Right before his lips could meet hers her cell phone rang from the other room, and snatched Adele out of the hypnotic spell he had woven around her. She stumbled backward out of his embrace. “I’ve got to… I’m – it’s important,” she mumbled before making a quick retreat to the other room. She snatched the phone, trying her level best to ignore the fact he had followed her.
She glanced at the caller ID, expecting to see Roman’s name. Instead she frowned as she answered. “Michael?”
“Dani’s gone.”
Adele tried to process the panicked words. “What do you mean, she’s gone?”
“She heard about Adam and apparently she’s run away. The nuns think she shimmied down the wall and jumped the fence sometime after sunset. She was gone by dinner. We’ve called the police but so far there’s nothing. It’s like she vanished out of the clear blue sky. Adele…” his silent plea lingered in her ear.
He didn’t even have to ask. She knew what she had to do. “I’ll be right there.”
She felt his relief over the phone. “Thanks, Addie. Hurry.”
“On my way,” she said.
She was startled to find Nicholas standing in her doorway. She’d completely forgotten he was there. It reaffirmed what she already knew in her heart. She may not have given birth to Dani, but she was her mother in every way that counted. Nothing mattered except her safety, even this captivating man.
He didn’t look slighted, but rather concerned. “What’s wrong?”
“It’s a family thing,” she answered. “I have to go.”
“Maybe I could go with you,” he offered.
She shook her head. He followed her out the door. Before they went their separate ways he grasped her arm. “If you need me, call me.” She nodded absently but he didn’t release her. “I mean it. You can trust me, Adele.”
She stared long into his eyes. Despite her better judgment, she reached up and gave him a quick kiss on the mouth. It wasn’t what either of them had hoped for, but for now it would have to do.
She jogged down the steps and off into the night.
CHAPTER SIX
Adele raced into Michael’s open arms as she shot through the door of the church without a second thought. They embraced for a long moment, and Adele felt Michael tremble in her arms. She couldn’t bear it. Michael had been her rock since elementary school, she didn’t know if she could get through this being the strong one.
“They haven't heard anything,” he croaked into her hair, holding her closer. “I call every ten minutes, but nothing”
“Shhh,” she crooned. “It’ll be okay. The police are out looking for her. They’ll find her. It’ll be okay.”
“How can you say that?” He jerked away from her and collapsed into the pew. “You of all people.”
She had to smile. They were definitely experiencing a role reversal. Normally he was the one rooted in faith and she was the doubting Thomas. Adele realized she had too much invested to doubt now. Dani had to be all right. She just had to be.
And maybe that was all faith really was.
She slipped into the pew next to Michael and took his hand in hers. Their eyes met, volumes spoken without a word.
They didn’t dare name what was on both their minds. Dani wasn’t just a runaway this time. She was prey.
Michael looked especially pained. But he wasn’t talking, not even to her.
So they just sat. And held onto each other. And waited.
Hours passed by. They alternately waited by the phone and called the children’s home for updates. Again the Mother Superior assured Michael she’d phone if there was news, but she couldn’t tell him not to worry. He was going to do that regardless, just like she was.
He lit candles. He prayed. He lay nestled in Adele’s arms as she stroked his hair, doing whatever she could think of to assuage his anxiety. Finally he drifted to sleep in her lap. She leaned back against the pew and looked everywhere in the darkened room except for the massive crucifix staring down at her.
Adele finally succumbed to her own exhaustion and dozed, only to be further terrified by yet another nightmare. What was worse she knew it was a nightmare as it was going on, which made her feel all the more helpless.
She was running down the main street of Darlington in the dead of night, almost like it was present time. “Dani!” she tried to scream, but nothing came out. She stopped in the middle of the street and stared off toward the darkened woods. Whispers surrounded her, a jumble of sounds she couldn’t quite make out.
She knew what she had to do, just like the other four times she’d had this exact same dream. She headed toward the forest, propelled by a fierce wind that surrounded her with a deafening roar.
