Untraceable

by Lindsay Delagair

  “I can get anything you want. I’ve had my videographer burn the whole first season for me on disk.”

  “Perfect. I’m going to find that performance and we’ll watch it together.”

  A little while later the three of them sat on the couch as the video began. He couldn’t be sad as he watched her. This girl was so young, but it was definitely Leese. She marched up onto the church stage filled with confidence and energy. She had on white boots and a short, white skirt, with a pale blue top. She spoke with a little girl’s voice as she introduced the song.

  Kimmy giggled.

  When the performance began, it was undeniably Leese. She came out with this booming voice as she moved and hip-hopped to the beat of music. She was all attitude as she chanted “I believe, I believe, I believe in the Word of God, yeah-yeah!”

  For only a few precious moments, his heart lifted and the pain stopped. Minutes later they were sorting through pictures and making a stack to be given to the pastor. But when the wedding album came out, the pain cut back into him so hard he had to get up and walk away. He headed out onto the pool deck, realizing as he walked that he had a small shadow; Kimmy was trailing him.

  “You should be helping pick out pictures,” he softly suggested.

  “I’d rather be with you—Please, Micah.”

  “I might not be very good company. I may not say very much.”

  “That’s okay,” she replied. “I don’t wanna say much either—it kinda hurts when I talk.”

  “You have a sore throat?” he asked as he sat on the lounger and pulled her up on his lap.

  “No,” she simply replied, “It hurts here.” She placed his hand over her heart. “Does that make sense?”

  He lifted her small hand to his heart and told her it made perfect sense to him.

  The next several days, she never left his side. The only time they were apart was when he would put her to bed, but he would have to wait for her to fall asleep before he could slip away. Then he would go to his room; the room he had shared with Leese only a handful of nights earlier. They made love in this bed, showered together in this shower and, planned and dreamed about the son they couldn’t wait to meet. He hadn’t had the strength to even open the connecting door to the nursery. He simply couldn’t do it; just like he couldn’t sleep without her.

  Nadia decided the celebration would be the following Monday. Micah wanted to wait for the last of the forensic results, but she didn’t. This, she reminded him, wasn’t a funeral; they didn’t need remains. They would have a private burial at a later date. This was a chance for those who loved her to come say goodbye and think of all the wonderful memories she left behind.

  CHAPTER thirteen

  Sunday afternoon, Ryan and Candace flew to Florida. Nadia invited them to stay in her home, and, even though his mother’s house was only twenty minutes away, he agreed. They sat in the living room talking and waiting for Micah to join them.

  Ryan didn’t recognize Micah when he finally came into the room. He hadn’t shaved since the day he got the news of the accident. He had a five day growth of beard and blood shot eyes from lack of sleep. Ryan wasn’t one to hug another man, for that matter neither was Micah, but the two men found themselves embracing each other as they both broke down.

  They listened as Nadia tearfully explained what they had planned for the celebration. There wouldn’t be a casket since this wasn’t a funeral, but there would be a montage of everything from home videos of Leese as a little girl, all the way up to her clips from Remake. It would be a display of a beautiful life, knowing she’d have wanted it that way, but there was little doubt that there would be more tears than smiles as they paid homage to the life she had led.

  Ryan watched Micah intently as the discussion continued and he realized that Micah was in a physical and emotional crater, doubting seriously that Micah would be able to keep himself together for even another twenty-four hours; he was on the verge of a medical collapse.

  Nadia told him, before Micah came downstairs, that he wasn’t eating, and all he did was wander around the house and cry. If it hadn’t been for the fact that Kimmy had suddenly become so bonded with Micah, she was convinced that he would have ended his life. Now he was trapped; Kimmy depended on him desperately and he was walking around as if he had become the living dead.

  It didn’t take Ryan long to formulate what he wanted to do to help Micah through what had been a horrific last five days. When he spoke to Candace privately, she was completely against the idea, but Ryan begged her to do what he asked. He knew Micah was on the edge and he really didn’t want this to become a double funeral.

