a deep breath and pointed to the window. “That central ruin was the school house. Sally was standing on the steps. She’d just finished teaching the kids a new song—the wise man built his house upon the rock. The gunmen came from all sides, cutting off any chance we had of getting out, firing simultaneously. For a moment, it was like it was happening all over again. I could see it, and feel the bullets tearing into me...”
“Show me?” Jacqui asked.
Liam undid his shirt and pushed it back off his shoulder showing Jacqui the scar running across his shoulder. If she was going to reject him it would be now, once she saw his scars and how deep they ran.
She’d seen this one before.
He didn’t look at her, keeping his gaze on the wall behind her, and wondered if she were abhorred by what she saw.
“I know it’s pretty horrible.” He tried to pull his shirt back up, but she stilled his hands with a tender touch.
“Shhh…”
Liam closed his eyes as Jacqui traced the scar with gentle fingertips. She lowered her head and soft lips touched the scars. Deep radiating heat blossomed from where she touched him, circling downwards and tightening across his stomach. He swallowed hard. This wasn’t what he’d expected. He hated them so much, he…
When she didn’t speak, he took a deep breath, needing to break the all-consuming silence that had fallen, broken only by their breathing. “The docs were amazed I got any movement back in my shoulder, at all. I’ll never throw the shot put or javelin again, but I teach English, not sport. I got the same reaction from them over my other injuries. I guess God just wasn’t ready for me and thought I’d be more useful here.”
Jacqui cupped his face, turning it towards her. Her eyes shone with unshed tears, matching the ones he knew were burning in his own eyes. “Show me.”
Was he imagining the depth of love in her voice as she repeated her simple request? Did she realize just what she was doing to him? She was peeling him back, layer by layer, exposing every scar and emotion he’d kept buried the last couple of years. He held her gaze for a moment, and then nodded. He pushed up his trousers to just above his knee. Again her gentle touch traced the outline of the long jagged scar which ran across the knee.
“It aches when it rains, but I can walk and run and bend to lift things.”
He took her fingers and ran them along the scar under his beard. “There is one here as well. That one could have done more damage.”
Jacqui traced along the scar, her eyes following it. “You missed one.”
“I did?” Confusion filled him. “I don’t think so. Three bullets—shoulder, knee and jaw.”
She placed her hand gently on his chest, and his heart started pounding so fast he thought it would jump from his chest. Fire leapt through his skin, igniting the embers with in him. No one had touched him since Sally…he looked up, aware she was speaking.
“…here, too. Perhaps the worst scar. Part of you died when Sally and the others did.”
He nodded, his hand resting on hers. “But being here with you…I think God put you in my life at the right time. To show me that there is life, and love, in the midst of sorrow.”
“And beauty, too.”
Liam shook his head, reluctantly breaking the contact and moving her hand. If she stayed touching his bare chest, the temptation he was feeling might prove too much. “My scars aren’t pretty.” He started to do up his shirt. “None of them are.”
“They’re part of you, so they have their own beauty.”
“They’re not. I’m not…”
Her hands covered his for a moment, and stilled them. Her fingers retraced the scar on his shoulder, her light touch searing his skin. “They prove you’d do anything to protect someone you love, and that is the true mark of beauty.”
Liam grabbed her fingers and kissed them. “I wish this were over. Right now, I’d give anything for us to be a hundred miles from here...”
“I know, but you’re not alone. I’m right here with you.”
“I need you.” He wrapped his arms around her, pulling her close. “Let’s do this and go home.”
“Who’d think a teacher and a landscape architect would ever be used as spies?”
“Not me. In fact, if you told me when I first tipped flowers over your laptop that we’d end up here, I’d have laughed.”
“Not as much as Eve and Holly did. You wouldn’t believe the number of times I heard the ‘say it with flowers’ joke.”
“One of Niamh’s boyfriends dug out the entire front garden overnight and planted flowers all over it. When she opened her curtains in the morning ‘Marry me Niamh’ was there in blooms.”
“Wonderful. I assume she said yes.”
“And then Jared had to put the lawn back to rights again. He decided it was worth it. Only he wasn’t finished. Two weeks later Niamh opened the curtains to find ‘She said yes’ again written in flowers.”
Jacqui shook her head, moving her hands so he could do up his shirt. “Funny.”
He took a deep breath as the gong sounded. “I’m not hungry, but we should probably try to eat. Especially as we skipped dinner last night, on top of not eating much yesterday.”
“Yeah, we’ll need all the strength we can get today. How about we go eat and then come back and pray for guidance and protection?”
“Now that sounds like a plan.”
“And we can check out the new cook at the same time. If he’s Rhubarb, I want to know who Custard is.”
“I don’t know and I’m not going to let you ‘check him out’. I might get jealous and turn into a hulking green monster.”
Jacqui snorted. “Actually, you could be sky blue pink with yellow dots, and I’ll still like you.”
Liam kissed her fingers. “Like you back. And your front and your side…”
“Get on with you,” she laughed. “Let’s go before it all gets eaten.”
****
An hour later, Liam led Jacqui over to where Vince stood waiting under the shade of the tree. Liam couldn’t help but notice how the scowl on Vince’s face darkened as he and Jacqui walked over, fingers linked. Hopefully, Vince would get the message loud and clear that Jacqui was his girl now and not to be touched. His smile widened at the thought.
Vince spoke first. “Good morning. We’ll start with the tour and then I’ll tell you what I have envisioned for here.”
“All right.”
As they walked across the compound, Vince described his plans for the place. Liam listened in amazement. What happened to Jacqui having free reign in the design of this place? Vince didn’t want her designs or ideas at all. He had this planned down to the tiniest detail. What was Vince really up to here?
