Lead Me From Temptation (Divine Darkness Book 1)

by Kris Calvert

  I pressed the button for the top floor and took a deep breath. I was meeting with Lewis’s doctor to go through his charts to get a better understanding of his prognosis and my responsibilities.

  The door chimed and I stepped off half expecting someone to be waiting for me, but the hall was eerily empty. “Hello?” My voice echoed through the open marble area.

  “Indie, please come in.” It was Lewis, his booming voice called to me.

  I pushed open the massive dark doors that lead into his office and found him sitting in the tall wingback chair holding court with David and another man I could only assume to be his doctor.

  “I’m sorry. I got hung up downstairs while they tried to take my fingerprints or something.”

  “Great,” David said. “That’s one thing off the list.”

  “Not so fast.” I walked closer to the group, my heels clacking on the rich mahogany floor. It was the first time I’d seen the office in the day and the light shining through the windows made the room much more inviting. “Leroy couldn’t get the machine to work. I guess there’s a glitch in the software or something.”

  David and Lewis gave each other an interesting look. Part of me wanted to joke about the fact that they were the leading telecommunications company in the world and they couldn’t get their product to work in their own building, but I was certain I found it ironic and funny way more than they would.

  “Anyway,” I said, breaking the silence in the room and holding my hand out to the older balding gentleman with horn rimmed glasses. “I’m Indie Luce.”

  “Nice to meet you, Indie. I’m Craig Beaman.”

  “The pleasure is mine, Dr. Beaman,” I said with a smile as I gave him a firm handshake. David motioned for me to join him on the couch and as I sat, I noticed Lewis nodding to the doctor as if the conversation I’d just interrupted had something to do with me. Maybe I was just being paranoid.

  “Am I late?” I asked as I glanced at the clock on the wall, knowing I was early.

  “No.” Lewis had a knack for saying words but never looking at me when he said them. When he did look at me I knew I needed to be listening. But I always listened. Who couldn’t? When Lewis Thornbury spoke it sounded like God was talking to you.

  “Indie, we were just going over Lewis’s treatment plan,” Dr. Beaman explained.

  I nodded, hoping I wouldn’t have to ask the obvious question—what was the diagnosis?

  “Lewis’s cancer began in the pituitary gland—rare, extremely rare—but that isn’t the biggest issue now.” Dr. Beaman was eloquent in his delivery, but I had a sneaking suspicion he was about to drop the real bomb on me. I knew before he said it; Lewis had an inoperable brain tumor. “The carcinoma has spread and we are now dealing with a glioblastoma.”

  I nodded and tried not to look surprised—I was trained not to. Lewis’s gigantic size made much more sense to me now. His pituitary tumor had more than likely been slow growing most of his life and would account for how massively built he was. I wanted to ask questions. Questions that wouldn’t have been entirely appropriate in front of Lewis. So I asked the ones I could. “And the treatment plan?”

  “We’re going to do a TMZ chemotherapy regimen along with radiation,” Dr. Beaman said as he looked over what seemed to be lab results. “You’ll be administering and charting the chemo—we’re going to lay off the radiation until you return from Italy.”

  I nodded, knowing the temozolomide was a forty-two day regimen of pills. I also knew the TMZ didn’t give the best results unless coupled with radiation, but it seemed as if no one, including Dr. Beaman, was going to cross Lewis and his wishes.

  “Have you had this particular chemo before, Lewis?” I wanted him to know I would always think of him first and not the treatment plan—I wanted his input. I also didn’t want to talk about him as if he weren’t present.

  “No.” He stared out the window, his face propped up by his fingers as if answers to all his problems were outside the room.

  I gave David a quick glance and softened my face to let him know it was all going to work out one way or another before turning back to Dr. Beaman.

  “This will be his first foray into chemotherapy. We’ve used some radiation methods to shrink the pituitary tumor, but as the glioblastoma is wrapped around the brain stem it is inoperable.”

