by Mary Abshire
“Do you feel okay?”
The light flashed green. As the cars ahead of him accelerated, so did Andrew.
“I’m looking forward to getting through this one and going back to Utah,” she said.
“We just got here.”
“I know. It’s just… I have a weird feeling. I can’t explain it.”
“Is it because you haven’t been able to find much information about the demon?”
“Maybe. It would help to know more about the type of person you will have to deal with. Right now, all we have is speculation. I hate not knowing anything about the demon.”
Once again, he considered sharing the information he’d received from Matt. But the voice in the back of his head reminded him how worried she would become. The added stress wouldn’t be good for the baby. All he needed to do was kill the man and destroy the demon in as little time as possible so he could resume his focus on her and the life in her womb.
“We’ll treat him like the cop in Louisiana,” he said. “We’ll stakeout his home for a while and follow him wherever he goes.”
She sighed heavily. “We don’t have any other choice.”
They had a choice, but she refused to accept it. Still, he thought he’d mention it. “I could always turn the Jeep around and head back to Saint George.”
“No,” she said in a firm tone. “We’re here and you need to destroy this demon.”
Her response hadn’t surprised him. He concentrated on the traffic in front of him since he knew he’d waste his breath trying to sway her to leave. The area of town they were in had several businesses, gas stations, and mini shopping centers. Several abandoned shops had graffiti-decorated boards over the windows. The apartment complex they passed looked to be in severe need of renovations. Shutters were gone. A door had been removed from one building, exposing the inside. Shingles were missing on one of the roofs. He started to suspect the part of town they were in might not be the safest.
He followed the directions from his phone sitting on the dash and turned onto another street. They passed several established housing communities and another apartment complex. He drove on the single-lane road for over two miles before he reached the name of the street inked on his arm.
“This is it,” Andrew said as his turn signal clicked.
He waited for a vehicle to go by, and then he steered onto the street. He drove below the speed limit through the neighborhood. Many cars had been parked along the sides of the narrow street. One vehicle had flat tires.
“This area of town seems so run down. It’s almost as if people have given up taking care of their properties. Maybe some lost their homes due to the bad economy several years ago, but this is horrible.”
“I remember when I was a kid and my parents had driven through parts of Chicago like this. I think every big city has some neglected areas.”
The demon’s house was on the left, three houses down from a crossing road. The small front yard looked overgrown and full of weeds like the others nearby. A beat-up black sedan with tinted glass and an old van with shades over the windows sat idle in the driveway. The house next door appeared abandoned. Andrew continued until he reached the stop sign. More cars had parked on the cross street.
Emily pointed toward her window. “There are a few spaces on my side. We’ll get a better view of the house if you go this way.”
He followed her advice and as he drove down the street he looked for a driveway so he turn around. Several houses down, he found a place. He hurried to pull in and back out.
“No one is coming. You’re fine,” she said.
He steered the Jeep in the direction they’d come. Finding an open parking spot on the side, he filled the space. They were far enough away so they wouldn’t look suspicious yet close enough to see if the demon left his home.
Andrew cut the ignition. He leaned back in his seat and stared at the demon’s property. Silence lingered for several minutes.
A snap from under the dashboard near Emily stole his attention. She opened the glove box and then removed the binoculars she’d purchased before they’d left Utah. She handed them to him.
“Check if you can see into the house,” she said.
He pointed the binoculars to the demon’s property. After adjusting the lenses, he saw a clear close-up view of the home. “He has curtains, not blinds, and all of them are shut. There’s a door on the side besides the one in the front, but I can’t see it too well. The van is blocking it and the garage in the back. He has a tall privacy fence.”
“I was hoping you could see into his house.”
He lowered the binoculars to his lap. “If the cars in front of us weren’t in the way and that van was gone, we could see a whole lot better.”
He handed the binoculars to her. She returned them to the glove box. Together, they resumed staring at the house.
“Do you think he’s married?” she asked.
“I don’t know.” He shifted his gaze to her. “Based on what you’ve told me from your research, I would guess he’s single.”
“I suppose if he had kids there would be bikes or maybe toys laying around. I saw some in a few other yards as you drove by.”
“Or it’s possible he’s a strict dad and has his kids put everything up in the house or garage. He has a van, so he might have kids.”
She pressed her lips together and scrunched her brows. “The sedan has tinted windows and the ones on the van are covered. To me, it looks as if he is hiding something.”
“Given the fact you can’t find anything about this guy online, I’d say you’re right.”
His wife was a smart cookie. She knew how to gather information and put the pieces together. Her skills had come in handy many times while he’d pursued demons. For another matter, she had to be brilliant to be with him.
“I guess we’ll have to wait and see if he has a wife or any kids,” she said.
“Or a job.”
If Troy hadn’t been such a dick and left her, she could’ve used his help to get tax records and other personal information about the demon. But in the grand scheme of things, Andrew couldn’t be happier her old friend had walked away. Though he’d shaped her to be a strong, independent woman, he’d also been a bad influence and had contributed to her having a tinted aura. She’d made her choices, but if Troy hadn’t been around to involve her in illegal activities, maybe she would still have a path to heaven.
