JD stood in the foyer of the great room, taking in the progress of the project. It was so quiet, she could practically hear her heart pulsing in her ears. She started for the staircase to inspect the upper two levels, when she sensed something on the outer edges of her hearing.
At first, it didn’t register as sound to her. It was more like the sense that something wasn’t right. It took her a moment to locate what it was. She stopped and waited for the source of disturbance, and finally heard it. A ping. A faint, metallic ping. She moved quietly to the back of the building as the noise became more defined. Metal against metal, she determined, almost like a loose wire, tapping against a piece of metal.
Through the kitchen, she walked quietly, stopping at the top of the stairs leading to the basement. A feeling of dread came over her as she hesitated at the top of the stairs. JD reached out to a dangling string and pulled on it. A bare light bulb hanging above the basement steps flared to life. The tapping stopped. JD strained her ears to catch any other sound. Perhaps it was a rodent and considered switching off the light and returning to what she had been doing. Her hand stretched out to pull the cord again, but the sound resumed. Could it be another vagrant? Maybe it was rodents.
“Hello?” she called. Maybe the sound of a human voice would scare away whatever was making the noise. The tapping stopped for a brief moment, then resumed. She realized there was a pattern to the tapping that she hadn’t noticed before. Three short taps, followed by three long, and then three short again, she recognized it instantly as the Morse code for help. She hurried down the wide, wooden steps.
Coming around the corner, she saw a shadowed figure on the floor. JD reached up, searching for the light cord she knew was there, cursing when she couldn’t find it immediately. She finally found it and yanked hard.
“Roy,” she said in alarm when light flooded the basement. He was bleeding and torn up. In his hand was a sword. The tip of it barely tapped against the base of the huge water heater. She hurried to his side and knelt down to assess his condition. His eyes were open and focused on something else in the distance. She reached over and laid a hand on his wrist to stop its motion.
“I’m going to get help,” she told him. “Hang on.” She dashed back up the stairs to her office and dialed the Parker’s home. Calling 911 would have been the obvious thing to do, but under the circumstances, she didn’t know how the situation should be handled.
“I found Roy,” JD said as she tried to keep her voice calm when Meagan answered.
“Where?” was Meagan’s breathless reply.
“Here at the site, in the basement. I think he is hurt pretty badly. What do you want me to do?” Her hands were shaking so hard, she could barely hold the phone still.
“I’ll be right there,” Meagan said.
Ten minutes later, Meagan arrived in Roy’s jeep. Without the kids.
“Where are the kids?” JD asked as Meagan hopped out of the jeep and ran toward the building.
“Home,” Meagan said absently as she made a b-line for the front doors.
JD led Meagan down into the basement, and when Meagan saw Roy, JD expected her to cry out, but she remained absolutely calm and emotionless. Together they knelt on either side of Roy as Meagan checked his heart rate, and did some other things that led JD to think the woman had some medical training.
“Call an ambulance,” Meagan said. “Roy is too badly hurt for us to move him.”
Back up the stairs JD flew and out to her trailer to call the ambulance. She bit her lip as the phone rang. How was she supposed to explain the accident to the authorities, to Rick, to Mr. Blackwell?
The paramedics arrived and JD led them to the basement. The sword was missing, JD noticed as the paramedics went right to work. JD and Meagan followed them out, and just before climbing into the ambulance, Meagan whispered to JD, “I left Roy’s things under the stairs. Can you retrieve them and take them to the house?” JD nodded as the doors shut and the ambulance drove away.
Back downstairs, she found Roy’s sword and a small bag that contained clear crystals. She took them to the minivan and hurried back to the Parker’s home. When she arrived, the children were playing quietly in the family room, peaceful and serene.
“Are you guys okay?” JD asked as she entered the Livingroom with the sword and bag of crystals in her hand. All of the Parker children were present. The youngest was sitting on the rug, clapping and laughing as he looked up. JD turned her head upward, wondering what he was looking at when RJ replied, “Yeah, we’re fine.”
