Silent Pledge

by Hannah Alexander

  Mercy exhaled and gasped as if she’d been kicked in the stomach, and she saw a flash of satisfaction in Abner’s eyes.

  “Oh, yeah,” he spat. “I know how to get what I want from you.” He leaned closer, peering over Mercy’s shoulder. “Get out of my way.” He moved to step past the wall of protection Mercy and Theo had made with their own bodies. “I can make you talk.”

  He raised his elbow to shove Mercy aside, and as he did so the barrel of the gun pointed toward the ceiling.

  With a sudden explosion of movement from behind, Theo lunged forward and grabbed Abner’s beefy right arm with both of his. “Run!” he cried. “Tedi, run! Mercy, get her out of here!”

  The gun fired with a scream of sound and blinding light, and ceiling tile scattered across the room. Mercy whirled around as Tedi jerked open the door behind them and pressed the button to open the overhead door. The light came on and the motor engaged, but as Tedi raced down the steps, Abner shoved Theo aside with a roar of fury, hitting him hard in his weakest spot—the biopsy site. Theo fell with a grunt of pain against the counter.

  Mercy saw the gun come back down and take aim at Tedi, and she lunged for Abner’s arm, kicking up with her right knee. “Run, Tedi! Get away!”

  The gun fired wild again. Abner shrugged Mercy aside as if she were no more than a spitting, scratching kitten. He shoved the gun barrel hard against her cheek. She felt the cold metal against her flesh. Still listening to the sweet sound of the garage door opening, she ducked and rolled at the same time Theo hurled his whole body forward and rammed Abner sideways. Both men struggled and fell against the far counter. Once more, the gun fired.

  A third shot echoed through the night, and Clarence gripped the cell phone. “Just get somebody here fast! Somebody’s shooting in the house! Get the police!”

  The operator ordered him to stay on the line.

  “Sorry, can’t do it.” But he laid the phone down on the seat of the car without disconnecting. He didn’t know how. Didn’t have time. He turned in panic toward the house and heard the overhead door engage and start its slow climb upward. Before the door reached the halfway point he saw a hunched shadow burst out into the night.

  He recognized that compact form. “Tedi!”

  She changed directions and raced toward him, her breath coming in ragged gasps. “Clarence! Help them! He’s got Mom and Dad and he’s shooting!” Her voice plunged past the edge of hysteria. “He’s shooting!”

  Clarence grabbed her by the shoulders and shook her gently. “Okay, I’m going. The police are on their way. You just run! Go across the street to the neighbors. Now!” He nudged her in that direction, then turned and ran as fast as he could toward the house. There was no time to wait for the police.

  Theo felt the shaft of horrible pain in his chest and he knew there was a raging animal somewhere nearby, and he knew Mercy would have to fight that animal alone. He could do nothing to help her. His helplessness was complete. God, protect her.

  Tedi was safe. That’s why the animal raged. With the knowledge came satisfaction that no pain could touch. Theo had been her shield. For once in his life, he’d been her father. And his own Father was waiting. He sensed the presence, the strength that came from outside his own will. He felt the love and acceptance, and he knew God was holding him with a love more powerful than anything he could have imagined. God would never lose His grip.

  The darkness grew, but where he was going was never dark. Theodore Zimmerman would never experience dark again. His way had been prepared.

  Mercy saw the gun on the floor beside Abner’s outstretched hand, where he lay panting across Theo’s prone, silent form. She had to get to that gun, kick it across the room, or grab it and run. For the moment, Abner looked dazed, and blood trickled from his nose and mouth where Theodore had struck him repeatedly.

  She couldn’t take the time to check to see if Theo was okay. She couldn’t hear him breathing, only Abner, and the monster was becoming more coherent with each breath. She stepped over the toppled bodies, placing her full concentration on that gun.

  She had to get to it.

  She rushed past the end of the counter and bent down…and she encountered the creeping depths of Abner’s muddy gaze on her.

