by Liz Bradford
Ella had leaned close and looked at the words with him. “Adam, what a perfect reminder right now. Thank you for sharing.”
Her face was so close to his, but she looked down. When she looked back up her brow was furrowed, and she was biting her lower lip.
“What’s wrong?” he asked.
Her eyebrows relaxed. “Nothing. I’m just trying to figure out how to say something.”
He tilted his head. Her eyes sparkled, confusing him further. “You can tell me anything.”
“I know. I just want to say it right… I can’t believe how close we’ve gotten again.” Her eyes held his steady, but her hands were fidgeting. “I’m so happy. But more than that…” She took in a deep breath and let it out slowly between her lips. “I love you, Adam.”
His heart swelled. She loved him! “I love you too.”
“I know.” Her cheeks were as red as a firetruck.
He pulled her close. He never wanted to let go.
Chapter 25
Adam bent over and rested his gloved hands on his knees as he tried to catch his breath. He looked up at Ella who had her boxing gloves back up ready to dish out a few more punches. Sparring had been a great idea, but she was giving him a run for his money in the ring. He would never have guessed how skilled she had become in boxing.
“I thought you said you took kickboxing, as in martial arts, not boxing!” he said.
“I have a well-rounded education in all methods of self-defense.”
“I’d call those last few punches more offense than defense.”
She laughed. “A good defense is a good offense, right? Now come on, you aren’t tired yet, are you?” Her smile was going to undo him. She was beautiful with her hair in a sloppy bun, no makeup, and her forehead glistening with sweat. Her snug t-shirt revealed her curves. He longed to draw her in and give her a kiss, a deep, intense kiss that would express the love that overwhelmed his heart.
He let a long breath out through his mouth and righted himself again putting his mouth guard back in place. He pulled his hands up to a defensive position in front of his face and waited for Ella to take another shot. She bounced toward him, light on her feet. She made a quick jab to his left and hooked a punch at his right. He blocked both, he threw back two quick jabs with his right hand, but she responded by coming close and throwing her leg behind his. Before he knew what happened, he fell backwards and landed flat on his back. Ella knelt on one knee next to him and put a gloved hand on his chest, but he wasn’t giving up so easily. He grabbed her and pulled her down and rolled her to his other side and pinned her to the mat.
They were both laughing. But the overwhelming urge to kiss her despite their mouth guards sucked the air out of his lungs. He patted the side of her helmet and pulled himself away. He stood and offered her a hand up.
Once she was on her feet, she gave him a playful shove and strode away. “Oh, no you don’t.” He grabbed her hips and spun her back around and into his arms. She laughed so hard her mouth guard fell out. He pulled his out, keeping her as close as possible. Maybe he could finally kiss her. Desire showed in her eyes. They sparkled, and her lips parted, but he waited. He didn’t want to kiss her before she was ready. He was beyond ready, but he wanted to honor her in every possible way. He lifted his head and pulled her closer instead. She leaned her head against his chest and hugged his waist.
“I love you, Ella.”
“I love you, too.”
Was this really happening? Was he really holding Ella in his arms? Hearing her say that she loved him back? It almost seemed too good to be true. But he needed to focus on something else or he was going to kiss her. “I talked to Heather this morning.”
“When did you do that?”
“While you were upstairs getting ready.”
“Did you tell her about your decision to follow Christ?”
“I did that on Sunday. I called her so late that I woke her up.”
“No wonder you were so tired on Monday.”
He nodded. “Today, after I told her about what happened with Scott, we talked about you.”
“Oh yeah?”
“Yeah. She’s really happy to hear that we’re… whatever we are.”
“And what are we, Mr. Jamison?”
He shrugged. “I don’t know, what do the kids call it these days?”
“Hooking up?”
“Oh, no, babe, that is not what that means!”
“Oh!” Her eyes were as big as saucers.
“Well, what did we call it when we were kids, going out?”
“So, I’m your girlfriend?”
“Absolutely!”
Her eyes disappeared with the breadth of her smile. Her cheeks had already been flushed from boxing, but they took an even deeper shade of red. His heart soared. Ella Perkins was once again his girlfriend. Life was perfect.
Ella pulled her things out of the bed of the truck Adam was borrowing. She couldn’t believe she had agreed to this. Staying at his house had to be one of the most foolish things. Not that she thought they would do something they shouldn’t, but it just wasn’t wise. It wouldn’t look good. But then again, who knew? Adam had told her explicitly that while he did tell Caleb, he hadn’t told anyone else. Not even Amelia or Becca. And a rumor had gone out that she was staying at a safehouse. Maybe the team that was going to set up there would catch the guy.
She adjusted the bag on her shoulder as they walked to the front door together.
Adam inserted the key into the door and was about to turn it when Ella’s heart stopped. She grabbed Adam’s hand and stopped him from unlocking the door.
“What is it?”
“Rusty. Why isn’t Rusty barking? He always barks when you unlock the door if not before!”
“It’s okay. Mrs. Williams, my neighbor who helps out with him, took him to the groomers today. She’ll let him in the yard when she brings him back in a few hours.”