  Lewis gave Dr. Beaman a long stare. “At least for now,” Dr. Beaman said with a nod before turning to me. “Everything is in this file, Indie. You and I will be in constant contact while he travels and I can be found twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week.”

  I nodded as he handed me a three ring binder with what I knew contained Lewis’s medical history and files.

  “You’ve been supplied with an iPad from GlobalTech?”

  “Yes, Doctor.”

  “You and I can FaceTime day or night if you have questions or issues. Of course, this is only while you travel with him. Otherwise, I will be here in Atlanta.” He paused to make sure he was looking directly at Lewis. “And I’m at your service, always.”

  Lewis gave him a nod and sat back in his chair. I knew the thoughts flying through the powerful man’s head. He’d been able to tackle everything in his life and move on with minimal scarring. He would slowly come to grips with what I knew already—he was going to die.

  “I don’t want to appear sick…or weak,” Lewis said, his voice booming through the office.

  I looked to Dr. Beaman for silent permission to speak. He gave me the tiniest of nods and I began. “Lewis, I’m going to level with you. The TMZ is going to make you feel like crap.”

  He glanced up to me from staring at the floor. I could tell by the look on his face that no one ever spoke to him in that manner, but in my experience facing death was a good time to get real with people. There was no way to sugarcoat it and Lewis didn’t strike me as a man who wanted to be kept in the dark. I bit my lip and raised my eyebrows, cocking my head to the side to let him know I was there to help, but would never lie to him. “I think it’s best for you to know exactly what to expect.”

  I watched him swallow hard and for the first time thought maybe Lewis Thornbury felt vulnerable. “Yes, I’d rather know.”

  “I’m never going to lie to you,” I said as I mustered a small grin. “And together we will get through it. Okay?”

  “Okay.”

  Lewis stood and without another word walked away from the meeting and out the door without looking back. The sound of his shoes echoed on the dark floor. I looked to David and then back to Dr. Beaman, shrugging my shoulders. “Is he coming back?”

  “No,” David said as he blinked slowly. “He’s done with this for today.”

  I turned to Dr. Beaman. I had questions—lots of questions. “Can we get together tomorrow?”

  He nodded. “Of course, Indie. I’ll meet you here at your office.”

  “I have an office?” I asked, looking to David who was still lost in his father’s prognosis.

  “Yes. I was going to show it to you after your business with Dr. Beaman had concluded.”

  “We’re done,” Beaman said as he stood and extended his hand for me to shake. “For now.”

  “It was nice to meet you, Doctor. What time would you like to come by tomorrow? And when do you want to begin Lewis’s treatment?”

  “You’ll be leaving in a week for Italy. I’d like to start tomorrow if Lewis will have it. We can at least get seven days of the forty-two in before he goes and I can monitor him closely as he begins the regimen. We’ll wait to start the radiation when he returns.”

  “So we’ll meet tomorrow morning and Lewis can take his first dose tomorrow night before bed.” I looked to David to see if he had any objections.

  “Nine?” Dr. Beaman asked.

  “I’ll be here,” I said. “Well, I’ll be around here somewhere.”

  “It’s going to be nice working with you, Indie.”

  “Thank you. You too.”

  David shook Beaman’s hand as he e
scorted him to the tall double doors. “Thank you for coming in on a Sunday.”

  “Of course.”

  He shut the door behind him and turned to me. I could tell he was upset. Soon he would join the ranks of others like me—a thirty-year-old orphan. I felt the compelling need to comfort him. “Are you holding up okay?”

  He nodded. “It’s just hard for me to see the old man this way. I’ve always thought of him as invincible.”

  “I understand. I’m always here to talk. That’s part of my job.”

  “What? Taking care of him medically and me emotionally?” he asked as he walked to me and I unconsciously felt my body draw closer to his. I wanted to hug him and tell him in the end it would all be okay. “I will take care of him medically and emotionally and I will also take care of you. This isn’t going to be a cakewalk—I’m not going to lie to you. But your dad will have the easiest transition possible.”