  In a final, desperate move, she reached for the gun and brought it up, gripping the barrel with both hands. Abner snaked out his hand and grabbed her by the ankle. His fingers dug deeply into the flesh, and she cried out. He jerked harder. She lost her balance and fell against the refrigerator, but she did not lose her grip on the gun. She wanted to throw it across the room, get it far enough away from him that he could not regain control before she could escape. But first she had to get away from him. She kicked at him with her free foot, but he held on as if he had her encased in concrete. She drew the gun back and slammed its heavy grip into the side of his head with a dull, sickening thud.

  He grunted and relaxed his hold, and she scooted backward across the floor. He shook his head and growled like an angry bear. He turned his gaze of fury back on her. “You better be ready to use that thing.” He gave a low, inhuman laugh. “If you don’t, I will.”

  Mercy scrambled to her feet and ran to the counter that separated the kitchen from the dining area. If she could just climb over…

  He pulled himself up and staggered toward her. Going against every instinct she had ever learned, she gripped the gun in her hands with her finger on the trigger.

  He kept coming.

  She aimed far above his left shoulder and fired. The sound exploded in front of her, and the recoil shocked her. He hesitated but started after her again. His animal instincts had taken over his mind. She fired again, unable to bring herself to aim for his head or chest.

  He growled in angry pain as a splotch of red stained the sleeve of his arm. In one swift move he reached out with his good arm and grabbed for the gun. Mercy squeezed the trigger one more time, and he stumbled backward as another explosion of blood surfaced from his shoulder. There were no more bullets. She flung the gun away and tried to run past him.

  His big hand came out and grabbed her by the throat and closed on her like the mouth of a crocodile.

  She kicked out at him and punched his face and tried to scream, but he was oblivious to all but the work of his one powerful hand. He blocked her air and blood flow, and the light in the room began to go dim.

  She cried a silent prayer for help. She couldn’t let him kill her. She couldn’t leave Tedi behind…but darkness overwhelmed her and she couldn’t catch her breath. God, please! Not like this…

  The grip broke free from her throat, and the force of it shoved her sideways.

  A new, deep, angry voice filled the kitchen. “Get away from her!”

  Two giant male bodies went tumbling to the floor in a confusion of mass and sound, and Mercy fought to catch her breath and stay out of the way of the fight. As her vision cleared and oxygen once more filled her lungs, she saw her four-hundred-twenty-pound rescuer pinning Abner to the floor.

  “Mercy, you okay?” Clarence called to her over his shoulder.

  “Yes,” she choked.

  “I’ve got him. Help’s on the way, and Tedi’s with some neighbors.”

  The sounds of multiple sirens reached them through the open garage door and grew louder with reassuring sound. Mercy fell to her knees at Theodore’s side, and she saw the wound in his chest. She bent over him and cried.

  Fingers of flashing red and blue strobed into the night sky as Lukas turned from the highway onto Mercy’s street. He immediately tensed, as he always did when he saw the telltale signs of a nearby emergency, and then he forced himself to relax. He knew the Knolls E.R. was still out of commission, but the ambulance service wouldn’t be bringing patients to Mercy’s house now.

  It wasn’t until he rounded a curve and drew closer that he discovered with shock that the focus was Mercy’s house. An array of police cars and ambulances surrounded the area along both sides of the road and in her driveway. A small
crowd of bystanders hovered at the periphery of the scene.

  Heart pounding, Lukas pulled over and parked a block away. He tried not to panic as he got out of the Jeep and ran along the street toward the nearest uniformed officer. Before he could reach the man, he heard his name shouted from the interior of one of the ambulances.

  He looked over to find Tedi jerking away from the tech and racing toward him across the yard. “Lukas!” Tears streamed from her eyes, and her breath came in hiccuping sobs.

  Lukas held his arms out, and she ran into them. She grabbed him tightly around the waist and pressed her face into his chest, and for a moment, crying took all of her breath. While Lukas held her and tried to comfort her, his mind raced out of control.

  “What happened?” he called to the policewoman walking toward him. “Where’s Mercy?”

