Plain Fear: Forgiven: A Novel (20 page)

This was sudden. Too sudden. Yet, if they went tonight, then he could be back by tomorrow. Tomorrow night. Maybe afterward Andi would return to Ohio. He would tell her there was no future for them. And he could take Naomi to the Sunday singing and walk her home. Maybe then he could put all of this behind him.

“All right. Let’s do it.”

He considered calling Roc or one of the team. But what had Andi said? This was a group of high schoolers. What danger could there be?

The early morning haze was disorienting. Levi left the barn, keeping his right arm tight against his side. His rib had healed well, but it still caused him some pain. After lifting feed bags, he was sore. He stood on the gravel drive and squinted against the mist swirling around him. A spring storm was on its way, but something else worried him.
Where
was
Samuel’s motorcycle? More to the point, where was Samuel?

Since he’d arrived, Samuel had fed the livestock each morning. Although Levi had begun making his way to the barn, most of the chores still belonged to Samuel. But this morning, Samuel hadn’t shown up. Was he still in bed?

A quick check revealed an empty, undisturbed bed.

Could
Samuel
still
be
at
Roc’s?
Sometimes maneuvers and drills kept him late. Maybe Samuel had bunked there. Levi ducked back inside the barn and pulled his cell phone out of his pocket. The phone rang several times before Rachel answered.

“Good morning,” Levi said.

Her greeting was warm and friendly. “How are you feeling, Levi?”

“Better. Managing to do some chores today.” He nudged a clump of straw with his boot. He breathed in the earthy aromas before plunging into the reason for his call. “I was wondering if Samuel might be handy.”

“Sure, he’s—” She paused. “Did you say Samuel?”

“
Ja
. I thought he might have stayed overnight at—”

“Hold on a minute, Levi.” The phone clunked onto a counter or table.

Dread plunged into Levi’s gut like a baited hook in water. He was responsible for his brother. He’d promised Pop he’d watch out for Samuel, keep him safe, help him through this difficult time. Samuel was going through many of the questions and doubts he himself had faced when he was the same age, when Jacob had died and his family had moved to Ohio. And yet, Samuel had so many other issues Levi had never faced. Had he failed Samuel?

After all, he’d introduced Samuel to a shadowy world, where black and white faded into gray, then splashed with bold intensity once again. It was a world of lies. Yet it also put one’s faith into practice and one’s life in jeopardy.

“Levi?” Roc’s voice came over the line sharp and piercing. “Rachel says Samuel is missing.”

Levi had faced this kind of crisis before when Rachel had disappeared last summer, but all had turned out well. Believing it was simply a miscommunication, he released the tension in his chest. “I wouldn’t say that, Roc. He wasn’t here this morning, and I thought he might have stayed over at your place, after drills last night.”

“No,” Roc’s voice held a southern lilt, but his tone was decisive and firm.

Panic shot through Levi.

“Samuel left earlier than usual last night,” Roc explained. “Said he had to get home. I thought it was to see Naomi.”

“Naomi?” Mind racing with possibilities and fears, Levi faced the doorway and witnessed the sun demolishing the haze. “I’m sure all is well.” He hoped. He prayed. But he was anything but sure. “Maybe he—” Levi hesitated. “Roc, a woman was here yesterday. An
English
woman. Samuel knew her, said she was from Ohio. He didn’t say she was a girlfriend or anything but…it wouldn’t surprise me. So maybe he”—Levi cleared his suddenly congested throat—“spent some time with her.”

“What’s her name?”

“I just barely met her.” Levi rubbed his forehead. “Andi. I remember because it didn’t sound like a girl’s name. Andi Min—Mix—no, Mitchell. That’s it. Andi Mitchell.”

“Okay. I better get on this. Call if he shows up.”

The phone line clicked, then went dead. Levi held it for a moment, frozen, his pulse racing. He stared up at the rafters in the barn and prayed.

