Unspoken Words (Hope and a Future Book 1)

by Janna Halterman

  After a long night of finding lodging for the other apartment tenants, the sun was rising, and Jackson’s shift was starting. Twelve grueling hours to go before he’d have another chance at sleep.

  Chapter 48

  Evelyn had seen a lot of Tom since Jackson left for New Mexico, but aside from his visit that first week, he had kept his distance, until today. It was a Wednesday, and Liam always walked her to and from work on Wednesdays. She had only asked him to walk her home, but he insisted on both. She still felt guilty relying on him.

  It had been an awkward conversation when she had to explain her situation. It was embarrassing to admit she was, again, being told how to take care of herself and that, again, she’d been instructed to ask him for help. It didn’t seem fair, or right, but Liam was very serious in his agreement to help her.

  “Tom’s been around a lot today,” Evelyn commented as they left the library. “I thought he’d know by now you’re with me on Wednesdays.” Liam’s soft laugh surprised her. “What’s so funny?”

  “I think that’s why he’s hanging around today,” Liam said with a sly smile.

  “He’s the one who said I should ask you to babysit me.” She couldn’t keep the humiliation she felt out of her voice.

  “No one’s babysitting you, Sweetie.”

  “You sound like you’re talking to a child.”

  “Anyway,” Liam said, steering away from the subject. “I think you need to come out with me tonight for some fun.”

  “Thanks, Liam, but –”

  “You haven’t gone out once since Jackson left. Don’t you think he’d want you to have a little bit of fun?”

  “Do you really need me to explain what Jackson would feel if I went out with you? He already doesn’t trust you…well, he trusts you. He just worries. Besides,” she said, stealing her thoughts away from Jackson, “I know you, and there are plenty of girls you’d rather be out with tonight.”

  “You can’t be alone on Valentine’s Day. It wouldn’t be right.”

  Valentine’s Day. She didn’t know how she had forgotten or been able to ignore the telltale signs of it all day. “Even more reason for you to go out with someone else. There has to be some pretty girl you want as your Valentine. Go out with her.”

  “Come on, Evelyn,” Liam argued. “It’ll do you good to dance and laugh. You need to have some fun.”

  “No,” she stated sternly. “Thank you, really, but no. Besides, I haven’t been sleeping well…really at all. I just want to stay home.”

  Liam was silent the remainder of the walk to her apartment, but when Evelyn turned to thank him, he spoke. “May I come in?” She shrugged and moved to let him in.

  Evelyn never felt threatened by Liam, but the thought struck her that maybe she should. He walked past her and leaned against the kitchen counter. Liam was a very attractive man, and his charm and wit made him a favorite with the ladies. It was a shame he had agreed to spend so much of his time with her. There were so many other women who would enjoy his attention and time. Not that she didn’t appreciate him; she did. She just felt guilty.

  He watched her now with a strange seriousness she’d never seen on him before. “Evelyn, I know you love Jackson. I know you’re engaged and that nothing’s going to change there. You never complain or confess to any weakness, but I know you’re scared. You’re not the girl I met that night dancing and now you’ve admitted you’re not sleeping. You don’t have to be so alone. I care for you. We’re friends, and it’s torture seeing you like this. Can’t you just have one night of fun? Forget about your fears for a night? You know you’d be safe with me, that I wouldn’t try anything; I won’t hurt you. Or if you won’t go out, just let me stay a while and talk to me.”

  Before she could say anything, there was a knock at the door. Evelyn couldn’t think who would be knocking. They never had visitors except for George, and George had a key now. She looked wide-eyed at Liam, but he wore a crooked smile.

  “I wondered how long it would take him to check on us. You’d better answer it. He’ll probably shoot me if I do.”

  Tom stood tense when she opened the door, his eyes shifting between her and Liam, who still stood against the counter. “I just wanted to make sure you got home safely.”

  “Yes.” She didn’t have to force a smile. She was so relieved someone had interrupted their conversation. “Liam was just teasing me about not being any fun anymore. Maybe you can tell him how I’ve never been any fun.” She thought it was funny. The guys apparently didn’t agree. They just stood in uncomfortable silence, until it became clear neither of them was going to speak, or leave without the other.

