by Terri Reed
“No, I don’t suppose you do. I would imagine you don’t let anyone close enough.” He tucked a lock of hair behind her ear, the gesture raising goose bumps on her skin.
“I’m sorry.” How she hated that sentiment. She’d sworn to herself she wouldn’t say those words anymore. For too many years those little words spared her some pain, but not humiliation.
Luke shook his head. “You have nothing to be sorry for.”
Everything was turned upside down. Her strength deserted her. “You don’t understand.”
“Make me understand.” His words caressed her.
“Where do I begin?” she whispered, her voice raw.
“Start with tonight. Why were you leaving?”
A sense of the inevitable overwhelmed her and her head dropped to his chest. Luke’s finger under her chin brought her gaze back to his. From deep inside she dredged up the courage to tell him. “He’s coming.”
“Who?”
Taking a deep breath, she blurted out the truth. “My ex-husband.”
Instantly, an oppressive weight lifted from her, making her light-headed. And just as quickly, she felt guilty for her utter selfishness. Her motivation for telling him wasn’t to protect him and his family but to lighten her own load.
She expected him to recoil, to draw away from her, but he touched her cheek with the back of his finger, his voice soft. “He’s who you’re running from?”
She nodded.
“How do you know he’s coming here?”
“He called.”
It sounded ridiculous and it still didn’t seem right. It just wasn’t Vinnie’s style to give any warning. He usually struck when least expected.
“Are you sure the voice was his?”
Faith frowned. “I—the voice was muffled, but who else could it have been?”
Luke stood and began to pace. “What did he say?”
“Well—” She bit her lip in concentration. “If I remember correctly, he said, ‘I’m coming for you, Faith. You can’t get away. No matter where you go, I’ll find you.’”
“Could the call have been from someone else?” Luke sounded unconvinced.
“I don’t know.” Faith realized her hands were clasped tight again. Quickly, she separated them.
“The P.I., maybe?”
She shrugged. “I had the same thought, but why would he do that?”
Then she remembered the note. She pulled it out of her pocket and offered the folded piece of paper to Luke. “This was also delivered here.”
He took the note and read it in silence. His jaw tightened and the small scar on his chin blanched.
“You said this was delivered?” He looked up from the note and studied her.
She nodded.
“By who?”
“A boy.”
“When?”
“Sometime Friday.”
“What did he say?” The questions came like rapid fire.
“That some man paid him to ride his bike out and deliver the note.”
“You talked to the boy?”
He should have been a lawyer, she thought. “No, Reva did.”
His eyes narrowed. “I’ll talk with her tomorrow.” Stroking his chin, he seemed deep in thought.
This is it, she thought, he’s going to tell me to leave. What choice did he have? He had to do it to protect Dottie, himself and all the rest of them. Faith closed her eyes, confused why the knowledge hurt so much. She’d been on her way when he’d stopped her, so what did it matter?
It mattered because before it had been her decision, now it would be his.
“Why is your ex-husband looking for you? The money you were talking about?”
Opening her eyes, she met his intense stare. How did she explain the crazed mind of Vince Palmero? “No, not the money. He wants what belongs to him.”
Luke moved to his desk and leaned his hips against the edge. “Meaning?”
Faith stood and did some pacing of her own. She retraced her steps several times before she finally found it within herself to go on. “Meaning, he is a possessive man who never lets anything be taken away from him.”
Unable to face Luke, she continued her trek back and forth across the room. “You have to understand that I was his ticket to a life he’d only been able to view from the outside. Through me, he was able to enter New York society. When I left him it was the ultimate betrayal. To him, I am a possession. Nothing more than a showpiece, bought and paid for through marriage. The money is just a bonus.”
The ache in her tightly clenched hands barely registered against the ache inside. She faced Luke, not sure what to expect. His dark eyes were hooded and hiding any indication of his thoughts. Doggedly, she continued. “I am his property, Luke, and he won’t rest until I’m back in my gilded cage.” She shuddered. “Or dead.”
“Neither one of those things is going to happen, Faith.”
He sounded so sure, she longed to believe him. “He’s not going to stop looking for me. I should leave now while I can before he comes here. He’s unpredictable. I’m sorry I put you and your family in danger.”
Ignoring her words, he asked, “What have the police done?”
She lifted her hands in the air in a helpless gesture. “The police? Are you kidding? In New York, you have to prove abuse for a divorce to be granted on the grounds of cruel and inhumane treatment. So my lawyer filed for separation, and then a year later I was granted a divorce based on that. But in the meantime, Vinnie began stalking me.”
She gave a mirthless laugh. “Or I should say he had others stalk me. Again, for an order of protection to be granted, I had to prove he was stalking me. One officer I talked to had been sympathetic and suggested a bodyguard.”
She clenched her fists. Ineffectual rage at the system burned hot in her soul. “Brian, the bodyguard, ended up in the hospital with a bullet in his back. Of course, there were no witnesses and the police said they had no evidence implicating Vinnie. It was then I realized the only way to protect myself and everyone near me was to run. Unfortunately, that was the one night Vinnie decided to make his move. He must have had someone watching me because he showed up just as I was leaving.”