  If it hadn’t been for the fact that he had Candace, he too would have been in the same condition as Micah, but he had her to love and supporthim through this nightmare. She was like a gift that Leese made sure he had before she stepped out of his life. He smiled with just the thought of how hard Leese worked to get the two of them together and then how difficult it had been for her to not be jealous when he and Candace began to get close. God he missed her. She was the beautiful spot in his memory that would never dim. He loved her so much that he knew she’d want him to help the man she loved survive through the darkest hours of loss and pain. With a little assistance from Nadia, he put his plan into action.

  When Micah lay down to sleep Sunday night, he knew what would happen. He would close his eyes, sleep would come, the memories would rush into his mind, the pain would assault his senses and he would wake within an hour or so and lie there the rest of the night and stare heavenward and hate God. Then he would beg forgiveness, and ask God to tell Leese how much he loved and missed her.

  But tonight would be different. Somewhere in the darkness, his heart elated and she was his once again. Her soft body pressed against him, his arm wrapped around her and pulled her in tight, the scent of her hair, the smell of her tender skin, she was his again and sleep stayed with him as he thanked God in his dream state for allowing her one more time to be in his arms.

  When morning came, Micah had made it through his first night of rest since the crash. The dream had been as good as reality. But, as he began to slowly wake, the dream wasn’t a dream at all. She was there, and he was holding her. Yet, something wasn’t exactly right. That was when he saw Ryan sitting in a chair across the room staring at him. Micah closed his eyes, as the illusion that had been his beautiful wife disappeared from his mind and he knew the woman he held in his arms wasn’t Leese, but Candace. She had showered and used Leese’s shampoo and body wash, and then slipped into his bed when he had fallen asleep. Leese was gone, but the memory and scent of her had taken him through a long and difficult night to give him the rest that his tired body and mind craved. Slowly he removed his arm from Candace’s waist and rolled to the opposite side of the bed. He sat up, and then put his face in his hands and cried.

  He felt the soft touch of a woman’s hand as Candace came up behind him and told him they hadn’t meant to upset him. They had only wanted to help him rest for the night. He reached his hand up to cover hers as it laid on his shoulder.

  “I know, and I can’t tell you how much I appreciate what you’ve done for me, it’s just… God, I wanted so badly to see her face when I opened my eyes. I just knew this hadn’t been anything more than a horrible nightmare and that she was back, but…” He broke down again. “Candace, if you don’t mind could I—could I hold you for a little while? You smell so much like… I just need her in my arms.”

  He didn’t need to say more as, with his closed eyes, she allowed him to pull her into his lap and wrap his arms around her. He inhaled the precious scent of a little bit of his personal heaven, his face nuzzled into her hair as his tears flowed against her neck. When he finally opened his eyes, he released her, and rose to thank Ryan for his extremely kind gesture.

  “I couldn’t have made it through another night,” he choked as he hugged Ryan.

  “I didn’t think you would, and Leese would have haunted me forever if I hadn
’t done something to help you. You’ve got to realize Micah that she loved you like nothing in this world. I don’t think I’ve ever seen someone love someone as hard as she loved you. You know where she’s at, right? You have to know God loved Leese and she’s home with Him. I would tell you she’s happy, man, but I know her; she’s probably been harping at God ever since she got there to have Him do something to help you deal with this—so if you want her to be truly happy, you’re going to have to make it through this and just be so grateful that you had a chance to be the person she was in love with.”

  Ryan and Candace left Micah alone as they went downstairs. There were only six hours until the service and Ryan had to get in a little bit of sleep. As much as he wanted to help Micah make it through the night, he couldn’t have taken the chance of him mistaking Candace too well for Leese. That had been her one terrified complaint about his plan.

  “What if, in the middle of the night, he thinks I’m her and tries to make love to me?”

