by Lenora Worth
In a matter of days, he’d lost his parents and the girl.
He wouldn’t go down that road again. Chastising himself for even thinking along those lines about a woman he’d been forced to take into his home, he knew it was wrong, plain and simple.
The Amish usually kept such things to themselves when it involved one of their own, but now outsiders had brought danger to his home. He had to let the authorities do their work.
Lost in his thoughts, Micah heard a distant roar, a buzzing like a motor running or a plane flying low in the sky.
Emmie stopped running.
Jed pointed to the clouds.
Isaac came around the corner and stopped to stare.
Samantha looked up, one hand over her eyes as she stared into the bright sun.
Then she dropped the bundle of corn and screamed, “Run! Emmie, Jed, run!”
The children started shouting and took off toward the house. Patch barked and followed. Isaac made it to the porch and shouted for Rebecca.
Rebecca hurried away, calling to Samantha. “Kumm!”
Micah ran to meet the twins, then he saw it.
A drone—something the Englisch used now as toys and to spy on others. They sometimes flew over Campton Creek, then posted things on social media, or so he’d heard. This one hovered toward the field and outbuildings. It turned, now heading straight toward where Samantha stood frozen.
The drone approached and went low. Emmie looked back, tripped and fell. She screamed and clawed at the dirt to get up again. Samantha came alive and rushed out to grab Emmie, half dragging her toward the house, Jed sprinting behind them.
Samantha pushed Emmie. “Go, run.” She turned, the drone hovering over her head.
Emmie screamed for Jed. “Hurry, bruder!”
Micah went into action and raced toward the twins, shouting at them. Samantha turned toward Jed, but Micah reached her and shoved her to the ground, trying to cover her while he shouted for Jed to hurry.
The buzzing spiderlike gadget hovered over them. Micah braced himself, not knowing what would happen. Samantha held tightly to him, her eyes a misty fog of fear and regret.
The drone abruptly whirled and dived toward Samantha’s embedded car. A flash of fire hit the car and a roaring boom rattled the earth. Fire and shrapnel sailed up into the air, fragments coming close to where Micah and Samantha lay on the ground.
Micah looked back to make sure the children were safe. Rebecca and Isaac huddled with them on the porch. Micah looked down at the woman in his arms.
Samantha stared up at him, her eyes dull with shock now, and her heart pumping. “Is everyone all right?” she asked on a shaky breath.
He turned, sat up and then nodded, his chest heaving as he scanned the yard and house. “The twins and Patch are on the porch with Rebecca and Isaac.” Then he pointed. “Your car is badly damaged.”
Samantha struggled to stand, so he took her hand and helped her up. She pivoted and gasped, her palm going to her forehead. “They blew up my car.”
“With a drone,” he added as he stomped to the pump and grabbed a water bucket. “Samantha, they were coming for you. These people are serious.”
“I told you.” She pushed at her tumbled hair, running to catch up, Isaac hurrying behind her. “I told you. Leon owns tech stock and he knows all about the latest technology. He uses drones on his property for security. I’ve watched him test this kind—a laser drone. Now he’s brought them to spy on me.”
“Not just to spy,” Micah shouted. “To do harm to you.”
The rage in her eyes radiated a swift heat that matched the fire about to spread over the field. “They could have killed Emmie and Jed.”
“I am well aware of that,” he said as they watched her car going up in flames while he pumped water. The field had dried out since the storm and the grass, leftover twigs and small limbs could easily burn. “I have to put that fire out before it spreads.”
“I’ll help.” She grabbed another bucket and filled it. The bucket of water was heavy, but she practically ran to the vehicle, huffing as she moved.
Isaac did the same. “Are you all right?” he asked Micah in passing. Micah nodded and rushed with his own bucket to the fire.
“Samantha, be careful,” he shouted. “If the gas tank is damaged it could get worse.”
Ignoring him, she heaved the bucket and threw water over the hissing flames. Micah did the same, frantically stomping against the ground around the car so the green grasses wouldn’t burn even more. The flames grew because of the leaking gasoline.
Isaac moved back to the well, then turned. “Micah, get away!”
They were heading back with more water when the fire hissed and spewed. Micah could hear the roar.
Taking Samantha’s water bucket, he tossed it toward the explosion before grabbing her hand and running with her.
Another boom echoed over the countryside and caused them both to hit the ground. Micah cringed, but still held her hand, his ears ringing with a roaring buzz after the boom had died down.
Samantha turned and scooted back from the intense heat. “It’s spreading,” she said, pulling her cell phone out of her pocket. “I’m calling for help.”
Micah didn’t stop her. He managed to stand, then went running to get more water. The twins and Isaac rushed out.
“Can we help?” Rebecca shouted from behind them.
Micah threw water into the raging heat, but it was hopeless. “Neh, get them back, Isaac. Stay back.”
When they heard sirens, his relief was short-lived. This would be all over the community. Now Samantha would be completely exposed. The pump truck might be able to save his hay crop. He knew, by law, they’d have to report this. Samantha would be in even more danger. And so would his family.