She hated even thinking about that night. “He—he hurt me badly. But I still got away. And once again since there were no witnesses, just my word against his and he had an alibi—his family—the police’s hands were tied.”
Nothing she said seemed to faze Luke. He still leaned motionless against the desk, his expression indecipherable.
She repeated her earlier words. “I should leave.”
Suddenly he pushed away from the desk, tension emanating from him in waves. He shook his head. “Running isn’t the answer. Just because there are no walls, you’re still in a cage.”
“But Luke, you don’t seem to understand. He’s coming here. I’ve put you and your family in danger. I have to go.”
A sinking feeling told her he wanted to play the hero and an image of Brian, on the ground, blood seeping from the wound in his back, skittered across her mind. “I couldn’t stand it if I were responsible for some harm done to you or your mother.”
“Nothing is going to happen to any of us, Faith.” He stood in front of the window and stared out at the black night.
“Do you honestly believe you can protect us from Vinnie?” She continued on even though he kept his back to her and didn’t respond. “You would tower over him, but what good is that when faced with a gun?”
Still no response. She frowned and said, “My only option is to keep running.” She moved around the desk to pick up her bags.
In the reflection of the window, she noticed Luke had closed his eyes and his lips moved with silent words. She stilled. He was praying. She was awed by the thought that he was asking God for help. “No use praying on my account. God wants nothing to do with me.”
He turned then. “That’s not true, Faith. God loves you very much. And we will figure this out. I need to know everything you can tell m
e about Vinnie.”
“Luke, this isn’t your problem. This isn’t a military operation for you to understand and execute. This is my life.”
“And I need to get a handle on the situation so we can determine the best course of action.”
“I’m not asking you to help me, Luke. I’m asking you to let me go. Just forget you ever met me.”
He shook his head. “I can’t do that. God brought you into my life for a reason.”
“It was chance that brought me into your life, not God.”
“Do you really believe that?”
“I don’t know what to believe anymore.” Since she’d landed in Oregon and met Luke, she’d felt closer to God, thought she’d felt His presence through Luke and Dottie. But why now after all these years?
He considered her words. “Tell me what happened with your marriage.”
To humor him, she complied. She avoided his gaze as shame washed over her. “Vinnie wasn’t what I thought he was when I married him.”
“What did you think he was?”
“I thought he was a good man.” She shrugged. “When my grandfather died, I was so lost and alone. I fell apart. Vinnie worked for the law firm that handled Grandfather’s estate. He was so—smooth. At first, kind and sympathetic. He stayed by my side during the funeral and the following days when so many people came around demanding money. I mistook my gratitude for love. When he asked me to marry him it seemed like the right thing to do. By the time I realized how wrong I’d been about him, it was too late. He’d wanted what marrying me could bring him.”
She glanced at Luke. He sat attentively listening. No one had ever really listened to her before.
“He’d known just how to play me. I was so gullible.”
“Go on,” Luke prodded gently.
“He never quite fit in to the New York social circles. Oh, he got invited to the best parties and had access to the most exclusive clubs, but he couldn’t change the fact that he’d grown up in a blue-collar home in the Bronx. And he became obsessed with me. He wanted to control my every move, who I talked to, where I went. I found myself becoming more and more isolated from the world until I felt like a prisoner in my own home.”
“So you broke free.”
She gave a mirthless laugh. “No, not right away, but I should have. Instead I thought I could change him, make him see how unhealthy his behavior was getting. But the more I tried, the worse he got.” A shudder rippled down her spine. “One day I tried too hard.”
“What did he do?” Luke’s voice sounded gruff and his expression fierce.
Her throat constricted making her unable to continue. She shook her head, wanting to run, to get away from the memories.
“Did he hit you, Faith?”
“He—he hurt—me.” She remembered the look of rage on Vinnie’s face, the sound of his fists slamming into her body, and the pain. The pain that still lingered in her shoulder and her heart.
“Did you tell the police this?”
“Vinnie kept me under lock and key most of the time. I couldn’t go to the police. Besides, he was smart enough not to hit where it would be obvious. At first I tried to understand and believed his promises that it wouldn’t happen again.” She clenched her fists. “I’d turned into one of those women you see in made-for-TV movies. He may have hurt me in so many ways, but he never crushed me.”
She could see the anger in his eyes and the tightening of his jaw. “Faith, you were right to leave him. God would not expect you to stay in an abusive relationship.”
Fresh tears gathered in her eyes. She’d been taught that marriage was for life. No matter what.
His expression softened. He took her hands again. “God loves you, Faith. God did not author the evil that has touched your life. The Bible urges believers to separate from those who hurt them and to create a safe place for themselves. And you’ve done that, Faith.”
“If God loves me, why did He allow it?” Old anger surfaced, clogging her throat. She didn’t understand. She’d tried to be good. A good daughter, a good granddaughter, a good wife. Still He’d taken her parents and then her grandparents away. He hadn’t protected her from Vinnie.
