by Emma Easter
“If I haven’t already pushed him away,” Sofia said. “Maybe I did something really wrong without knowing it. Or maybe he developed cold feet and could not bring himself to tell me.”
“I don’t know this Jude, but from all you’ve told me about him, I don’t think he would do that to you.”
“Then why isn’t he here?” Sofia wrung her hands. “Where could he possibly be, Lily? I don’t understand.”
Lily pulled her close again and Sofia wrapped her arms around her, trying hard to believe there was a good explanation for Jude’s absence. “Lord, please let him be okay,” she whispered.
About twenty minutes later, Edith returned and shook her head. “I saw Samuel leaving the house just as I was approaching. He was surprised when I told him Jude had not come to the courthouse. He said Jude had dressed up for the wedding and was very excited when he left the apartment.
Sofia felt sick with worry and dread. So something bad had definitely happened to Jude. Tears formed in her eyes again. “I told you two,” she said. “It’s not like him not to call if he’s held up somewhere. Something has happened to my Jude.”
Lily brushed back her hair. “You don’t know that, Sofia.”
“What other explanation is there?” Sofia pulled away from Lily. “I have to go look for him. He could be anywhere. Anything could have happened to him. Maybe ICE found him and had him arrested.” Various thoughts raced through her mind, all of them distressing. “Oh my Lord, please help me. Please protect Jude, wherever he is.” Without thinking she marched away from Edith and Lily. She had to look for Jude. She could not just stand around waiting for him to appear when it was clear he was in some sort of trouble.
“Where are you going?” Lily called out.
“I’m not sure… but I think I will go to Samuel’s first and see if anyone else saw him leaving the apartment. And then I will go to the university campus and ask around. Someone has to have seen him.” She began to walk away again.
“Sofia!” Lily called. “Wait!” She ran up to Sofia and held her hand. “Wait, Sofia. Aren’t you forgetting something?”
Sofia turned around. “What?”
“The car. It will get us to Samuel’s faster.”
Sofia sighed loudly and walked back to the car with Edith and Lily. She got into the back seat with Lily, while Edith took the wheel. Edith drove fast, weaving through traffic, and Sofia alternated between gritting her teeth impatiently, and praying they would get to Samuel’s apartment quickly. She also prayed that, through a miracle from God, Jude would be there with an explanation for why he had missed their wedding.
Jude felt like sobbing. Without a doubt he had missed his wedding. Sofia would be distraught. What am I going to do?
“Jude, have you made your decision?” Felix asked with an impatient look. “Whatever you want to do, you have to do it now.” Felix brought the laptop closer to Jude. “Should I make the call to end your father’s life, or will you come with us?”
Jude groaned.
“Five minutes more,” Felix said, looking at his wristwatch.
Jude placed his hands on his head, his emotions in tatters.
Felix began a countdown that shredded Jude’s nerves. He could not breathe. He felt as though any minute now he would pass out. Felix refused to take the laptop away, forcing Jude to look at it. He agonized over every second that passed. He had to make a decision, but what could that possibly be? Any decision he made would end in unimaginable heartbreak.
He watched his father on the computer screen, feeling an excruciating amount of pain in his heart that he had never thought was possible. He could not look away as Felix’s men held him in place. Neither could he stop thinking about Sofia.
“Three minutes,” Felix said coldly.
Jude almost screamed. He shut his eyes, trying to calm down and make a rational decision, but he could not think rationally. His mind seemed to be made only of dread. He sighed. He had thought his dad was dead for some time now. If he went to Sofia and his dad was shot, it might still be the same for him. But if he went back to Bakali and left Sofia without her knowing what had happened to him, who knew what she would do? And he would certainly never see her again. The thought was unbearable.
But so was the thought that he would let his father be killed.
“One minute more,” Felix said, looking at his wristwatch again.