They sat in silence for several minutes, watching and waiting for movement.
“I hope we’re not here more than a few weeks,” she said.
He turned to face her. “Why do you say that?”
“I miss Matt. He’s like a big brother. And I was really starting to like Utah.”
He leaned close to her and gave her a kiss. “Trust me, I want to destroy this one as fast as I can so we can get back to our lives.” He rubbed her belly. “And I want to spend as much time as I can with this baby.”
“While we’re staying here, I think I’ll start looking for doctors in Saint George.”
“Good idea. You’re due for a checkup in two weeks.”
“You know, Valentine’s Day is coming up.”
He enjoyed gazing at the curve of her lips. If her naughty mind were anything like his, which he thought it was, then he suspected she had some kind of idea to celebrate the day of love.
“Have you got anything in mind for Valentine’s Day?” he asked.
“I have an idea.”
“I have several.” He grinned.
She chuckled, but the humor on her face disappeared quickly as she gazed past him. “Company.”
He veered his attention to the demon’s house. A man wearing a dark turban and clothes walked around the back of the van in the driveway. Another fellow appeared and he too wore a turban. Three others stepped to the side of the vehicle. One slid the door back. All of the men had long beards, had dressed in nice clothes, and had colored auras except for one.
“Which one is the demo
n?” Emily asked.
“He just got in the van. He was a little shorter from the others and his beard looked a little lighter.”
“They all look similar from here.”
The men loaded into the van and then the last one shut the door. Andrew counted five in the back and one sitting in the front. Add the driver and there were seven people in total. None of them looked American.
Andrew heard a loud rumble. “Do we stay or follow?”
“Follow. Let’s see where they’re going.”
Andrew waited until the van backed out before he started the Jeep. Once the vehicle had straightened on the street, he waited a few seconds before pursuing it. At the end of the road, the van turned right.
“I don’t think I’ll be killing him tonight,” Andrew said as he headed in the same direction as the van. “There are way too many people in the van.”
“He could be going to work. We need to know more about him.”
Andrew followed from a distance. Evening traffic helped him stay far enough away to be unnoticed, but the amount of cars on the road also became a problem at intersections. One light flashed yellow and the car in front of him braked. The one next to him sped. He checked to see if he had room to get over. Seeing enough space, he pressed his foot on the accelerator and switched lanes. He made it through the light in time.
“Stay in this lane. They might be heading to the interstate,” she said.
The next signal turned after the van passed under it. Andrew gripped the wheel, but he knew he couldn’t make it to the light in time. He stopped behind a sedan and huffed.
“That’s okay. Look.” She pointed forward.
The van got in the turn lane for the interstate.
“We can catch up to them on the highway,” she said.
Andrew tapped his fingers on the steering wheel. Sure, he could catch up, but he’d have to speed and hope cops weren’t around to pull him over.
The car in front of him moved forward once the light changed. Andrew followed the Honda to the interstate. Once they made it to the highway, Andrew applied more pressure to the pedal and sped past the sedan.
Andrew changed lanes to get around traffic. He kept checking his mirrors for police. His last run-in with a cop resulted in him going to jail, so he wanted to avoid the law as much as possible.
“There.” Emily shot her arm forward.
Andrew spotted the van. He changed lanes and stayed several cars behind it. His grip on the wheel lessened as his anxiety decreased.
Miles later, the van exited the highway. Andrew followed it through a part of town outside of downtown San Antonio. The area had several businesses, gas stations, and a few fast-food restaurants. When the vehicle’s brake lights came on, Andrew switched lanes and lifted his foot off the gas to slow the Jeep.
“It’s a mosque,” Emily said.
The van turned into a lot with a long white building. A round dome stood up from a part of the roof. The markings on the structure were similar to those he’d seen on buildings in the Middle East when he’d watched the news.
“Keep driving,” she said as she reached down and into her purse. She dug out her cell.
“Can we go inside?”
“No. Well, I don’t know, but we’re not going to try. We would look severely out of place if we walked in.” She typed on her phone.
“Where do we go from here? Are we done for the night?”
“Yes, I’m looking for a decent hotel. I’m sorry, but we can’t stay in the same neighborhood as the demon. Someone might steal the Jeep and we have enough challenges to deal with.”
“Good point. See if you can find a hotel with a big shower or hot tub.”
A smile spread across her face. “I thought we had a nice shower last night and this morning.”
“Exactly. We need to clean up together more. And I need to probe you.”
She chuckled and then gave him a teasing gaze. “I love it when you probe me. You have such a big one and it fills me perfectly. For an alien, you’re pretty damn hot with your probe.”
Her sexy voice and words excited him. His jeans began to feel to constrictive near his groin. He loved how playful she was in and out of the bedroom. He looked forward to settling into a hotel for the night so he could spend some quality time with her. As long as he walked on Earth, he’d enjoy every minute probing his beautiful wife.