Liam mentally listed everything from gunrunning to drugs to diamond smuggling. He tightened his grip on Jacqui and froze. They were standing in the central compound in front of the burned out buildings.
“The main massacre was here. A young blonde woman was teaching a class of children. She and her class died right where we’re standing.”
“Vince, is all this detail necessary?” Jacqui asked. “We get that they died here. I thought you wanted me to redesign it, but you seem to have sorted that.”
“Then walk with me, and tell me what you would do here.”
“All right.” She didn’t let go of Liam.
Vince held out a hand to her. “Alone.”
“We’ll both come.” Liam tightened his grip on her hand.
“Alone,” Vince insisted.
“I don’t think so.” Liam looked at Vince. “Like she said, she wants my opinion on this. Although it sounds to me like you have everything pretty well organized.”
“Actually, yes, I have.”
“Then you really don’t need us. I’m sure you can find another pretty face to rubber stamp this for you.” Liam stood his ground.
Vince moved over to him and lowered his voice. “If I didn’t know any better, I’d say you were trying to stop her from being alone with me. Don’t you trust her?”
“Stop talking about her as if she isn’t here.” Liam almost bubbled over with anger. What kind of man was this bloke? “I trust Jacqui with my life. So you need to ask her if she wants to be alone with you.” It’s you I don’t trust.
“Jacqui do you want to walk with me for half an hour?” Vince dismissed Liam with a look. “I’m sure you can find something to do.”
Liam looked at Jacqui. That would give him chance to look around Vince’s office. As much as he didn’t want Jacqui alone with him, he’d never get a better chance than now. He held her gaze for a moment then turned back to Vince and nodded slowly. “Half an hour is all you get, Vince.”
Jacqui pulled Liam a few steps away, and then hugged him. “Be careful,” she whispered in his ear. “I’ll distract him as long as I can.”
“You be careful, too. I love you.” He wrapped his arms firmly around her, pulling her as close against him as he could. His lips traced a path of kisses from the base of her neck slowly up to her ear. He caught her earlobe, smiling against her cheek as she shivered, before pressing his lips firmly against hers. Her lips parted and he deepened the kiss, pouring every ounce of love and emotion into the kiss as he could. He could taste the coffee she’d drunk and her perfume filled his senses.
Jacqui finally broke the kiss and squeezed his hand. “What will you do?”
“I’ll go lie on the bed and read for a bit.” He hoped she’d catch on and play along.
“OK…will you be OK? You were awfully sick last night.” She caught on.
Liam loosened her hand. “Go on—you fuss too much. I’m fine, love. Being sick yesterday would have been down to the heat and a long flight. Nothing more.”
“Sure?”
“Yes, I’ll see you at lunch.” He pulled her into his arms and kissed her, her soft lips under his leaving him in no doubt as to how she felt about him. “I love you.”
“I love you, too.”
Liam kissed her again, and reluctantly let go and watched as Vince tried to take her hand.
Lord, go with her and keep her safe. While he’s distracted I’ll go and find the office and see what I can discover about Vince’s true interest in this place. Go before me.
Jacqui tore her hand away from Vince’s and shoved her hand into her pocket.
Liam glanced back across the compound and moved to the spot where Sally had died, saying a final goodbye. Then he took a deep breath and headed across the compound as nonchalantly as he could. He nodded to Simeon standing guard duty by the main gate. “There are a lot of security personnel here.”
Simeon nodded. “Th
ere are a lot of wild animals.”
“So you said last night, but I haven’t heard anything but birds, never mind seen anything. And surely they wouldn’t come inside the fence anyway.”
“Sahib Devlin…he likes protection.”
“He said the threat of attack was over.”
“Sahib Devlin want memsahib kept safe. She will be mke soon.”
Liam looked up sharply, hoping he’d heard incorrectly. Mke was wife. “Mkewe?” His wife?
Simeon nodded, lowering his voice. “He will take her as mkewe. He very grateful to you for bringing her here.”
Liam’s stomach turned. “When is this marriage happening?”
Simeon grinned, white teeth sparkling against the dark skin. “Tomorrow at sunset.”
“I see. Well I’m glad I could help. I’m sure he’ll be very happy.” Liam moved away. Lord, the time scale for this just upped a notch. Don’t let him do anything to her. Let me find what I need so we can get out of here by tonight. He had to warn Jacqui without Vince finding out.
He had to get into the office and go through the files. Then he needed to send a coded message to Patrick via the cook. That he could do over lunch.
Liam paused by the fence, gazing out through the wire. He’d forgotten how pretty it was here. His eyes traced the fence to the gates and the road beyond. If he could find a plausible reason to borrow a truck tonight, then perhaps he and Jacqui could leave, getting enough of a head start before Vince set the hounds after them.
Of course they could very well end up getting shot as they tried to leave. But that he’d place securely in God’s hands. No amount of worrying would solve the problem.
Liam moved behind the ruins to where the new offices had been built. A barrel stood outside, incongruously filled with flowers. A lizard sat on the steps sunning itself, and a bird stood on the tin roof chirping as loudly as it could.
Vince’s door stood open and, checking the coast was clear, Liam slid inside, shutting the door quietly behind him.
The office was tidy and nothing out of place. Liam moved to the desk and tried the drawers. Each one was locked. A folder lay open on the top, and Liam scanned the papers quickly. Nothing there. His attention was caught by two gold framed photographs. One showed Vince and Jacqui smiling at the camera, his arm around her waist. The other had Vince, Jacqui and an older couple.
