Desperate Rescue (7 page)

Good advice. But he’d spent the night supposedly waiting for Noah to show up. He could have easily put a thousand miles on his car, heading south, following a trail that would hopefully lead to Phoebe.

Instead, he’d stayed here and had promptly fallen asleep.

Rolling his shoulders, he said, “Thank you. I think I’ll just go check on Kaylee.”

The officer stopped him with a firm hand. “
I’ll
go check on her. You can get yourself some breakfast and find a motel room, if you plan to stick around.”

He had a motel room, but had hardly used it. “Thanks.” He turned toward his car, then turned back. “How well do you know Kaylee Campbell?”

“Well enough for a small town. But, take another piece of advice, Mr. Nash. Your brother’s gone, so you should be, too. Kaylee has enough to deal with. You’re only making things worse.”

Yes, he probably was. But he couldn’t just walk away now. Not with all that had happened. Not with the memory of Kaylee’s wide, exotic eyes haunting him.

“Time to move on, Mr. Nash. Either that or find a motel and clean up. I’ll go check on Kaylee.”

As the man turned to go, Eli said, “Thank you.”

The officer turned back to him, pulled out a card and scribbled something on it. He handed it to Eli. “This is my cell number. You can call it anytime if you’re worried about Kaylee. We all care about her. She hasn’t been here long, but she’s become like family to my aunt. She’s her neighbor, Lois Smith. So I know how much Kaylee wants to start again.”

Reading dipped his head once, then climbed back into his cruiser.

Eli watched the police officer drive up to Kaylee’s little bungalow. A moment later, he was knocking on the door. A moment after that, Kaylee answered it.

He found himself sighing. When the officer pointed down the short street at him, he climbed back into his car. Even at this distance, he could read her body language. Her stiff shoulders, her tightly crossed arms. She didn’t like his concern.

So what else was he supposed to do? The police officer nodded, returned to his car and drove away. He watched the cruiser roll past him.

Movement caught his attention. Kaylee shook her head before returning inside.

He drove up to her house.

She opened her door before he reached it. “You spent the night in your car? Are you nuts? You could have frozen to death!”

“We’re having an Indian summer. It wasn’t that cold. Plus, I have a blanket in the back.”

Disbelief lingered on her face as she shook her head. “Why? Why did you do that?”

“Because…” he started, then cut off his words. Kaylee wouldn’t believe him if he told her that he thought that Noah would come here to finish his threat. The short time he’d known her told him that she wasn’t the sort to tackle her problems head-on.

Officer Reading’s comment returned to him. Kaylee had enough on her plate right now. He didn’t need to add to it, even if he really believed that Noah hadn’t fled south.

Or was he being selfish again, as Phoebe had so often accused him of being? Noah was his problem and standing here telling himself that Kaylee was in danger could be his own selfish way of foisting his problems onto her, of forcing her to help him.

Did he really believe that?

“Because why?”

With a blink, he brought her face back into focus. “You’ve gone through a lot. I was concerned about you.”

An odd expression rolled over her features. Still, she said nothing. Just as he turned away, she stepped forward. “Eli?” Her voice had turned soft, hesitant.

He faced her. “Yes?”

Her throat bobbed and a small crease formed between her dark brows. “Did you call me last night?”

“No. Why?”

She shivered. The urge to hold her close swelled in him, but he pushed it away when she stepped back. “Why, Kaylee? Who called you?”

“I’m not sure. There was a moment of silence before the person hung up.”

His heart skipped a beat. “Do you know what the number was?”

“No. I can’t afford call display or even that last-number-dialed feature. It took me a long time to fall asleep.” She paused. “There are some nuts out there who like to scare people just because they’re bored in the evening. My boss said this area is bad for that. And it’s not as if what happened to me is a secret. It was probably just kids.”

Or it could be Noah, Eli thought.