If Micah had ever doubted it, he now realized that having Samantha here might cause problems worse than this one. How could he protect her against this kind of evil force?
* * *
“Denke,” Micah told Jeremiah and the other men who’d come to put out the fire. “I need to go and talk to Captain Schroder again.”
“You know we had to report the drone strike,” Jeremiah said, his deep blue eyes full of questions. “A drone is a rare thing around here, especially one that uses a laser to destroy a vehicle, so this might go above our understaffed police department.” Glancing over at the burned mass, he added, “And one that has the force of a mini rocket takes it to another level.”
“Having a woman’s car land in your field is a rare thing, too,” Micah replied, soot and dirt all over his clothes. “They were aiming for her, but went for the car. I guess if they couldn’t kill her, they want to trap her here, and also expose her to the community. They have succeeded at both.”
“Or make a statement that they’ll keep coming,” Jeremiah said. “What’s going on, Micah?”
Micah gave him a brief update on how Samantha wound up here. “I was afraid to let her leave.”
Jeremiah listened with the intensity that Micah had come to know over the years, then nodded. “The firemen know the drone was the source of the blast. The explosion probably knocked down the drone so that can hold some answers if they find it. I can tell you such an attack has to be well planned and calculated. Whoever did this knows what he’s doing.”
“A laser. What next?” Micah asked. Jeremiah had gone off for twelve years and had served the country in the military. He didn’t mess around.
Jeremiah gently slapped him on the back. “Be completely truthful with the police, Micah. They need to know every detail. This is dangerous stuff.”
“I’ll tell them what I know,” Micah said. “And I hope Samantha will do the same.”
He left Jeremiah to the task of sorting things out and walked toward where Samantha sat on the back of an open ambulance, Rebecca by her side.
“Are you all right?” he asked when the two women looked up.
Samantha pushed away the light blanket the paramedics had given her. “Other than a few surface burns on my arm and a dull ringing in my ears, I’m fine. The twins have been checked over and are inside with Isaac and Patch.”
She studied his face, her gaze moving to his burning cheek. “You have another cut.”
“I’d gotten over the one from...the tornado,” he said, his heart bursting with some unknown emotion. “I’ll have scars.”
Samantha didn’t say anything. They both knew some scars went deep.
“Isaac is okay, thankfully,” Rebecca said. “I’m grateful he got out of the way in time. First the storm and now this. You’ll have more people snooping around to see what’s up.” Eying both of them, she got up. “I’ll go check on him and the kinder, then make some lemonade for the fire people.”
After Rebecca left, Samantha sat with her hands against her stomach. “I’m sorry, Micah. I’ve told the captain and the patrol officer everything about what happened today. They have Leon’s name and his address already and they’ve verified that I’m from Winter Lake. I told them about the intruders who’ve been on the property and now this, of course. I also told them Leon is an expert on the latest technology. This drone had to have come straight from him. He’s fascinated by those things and I’m thinking he probably had a storehouse of this type of weapon, possibly selling them on the black market.”
“Did you share that with the police?”
She nodded. “They’ll check into everything I’d told them, but they have limited resources. Even if they find the drone, they’d have to send it to a state lab for testing.”
She stopped and lowered her voice. “I’ve given them the photos I took and the notes I jotted down. Nathan has that information, too, because I feel I can trust him. Surely the police can use what I heard and saw to prove what the authorities in New York have found.”
“If they raided the warehouse, they have proof,” Micah replied. “If they can’t find the ringleader, that’s another matter. He’s threatening you, but he’s also hiding.”
“He has people who’d do his bidding.” She shrugged. “I’m afraid to trust law enforcement. Leon ruled over the police in our town. What if he’s reached out to someone here?”
“What if you gave up all that information and he has paid someone off? The local police can only do so much to help protect you. They’re not used to this kind of crime, Samantha. How can I be sure those people won’t return?” he asked, wishing he didn’t feel so torn. Wishing he had better ways to protect her.
“Because I’m leaving,” she said, pushing to stand. “I should have kept going once I landed here. I felt safe here, but that was an illusion. Or more like a delusion. Leon will keep coming until he kills me. He’s got something to prove and if that means eliminating me, so be it.”
“Where will you go?”
She gave him a soul-crushing stare. “Rebecca insists I go to their house, and she’ll get the word out that I’m no longer staying at your home. I told the police I’d be leaving your place. They didn’t seem to believe anything I told them. Maybe that will get back to Leon and he’ll leave you alone, at least.”
“Do you think they’ll even investigate this further?”
“They have to—only to see if I’m imagining things.”
“What did they say about connecting with New York?”
“That they’ve spoken to the police in Winter Lake and they can substantiate what I’ve told them. The authorities in Winter Lake want me to come back since the captain felt obligated to tell them I’m here. They said they’d protect me. The police here seem to agree that I should go back.”
“I don’t believe that,” he replied with too much force. “I had to deal with our police when my parents died. Captain Schroder wanted to blame my folks for being on the road after dark. That’s how things are sometimes. If you go back there, who’s to say this man Leon doesn’t run their payroll.”