Chapter Twenty
Emily inhaled a deep breath and opened her eyes. Light from the television reflected on the wall of the hotel room. She lay naked on her side with Andrew’s warm body snuggled against her back. His arm rested across her and close to her belly. The sheet covered them from the waist down. His breath brushed her shoulders since they shared a pillow. He slept soundly, unlike her. She felt cozy and comfortable, but her worries continued to keep her awake.
The attacks of September 11, 2001, and the events after that day had left a big impression in her mind. She’d been ten at the time terrorists brought down the Twin Towers. Troy had encouraged her more than ever to learn how to fight and defend herself in case some extremist showed up in Chicago. And so she did. Together, they had gone to classes. She learned many defense and survival techniques. As time moved on, the world became more acquainted with radical Islamists outside and inside the US. While she didn’t judge others, she couldn’t help but feel guarded, especially after she learned demons existed.
During dinner, Andrew had mentioned the men in the van had colored auras. Anyone working with a demon had to be bad. The country music singer, the fourth demon Andrew had destroyed, had associates with tinted auras helping her kidnap and sell women as sex slaves. Demons had a way of getting other sick and perverted people to help them, which made Emily suspect the Muslims at the demon’s house were in cahoots with the demon. What diabolical mischief were they up to? And were they working on something big? She hated to think they could be plotting to bring down a building, a plane, or set off a dirty bomb. The demon was pure evil, so anything was possible.
Her mind continued to fantasize horrors. Thus, she couldn’t sleep. Whatever the demon had planned, Andrew needed to stop him before the demon followed through with his scheme. But how?
They had little information about Ahmed. They’d have to spend a few days watching his movements to figure out a way for Andrew to get to him. If Ahmed left his house, Andrew could break into it and snoop around. She didn’t like the idea because of the risk of getting caught, but if he could explore Ahmed’s home, he might be able to figure out what the demon was working on. They’d waited long enough to track down the evil man. Odds were high they didn’t have much time to stop him before he created major chaos and destruction.
Andrew lifted his arm in a jolt. He rolled onto his back. Emily twisted to make sure he was okay. He rubbed his nose and opened his eyes.
“Sorry,” he said before he returned to lying next to her.
“It’s okay. I was awake.”
He glided his hand over her stomach and then cupped one of her breasts. “Something wrong?”
“Can’t seem to sleep.”
“Is it the chili we had for dinner? I know how spicy food can give you indigestion.”
She smiled. He knew her too well. “No, the food isn’t bothering me.”
“That’s good. So what is?”
She grazed her fingers along his arm. “I was thinking of a way we could try to find out more information about Ahmed.”
He groaned. “We don’t need to spend time trying to learn about this guy. All I need to do is find a way to kill him and destroy the demon.”
“What if he’s working on something big to hurt a lot of people?”
“Then I need to kill him soon. That’s my plan anyway.”
Getting rid of the demon quickly would solve their problems. And they could return to Utah quicker. She couldn’t argue with his logic.
“Okay, so how are you going to get close enough to kill him?”
“Not sure yet. We first need to know
if he has a job or not.”
“Let’s say he does. If we knew when he would return home, and assuming he lives alone, you could sneak into his house, stab him, and then destroy the demon.”
“That will work.”
Her idea seemed too easy. “What if he came home with someone?”
There was a pause.
“I suppose I can hide somewhere in the house and wait to make sure he’s alone. If he’s not, I’d have to find a way out unnoticed.”
“And if he sees you, then getting to him will be more difficult. So maybe my idea isn’t such a good one.”
He squeezed her tit and kissed her shoulder. “It’s still an option.”
They needed a better one. He needed to complete his task in privacy, which was always part of the most difficult part of the job. Since they had little information about Ahmed, they’d have to stakeout his house and wait. Once they could confirm nobody was with Ahmed, then the rest should be easy for Andrew.
“If he lives alone, then all you need to do is get inside,” she said.
“Any ideas how I get him to let me in?”
“You could … say your car broke down and you don’t have a cell. You went to the neighbor’s house, but nobody answered. Ask if you can use his phone to call for a ride and a tow truck.”
“That’s good. I like it.”
“You could even add your pregnant wife is in the car so your request will seem more urgent.”
“It’s a decent idea, but I’ll be screwed if he asks to see the car. I’m not going to point out the Jeep since you’ll be in it.”
“But if you did, he would be more inclined to believe your story.”
He sighed. “I could knock on his door and say I’m selling candy. That worked for Troy.”
“Yeah, but this guy is different. He isn’t a drug addict with free money in his pockets. Since he’s very secretive, he might not let you past the front door.”
“All right, you come up with another option if candy won’t work.”
Emily wondered what would intrigue Ahmed enough to let Andrew inside his home. Selling anything might cause the demon to turn Andrew away. If Andrew couldn’t portray a salesman, then he had to act as a person seeking help or information. The imaginary light bulb flashed in her head.