Kaylee peered at him. Her hands had found each other, her fingers tightly intertwined. “I know what you’re thinking. You think it was Noah. But he’s headed south. He wouldn’t leave his followers and risk them abandoning him.”

She threw off the whole idea with a hasty shake of her head. “He wouldn’t have stuck around. Look, I just don’t want to deal with this!”

With one swift step, he hauled her to him. There was nothing he could do but let her sag in his arms. Should he be telling her that he believed it
was
Noah?

No. She’d run away. And without her as a lure, he’d lose his chance to stop Noah once and for all.

He shut his eyes. Phoebe was right. He
was
being selfish. He was only using the notion of waiting for his investigator’s call as an excuse to hang around, all the while using Kaylee as bait.

His stomach twisted. Not the best way for a Christian to act. The old fears within him reared up, nasty and cold like the words Noah said once when they were reaching the end of their teenage years, when John, their second cousin, had sparked dangerous ideas inside of him.
“We’re a lot alike, Eli.”

Just before that, Eli had told Noah he was nuts to think people would walk away from organized religion just because the world seemed headed for disaster.

Noah had smiled and repeated his comment, knowing it would push Eli’s buttons. “We are alike, you and I. Only, I’m insightful and creative enough to make my own religion—a religion based on the truth of today, not old myths that have worn out their welcome.”

Eli opened his eyes to see a close-up of Kaylee’s dark, soft hair, each strand fine and wavy, its faint scent of apple shampoo teasing his nose.

He had to find Phoebe, save her from their brother, using everything God had given him. Including Kaylee?

With that resolution, he gripped her tighter and prayed silently.

“He’s checked into the Valley View Motel up by the highway. It’s quiet this time of year, so he’s their only guest,” Lois told Kaylee after supper that evening. She’d asked Kaylee over for tea before Kaylee had to return to the rec center. Jenn had asked her to lock up after the men’s basketball game finished and Kaylee was free until then.

“Everyone in town knows he’s here,” Lois continued. “And why. He’s here because of you.”

With a flick of her gaze up to the older woman, Kaylee wrapped her hands around the mug of hot tea. Yes, Eli had said he was sticking around. She knew enough to guess his plan.

But she still didn’t know what to make of his decision to stay. He’d been driven all these years to find Phoebe and free her. Why stop now?

Because of her? No. They’d only just met.

Because of Noah? Did he suspect he was here?

A cold shiver rippled through her and she lifted the steaming mug to swallow another sip. Eli was wrong.

“It was on the news last night, along with that tropical storm coming. I heard you could see the smoke from the explosion on the highway.” Lois still chattered on. If she’d asked Kaylee here to glean some information on what had happened yesterday, she’d forgotten to ask the questions.

Kaylee looked up at the older woman. “I didn’t watch the news.”

Lois gave her a sympathetic smile. “I don’t imagine.”

“I wish it hadn’t been reported.”

“It’ll be in the news for a while. They even have some kind of forensic bomb squad there trying to figure out what explosives were used, but it could take months, the reporter said. Bombs and explosions and such are a fact of life now, I’m afraid.”

And with Noah having dropped out of sight, they’ll never find him, Kaylee thought as Lois topped up her tea.

“They had the water bombers on standby, I heard,” Lois added. “And when I found out it concerned the very compound where you were held, I paid attention. Did any reporters call you?”

Kaylee nodded. “A couple, but I said I didn’t want to talk.” It wasn’t their calls that lingered in her mind. It was the other one.

“I should go,” she said before gulping down her tea and pushing back her chair. “I have a few things to do at work while the men finish up their game.” Her head was beginning to pound. The fresh, crisp air on the walk down to the rec center would do her good.

She paused. Should she be walking, alone, if Noah was out there? But Noah wasn’t out there; he wouldn’t leave his followers. They were too important to him and his need for control. She’d learned that the hard way.