She released the tension in her body with a large sigh. “Oh, okay. That scared me, especially after what that monster did to the cat.”
“No doubt. Sorry I didn’t tell you. I just didn’t even think about it.”
“That’s okay.”
Adam opened the door, and once they were inside, they set her things down. She stood and waited for Adam to punch in the code on his alarm. She had wanted to kiss him at multiple points while they had been sparring, but she was still scared. She didn’t know what she was doing. Thirty-three years old and she hadn’t kissed anyone in almost twenty years! Would it be like riding a bike? But Adam had kissed plenty, what if he didn’t like the way she kissed?
He turned back towards her and smiled and raised his eyebrows suggestively. Her heart flipped. She jabbed at him playfully in attempt to relieve the tension she felt. But it didn’t help, this tension was different than any she was familiar with. “I had fun today.”
He grabbed her and pulled her close. “So, did I.” There was that look in his eyes again. He wanted to kiss her. “Ella, you’re driving me mad.”
She tilted her head to the side and tried to give him a confused look.
He chuckled. “Can I kiss you yet?” He stroked her face.
All air vanished from her lungs. “You sure you want to kiss me? I really don’t know much…”
“Oh, yes, I do. If my memory serves me correctly you weren’t too bad.”
“That’s because you had no idea what you were doing back then either.”
“True enough, but I’m sure you’ll remember what you’re doing.” His face inched closer to hers. “Just follow my lead.”
Her heart pounded as her mouth watered. She swallowed. She rested her hands on his chest. They were both still sweaty and stinky from sparring, but that didn’t matter. Adam’s fingers traced her face; her skin tingled at his touch. She reached her hand up and traced his hairline. Her eyes fell upon his shiner from yesterday’s scuffle with Scott. She loved his passion, even if it got him in trouble. He had stood up for his sister. Her fi
ngers traced along his strong jaw, and his hand slid into her hair and gently rested on the nape of her neck. She let her hand slide back to his chest. His face came closer to hers. His other hand on her waist drew her even closer raising her to her toes; their bodies touched. She looked at Adam’s lips. When they were too close to see, she closed her eyes. His lips touched hers. All sounds of the world vanished as all she could hear was blood surging in her ears. His lips were gentle and moved slowly. She responded mirroring his actions. The salty taste of his lips… her heart floating… the stirrings in her soul… all things she was unacquainted with but wanted to know better. His lips pulled back slightly, but she took the lead and kissed him again. She felt his lips curl upward under hers as he kissed her back. This time she pulled back. She opened her eyes and looked deep into his gray eyes, the color of the North Carolina sky right before a storm. She couldn’t move. She didn’t want to. The silly grin on his face made her heart flutter a little more. She bit her lower lip for a moment before Adam came in for another kiss. She giggled and returned his kiss.
He pulled her back to arm’s length. “Ok…” He let out a heavy breath. “That’s enough for now.”
She giggled again. She felt like she could cry out of sheer bliss.
“I love you.”
“Not as much as I love you.” She grabbed the front of his t-shirt and pulled him down for another little kiss. She walked over to her things. She pulled out her water bottle and took a long swig before turning around again.
Adam stood there smiling at her. “You should go take that shower you were wanting. When you’re done, I’ll take a quick one, and we can start dinner.”
“Sounds like a plan. What shall we do after dinner?”
“Movie marathon?”
“Perfect, unless of course Amelia calls and says they caught the monster, then we can go out and sing a little karaoke!”
“Even better.”
She smiled at him. Oh, how she hoped this would all be over soon, and they could start exploring what their future could hold without the constant threat looming over their heads. She grabbed the bag she would need and kissed Adam one more time before disappearing into the bathroom.
Adam could barely keep his feet on the ground after kissing his sweetheart. He floated down the hallway on cloud nine. Ella’s sweet voice floated out of the bathroom as he turned into the utility room.
A mighty fortress is our God, A bulwark never failing;
One of his favorite hymns, even though as a kid he had not fully appreciated the meaning behind the words. He grabbed the laundry basket full of clean clothes from off the floor in front of the dryer. He peeked in the washer to make sure it was empty. Ella’s voice came strong through the walls.
Our helper He, amid the flood of mortal ills prevailing:
He turned out of the laundry room and walked into his bedroom. The hairs on the back of his neck stood up.
For still our ancient foe Doth seek to work us woe;
The cold steel of the barrel of a gun pressed into the back of his head. The laundry basket dropped to the floor.
His craft and pow’r are great, and armed with cruel hate, on earth is not his equal.
“On your knees, Jamison,” like fingernails on a chalkboard, an all too familiar voice commanded. He had no choice but to obey as the gun pressed into his head forced him forward.
Ella’s voice still rang down the hall.
Did we in our own strength confide, Our striving would be losing;
They wouldn’t survive this without God on their side. God help us!
“In the chair now. And don’t you make a sound, or I’ll cut out your—no, Ella’s tongue.”
Were not the right Man on our side, The Man of God’s own choosing:
Dost ask who that may be? Christ Jesus, it is he,
Adam sat in the chair and his captor duct taped his hands together behind the chair and taped his legs to the chair. The man kept himself to the side making it impossible for Adam to fight.