  “Well, Liam, thank you for walking me home. And Tom, thank you for checking on me.” Liam hugged her, a little too close and left, waiting just behind Tom. She assumed to make sure Tom didn’t stay. “Really, Tom,” she said just as he started to leave. “Thank you. Jackson and I both appreciate you. And you don’t need to stay so far. I know you watch me walk home from classes. I won’t be angry if you walk with me.” He nodded and left. Tom had become a timid man before Evelyn.

  Bekah was already out with George for the night, so Evelyn was alone. She had no appetite, so she showered and dressed in her nightclothes and, by eight o’clock, she couldn’t think of a reason to be up any longer, so she headed to bed. As she went to double check the lock on the door, there was a knock. She assumed it was Liam again, and as she unlocked the door, it sank in how unwise that decision was.

  Two men came crashing through the door as soon as she turned the lock. The larger of them backhanded her across the face, sending her falling to the floor. They didn’t even bother closing the door behind them. She scrambled to her feet as quickly as possible. There was no way she would be able to get away, but she couldn’t just lie down and give up.

  “You get one answer,” the man who hit her growled. “Who do you serve?”

  Evelyn stood, facing off with her two attackers and prayed. It was an odd question to her, but instinctively she knew her answer. “My Lord Jesus Christ.” She wished that she felt no fear as she saw the men’s faces harden, that her faith was unwavering, and that she could face this trial without her knees knocking. But she was scared. Yet, not once did she consider renouncing her faith. This fear was worth facing. Still, she hoped to get away. Her only chance was to run out the open door, but even as she glanced at the door, the men knew her thoughts. The smaller man flipped his gun in his hand and struck her on the side of the head with the handle. Things weren’t quite black, but her vision was starry, and her head ached worse than when she hit the table during Tom’s attack. She felt a sharp pain in her side, and again, and again and quickly lost the ability to breathe.

  Two explosions sounded and the pain in her head was even worse, but it stopped the violent assault on her stomach and enabled her to finally draw a deep, ragged breath in.

  With each painfully drawn inhale, her vision began to clear until she could finally make out Tom. He was kneeling over her and fiercely whispering her name. She was quite sure she should be dead, but wasn’t so sure why Tom would be there with her, or why she still hurt so badly. Eventually it became clear that she was not dead. She was on her apartment floor, and in a lot of pain, but very much alive.

  “Evie, we’re out of time. We have to go. Am I carrying you or can you walk?” Tom’s voice was low, but urgent.

  “I’m not sure.” She let Tom wrap his arms around her and lift her to a sitting position, where dizziness set in. She felt her head and her hand came away wet with her blood.

  “Don’t worry,” Tom tried to assure her. “It’s not as bad as it looks. Do you want to try and stand?” She nodded, slowly and painfully, and he helped her to her feet. It didn’t take long to discover she wasn’t in any shape to walk yet. Tom wrapped her in a coat and sat her on the couch to help her with her shoes. When she stood again, she was a little steadier.

  “Where are we going?”

  “You won’t be coming back. I
s there anything you need?” Tom saw that what he said wasn’t making sense to her. “Evie, you can’t come back here. Tell me what you need.”

  “I’ll get it.” She kept her eyes up, not allowing herself to comprehend what happened to her two attackers, and made her way, unsteadily, to her bedroom. She put her new copies of the books of John and Romans, the necklace from Jackson, his letters, and the cookbook from Natalie in a bag and returned to Tom.

  Evelyn’s stomach lurched. The sight of two men with bleeding gunshot wounds in the backs of their heads forced its way into her line of vision, so much so she couldn’t look away. They were two men who had been living just minutes ago. She knew they had been sent to kill her, but they were now lost for forever. Her heart cried out to God. She wondered what Tom felt, if he felt anything at all, over taking the lives of these two men. She recoiled when he took her hand.