Something seemed out of place, however, as she observed the children. Each one seemed apart from the other, engaged in some sort of activity, reading, or playing a board game. To her surprise, the board game Raphael was playing had four pieces on the board, and when he said, “It’s your turn,” a piece moved on its own a couple of spaces.
“How are you doing that?” she asked, alarmed.
Raphael looked up at her. “Doing what?”
“Moving the piece without touching it?”
Raphael shook his head. “I didn’t move it. Elizabeth did.”
“Elizabeth? Who is Elizabeth?” JD strained to see an apparition or something sitting next to the boys.
“Elizabeth is our Mom’s guardian angel. She babysits us when Mom has to leave without us,” RJ interjected, setting his book aside. JD looked at him wide eyes, then nodded with a slow shrug. She glanced at the baby as he rocked from side to side, perfectly content. She wanted to pick him up, but he seemed just fine where he was – playing with Elizabeth.
JD wondered if she should stay there, or return to the site. There really wasn’t anything pressing that needed her attention at the site, unless the drywall contractors had an issue, but they had the Parker’s number if they needed her. Remembering the sword, JD looked around for a place to put it away safely when she noticed the empty space on the wall above the fireplace. The broken sword was there, but the other was missing. She looked at the sword in her hand and knew it wasn’t the missing one. Perhaps Nathan had the missing sword? Not sure where to put the sword, she took Roy’s things the home office, laying them carefully on the clean desk, hoping Meagan would be ok with that. JD shut the office’s French doors behind her then went to the couch and slumped into it. She watched in fascination as the boys continued in their activities with their invisible babysitter, Elizabeth.
An hour later, the phone rang, and RJ jumped up to get it, but didn’t answer it. He let it ring until the voicemail greeting came on. When the caller spoke, JD recognized Meagan’s voice. RJ picked it up with a greeting.
“It’s for you,” he said, bringing the cordless to JD.
“Meagan, how is he?” she asked.
“Worse than I thought. He has a broken neck, six broken ribs with a punctured lung, assorted lacerations and internal injuries, a fractured skull, and a broken arm. But he is stable. Has there been any word from Nathan?”
“Oh my goodness,” JD breathed. She was shocked anyone could survive the injuries Meagan had just listed. “Are you okay?” JD asked. There was a long silence on the other end.
“I will be,” Meagan said softly, tears in her voice. “It’s just that I’ve never seen him hurt this badly before. I think he’ll recover, but it’ll take some time. Longer than usual, I suspect. Any word from Nathan?”
“No,” JD said. “I haven’t seen him at all. Did Roy say anything about what happened?”
“He is unconscious,” Meagan responded. “But as soon as he is able to speak, I will ask him.”
“The kids are fine,” JD offered.
“I know it seems weird I just left them, but they’re okay. Elizabeth will care for them. You do what you need to do. I’ve got to go. Roy is waking up.” Meagan said her goodbyes and hung up.
JD leaned her head back and wondered how she was going to report this to Rick, who still hadn’t returned her call. She dozed for a while and when she awoke, the boys were eating dinner at the table, chatting amicably w
ith their invisible Elizabeth. She watched them, marveling. Rising, she took a place at the table with them, accepting a plate from Elizabeth with a thank you.
After dinner, JD assisted Elizabeth with getting the children ready for sleep and tucked into bed. Returning to the kitchen to fix herself a cup of cocoa, JD came around the corner and saw a ragged, filthy man hunched over the sink. She screamed.
Chapter 15
The man whirled around with a sword grasped in his hand and the end pointed mere inches from her throat. JD choked out a cry, “Nathan!”
Nathan lowered his arm, which was cut and bleeding. His green shirt was torn across his chest and there were slashes in his jeans. Where the fabric wasn’t torn, it was covered in dirt and dark stains. His face was covered with dark smudges and cuts, some still bleeding, and others caked over with dried blood.