  “Dr. Richmond is still in the house with the investigating officer,” she said as she came nearer. She frowned and peered at him through the red haze of the flashing lights. “Aren’t you Dr. Bower from the emergency room?”

  “Yes.”

  The woman stepped closer and laid a sympathetic hand on Tedi’s shoulder. “This girl’s parents saved her life tonight.”

  “Dad’s dead.” Tedi’s voice was muffled by Lukas’s thick wool shirt. She raised her head at last and looked up into his eyes, and tears still streamed down her cheeks. “Abner Bell tried to shoot me, because he was mad that Mom helped Delphi get away from him.” Lingering terror echoed through her voice. “Dad jumped in the way, and Abner shot him. Lukas, he’s dead!”

  Lukas closed his eyes and drew her head once more against his chest.

  “Don’t ever leave us again, Lukas.” Tedi tightened her grip around his waist. “Please don’t leave us again.”

  He kissed the top of her head. “I’m not going to, Tedi. I’ve already promised your father.”

  One more time he heard his name called, and he looked toward the house. Mercy came walking through the open garage door between Clarence and a police officer. Her slacks and sweater were stained with blood, and there were cuts and bruises on her throat and the side of her face.

  “Tedi, here’s Mom,” Lukas said softly. Together they turned and opened ranks to embrace Mercy, and the three of them clung to one another and cried.

  Epilogue

  On Sunday, February 14, Lukas eased slowly into Mercy’s driveway and parked his car. Weather was unseasonably warm, and the roads were clear, so he didn’t need the four-wheel-drive capabilities of his Jeep. And besides, this was a special occasion. A very special occasion.

  He sat in silence for a moment, staring at the front door of Mercy’s house. He was a little early—he’d intended to be. Mercy wasn’t expecting him so soon, and she was probably still rushing around, getting ready for church, fixing breakfast for Tedi, and urging her to eat while eating nothing herself.

  Lukas reached up to tug at the unaccustomed tightness of his shirt collar. It was buttoned all the way to the top, and there was a tie knotted there—he’d actually remembered how to do the knot. Mercy might faint when she saw him. He grinned to himself, then felt the cold wash of trepidation wipe away the smile.

  Before he could chicken out, he reached for the door handle, opened it, and stepped out, fighting the tide of panic that made his breath come faster and his pulse pound in his ears. Was it too soon? Barely two weeks had passed since Theodore’s memorial service. Was this appropriate?

  Theo had made the initial request. Theo was the one who wanted Mercy and Tedi loved and cared for. If this was wrong, Mercy would say so, and they would wait. But he didn’t think the timing was off. He’d prayed about this. In spite of the natural reaction of nerves that any man in his right mind would have at a time like this, he felt sure that this was good. It was right.

  He stepped to the front door and reached up to ring the doorbell, but the door flew open before he could push the button. Tedi stood before him with a dazzling grin, her dark brown hair still damp from her shower, her glasses slipping down her nose.

  “Hi, Lukas, you’re early. You look great!” She paused to admire him for about two seconds before she released the knob and turned to swirl in front of him. She wore a satiny sapphire dress that fell in soft folds around her shoulders and seemed to radiate highlights of her hair. “What do you think? Isn’t it gorgeous?”

  “It’s beautiful.” She looked so much like Mercy.

  “It’s my favorite color.”

  Lukas knew that. “It’s perfect.”

  “Grandma bought the dress for me yesterday. Don’t you love it? Mom’s still in the bedroom putting her clothes on.” She lowered her voice and leaned toward Lukas conspiratorially. “She was griping this morning because her clothes are too tight.”

  Lukas returned the grin as he stepped inside and followed Tedi to the sofa. He knew Mercy was frustrated about her weight. He’d overheard her just yesterday complaining to Lauren that she had gained another five pounds and that she was going to stop getting on the scales. She looked good to him—if she was gaining girth, it had settled in all the best places. So far in their relationship, though, he’d remained silent on the subject. He’d discovered long ago that women had a very touchy attitude about the subject of weight, no matter what their size.