The tree branches ripped at her clothes as she darted through the familiar path. The scenery never changed in her dreams, she could retrace her steps without even thinking about it.
It was dark in the bowels of the woods, but she navigated the terrain with ease. She passed the abandoned ranger station and didn’t even bother to stop. So much time had passed she knew where Dani would be.
The clearing, where Adele had helped kill all the others.
As she stumbled into the barren center of the forest she was shocked to find someone was already there. A figure in a black cloak knelt to the ground, its back to her. “Dani?” she called, and the strength of her voice surprised even her.
She stopped dead in her tracks as the figure stood to full height and turned to face her. She could not see any details of its face buried deep in the hood of the full length cloak, but the eyes glowed bright yellow like the sun. It let out a terrifying scream as it lifted from the ground and flew toward her at breakneck speed.
Adele fell back on the ground as it flew so close over her she was sure she was going to disappear inside of it. The material of its cloak slapped against her face just as her head hit the hard ground.
Everything went black.
In what felt like just a heartbeat later, Adele jerked awake with a gasp. She immediately looked for Michael, hoping she hadn’t disturbed him with yet another nightmare. What she found instead were twigs and leaves and rocks along the forest floor.
Adele shot up as she looked around. Was this another dream? Immediately her gaze was pulled back to the center of the clearing where the horrifying creature had been. Adele was surprised to find a smaller figure slumped over in a tiny ball.
“Dani,” Adele whispered to herself as she scrambled to her feet and raced over to the lifeless body. Tears sprung from her eyes as she confirmed that it was Dani, and she wasn’t moving.
Adele knelt beside the still girl, who looked so pale in the moonlight. She cradled Dani in her arms, rocking her back and forth, wailing in the most exquisite pain she’d ever experienced. Every moment that they had shared replayed in her mind in vivid slow motion followed by moments of guilt and regret that they were cut all too short. She immediately began to berate herself that she hadn’t fought hard enough to love her, to keep her safe. In her anguish, she almost missed the small moan that escaped Dani’s lips.
“Oh my God!” she whispered. “Dani?”
“Mama,” Dani moaned.
Crying tears of sweet relief, Adele turned the girl to face her. As she did she noticed a steady stream of blood flowed from her neck. Bending closer Adele saw the source of the problem. Two small holes pumped life-saving liquid from the tiny girl’s body.
Like miniature explosions in her head, she had visions of blood stained teeth piercing soft human flesh, biting into it and tearing it away. She could almost feel the warm thick liquid pour down her throat, which instantly made her gag.
Adele jumped away from the girl and scooted as far away from the disturbing thoughts as possible. It was another dream, she told herself as she physically shook her head with her own hands to rid herself of the gruesome images.
It took a howling wolf to bring her back to her senses. She glanced back at Dani who lay dying in the forest. Adele turned back
to collect the girl, figuring even if this was a nightmare, she was going to save a life this time, rather than end it.
Adele was still unsure whether or not it was a dream or reality by the time she stumbled from the forest onto the Darlington streets. She was dirty and bloody and could barely speak once a security guard spotted her on the sidewalk. Even the ride in the ambulance seemed surreal. Her dream was going in a new direction now, so she didn’t figure she could trust anything she saw, even when Michael charged into the emergency room. She felt outside of her body, making it hard to connect to the physical world despite the police onslaught and the questions by people talking over themselves until the noise was just a dull hum in her ears. She sat in a stark white hospital hallway, holding a cup of coffee with both hands, staring at the steam as if none of it was real.
Because it sure didn’t feel real.
If it wasn’t a dream it had to be just another vivid hallucination, like the coffin in the cemetery, all brought on by her lack of medication.
Michael had given up asking her questions that were met with a vague nod or a slight shake of the head. One look at Dani explained why Adele seemed to be in shock, Michael was just grateful that Dani was brought in alive.