  Ryan had sat awake all night and kept a vigil over the woman he loved. The hardest part was that he told Candace that she too would need to stay awake most of the night because she typically thrashed around quite a bit, where Leese could lie still for hours. She had done an excellent job, because, even though she dozed off before dawn, she had willed herself to remain motionless. Part of it was fear that stayed with her even in sleep, and part of it was that she wanted to help.

  When it came time to leave for the church, Micah came down the stairs as the man Nadia and Kimmy both knew and loved. He was showered and shaved, rested and dressed sharply. He was the man Leese had fallen in love with; he was that sexy hitman who had stolen her heart away not long after they met. And, he realized that Ryan was right: Leese would want him to make it through this. He didn’t know what kind of life God had planned for him beyond today, but he was finally convinced that God did, as Leese reminded him so many times, have a purpose for everything. He would stay at Nadia’s until Kimmy was stable and then he would return to his house in Louisiana and wait to discover whatever that plan would be.

  His parents were flying in today for the ceremony. They all had offered to come earlier, but Micah told them no—he wasn’t ready to be with his family yet. David had plans to spend several days with Nadia after the service. It would be good to have his brother around for a while. And God knew Nadia needed the support that he hadn’t been since they had gotten the news. But, after their few days of finishing up loose ends, David would try to talk Nadia into going with him to Canada. He and Micah discussed the situation over the phone and David agreed that Nadia and Kimmy, for safety sake, needed to slip away. David wouldn’t take any chances with those he loved so very much. The question was: could he convince her to go, without upsetting her when she would, most assuredly, ask why.

  The church was beautiful. Hundreds of bouquets of flowers filled the sanctuary. Micah had helped Nadia pick what would play on the big screen and now he was so glad to have a chance to watch Leese as she sang and laughed, danced, and smiled. She was even more beautiful than he remembered her.

  The doors opened an hour before the actual service so that friends and family could sit and watch the video and take a little time to say their prayerful goodbyes to a very special young woman.

  There were so many people. His family, Matt and Bev, Jewels and Brent, Nate and Natasha, Kevin and Carlie, Ryan and Candace, Don, Sadarius, Dobrey, and on and on the list went as people filled the church to capacity. Fifteen minutes before the service was supposed to start, Micah felt the touch of Pastor Anderson’s hand on his shoulder.

  “Micah, you have a phone call. Come down to my office and—”

  “I’d prefer to just sit here. Would you please tell whoever it is that the service is about to start.”

  “I tried, but the lady said it was extremely urgent that she speak with you now.”

  Micah rose from the pew, dried his eyes and followed Pastor Anderson down the long hallway to his office. The pastor unlocked the door and told Micah he would wait to start the service when he came back into the sanctuary.

  The office was totally silent and peaceful. There was the aroma of Bibles and cedar. He sat down in the pastor’s chair and picked up the phone, wondering who would be on the other end.

  “Hello?”

  “Micah?” came a calm, female voice.

  “Who is this?” There was something about the voice that caused his skin to prick with goose bumps, but he couldn’t discern her by one simple word.

  “Is it a beautiful funeral?” she asked.

  “Who is this?” he repeated.

  “I bet it is. No expense spared, I’m sure. I’m just so surprised that you’re still alive—I was counting on you being alive, but I’m just wondering how hard it has been not to stick that damn Glock to your head and let a hollow point take care of your pain. You know they really do a lot of damage.”

  It clicked. He recognized the voice. It had been long ago and he had been hidden in a house that was for sale while watching and listening as this woman spoke to the men she hired to kill Leese.

  Sharon.

  His blood flushed with an old familiar heat. “I should have aimed for your head,” he stated with true conviction.

  “Yes, you’re right; then you wouldn’t have all these problems.”

  His heart felt as if it stopped beating; now he knew who planted the bombs on her car. He told Leese he was never going to kill again, but he hoped she wouldn’t grudge him one final death.

  “I’m going to kill you,” he said with an eerie calm.

  “Oh, I don’t think you’re going to do any such thing, but you are going to kill for me. I need you to finish the job D’Angelo and I had you working on.”