  As soon as he sat down on the sofa, Tedi scooted next to him and caught his arm in a loving embrace. She had always been affectionate with him, but in the past two weeks he’d spent most of his evenings here after working with Mercy at the clinic all day, and Tedi had hardly left his side. It was as if she was making up for the months they’d lost together while he was doing locum tenens work out of town. He knew there would be plenty of opportunity to make up for the loss, but he couldn’t help the regrets. Still, if he’d been faced with the same decision again, he would probably make the same choices. Theodore and Mercy and Tedi had needed their time to heal as a family.

  “Guess who’s dating?” Tedi pushed her glasses back up on her nose and gazed up at him with adoring eyes.

  “Dating? I don’t know…your grandma?”

  “Oh, Lukas, that’s old news. I mean Darlene! She’s been going out with Mr. Walters, my teacher at school. Did you know his wife died two years ago? He goes to the Methodist church over on Lincoln. They’ve been out three times in the past two weeks, and he’s had dinner with us at the house once. It seems kind of weird having your teacher eating dinner with you, but it’s okay. And you know what else?”

  He leaned back and gazed down at her, charmed by her grin and by the light in her eyes. Theodore’s death and the events of that Friday night had left a deep wound in her, but Lukas knew she would heal. There would be scars, but there had been time to forgive. Now Lukas intended to be here for her when she struggled, when the nightmares visited her, when the doubts came. He wanted to be here for her for whatever she faced.

  Tedi waited for Lukas to answer until she looked ready to explode with the news. “It’s about Clarence. Can you guess?”

  “He’s lost more weight?”

  “No, besides that.”

  “He’s dating…he’s joining the police force…no, wait, I know! He’s opening a gym.”

  Her hands tightened threateningly on his arm. “Lukas,” she warned. “Get serious.”

  “I am serious. Why couldn’t he do all those things? He’s a hero, you know. He saved your mom’s life.” Under that tough, thick facade truly beat the heart of a hero.

  “Clarence is going to work for Arthur and Alma at Crosslines,” she blurted at last, unable to contain her excitement.

  “He’s going to work for them?”

  “Just volunteer at first, but he’s really excited. He told me all about it yesterday. You’d think he’d just won a million dollars.”

  A warm alto voice reached them from the hallway. “For Clarence, this is even better.”

  Lukas felt his breath catch, and he turned to find Mercy stepping into the living room in a slender cloud of soft white silk that draped over
her beautifully shaped curves in perfect harmony with her movements. Her dark hair was swept up and away from her face to fall gracefully over her shoulders. And her gaze held a special light as it rested on him. To him, Mercy was the most beautiful woman in the world, the one by whom all others would be measured. She set the standard, with her thick dark brows, high cheekbones, firm chin and the multitude of changing expressions that radiated across her face at any given moment. At this particular moment there glowed a depth of affection…even more…a depth of love.

  He stood up, feeling awkward in the presence of perfection. “Wow.”

  The light of her gaze deepened as she smiled. “Thanks, I need that. Wow, yourself.” Her admiring eyes traveled from his eyes to the toes of his shiny black wing tips. “Must be a special occasion.”

  “It is.” He watched her, fighting the old feelings of awkwardness.

  “Want some orange juice? You’re early. I didn’t think—”

  “Uh, actually, I meant to get here a little early.” He shoved his right hand into the pocket of his suit coat and grasped the velvet-covered boxes nestled there. He stepped back from the sofa and gestured for Mercy to be seated. “I needed to talk to both of you before church this morning.” He studied Mercy’s face to see if she guessed what he was going to say. He saw a slight widening of her dark eyes. A question.

  She sat down beside Tedi.

  He cleared his throat and took out the boxes. The one for Tedi was covered in pale pink velvet. The one for Mercy was red.

  He held the pink one out for Tedi. “A valentine gift for you.”

  The excitement that had filled her eyes since his arrival now radiated from her with an almost tangible force. “All right!” She took the box from him and opened it in one fluid movement. Her mouth opened in a gasp, and she cried out at the sparkle of tiny precious stones set in the shape of a heart on a ring of gold.