“Oh, Sofia!” Jude lamented. He shut his eyes for a brief moment and then winced in pain and opened them again when Felix’s man slapped him hard. He had mourned his father, believing him dead. But now he had a chance to see his dad again after so long. He had a chance to save his father’s life. How could he allow anyone to take that away? Sofia was alive and well. She had Edith and her other friends. She would not be alone.
But if he left without a word, she would be heartbroken. So would he. Would she ever forgive him?
You have twenty seconds,” Felix said. He paused, his eyes fixed on his watch, and then began to count. “Ten, nine, eight…”
Jude squeezed his eyes shut and held his head in his hands, praying that Felix would stop counting, but he did not stop.
“Two…one…” Felix frowned and then took his phone out of his pocket and dialed a number.
Jude watched in horror as the gunman in the video answered his phone as Felix said, “Hello, Saul…”
He shuddered. It was real. There was no doubt about it now.
“Kill him,” Felix said.
The man pointed the gun to his father’s head.
“Stop!” Jude screamed. “I’ll go with you! Please don’t kill him!”
“Stand down!” Felix said on the phone. The gunman moved away from Jude’s father, and Felix closed the laptop and smiled at Jude. “You’ve made the right decision.” He called out to the pilot. “We are ready to go!”
Jude collapsed into one of the chairs. Waves of anger and anguish washed over him, and he shut his eyes and screamed. Everyone on the plane ignored him. The small plane taxied down the runway and an overwhelming despair settled over him. He felt a hand on his shoulder and looked up. Keziah was looking down at him.
“Cheer up, Jude! At least you’ll get to see your father again.”
He glowered at her. He knew he should rejoice. Some would say the silver lining in all this was that his dad was alive. But he couldn’t stop thinking about how hurt and devastated Sofia would be. He felt terrified that she would hurt herself.
And yet, Keziah was right. The father he’d thought was dead was alive. He wasn’t sure what Felix and his “organization” wanted him to do, but he would go along... until he could get his father released, and then he would fight to break free
He looked out the window as the plane soared higher and higher in the sky and once again thought about Sofia. He closed his eyes and prayed for her — that she would be safe and that she would forgive him for leaving so abruptly. A grim determination gradually entered his heart, and he vowed to himself that he would come back to America one day to find her, no matter what it took, even if it cost him his freedom... or his life.
Samuel was standing at the front door, making a call. He raised a finger as Sofia opened her mouth to ask if he had heard from Jude. Ending his phone call, he said, “I’ve been calling some of our friends. None of them has seen or heard from him.” He placed his hands on his head, a look of despair on his face. “I saw him leave for the wedding, Sofia. I am trying to figure out where he could possibly be.”
Edith said, “We will go to the police if he doesn’t turn up in a few hours.”
Sofia did not feel comfortable with that because of Jude’s immigration status, but it was not like they had a choice. It was better that he was safely found, even if he had to leave the country, than for him to be left wounded somewhere. Her stomach hurt from thinking about the awful things that may have happened to him. The best scenario to her at this point was that he’d been apprehended by ICE and taken to be deported, which was bad. Very bad. She wrung her h
ands again and began to sob.
“Sofia, you need to calm down,” Edith said. “Please.”
But she could not calm down. She couldn’t help thinking that she would never see him again.
“Sofia, Edith is right,” Lily said. “You have to calm down. We will find him.”
Sofia bit her lip and tried to gather herself together. But she could not stop the ache in her heart or the tears that welled up in her eyes. She ran her fingers through her hair, fear gripping her again. How could she be calm when everything in her screamed that Jude was in trouble? And she was certain of it. Nothing else would have kept him away from their wedding. She had considered briefly back at the courthouse that he’d gotten cold feet and left her, but that wasn’t possible. He had proven to her again and again in the short time she’d known him that he loved her dearly. “Lord, I ask for a miracle,” she prayed. “Please deliver him from whatever trouble he is in right now.” The Lord had to, because she did not know if she could go on if Jude did not return safely to her.
She began to walk away from her friends again and called out to them, “I am going to the university campus to find out if anyone has seen him.”