Lois reached out and touched her hand and she started. “Oh, dear thing! This is my fault, isn’t it?” The older woman bit her lip, looking as if she was ready to cry. “Honey, if I hadn’t told you that story about my husband leaving for Korea, and that man helping us, you’d have never decided to go back to Maine with that Eli Nash and none of this would have happened!”

Kaylee looked over at her friend and saw the etched concern on her face that must have been a mirror of her own. Tears stung her eyes. Now Lois was feeling guilty, too? Were they all going to be prisoners of Noah Nash?

She leaned forward, her jaw tightening. “Lois, you did the right thing. Look, if we hadn’t gone to that compound, those explosives may not have been found until some kids went there. Noah would have hurt or killed innocent teens backroading with four wheelers. You did the right thing, though you didn’t realize it at the time. Noah’s plans were thwarted.”

And she wasn’t going to be a prisoner to him, she added to herself. Forget it. She was free. And while that might get Noah Nash’s goat, as her grandmother would say, she wasn’t going to turn her life back into the fearful, captive one she’d had while in the compound.

Fear is the lack of trust.
Noah had said that more than once.

As much as she hated to admit it, he was right. Fear
is
the lack of trust. But a trust in what, a part of her asked. Certainly not Noah.

With gritted teeth at the way he still ruled her, she rose and shoved her mug under the kitchen tap. Noah was wrong. Phoebe was wrong to believe him. Kaylee twisted off the faucet. And she was wrong to dwell on those people. They had destroyed her life and allowed Trisha to die.

She rinsed her mug out in the sink and set it on the rack to dry. Then, with as strong a smile as she could imagine, she said, “It’s not your fault, Lois. I made the decision to help Eli. I’m not going to let Noah Nash win here. He’s had enough influence over me to last a hundred lifetimes.”

Lois nodded her approval. “That’s my girl.”

After giving the elderly woman a warm hug and Pepe a pat on the head, Kaylee walked out into the street. She wouldn’t take her car. She’d tried it earlier and the rickety old thing barely turned over.

Autumn had turned the air crisp and sharp. The nice days would soon be over. Above, the clouds looked like chunks of ice floating in a dark liquid. Lois had said a tropical storm was on its way, up from the deep south. The warm temperature might be welcome, but after the wet summer they’d had, the rainfall wouldn’t be.

She pulled up her zipper so the cool breeze from the Saint John River wouldn’t trickle down her neck. She’d been cold enough for the last few years.

At the end of her cul-de-sac, she paused. Then turned around. The street lay silently, chillingly before her.

A tingle on the back of her neck whispered that someone was watching her.

P
ray constantly. Give thanks in all circumstances.
Lois had said they were Pastor Paul’s favorite Bible words, but that even he admitted it was hard to do. Kaylee’s steps faltered. God felt too far away to reach by a simple prayer.

How was she supposed to pray and give thanks when the night crawled over her like this?

She spun and returned to her walk, her pace faster than before. The rec center was less than five minutes away. Behind her, a dog barked. From the sound of the high-pitched yip, it had to be Lois’s dog.

The tingling in her neck continued. The agitated barking echoed through the streets.

Ahead, where the street she was hurrying down met River Road, a figure stepped out from a dark corner and turned to her.

Her heart stalled and her steps faltered.
Noah.

No, she wouldn’t be fooled again. The short hair and wary bearing belonged to Eli, not his brother.

She sagged. Quickening her steps, she hurried toward him. As soon as she reached him, the dog stopped its incessant barking.

“What are you doing out so late?” she asked. “I mean, I’m due to lock up the gym when the men finish their basketball game or else I’d be asleep by now.”

“Why didn’t you drive down?”

“I don’t want to waste the gas and wear and tear on my car. It’s old and rickety enough as it is and it’s been hard to start today for some reason.” She kept on walking. Eli, however, stood and stared up the street toward her cul-de-sac. She hesitated a few yards away. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing.” He threw one last glance over his shoulder and strode toward her. “Let me help you lock up. Then I’ll walk you home.”