Samuel drifted up from sleep, his head cloudy as if he’d drunk himself into a stupor last night. He rolled onto his side, and the room tilted precariously. He lurched, bracing himself with a hand against the bed. His head felt woozy. But this was not his bed. Not the single bed he used at Levi’s. Not a bunk at Roc’s.
Where
was
he?

He pressed thumb and middle finger against his temples to settle the world back into its respectable place. Squinting his bleary, aching eyes, he didn’t recognize anything in the room, not the dresser, drapes, or television.

He was alone.

A memory sprang up, blurry and fleeting. Andi. He’d driven with her to New York. She’d clung to the back of him on his motorcycle. They’d arrived about one in the morning and found a motel with an available room.

She’d curled up against him, one leg thrown over his, her hand flat against his chest. She kissed his neck, lavishing attention in one place, and sending rippling chills through his body. Her voice was husky but not with sleep. “Have you thought of changing your name?”

“Why would I do that?”

“Just to be different.” Her foot caressed his calf and she kissed his mouth. She tasted salty and earthy. Slowly, she’d worked her way back to his neck.

He couldn’t remember anything after that. He forced his gaze around the room, but his eyes felt heavy, oh so heavy. Where was she now?

A car horn blared outside followed by a siren’s wail. Samuel staggered out of bed and over to the window. He parted the heavy curtains and stared downward at the street. Traffic didn’t seem particularly heavy but moved at a lethargic pace. He guessed it was still early, as the sun, which he couldn’t see for the buildings, seemed as weak as his eyes.

Turning away from the window, he realized he was nude, his clothes tossed haphazardly onto the floor. He rubbed his chest, trying to remember.
Had
he
made
love
to
Andi?
His muscles felt stiff and sore and weak. He flopped back onto the bed.

Closing his eyes, he tried to remember the night but it was a hodgepodge of sights and sounds and smells he couldn’t place, couldn’t articulate. He drifted back to sleep and awoke when he heard the lock on the door click. His eyes opened just as the door did.

With a bright smile, Andi waltzed inside. She carried a brown paper bag. “Just the way I like my man. In bed.” She nudged his bare foot. “Come on, lazybones.”

“This the one you’ve been bragging about?” a strange man walked into the room and closed the door behind him.

Samuel jerked upright, scrambling to cover himself with a sheet. “Who are—”

But he stopped mid-question as two black eyes greeted him. The teenager had Howdy Doody hair and freckles. But it was the eyes that captured Samuel’s attention. Those eyes made him feel as if he was falling.

“This is Maddox,” Andi said in an offhanded way, as if she didn’t notice Samuel was naked or care. “He’s going to take us to meet some of his friends. They’re having a get together this morning. Believe me, you’re going to like it.” Her hand slid up the length of Samuel’s calf. “But you might want to take a quick shower before we go.”

The teenager plunked down in a chair and propped his feet on a desk. “Don’t take too long though. We don’t want to be late.”

The room swayed as Samuel pushed himself to a standing position. His hands clumsily wrapped the sheet around his hips. “What’s going—”

“That’s some love bite, my friend.” Maddox’s gaze narrowed on Samuel’s neck.

His hand automatically went there, jerking away at its tenderness. The mirror over the desk revealed a bite mark. A light brown smear of blood trailed down his neck.

Andi shrugged. “Couldn’t help myself.” She stepped behind him, smoothing her hands over his shoulders. “You’re so delicious. Now go get dressed before I can’t restrain myself any longer.” She pushed the paper bag into his hands. “And here’s a bagel. When in New York, eat like a New Yorker. Right, Maddox?”

He winked. “At least for now.”

Backing his way to the bathroom, Samuel’s knees wobbled with each step. Something was wrong. Very wrong.
Where
was
his
phone?
He needed to call someone…Roc…somebody.

“Where are you going?” Rachel stood in the doorway, baby David perched on her hip. The baby wore a gleeful smile as his arms and legs flailed happily, but his mother’s look was stark with concern.