Lily, Edith, and Samuel hurried to her and fell into step. They reached the large university campus, and Sofia immediately began to ask everyone she saw if they had seen Jude. As she expected, many of them did not know who he was. She described his physical appearance as clearly and as best as she could, but no one she spoke to had seen him.
Samuel led them to the hostel where two of their friends stayed. One of them was not in his room or answering his phone, but the other one was there.
“I have not seen Jude for some time now,” their friend said.
Sofia shut her eyes, panic taking hold of her again.
They all left the hostel minutes later and walked around the grounds trying to find anyone that might have seen Jude. It was a desperate attempt on their part. Sofia knew it was unlikely that they would find him in such a vast place. But they had very few options.
When they were all tired of searching and asking around for Jude, they left the campus “The only option left is to go to the police” Sofia said, sighing.
As they walked to Samuel’s apartment, Sofia prayed silently again that God would keep Jude safe. For his sake as well as hers.
“Don’t worry, Sofia. I am sure Jude is safe,” Lily said, as though she’d read Sofia’s mind and heard her exact prayer.
She gave Lily a sad smile. “Thanks,” she said, trying to believe Lily’s words were a sign from God that Jude was safe wherever he was.
A supernatural peace descended on her, and she heaved a sigh. She suddenly felt a deep certainty in her heart that Jude was safe and well and knew that the feeling was from God. Again she sighed, relieved. It did not stop the ache in her heart because, if he was alive and well, it meant he’d purposely decided he did not want to marry her anymore. But even though that thought felt excruciating, she could live with it as long as he was okay.
She wiped the tears from her eyes, but the pain in her heart remained. Whatever his reasons were for skipping their wedding, they had to be good, even though she could not possibly imagine what they were. Maybe she would see him one day and find out. Maybe not.
She winced as sorrow tore through her, and then she pressed the sadness away. Days ago, she would have gone over the edge, maybe even swallowed some pills as she had done when George broke up with her. But she had Jesus in her heart now. And with Him, she would weather any storm.
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Thank you.
Emma Easter
A Look at Finding Destiny
The Destiny Series 5
INTRIGUE, ROMANCE AND THE LOVE OF GOD – AUTHOR OF THE SISTERS OF ROSEFIELD, EMMA EASTER, INTRODUCES A NEW SET OF FLAWED AND LOVEABLE CHARACTERS IN THE DESTINY SERIES.
After a horrific incident with her former husband Mike Cadwell, Davina Brooks is left a widow. She became free to pursue a relationship with her childhood sweetheart, the tall, brawny, and bearded town sheriff Daniel. Daniel, however, has a bit of a temper and struggles with intense jealousy, which makes Davina often question their relationship.
When Davina gets an offer to become an actress and move to Los Angeles she has to decide what is more important, her relationship with Daniel, or her new dream…
COMING AUGUST 2020
About Emma Easter
Like the characters in her stories, Emma Easter juggles a range of identities.
In the low-income community where she works, Easter is known as a family medicine physician who treats patients of all ages and backgrounds, including those who’ve been historically under-served by the healthcare system. But it’s less known that she’s also experienced life on the opposite end of the stethoscope as a cancer patient, now in remission.
College friends see her as an accomplished musician, having studied and mastered five classical instruments—but behind closed doors, she’s just as comfortable rocking an air guitar to Creed. And when she isn’t giving her heart, soul, and sanity to her three young children she’s indulging in her most secret identity of all: meeting new characters, crafting fresh plots, and exploring every corner of her imagination.
Across all these different roles, one cohesive thread has tied everything together: her faith and love of Jesus Christ.
The Sisters of Rosefield is Easter’s first series, soon to be followed by a second, The Destiny Series. Both center around themes close to Easter’s heart: The importance of family, the redemption of true love, and the power of faith through harrowing adversity.
Emma Easter loves hearing from her readers. You can reach her at EmmaEaster.com.
Find more great titles byEmma Easter and Christian Kindle News at https://christiankindlenews.com/our-authors/emma-easter/