  He didn’t need words at the moment. His mind was moving at lightning pace as he considered her statement. He had been helping D’Angelo bring in another family, but he had no clue it would be the Moretti clan. If he could bring D’Angelo back from the dead, he would kill him a second time.

  “You see, when you took out the structure under my father’s feet, I moved in as second in command. The problem is he isn’t going to allow me to say in this position. The stupid bastard is angry with me—called me greedy and power hungry. But you are going to kill him for me Micah and—”

  “You’ll have to do that dirty work for yourself, Sharon,” he stated, glad at the moment he promised Leese he wouldn’t kill anyone else. “I’m out of that game. I don’t kill—”

  “Oh, now Micah, you know no one ever really gets out of the mob. Besides, I think you’ll do anything I ask since I have the power.”

  He waited for the rest of the statement, but she remained silent.

  “Power to do what?” He was considering that he’d just hang up the phone. He was tired of allowing her to toy with him.

  “The power to bring the dead back to life,” she whispered into the receiver. “What would you pay, Micah, to have her back? Huh? Would you trade your life for hers?”

  His pulse began to pound furiously as wild possibilities ran through his mind, and that was when he heard it. Tape was being pulled from skin as a choked sob came through the phone.

  “No, Micah, no…don’t do it, baby.”

  If he hadn’t been in the pastor’s chair, he would have hit the floor. “Le—Leese?” came his choked voice.

  “Yeah,” Sharon responded as Leese cried in the background, “now you have a choice, Micah. You can have that funeral for real or you can do what I ask. Do you understand me?”

  “Let me speak to her again,” he commanded. The brief seconds of her voice weren’t enough to placate his starving heart. He could hear her now in the background begging him to refuse Sharon, begging him to just let her go and not get involved in the hideous plans.

  “Shut her up,” Sharon ordered.

  “Don’t hurt her,” he quickly inserted. “We can discuss a deal, but I have to know why me? I’m sure you have plenty of soldiers at your disposal bec
ause if this is only for revenge then let someone else do your dirty work and I’ll take her place.”

  “Oh, that is so gallant it almost makes me—sick. Most of the soldiers in our family are extremely loyal to my father. You killed my favorite two that were willing to do whatever I needed done. But I need someone with special skills, Micah—your special skills. It put me in a position where I needed a little bit of leverage to assure your cooperation. And, anyway, I planned all along for you to take her place, Micah, just not until you finish rearranging the world for me.”

  “You let her go free and I’ll do whatever you want, but only when she’s safe,” he growled. He had no qualms about trading his life for Leese’s, but he would never trust a snake like Sharon to honestly let his wife go. He was certain she’d like to see them both dead, but he wasn’t going to let that happen.

  “Don’t start making demands. I could kill her right now and be happy enough to have just caused you sufficient misery, but I’d rather be in charge of my clan. The choice is up to you. You either do what I want or she dies—and by the way, Micah, I’ll make sure it’s slow—baby first.”

  “Bitch!” rolled off his tongue before he could stop it.

  “Yes, darling, I am, but I’m the bitch holding all the cards. Do we have a deal or do I end this right now? I’ll be sure to set down the phone so you can listen, if you like.”

  “Where do you want to meet?”

  “Hilton Head, South Carolina. I’ll meet you at the Crowne Plaza Hotel lobby. Let’s say 6 o’clock, tonight. And, by the way, I will be alone, but Giovanni… Oh, that’s right, you think his name is Jonathan.”

  Jonathan—damn it—he knew that there was something wrong about him. He strung Leese along with his lies. But she was just so trusting, so beautiful, and innocent, and now she was in his hands and Micah could only pray that the bastard wouldn’t molest her. Two lives to kill; his number was climbing away from his promise.

  “Anyway,” Sharon continued. “He is keeping an eye on her, so if I don’t call when he expects me to, he’ll be more than glad to kill her—I’m sure he’ll have a little fun with her first. He seems to find her rather appealing, although I can’t imagine why with that fat little bulge. Six o’clock, darling. Don’t be late.” And the receiver went silent.