“Thank you.” She couldn’t deny her relief at his suggestion. Tonight the streets felt sinister.

They walked the rest of the short distance in silence, down into the dip on the River Road, then up past the narrow park that lay to their left. Inside the rec center, she waved to one man who’d taken a break outside the gym for a quick swig of water.

“Hi, Paul,” she said.

“Hey, Kaylee, come to lock up? Or are you here to watch my team win?” He chuckled, but then stopped abruptly when he saw Eli at the door.

She hastily introduced the men. Pastor Paul Riggs did a lot of outreach, his specialty was using sports. The two men sized each other up, then her pastor reached out to pump Eli’s hand. They spoke briefly before Pastor Paul threw his empty water bottle back into his bag.

“You look good, Kaylee,” he said, wiping his forehead with the short sleeve of his shirt. “I think Lois’s cooking is putting some meat on you.” He smiled at them and headed back into the gym.

“Are you?”

She blinked at Eli. “Putting on weight? A bit. I didn’t think it would be so hard.”

“It’s the stress. Give it time. Plus, you didn’t eat right for two years.”

She stooped to pick up a discarded candy wrapper. It was from the store beside the gym, a product made right on the premises. “No, we didn’t,” she said, tossing the wrapper into the garbage can nearby. “Some fresh vegetables when they ripened in the garden and then mostly rice and pasta in the winter. There just wasn’t very much to go around.”

Eli’s expression darkened. “You had no meat or milk? No bread?”

“No. The children got powdered milk, but meat only came when a chicken died. We had tea, but no sugar for it.” Her stomach ached, ripping away any appetite she may have had for an evening snack. No wonder she was still too skinny.

Eli folded his arms, his brows meeting and his mouth tight.

She watched the game through the protected window. “I remember one day this past spring, when Noah and the men took some of the women to get groceries and seeds, that we had nothing to eat, those of us who were left. I think the ones who went shopping also went to a restaurant.”

“What’s wrong with that?”

“Nothing I suppose. It’s just that we had no food in the house. We’d been eating sparsely for weeks and it was taking its toll on us. Anyway, one of the women had reached the end of her rope. The children, there were three with us, were irritable and hungry. The woman went outside and collected lamb’s-quarter.”

“What’s that?”

“It’s that plant that has pointed leaves and some kind of silvery dust on its new sprouts. It grows the fastest in early spring. But it cooks up like young spinach, only not as strong tasting. Oh, it was good. Delicious. Even the kids ate and ate.”

He tilted his head. “Why are you sad about that? As far as I can tell, getting kids to eat any vegetables is a good thing.”

She smiled briefly and shrugged. “In that way, yes, it was good. But when the others came home, Phoebe found out about it from one of the kids. She told Noah.” Her gaze clouded and she flicked her head away from him. “The woman who picked and cooked the lamb’s-quarter for us was punished.”

She bustled into the office, knowing Eli would follow her. “I shouldn’t have brought it up. It’s just that…”

Eli straightened. “That what? That the woman did the right thing?”

She couldn’t look at him. “Noah didn’t want us to eat it because he said it represented the evil that lured us away from the truth. The lust for food was the same as the lust for the evils around us.” She lifted her hand. “It was just another way he controlled us, I know that now. But that day…we were starving. So we picked bowls and bowls of it. It felt so good to eat it.”

“What was wrong with that?”

She could still taste the fresh flavor, the little bit of salt and pepper they’d dared to sprinkle on it. The lure of fresh food had been powerful. “I remember wondering if Noah had been right.”

“About what?”

“About the lamb’s-quarter. With a craving that strong, it had almost felt sinful to eat it, to want it so much, you’d give anything for it. Noah quoted the story of how Esau sold his birthright for a bowl of stew.”