“What happened to you?” JD asked horrified, her hands covering her mouth. Nathan turned back to the sink and continued washing his arms, scrubbing his face, and the back of his neck.
“Long story,” he grumbled. “Did you find Roy?”
He removed his shirt and chucked it into the garbage can under the sink. He glanced at her for an answer, but all she could manage was a short nod. Nathan turned back to work on cleaning his sword.
“Alive?” he asked without looking at her, tense and wiping down his sword furiously with one of Meagan’s dishcloths. JD didn’t suppose Meagan would want it back after Nathan was finished with it.
“Barely,” she replied carefully, wondering how he would take the news. He stopped scrubbing and leaned over with his elbows on the counter and his head in his hands, he made a noise that sounded like a moan of anguish. JD took a tentative step toward him.
“I thought he was dead,” Nathan said quietly. “I didn’t know what to do. Matthew was getting away.”
JD reached out her hand and laid it gently on his shoulder. Nathan looked around at her, somewhat surprised. She withdrew, feeling self-conscience. She had only wanted to offer him comfort as he had done once for her when she had been hurt and upset.
“Sorry,” she said, looking down.
“No, don’t be,” he said gently. “I’m sorry. I’m not a pretty sight right now and I’m sure I don’t smell too great either.”
“Tell me what happened,” she said.
“You were right about Cassidy’s Arch,” he said. “Matthew took the box there after he called for every Fallen in the area to distract us the day you were attacked. I’ve got a huge mess on my hands. Fallens are running lose all over the place. And worst of all, the False One is completely in control and more powerful than we had anticipated. We were totally outnumbered and overwhelmed. Roy received the brunt of the attack once they figured out he wasn’t an angel. I got him out of there as fast as I could.” Nathan shook his head and began cleaning his blade again.
“Why did you take Roy to the schoolhouse and not here?” JD asked.
“And jeopardize the safety of his family?” Nathan retorted. “This place is a haven and hidden from Fallens. I took Roy to the schoolhouse because I knew you’d find him and would know what to do. It was the only option I had at that moment. Besides, after I cleaned the schoolhouse out, it’s the next safest place to be. Remember that. If Matthew ever comes after you again, you get inside the schoolhouse if you can’t get here.”
“Okay,” JD replied softly with wide eyes.
“How much longer you got on your project?”
“Three months at least,” she said distractedly, thinking of what Roy and Nathan must have gone through. And Matthew, her stomach clenched at the thought. Had he been hurt as badly? She wanted to ask, but didn’t dare.
“The sooner you leave Torrey, the better,” Nathan said firmly and brushed past her towards the fireplace with his sword clutched in his hand.
“What is that supposed to mean?” she asked, following him.
Nathan lifted the sword and set it on the hooks and looked back at her. “For your own safety, Julia. The False One is not someone to mess with. If you’re targeted, you’re in danger. The farther away you are, the safer you’ll be. You won’t be totally safe, but I can arrange for your protection until the False One is recaptured.”
JD covered her face with her hands. What had happened to her perfectly organized world? How did she go from being Project Manager JD Halstead, to JD−the most wanted woman on a False One’s hit list? In three more months, she’d be back in L.A. where the biggest worry she would have is if she’d qualify for the next project on Gramps’ list. At this rate, she doubted it. Part of her wanted to run screaming back to her safe life in L.A., while the other part wanted to cling onto Nathan for safety and security, and yet another part of her mourned and ached for the loss of Matthew.
“I can’t just leave. I’ve got this project to finish,” she protested.
Nathan shook his head in frustration. “Even if it meant your life?” he asked.
She shut her mouth and pressed her lips together. Nathan looked down for a moment, and then stepped over to stand before her. Towering over her, bare chested and covered in grime, he was an imposing sight to behold. JD wondered if Fallens cowered when they saw him coming.
“I don’t want to see you get hurt. If I don’t stop Matthew and he gets to you, I wouldn’t be able to live with myself. You’ve got to understand, this is serious, Julia. You’re marked, you’re a target, and Matthew won’t stop until you are…” his voice trailed off.