Roc tossed a box of hollow-point bullets into his duffel bag next to his toothbrush. “Going after Samuel.”

“You think he’s in trouble?”

“I know it.”

“But how?”

He met her concerned gaze. “The same way I knew you were. Even when I didn’t want to admit it.”

“But how do you know where to go?”

“The team has been out scavenging information for the last hour. It wasn’t difficult to find out Samuel was seen riding his motorcycle with a woman behind him. So I did a little checking on the name Levi gave me. Andi Mitchell.” He swallowed past the thickness in his throat. “A body of a runaway teen was found in her apartment.”

Rachel gasped. “A body? But if it was her—”

“It wasn’t her. It was a runaway. Andi Mitchell is missing. Her place of employment reported her not showing up for work. Another death was reported at the downtown Cincinnati library. Had the same MO.”

“Roc, please—”

He faced her and braced himself against the tears in her eyes. “Look, Rachel, we talked about this. You knew this would be our life. For better or worse.”

“It’s one thing to talk about it.”

He nodded. “It’s another thing to live it.” He moved toward her and the baby. She came into his arms, pressed her face against his shoulder. “But you know I have to go.”

“Who’s going with you?”

“No one.”

She straightened, jarring the baby, who squealed. “Why are you training these men if you’re not going to use them?”

“They’re not ready. Besides, this shouldn’t be that difficult.” But he suspected who was behind this disappearance, and if it was Brydon, then it was his own fault, and he’d have to rectify the situation. He rubbed his hands along Rachel’s arms, wishing he could hold on to her. But he had a job to do. “I’ll be back soon. With Samuel.”

His phone rang, and he stepped away to answer it with a clipped, “Roc here.” He listened intently to the police officer describe Andi Mitchell’s white Toyota Yaris, which they found abandoned. Roc added, “All right. Thanks.”

Returning to his packing, he zipped his bag and hooked it over his shoulder. “I’d tell you not to worry, but—”

“You know I will.”

She pressed her cheek to David’s downy head as if to hide the tears welling in her eyes. “Something doesn’t feel right about this.”

“It feels all too familiar.” Roc wrapped his arms around them both one last time, felt their soft warmth against him.

“I just wish we were making progress against these evil creatures.”

He kissed the top of her head. “We are. Or else they wouldn’t be coming back.”

“You think that’s what this is?”

“I don’t know. But I’ll find out.”

A shudder went through her, and he felt it deep in his soul. She looked up at him, her blue eyes like twin oceans. “Take care of yourself, Roc. We need you too.”

“I know what I’m doing, Rachel. And I know why.” He kissed her hard, taking in her sweet taste and scent, and she clung to him with one arm until the baby squirmed. With his eyes he made her a solemn promise. “I’ll be back.” Then he took the first step away from what he loved most. “Until then, Roberto is here, as is the team.”

She nodded, even as her lower lip quivered. He memorized the way her hair curled over one shoulder, the baby’s soft fist against her breast, her determined and brave stance. Just in case he didn’t return.

They sat in the back of a yellow taxi, Samuel sandwiched between Andi and Maddox. They drove out from the city on I-495. None of them spoke, not even the driver. A speaker box on the dash crackled. Air rushed into the car through the partially opened windows. Andi’s hair whipped about, slapping Samuel, until she fisted a section.

Maddox jiggled the lock button on the door, up and down, up and down with the tips of his fingers. “These are high school kids.” His voice was deeper than his freckled face implied. “Most are here for kicks, especially the devil’s dandruff and angel dust, but there are a few true believers.”

“Believing what?” Andi asked, staring out the side window.

“That they are like us. They pretend to drink”—his gaze shifted toward the driver—“but they are not true believers.”

Andi laughed. “This I gotta see.”

The words flew past Samuel, dancing around him, in a whirl of sounds and syllables that he understood and yet did not. Nor did he care. He hadn’t found his cell phone. He’d searched his pockets in the hotel room, under the bed—

“What are you looking for?” Andi asked.