  “I’m sorry,” Tom said, grabbing her hand more firmly. “But we have to go now.” He pulled her out the door just as another man was ascending the stairs. There wasn’t enough time for Evelyn to look away, so she watched as Tom raised his gun and shot him. There was no hesitation in his movements, and even as the man was falling in death, Tom was pulling her forward.

  Evelyn lost her ability to focus as Tom dragged her along behind him. She just wanted to lie down and rest, and maybe throw up. “Tom,” she rasped out. “Tom, I have to stop.” It shouldn’t surprise her anymore, but Tom cursed when he looked back at her. They stopped and she collapsed to the ground, hoping in vain to regain her steadiness and her breath.

  Tom took a knife from his pocket and cut off a strip of his shirt and pressed it against her wound. “Hold this firmly against your head, okay?” She nodded and he lifted her into his arms. The sway of his stride made her even drowsier. “Evie. You have to stay awake.” He must have known she didn’t want to stay awake. “I swear I’ll kiss you if you fall asleep, so you’d better stay awake to make sure I behave.”

  She didn’t know where they were going, but his threat managed to keep her awake. Soon they were across campus knocking on another apartment door. A familiar male voice cursed. Why was everyone cursing tonight? He carried her in and laid her on a couch. Liam was there. Evelyn watched as Tom grabbed Liam’s arm violently and pulled him across the room. He spoke too quietly to be heard, but Liam looked horrified. After a minute, Tom knelt by her side.

  “I’m going to go find George and Bekah. I’ll be back soon. Stay awake. If Liam tells me you fell asleep, I’ll still kiss you.” He smiled sadly, knowing his threat was indeed enough to keep her awake, and he left.

  Liam approached her then. He sat on the edge of the couch and checked her head. He wore an expression of deep sadness. Evelyn had never seen such a look on his face.

  “We need to clean you up.” He put her hand back over the cloth pressed against her head and disappeared for a few minutes. The sound of running water filtered down the hall and moments later he was back, scooping her up and carrying her into his bathroom. He sat her in a chair he had placed in his shower and began gently rinsing the blood out of her hair and off of her face and neck. He cleaned her until the water ran clear. “I’ll get you a clean shirt.” He left and returned with one of his shirts folded neatly. “Take yours off and try and wipe any blood off of you that you can. Let me know when you have my shirt on or if you need help.”

  Her stomach and ribs were already yellow and black from the beating and it hurt dreadfully changing from one shirt to the other. When she called for Liam, he scooped her back up and carried her to his bed and laid her against propped up pillows. “I’m going to have to go into hiding when you tell Jackson you were in my bed.”

  “I’ll make sure to give you advanced notice.” He made her laugh. It hurt, but it was good too. “Are you going to tell me what Tom told you?”

  “He said you were attacked,” Liam began, sitting on the edge of his bed. “He said you could have a concussion so you can’t sleep right now. And he said he was going to go find Bekah and George, but he told you that too.”

  Evelyn laid her head back against Liam’s pillows. She was so tired; all she wanted to do was sleep and escape this pain she was in. “Why do I get the feeling you’re hiding something from me?”

  “You’ll just have to pretend I’m not. You know, you should have let me stay with you tonight. You would have been safe.”

  “No,” she said, closing her eyes. She may not be able to sleep, but no one said she couldn’t just shut her eyes. She felt less pathetic not seeing the look on Liam’s face. “You would have just been hurt, too. Besides, I’ll heal from this one fast; it’ll be easy to get over. It’s not the worst attack I’ve suffered.” Maybe she got hurt worse, but this pain was much easier to handle. There were more terrifying things than being threatened with death. The deaths she’d witnessed, though, those would stay with her.

  “What do you mean it wasn’t the worst attack?” The shock in Liam’s voice reminded Evelyn he didn’t know Tom had attacked her before. Perhaps it would be better to leave his name out of it.

  “I was attacked back in November, over Thanksgiving break. Same thing, extremists hunting me down. Jackson found me that night. No one died then, but I guess there was only the one attacker, and he wasn’t aiming a gun at me.”

  “How was it worse, if he wasn’t going to shoot you like these men were?”