Eli bent his head down and lifted her chin with his finger. That little touch felt so comforting. “Don’t let Noah twist the Bible to suit himself. Yes, Esau sold his birthright to Jacob, because he cared only for his own immediate needs. He showed lack of faith. I don’t see you in that same way.”

She shut her eyes, confusion swirling around her at Eli’s intuition. She didn’t need to be a psychologist to see that he was as smooth a talker as his brother was. “Noah was determined that the woman be purged of evil.”

With an abrupt shiver, she stepped away from him. “I don’t want to talk about it anymore. I remember feeling so guilty that we’d eaten those greens. I even prayed about it. Noah could be so persuasive and dangerous, and when I realized that I was actually starting to believe him about some things, it scared me. I was thinking about that incident just before I decided to escape.” She folded her arms to hug herself.

Eli took her arms and set them down at her sides. “Don’t feel guilty. And don’t fight the need to talk this out.”

“Who wants to rehash everything?” she whispered, not meeting his gaze, but rather turning to watch out the caged window at the basketball game as it came to a close.

He didn’t answer her question. Rather, he leaned back against the wall. She could hear the men in the gym cheering and yelling and shaking hands. They’d soon pour out the door beside her, grab their packs and bags and leave. Eli would take her home and she’d be alone again for another night.

Did that bother her?

“It helps to tackle issues head on,” Eli answered with a soft voice. “It robs them of their power over you. Don’t think it was your fault that he was starting to sway you. He’s manipulative and starvation is a form of control. But you saw what was happening and got out. That’s what counts.”

“I guess so.” She wanted to walk into Eli’s arms again. She wanted to feel the comfort and protection she knew she’d find there.

But she didn’t know him very well, though she did know he was driven, like his brother.

What if he turned out to be as dangerous as Noah? What if she was replacing one persuasive man with another?

The door to the gym flew open and the men spilled out. Kaylee peeked out of the office to watch them all gather up their jackets and gym bags and filter into the night.

Only Pastor Paul remained. Still out of breath, he grinned at her. “Do you need a drive home, Kaylee? I’m taking some of the guys that way.”

“I’ll take her home.”

Paul looked at Eli’s determined expression then nodded. He turned to Kaylee. “Are you working tomorrow night? We could use a hand with the youth group’s floor-hockey game. My usual assistants are university students, but they’re all studying. Exams are coming up.”

He’d been trying to get her involved in the church. She’d resisted so far, begging off due to fatigue. She hesitated.

Paul leaned forward to smile encouragingly. “It’s for the kids. To keep them off the streets.” He looked at his watch. “Gotta go. I’ll see you at six tomorrow night?”

“Okay.” Kaylee found herself smiling. “As long as they don’t wear me out.”

“Sorry. No guarantees on that,” Paul answered cheerfully, slinging his gym bag over his shoulder. “They wear out everyone who’s more than twenty-one. That’s why we need help. Tag-team monitoring.”

He threw a speculative look at Eli. “If you’re sticking around, you’re welcome to come, too. We’re having sundaes after.”

“If Kaylee’s going, I’ll be there.”

Paul lifted his eyebrows as they all turned to leave. Like a good minister, Paul had a gregarious personality
and
tact. But he wasn’t naive. He was a man, too. Did that mean he trusted Eli or not?

The building now locked up, she and Eli fell into step along the sidewalk. The clouds had moved in and Kaylee felt a warm, southerly breeze rise. Lois’s prediction on that tropical storm was coming true.

As they reached the street where they’d met, the dog in the distance began to bark again. The same frenzied barking as before.

“Is that Pepe?” Eli asked as they walked.

“I don’t know.” She started to laugh softly. “If it is him, maybe I should start to feed him like the previous tenants did. Maybe that’s all he wants.”

“He sounds more agitated than hungry.”

As they stepped off the sidewalk to meet Kaylee’s cul-de-sac, the dog let out a short yelp.

Followed by a skin-prickling silence.