“I’m sorry for what you had to go through, Micah,” she replied, understanding in her eyes. “I might not have any choice. They’ll want me as a witness if they can pin anything on Leon. I can only tell them the facts.”
“He might be behind their suggestion that you return there. I don’t think you should do that.”
“I don’t plan on going back unless I have an official escort and protection.”
Micah looked down at her and saw the apprehension mixed with regret in her eyes. “I wish we could have met under different circumstances,” he said. “If you were still Amish—”
“I’m not,” she replied, her eyes widening with the realization that he’d already felt in his heart. “I’m not that girl anymore.”
He nodded. “Let’s get you inside. I’ll help Jeremiah and the others where they need me.”
Samantha took one last look at what used to be her vehicle. “I had such dreams,” she said on a raw whisper. “I thought I’d met the man God wanted me to be with. Leon sure presented himself in the best light—deacon at the church, animal lover, good man who helped others, a pillar of the community. All the right facades, while his soul is as rotten as dead leaves. He’s a sociopath of the worst sort and he’s an evil man. How can I ever get past that to trust again?”
Micah walked with her toward the house, keeping a respectable distance when he wanted to hold her and comfort her.
“You can trust me, Samantha. No matter what, remember that.”
She gave him an appreciative smile. “I’ll remember, Micah.”
Then she walked into the house, her shoulders hunched and her head down.
Micah had been sincere in what he’d said, but could he ever trust another woman to be a part of his life? What could he do about Samantha? Not that it mattered.
She’d go back to her life when this was over and he’d be here, trying to live the life Gott had given him.
It was well and good that she’d be leaving his home.
* * *
“We’ll leave at dark,” Rebecca told Samantha later that day.
Isaac left to go check on things at their place. He’d be back to pick them up. Emmie and Jed were finishing chores before nighttime, Micah with them. “We’ll keep you hidden. We’d do anything for Micah.” Giving Samantha a thorough once-over, she smiled. “You look so natural in your Amish clothes it might be easier than I realized to keep you hidden. You’ll blend right in.”
Samantha thought her friend could be right. She’d gone back to the old ways without too much effort, but did she want to truly return? Her life was in shambles right now. Once she knew Leon and his minions were behind bars, she’d have to make some hard decisions. It would be easy to stay in the shelter of this quiet community, only she couldn’t hide out the rest of her life.
“I don’t want to trouble you and Isaac,” Samantha said after they’d made sandwiches for the firemen and others who’d worked to remove the blackened remains of her car from the field once they’d established the explosion’s source and verified the cause of the fire. “I’m pretty sure the bishop won’t like any of this.”
“Isaac has already explained to Bishop King. He’s a very understanding man and he wants no harm on any of us. You were once Amish and he respects that you find comfort in coming home. Martha carries a lot of respect with all of us.” She stopped and looked directly at Samantha. “This latest attempt might change his mind on that, however. Do you think we should let your grossmammi know you’re here?”
Samantha didn’t want her gramma involved. “I’m afraid to bring her back. But I sure do need her.”
“I can write to her,” Rebecca offered. “Or have someone call her.”
Samantha didn’t say no. “Let’s hope the police will be able to coordinate things with the New York authorities, and probably the FBI, too, at that, and bring th
ese people to justice. If that happens, I’ll be free from harm and then I can see Gramma again.”
Rebecca didn’t argue with her. Samantha helped her clean the kitchen, then went to her room to freshen up and pack her clothes. She was almost finished when Emmie came running in.
“We need help, Samantha,” the little girl said, tears in her eyes.
Samantha’s heart skipped ahead. “What’s wrong?”
“One of the kid goats must have gotten scared when your car exploded. He’s hung up in the fence and he’s crying.”
Samantha automatically started to grab her doctor bag, but remembered she’d left it at home. “Let’s go,” she said. She’d have to do this without modern equipment. “Show me.”
“Can you save him?” Emmie asked, her innocence and hope piercing Samantha’s soul.
“I’ll do my best,” she said. Right now, she couldn’t make any promises other than that one.
TEN
Micah searched the yard for Samantha and Emmie. “Jed, where did they go?”
“Maybe in the barn,” Jed called from where he stood feeding the chickens. “Emmie’s worried about one of the kids.”
He’d warned them to stay close to the house. Emmie always had to make sure the baby goats were secure for the day. She loved playing with them and nurtured them with motherly concern.
Both of his siblings had been shaken today. They’d never seen anything like a drone before and neither had he. Not up close like that. Watching the contraption heading toward them had aged him ten years and made the twins too aware of all the happenings around here.
Fatigue fell like a heavy coat over Micah. The firemen were gone for now. Between their efforts and the help of some of the neighboring men, his hay field was still intact. Intact, but with a big black, charred hole right in the middle. The fire department would study the remains of Samantha’s vehicle and send reports to the proper authorities. He trusted Jeremiah to be truthful with him.