He felt sick to his stomach as he remembered praying over the cold, dead body of Lily Maldonado. Her mother had fainted at the sight of her neck. Her father had crossed himself and left the room, unable to lay his eyes upon his dead daughter again. Isabel stood next to Lily, her hands on her body, doing some sort of foreign chant.
As Michael reached out to touch the wounds, Isabel snatched his hand away. “Do not touch her,” Isabel hissed. “She’s theirs now.”
“Whose?” he had asked her, but she left the room with the question hanging in the air.
Seeing the same injury on Dani made his blood run cold. His mind kept trying to go to places it should never have gone. He believed in God. He believed in Satan. He believed in heaven and hell. Superstition beyond that had no place in what he believed. But despite all that, Michael knew with all certainty that what attacked Dani, what had killed Lily, what Adele had seen, was neither human nor animal... dead or alive.
He sat by Adele and cast a concerned glance her way. She was so pale, much paler than normal. Her hair was wild about her shoulders, a dark curtain of ebony with a striking white strike racing down her scalp. Her violet eyes were open, but she wasn’t looking outward. What she saw was in that painful theater of her mind. He put his hand on her leg. She didn’t even budge.
Roman Piccoli parted the throng of police already in the hospital corridor, which included Lieutenant Nelson. Roman conferred with them silently, and Michael watched as everyone indicated back towards Adele. Roman would nod as he ingested the information, and Michael’s gut wrenched as he watched Roman approach. He sprang to his feet.
“How is she?”
“She’s alive,” Roman answered. “Thanks to Adele.”
Adele didn’t even raise her eyes at her name. She was lost in her own little world.
Roman turned back to Michael. “She was with you most of the night?”
Michael instantly knew he meant Adele. What a sick bastard, Michael thought to himself. What could he possibly be suggesting? “Of course she was,” Michael retorted hotly. “She loves that little girl.”
“Of course,” Roman replied. He knew that better than anyone. But he also knew why they couldn’t be together more than anyone, and he had tough questions that demanded some answers. “Do you know what time she set out on her own to find Dani?”
Michael gulped. No, he didn’t remember. He remembered falling asleep in her arms and then waking to the strident ring of the phone, letting him know that Adele and Dani had been picked up in the middle of town, where Adele was discovered carrying Dani’s bloody body to safety. He had avoided asking himself the questions he knew that Roman was going to ask. How did Adele know just where to go? Why hadn’t she taken Michael with her? What exactly had she seen? Or worse, done?
“No,” Michael stated flatly. Roman just nodded, as if that one piece of information solved the riddle for him.
“Tell me what attacked Dani,” Michael asked as Roman turned to Adele. “Those were teeth marks. Just like Lily. Have they all had those wounds?”
Roman met Michael’s heartbroken stare. “I am not at liberty to say,” he finally admitted, and Michael lunged at him, an entire night's worth of worry and panic and now anger consuming him. He grabbed Roman up by the collar and thrust him against the wall.
The officers present charged the scene, pulling Michael back off of the Commissioner. “Stop hiding the truth!” Michael yelled. “What’s hunting our kids?”
“It’s not human,” Adele murmured. Everyone looked her direction. She had barely spoken a word since she was picked up, so no one expected her to drop such a bombshell.
“I've got it,” Roman told the officers, but they were reluctant to leave. “It's okay,” he assured them. With backward glances they walked back to their position in the corridor.
Roman sat next to Adele. She still stared into the steam rising from the plastic cup in her hands, still stained red by Dani’s blood. “You saw the attacker?” he asked softly.
She nodded, her face white as a sheet. Both Michael and Roman watched her expression change from curiosity to terror as she relived the moment. “He was tall,” she told them in a hypnotic whisper. “Wore a black cloak. With a hood. I couldn’t even see his face.”
Roman dissected the information. “You never saw his face?” he probed, and she shook her head. “How do you know it was a man?”