“Dead?” she asked with growing horror.
“Worse,” Nathan said.
“What’s worse than being dead?” she asked, hugging herself for the chills that came over her.
“Stuck in endless hell,” he said softly. The look in his eyes gave JD reason to believe he had experienced it himself. She shivered in fear.
Chapter 16
When JD arrived at the office the next morning Gerald the county building inspector had already been there and left a note tapped to her door with a list of things that needed to be addressed before he would approve the drywall. JD could care less, she had bigger worries to deal with now. Nathan’s partial revelation of Matthew’s intentions scared her, and she was beginning to jump at shadows. Three more months she thought.
Then there was Roy’s accident, though technically not construction-related, it had to be reported. She didn’t know how she was going to explain it. Perhaps she shouldn’t, but then she was sure the news would reach Mr. Blackwell sooner or later. An ambulance showing up at the site and carting off the local deputy could hardly go unnoticed. Then an idea occurred to her. Meagan had managed to live in Torrey nearly her whole life and keep her family secrets safe. Perhaps she would know what to do.
She reached for the phone just as it rang. She hesitated, waiting to see who it would be. Rick’s number came up on the display. Stink, she thought. He already knows. Her mind raced to come up with a reason for Roy’s accident, but nothing came as she picked up the phone. Smiling, she greeted Rick.
“JD, how are you doing?” Rick asked in a gentle tone that sounded forced.
“I’m fine. Just working up the weekly report. We’ve had an exciting week,” she said, not wanting to spill the beans about Roy’s accident just in case Rick didn’t know yet.
Rick sighed heavily. “Listen, I’ve got some bad news for you, JD.” There was a long pause, and JD felt her stomach clench. This was it. She was fired. She closed her eyes and waited for the words to echo across the line and ruin her life.
“Your grandfather passed late last night,” Rick said gently.
JD’s eyes fluttered open. “What?” she was sure she hadn’t heard Rick correctly.
“He had a massive heart attack. I’m so sorry,” he said. “Why don’t you fly back tomorrow? Your grandfather’s lawyer wants to meet with you as soon as possible.”
There was a long pause as he let JD absorb the terrible news. Tears sprang instantly to her eyes.
“Why don’t you just come back and take som
e time off from the project. It can run itself for now,” he said.
“Okay,” she said automatically. She caught her breath, holding back a sob.
“You going to be all right? Can you come back right away?”
“Yes…I’ll…I’ll find a flight home. I’ll see you soon.” She hung up quickly and put her head down, and wept.
A soft knock came at her door. She sat up, snatching a tissue to wipe her eyes and nose.
“Come in,” she called. Nathan walked in. Snow dusted his black hat and the shoulders of his denim jacket.
“Hi,” she tried to smile brightly as he closed the door behind him. He stood there, his hands hanging at his sides, a soft look in his eyes.
“How are you?” he asked.
“Fine.”
“I’m sorry for your loss,” he said, ignoring her false statement.
Her smile faded. “How did you know? Are you the Angel of Death, too?” It seemed to her that this was the perfect way for her to leave Torrey as Nathan had wanted. But, just looking at him, she knew Gramps’ passing had nothing to do with what was going on with them.
“No,” he said gently.
“Yeah, well.” She shrugged helplessly. “I have to go to L.A. for a while.”
“When do you leave?”
“As soon as I can book a flight,” she said, leaning back in her chair and rubbing at the scar on her forehead. It seemed that it ached whenever she was feeling particularly troubled.
“Let me drive you to the airport,” he said, “and we can talk on the way.”
“About what?” she challenged. He had been so elusive in their prior conversations, she wasn’t sure if he’d ever tell her straight up what was really going on.
“Stuff,” was all he said.
***
An hour later, JD was in Nathan’s truck heading to the Salt Lake City International Airport.
If I Fall...: Will You Forgive Me? (Angelore Saga Book 2) Page 8