Lord Sabbaoth, his name, From age to age the same, And he must win the battle.
“I thought you preferred knives not guns.”
The man sneered. “I do what I must. Now shut up while I go get the little tramp. And remember what I said about Ella’s tongue.”
Oh God! Adam’s insides ignited into raging lava. He was staring death in the face. How were they going to survive? Jesus, we need your divine intervention. Give us a way out!
The wood of the bathroom door cracked and slammed open. It had been kicked in. Ella screamed.
Chapter 26
Amelia tapped her pen on her desk. She was so sick of not knowing who was trustworthy around the station. Knowing that a killer walked in their midst was driving her crazy. She reached into her desk and pour herself a couple of antacids. The heartburn was worse today than it had ever been. The anxiety of the case wasn’t helping.
“Riley,” she called over to Gavin who had just put his feet up on his desk. “Do you have any other ideas?”
“Would I have put my feet up if I did?”
She pressed her lips together.
“We’ll get him.”
“I hope so.”
Her cell phone rang Caleb’s unique ringtone. She pulled it out of her blazer pocket, never again would she leave it on her desk. “Hey, Babe.”
“Hi, is everything going all right today?”
“Yeah…” She didn’t like it when he randomly asked questions like that. “All’s been quiet here.”
“Okay. Are Adam and Ella still there?”
“No, they said goodbye when they left the gym maybe an hour ago.”
“Hmm… okay. Maybe I’ll shoot Adam a line.”
“What’s wrong, Caleb?”
“I don’t know; that’s why I called.”
Ella shook. The monster dragged her down the hallway and into Adam’s room. Her heart and mind swirling like a tornado. Jesus, please let Adam be okay.
He had turned the lights off as soon as he burst into the bathroom. And the hall was so dark that she couldn’t see the face of the man whose hand grasped her arm so tightly it would leave a bruise tomorrow, if she survived the night by some miracle. He threw her onto the floor once they were in the room.
“Ella!”
She looked up and could barely see Adam restrained to a chair.
The familiar voice of her attacker said, “You know the drill, Ella. On your knees. And put your hands out in front of you.”
She complied. He had the upper hand; she couldn’t take him out. Her mind refused to play out an option to defend against him this time. He wrapped duct tape around her wrists so tightly it hurt. He grabbed her and threw her on the bed and taped her hands to the headboard. She tried to kick him, but he was ready for that and was able to avoid her kicks.
“Oh, Ella. So spirited. Well, your fate is sealed.”
She wasn’t going to let him win. He may kill her body, but God had her soul. She picked up where she left off singing “A Mighty Fortress.”
And tho this world, with devils filled, Should threaten to undo us,
We will not fear, for God hath willed His truth to triumph thro’ us:
The Prince of Darkness grim, We tremble not for him;
His rage we can endure, for, lo, his doom is sure, One little word shall fell him.
Their captor laughed. The laugh was haughty and sounded like pure evil. “Sing all you want. It changes nothing. Your God cannot save you now.” He flipped on the light that was on Adam’s bedside table.
“You.”
He smiled but said nothing.
God, help us. There was one more verse she hadn’t sung yet. A reminder of that God is God over all earthly woes. So, she sang it, even while the monster that now had a face cut her shirt and her pants off her body. Leaving her exposed.
That word above all earthly pow’rs, No thanks to them, abideth;
The Spirit and the gifts are ours Thro’ him who with us sideth:
He ran the tip of his knife down the length of her nearly naked body. Her whole body shuddered. This really was happening. It would all end here for her and Adam.
The body they may kill: God’s truth abideth still, His kingdom is forever.
As if pregnancy didn’t increase her anxiety everyday anyway, now Caleb was feeling unsettled again. Some days it was such a blessing to have a husband who had such a keen sense of the spiritual realm, but today it just increased her heartburn.
“What’s up, Johnson?” Gavin asked, his feet still propped up on the corner of his desk.
“Caleb’s just being Caleb again. He’s going to call and check on Adam.”
“They’re fine.”
“I hope so.”
Captain Baker walked up behind Gavin, and as soon as he noticed his boss, Gavin dropped his feet to the floor, and he sat up straight. Amelia chuckled.
“So, what’s up guys? Working hard or hardly working?”
“Taking a break for a minute. Feeling stuck though. I just don’t know where else to look. Oh, and since you know my husband, you should know that he’s feeling uneasy.”
“Oh, that’s not good. Does he have a lead for us? Maybe he should have become a cop. Apparently, we could use a little more intuition around here.”
Before she could answer one of the front desk people came in escorting a young man. They walked straight to Amelia.
“Detective Amelia Johnson?”
“Yes, that’s me.” She stood.
“May I see some identification? I’m under strict orders to only give this to Amelia Johnson or Adam Jamison.”
She glanced down at the badge he was wearing. The laboratory they had left Kyle’s DNA sample with.
“Absolutely! That was so fast!” She pulled out her ID and showed him.
“We make a special point of speeding along law enforcement requests.” He had her sign a paper.