  “Transition?”

  “Yes. From this life to the next.”

  David pursed his lips. “You’re making assumptions again, Indie.”

  “I’m not.” I stepped closer to him and touched him for a mere second on the elbow to show him I cared. The charge from his body made me feel connected to him in a way I’d never felt before. I could tell by the look in his eyes he felt it too.

  He swallowed hard and moved close to me before quickly backing away. “Let me show you your office. I think you’ll find it satisfactory.”

  Holding his arm out for me to walk ahead as he quickly opened the tall doors and hurried to the elevator I smiled at him, hoping for one in return.

  “Your office is just one floor below.”

  “Okay,” I said, fidgeting with my bag as I slipped the three ring binder into its side pocket. “Where’s your office?”

  He stared straight ahead but I saw the smile form on his full lips. “I’m just down the hall from you.”

  “I hope you didn’t move some special vice president out of the space to make room for me.”

  “I think my dad has always had a space reserved for you, Indie.”

  The door chimed and I waited to exit. “What?” I asked with a giggle.

  David held the door from closing on us and gave me a sincere look. “I think my dad always knew this day would come. He’s been waiting for you.”

  “Me?”

  “Maybe not you exactly, but someone like you.”

  I walked off the elevator feeling confused and a little creepy. “I don’t understand.”

  David walked down the hallway ignoring my comment and pulled keys from his pocket, unlocking a door. “Here we are,” he said as he stood back for me to enter first.

  The sunlight came through the floor to ceiling windows on the east side of the large room. There was a desk, credenza and a meeting space—everything you’d expect in an office. The large oriental rug that covered the floor was bright gold and blue and warmed the room up like sunshine.

  “You have your own private bath,” he said as he walked to the first door on the left and opened it, turning on the light and walking backwards as he presented it to me.

  Cautiously I followed him. I was overwhelmed to say the least. The whole place was bigger than my entire house.

  The dark bathroom was beautiful, much like the room I changed in the first night. There was a long dressing table with a fancy chair, a huge marble shower and the centerpiece of the room—an antique claw foot tub. “It’s beautiful.” I let out a small sigh as I stared at the bathtub.

  “These,” David said as walked through the bathroom to a set of double-doors and opened. “Lead to a bedroom. You can always sleep here if you need to. Or when…well…”

  “Why do I need all of this?” I asked as I walked out of the bathroom and back into the office. “I need to set up a small medical space or make plans for Lewis and I to have a place at a hospital nearby.”

  David didn’t say a word but walked to the opposite side of the office and opened another set of doors, turning on the light. Inside was a basic ICU hospital setup. “I don’t understand.” I turned on my heels for an explanation and found David walking toward the hospital bed.

  “He’s…prepared.”

  David stood at the bed and stared down as if he was imagining the worst possible scenario of losing his father.

  “And in Italy?” I asked.

  He turned and looked at me, his eyes glistening with the tears I knew he was holding back. “You will have anything and everything you could possibly need at your disposal.”

  “So treatments here and he will rest here if he starts to feel ill, which will take a few days, but it will come.”

  David slowly nodded. I instinctively went to him as he took a seat in an oversized chair next to the bed and dropped his head in his hands. Sitting on the arm of the chair I wrapped my arm around his shoulders, giving him a squeeze. “We’ll get through this.”

  He looked up to me and I felt his fear and pain deep within my heart. I smiled and rubbed his back, feeling the warmth of his body beneath my hand. “David, I promise, you’re not going to be alone.”

  He leaned his head into my chest. When I met David Thornbury I knew he was a man with few weaknesses and even those were well hidden. I could feel his very spirit breaking in half as his body touched mine.

  FOURTEEN

  I climbed into my car as Six opened the door and waited patiently for me to pull my other foot inside. “Thank you, Six.”