Luke squeezed her hands and looked at her with an earnestness that touched her soul. “I don’t have the answer to that question, Faith. He never promised there wouldn’t be difficult, awful times in our lives, but He promised to be there with us. He knows you and He has cried with you. He has felt your hurt and your anguish. He’s not sitting up in the sky judging you, looking for ways to hurt you. He loves you. He wants you to put your trust in Him.”
The crystal blue of Luke’s eyes shimmered. Faith swallowed as the tears gathered in her own eyes. She wanted to believe Luke’s words, she just felt so uncertain and lost.
“Faith, it wasn’t chance or coincidence that brought you here. I know in my heart that God has a plan for you. You just need to lay down your doubts and trust.”
“That’s easier said than done.”
Luke smiled tenderly. “It takes a leap of faith.”
“I suppose it does.”
She held his gaze and the moment stretched. In the depths of Luke’s eyes, she could see and feel the mercy and grace of God’s love. She felt warmed and cared for and she would take the memories of this moment with her, because, sadly, the situation had not changed. “Luke, I appreciate your words, I really do. But it doesn’t change the fact that I need to leave. And I need to leave now.”
He shook his head. She could feel the tension inside of him. He stood and paced. When he stopped he looked at her with a determined light in his eyes. “We don’t have to decide anything tonight. Tomorrow, after we’ve had a chance to think things through, then we can—” He paused and stepped closer. “We, together, will figure out a way to protect you. You can’t keep running for the rest of your life.”
She stood. “I don’t think—”
“Please, promise me you’ll rest tonight and tomorrow we can deal with all of this.”
Leaving in the morning would be easier. Luke could take her to town; she could stop at the bank and then catch the next bus. “All right.”
Luke looked relieved. He moved to his desk and pulled something from one of the drawers. When he came back to her, he held a leather-bound Bible in his hands. “My father gave this to me when I was a teenager. I’d like you to have it.”
“Oh, Luke, I couldn’t.” Her grandfather had had a beautiful Bible that he’d read from and in those last few weeks she’d taken to reading the psalms to him.
“Please.” He put the book in her hands.
Awed by the gift, Faith ran her finger over the inscription in the bottom right hand corner. TO MY SON, LUKE CAMPBELL.
“I think you’ll find the answers you seek in there.”
Faith’s gaze shot to Luke’s. How did he know? “I wouldn’t know where to begin.”
“I’ve always been partial to the book of Luke myself.” He grinned.
She laughed. “That sounds like a good place to start.”
Luke’s expression turned serious. “In the morning, we’ll come up with a plan.”
“I need to stay longer.”
“Oh, nice joke. When are you coming back?”
“It’s no joke, Rog.” Luke could picture his friend’s chocolate-brown forehead creased with lines and his black eyes narrowing as silence stretched over the phone line. Though Roger Tumble was his commanding officer, their friendship had been immediate and tight. Each attributed the deep bond to their mutual commitment to God.
In his soft southern drawl, Roger commented, “How much time?”
“End of January.”
“I’ll send you the paperwork. Your mom not doing well?”
“She’s good. Something else has come up.”
“Now, that sounds intriguing. Care to share?”
Luke stared out the window of his office and watched snow fall against the dark sky. Light-colored flecks floated down to earth, blanketing the grou
nd. Good thing he’d stopped Faith from leaving or she’d be trudging through the snow right now. “Not really.”
“Don’t tell me this has anything to do with a woman?”
Luke sighed. “It does.”
“I could have sworn you were a confirmed bachelor. So tell me.”
Luke grimaced. He wasn’t ready to discuss the issue of Faith yet. Not when his emotions were all over the place. “When I see you.”
There was a pause. “If that’s what you want. Give your mother my best.”
“I will. How’s the weekly Bible study going?”
“So, so. It’s not the same without your leadership.”
Luke felt a blast of guilt for leaving the guys in the field for so long.
He’d worked so hard to build a foundation of ministry in his unit; he didn’t want it to flounder.
But right now Faith needed him more.
“Thanks, Roger. I’ll talk with you soon.” He hung up and sat back.
For most of the night, he’d wrestled with his conflicting thoughts about Faith, about the secrets she’d kept and about the potential danger she’d brought to his house. He was angry. Sure. Her presence put his mother in harm’s way. Though, the threat was slim compared to the war he’d been fighting on the other side of the world.
But more, he was hurt that Faith hadn’t confided in him sooner.
Earlier he’d contacted the sheriff and filled him in. Sheriff Bane had checked out the P.I. The Sheriff had assured Luke that Costello had left town. Sheriff Bane said he’d keep an eye out for any other strangers. Also, he’d promised to send a car along the main road at intervals.
After talking to the sheriff, Luke had contacted a local lawyer who said he’d see what he could do legally to protect Faith.
Now all he had to do was convince Faith to stay put and to keep his own heart from falling victim to her.
TEN
Rats! Large rats with heavy feet in the attic. Faith’s pulse raced. Panic rushed in.
Something. Someone was on the roof. Trying to get in. Vinnie?
She scrambled out of bed. She was shaking so hard, she had trouble pulling on her robe and putting her feet into her tennis shoes. At the bedroom door, she paused and listened. The quietness of the hall suggested all was well. But she knew what she’d heard. She hurried to Luke’s door and knocked. No answer.