A tear trekked down her face. “I know,” she said softly. Her voice cracked as she forced herself to go on. “He was kneeling over her, his back to me. Then I called for her and he turned around. All I could see were his eyes. They were yellow. Glowing. On fire.”
Michael rushed to her side as she let out an anguished sob. “He let out this horrible yell and then flew towards me. I fell to the ground and blacked out. When I woke up, he was gone.”
Roman’s mouth set in a hard line. It was clear he didn’t believe her. She was hysterical. In shock. That was all.
Dr. Ashcroft pushed through the crowd and rushed to Adele. “Adele,” he said as he knelt down in front of her. “I came as soon as I heard. I’m here now. It’s okay.”
She shook her head, still racked with sobs.
A nurse followed behind, a syringe on her tray. “It’s going to be okay,” Dr. Ashcroft murmured. Michael took the coffee from her hands and Dr. Ashcroft lifted her sleeve. “It’s going to be all better in just a moment.” He shot a sideways glance to Michael. “When was the last time she took her meds?”
Michael shook his head, helpless. “I’ll call her mother.”
“Tell her I want to admit her overnight.”
“No!” shrieked Adele, suddenly wrenched back in the land of the present. “I want to go home! Please let me go home! I’ll take the pills. I promise”
“Adele, listen to me. You’re having hallucinations again…”
She fought like a tiger against his grip. “I am not seeing things!” she cried. She turned to Michael. “You believe me, don’t you, Mikey?” she asked, her eyes pleading as she used the pet name from their youth.
He didn’t know what to say. His heart broke apart seeing her in this state. “Adele,” he started but she wouldn’t let him finish his thought.
“You said they were bite marks! You saw them yourself! You know I’m not crazy. Tell them I’m not crazy!”
He felt like he could cry right along with her. He sat at her side and wrapped his arms around her. She clung to him for dear life. “Tell them I’m not crazy,” she repeated, as she sobbed into his chest.
Dr. Ashcroft seized the opportunity and administered the shot. She didn’t even feel it as she cried uncontrollably in Michael’s arms. He rocked her back and forth as she kept saying, “I’m not crazy,” until she finally drifted off into blissful nothingness.
Roman tried his best to avoid Jim once back at the station. The shrewd Lieutenant would certainly be asking the same questions Roman had pondered... wondering why Adele had gone off on her own to find Dani, how she knew exactly where to find her, then coming up with a ludicrous and laughable suspect when pressed on who exactly had attacked the young girl. The only problem was Jim Nelson did not know Adele. Roman did.
Or at least he thought he did.
And the Adele he knew would never hurt a child, especially Dani. Roman remembered all too well how involved Adele became in the case to prosecute Danielle's mother. He’d watched the way Adele, always known for her cold, impersonal demeanor, warmed up to the tiny girl with a tragic past.
Roman was there in the courtroom when the judge delivered the blow about Adele’s fragile mental state, shocking Roman to the core. He would have never guessed she had spent her entire life tormented by any psychological disorder. But she had, and now it was all a matter of public record, thanks mostly to his own investigation.
When it came down to it, he was the one who had done the most shocking expose, rather than the reporter who was known in their region for doing so. He had almost ravaged her career, but that didn’t even scratch the surface what he did to her emotions. It had all been true, but had it really been necessary?
Regardless of what the investigation uncovered, what had always been more important to Roman was that he had always trusted his gut. Roman simply knew that she would not hurt Danielle.
There had to be another explanation.
There just had to be.
Unfortunately Jim Nelson didn’t see things the same way. He finally cornered Roman a bit later, trying to convince him they needed to get a court order for any medical reports on Adele’s psychological problems. Roman wouldn’t hear of it.
“You don’t know her,” Roman insisted, determined not to skewer her in the justice system again. The way she had looked in the courtroom all those years ago had implanted itself on his brain. She was a victim of her disorder, something that hurt her way more than it could have hurt anyone else. And she seemed to prefer it that way.
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