  She opened her eyes. Pain and more pity stared back at her in Liam’s eyes. “It was just worse. I don’t want to tell you why.” She watched his eyes harden. He had figured it out.

  “And Jackson didn’t kill him?”

  “He got there before…I don’t want to talk about it.” She closed her eyes again.

  “That’s fine. I wish you would have told me though. Sometimes talking makes things better.”

  “And sometimes talking makes things worse,” she stated plainly, closing the subject.

  “I’m sorry I made you uncomfortable earlier today,” Liam said into the heavy silence. “Back at your apartment. I only wanted you to know that I’m your friend, and friends rely on each other. I’m really happy for Jack, that he has you. I’ve always respected him, and I’d never do anything to hurt our friendship. It’s the same with you. I think you’ll be leaving for a while and I don’t want you thinking there’s any weirdness between us. I care for you, but because we’re friends. If, however, Jack never made his move on you,” the playing tone she appreciated so much was back in his voice, “then perhaps I’d care for you more. But I won’t embarrass you with any of that.”

  She smiled easily with him again, as easily as she could with as much pain as she was in. It was nice to have her friend back. They spent the rest of their time together talking. He insisted Evelyn do most of the talking, to make sure she didn’t fall asleep. By two in the morning, Tom finally returned with George and Bekah.

  Evelyn insisted Liam and Tom leave the room when George inspected her head and stomach. She didn’t want either of them seeing her bruised stomach, and certainly didn’t want them seeing that much of her skin, or her tattoos. It was bad enough George would see it. Liam reluctantly left his bedroom, Tom refused to move. With Bekah sitting next to her on the bed and Tom seeming to stand guard at the door, George pressed on her stomach and ribs to make sure it wasn’t worse than bruising. He determined she’d be fine, though he suspected she’d be dizzy for at least a few more hours with any quick movements or standing or walking too much.

  “Tom’s taking you to your family,” Bekah explained. “You have family in Texas.”

  “How do you know that?” Evelyn asked, looking over to Tom who still stood at the door, but he didn’t seem up for answering questions.

  “He’s been a great help to us, Evie,” Bekah explained. “His father has – had – copies of your birth records and documents on your family, too. That’s how Tom knew to go to your apartment tonight. He found them and the orders to kill you. He’s going to get you home now.”

  “Texas isn’t h
ome. Jackson’s my home. Wait…” Last she’d heard, Charles was the one with her birth records. “How did your dad get my records?” Tom looked reluctant to talk. “Tom, are Jackson’s parents okay?”

  “Yes,” Tom finally answered. “There were two copies of your records. Mr. Monroe only got one of them.”

  “You’re sure they’re okay?”

  “They’re completely fine. None of us will go near Mr. Monroe or his wife. He’s much too dangerous, like his son. But unlike his son, Mr. Monroe’s weakness is near impossible to touch because she lives with him and never leaves the house without him. It’d take an army of us to go against him.”

  Evelyn breathed relief. Charles was indeed very protective of his wife. “Why can’t I just go to them, if they’re so safe?”

  “Tom will explain it all later. But you have dual citizenship, which is pretty much unheard of. So along with you being a Christian and the daughter of your parents, you’re also a citizen of the Texas Republic. I guess you could say you’re a threat to the modern and traditional extremist. You have to leave.”

  Evelyn looked at her roommate. “Jackson. I can’t leave him.”

  “He’s coming back,” George said, joining the conversation. “We’ve received intelligence reports that extremists are going to declare war here within the month, so we’ve got him coming back to help here. We’ll tell him where you are. If he is able to follow you, we’ll help him get to you. If not, well, we’ll make sure you’re informed. You’re just going to have to trust God right now, Evelyn. You need to leave, give your future to Him.”

  She nodded. She could trust George’s words. He was rational, and he wouldn’t advise her on something Jackson wouldn’t agree with. Still, tears burned at her eyes. “When do I have to leave?”

  “Almost immediately,” Tom informed her. “We need to catch the four thirty train. There needs to be distance between us and Sarah as soon as possible.” Tom saw the confusion on Evelyn’s face. “I’ll explain everything once we’re on the train.”