“I-I thought I lost something.”

“Come. The taxi is waiting, and we don’t want to be late.”

After a half hour or so, with little traffic, they pulled through a gate to a sprawling estate. It looked like an all-American home, although upscale…way, way upscale from the places Samuel had lived. Still, the looming house sat on a wide, immaculate, green lawn surrounded by groomed trees and bushes, which gave the place a secluded feeling. Samuel swallowed hard, wishing he hadn’t come on this journey or met Andi. It had been his choice. Hadn’t it?

Maddox climbed deftly from the taxi and slammed the door, forcing Samuel to follow Andi. She paid the driver and waited for Samuel. He inched toward the opening, hesitating, peering at the house, which looked more like a mansion. It wasn’t the structure itself that made him doubt the wisdom of this venture. It felt as if someone were whispering in his soul:
Turn
around, Samuel!
This place felt as if a dark presence hovered over it. He voiced his doubts to Andi. “I’m not sure about this.”

Through the black lenses of her sunglasses, she stared at him. “What are you afraid of?”

“I’m not afraid, just not sure this is where I should be.”

“Oh, yeah? You’re the one who wanted to understand what your brother was into. Well, here we are!” She turned in a circle. “Does this place look scary?” She waggled her fingers. “Oooh. Are you scared?

“Samuel.” Andi bent forward, her glasses sliding downward. Hard black eyes bore into him. “What have you got to lose?”

The world felt topsy-turvy. He couldn’t think straight. He couldn’t think of an argument, so he pushed himself out of the back of the taxi. His limbs felt stiff. His stomach clenched with doubts and regrets. “Who lives here?”

Andi waved to the taxi driver, who began backing out of the driveway. “Some rich slob apparently.”

“You don’t know?”

“A kid who’s in this group lives here. His folks own it, but they’re gone for the weekend.” She touched his hand, slid her fingers between his. “So lots of fun.” Pulling him toward the house, she added, “Come on.”

“But”—Samuel pulled back—“how do we know this had anything to do with Jacob?”

“How do we know it didn’t?”

She jogged up the stone steps, dragging him with her, and entered through the front door as if she owned the place.
Had
she
been
here
before? Or was she simply following Maddox? Where had he gone?

At first the house seemed deserted, in an encompassing quiet that swelled and throbbed around them. Samuel could have sworn the house breathed, its chilly breath puffing out of the slatted vents. Ornate paintings hung on the walls. Some were brash with color, bold with their lines and suggestions. Cherubs danced and floated above them in the entryway, where the arced ceiling had been painted with clouds and baby angels.

A noise off to the left turned them in that direction, and they wandered into a kitchen with more gadgets than Samuel had ever imagined. A teenage girl, wearing a bikini that looked like it was made of string, stood at the extra-wide refrigerator. Her eyes were glassy. “Hey there.”

“Hi,” Andi said. “Maddox brought us.”

“Cool.” Her gaze traveled lazily over Samuel. “We’re downstairs. Grab something to drink or eat if you want.”

Andi tugged him toward the stairs that led downward. “Party this way!”

They went through a doorway and down a shadowy passageway of carpeted stairs, which opened into a wide space. None of the electric lights were being used. Heavy curtains covered expansive windows. A few black candles had been set up on a table and the flames wavered invitingly. A lamp was turned on, its light bulb purple, which gave off an eerie glow.

A dozen or more men and women gathered, some older, some younger than Samuel. A few lounged on chairs, others quietly talked in small groups. A sickly sweet odor saturated the room.

“How can you see in those?” He pointed toward her sunglasses.

“I can see very well in the dark.” She smiled and raised the glasses to the top of her head, which pulled her hair back around her ears.

When her eyes locked with his, he felt the room dip and sway. The only time he’d ever felt that way was the day he’d killed Jacob.

Sudden understanding came over him.
Andi.
She was different. She was like Jacob and that stranger who had attacked him in the barn of his parents’ home.

He had to get out of there.