  “You’re welcome, Miss Indie. I’ve placed a box of things from your other car in the backseat. Would you like for me to transfer them to your boot?”

  “I beg your pardon?”

  “The trunk, ma’am. I do apologize.”

  “So in England a trunk is a boot?” I asked with a laugh.

  “Yes, ma’am. And that is your Commonwealth English lesson for the day.”

  “The back is fine,” I said as I glanced at the brown box he’d carefully secured in the back seat.

  Six closed the door and gave me two light taps on the roof to let me know I was clear to leave. I looked at the clock gleaming on my shiny new dashboard and inhaled the sweet perfume of new car. I had just enough time to make it to George’s graveside service.

  I took a deep breath and tried to comprehend everything that had happened in the last couple of days. Life was moving fast—too fast. The check for fifty thousand dollars in my purse hadn’t even made it to the bank and I was already equipped with a new car and a new office with an attached apartment. I had plans to leave for Italy and I was beginning treatments with Lewis tomorrow. How could so much happen in such a short period of time? I shook my head and tried to think of something else.

  The first thing that came into my mind—Mike. It had only been forty-eight hours since I’d been with him and I missed him. I touched the necklace buried deep between my breasts and realized it was more than missing him. I truly longed for him—something I’d never done for anyone or anything. The fact that I could feel this way for Mike, and also have a twinge in my body for David was inexplicable. I’d not found the time or attention for a man in at least three years and suddenly there were two crowding my mind and my heart.

  As I pulled into the cemetery, I thought about being there just the day before. I didn’t know exactly where George’s body was being laid to rest, but I only had to find the cars and the hearse to locate the service.

  The cemetery was dark and another spring storm seemed to be bearing down on everyone as we stood in the blustery wind at the gravesite of George Curtis.

  His brother spoke eloquently of him and I was surprised to see so many of his fellow servicemen—some even in wheelchairs—there to pay their respects to their fallen Marine.

  I stared into the empty hole that George’s body would soon occupy. The headstone already bearing his name, his earthly body would lie next to his wife Anne. He’d been waiting to be with her from the moment she crossed over five years ago. Fittingly, she was there for him in the end.

&
nbsp; I thought of the way she touched my hand when she’d come forward to take George to the other side. A chill ran down my back and I turned to look for Spirit. I shook it off as another gust of wind blew and the preacher began to talk louder over the roaring gale.

  I was proud to know George and grateful he’d allowed me to be in his life at such an important time. As we prayed for God to have mercy on his soul the minister recited from the book of common prayer. “…Earth to earth, ashes to ashes, dust to dust. The Lord bless him and keep him, the Lord make his face to shine upon him and be gracious unto him, the Lord lift up his countenance upon him and give him peace. Amen.”

  I looked to the sky and watched the clouds roll in quickly. The weather had been crazy lately—one minute the sun would shine, the next a roaring storm would kick up.

  “Indie.” George’s daughter said my name sweetly as she walked toward me, breaking my thoughts of the impending rainstorm. “I’m so glad you could be here.”

  “I am too,” I said with a reassuring smile. “It’s wonderful that so many of George’s friends made it today.” I gave a nod to the older gentlemen doing their best to say goodbye and make it back to their cars.

  “Indie,” she said, changing the subject. “Do you mind if I ask you what my dad wrote to you? In his letter, I mean. The one I gave you the other day.”

  “Um…” I stuttered. “No. I don’t know if I remember it exactly. It was just a couple of lines. It seemed like a Bible verse. Why?”

  “Because the last thing he said in my note was to make sure you read yours. I didn’t know if it was something really important that I needed to know about. But clearly I don’t. I’m just glad I had the chance to see you and make sure you read it.”

  I took a deep breath and wondered what George wanted from me. “I did read it. And thank you for making sure his wishes were carried out.”

  “He really thought you were an angel on earth. In fact, that’s what he called you.”