Between Faith and Fear

by J. A. Dennam

  A sound had her looking up. Scratching metal as if someone were inserting a key… Melanie quickly looked around and spotted the only thing that could be used as a weapon. Praying her son would keep his distance she flattened herself to the peeling paint behind the door.

  Squeaky hinges groaned as it slowly opened. DJ, in full view of the intruder, clapped his hands while balancing on socked feet. When he made a break for the open door, he tripped and his chubby little body went down hard. He opened his mouth and his silent cry turned into a loud one.

  “Oh, no!” Rena soothed, her attention on the distressed toddler before her.

  Luckily for Melanie, the woman only noticed the displaced light behind her when it was already too late. A full year of Pilates backed her swing with more might than one would think her capable of. The LED lantern crashed into the base of Rena’s skull, knocking the woman unconscious. Unfortunately, the impact also broke the lantern and the room went pitch black.

  Melanie followed the sound of DJ’s cries, located him on the floor and threw him over her shoulder. With her mind only on escape, she felt her way through the door and shuffled down a dirt-encrusted hallway as fast as she could without running into anything. The smell of mildew was stronger there and was the possible cause of DJ’s fortified screams. As long as she followed the wall, perhaps she could remove them both from this god-awful place before Rena came to.

  A stairwell appeared before her. It was barely visible from the dim light above, just enough to show her the way up. The handrail offered rickety support, necessary in order to keep her footing amid the mounds of dust, ceiling plaster and crackling paint chips.

  Cobwebs clung to her tangled hair, but for the first time in her life, Melanie had worse fears than whatever eight-legged creatures may accompany them. As she topped the last step, she stopped, turned and searched for a way out. The moonlight was brighter here, shining through a number of massive windows that lined the sides of the large structure she was now in. The domed architecture hinted of a once regal church. To her left, a decaying, recessed altar verified it. Two aisles sectioned by a series of crafted wood columns flanked the sanctuary, one of which she was standing in. They were the only parts where the littered floor wasn’t sagging dangerously toward collapse. As long as she stayed close to the walls, her chances of making it to the double doors at the far end without falling through were much greater.

  DJ continued to cry despite Melanie’s harried attempts to shush him. If they could only escape before their other kidnapper showed up, she’d have a good chance to capture someone’s attention outside and be rescued.

  The doors were locked tight, but they weren’t barred. She flipped the latch, yanked them open and stepped into the night. Thick, balmy air cleansed the filth from her lungs as she fled down concrete steps, stumbled through a few feet of overgrowth before she realized… no one was around to rescue them.

  “We’re in the damned woods,” she mumbled in dismay, wondering why in the hell someone would build an elaborate freaking church in the middle of nowhere. Perhaps civilization was only a few yards away, but it wasn’t as close as it needed to be. The baby wailed and clung to her t-shirt as she bounced through the brush. Passing thorns grabbed at her filthy pants. She stole a look over her shoulder. Relief came in spades when she saw no one closing in from behind. Thank God! A break!

  But when her eyes moved forward again, it was to encounter another pair of them staring right back at her. Her feet stilled. Her quest for breath increased ten-fold. The crouching black silhouette just yards before them was all too familiar.

  “You again!” she seethed, growing angry at the canine who was once again blocking her path. “Shoo! Go away!” She stepped left. The dog jerked, poised in challenge. “Get out of here!” She stepped right. DJ’s cries turned to hiccupping laughter as the dog responded in kind. “Oh, you…”

  Despite her son’s amusement, this was anything but a game. Melanie decided to test her boundaries and pray for the best. Faking left, she broke for the right and ran like hell only to face-plant into a rock hard chest. A pair of strong arms wrapped around her. The shock of it rendered her temporarily dumb, allowing the man she’d run into time to wrap his fist in her hair and give a soft yank. Chin up, her eyes widened. All she could see amid the dappled canopy of trees was the ominous, mushroomed outline of a hood. It lowered just barely.

  “No goodbye?” spoken in a raspy whisper.

  DJ squirmed between them as his mother’s chest rose and fell. “Ma,” he said, close to tears once again. Melanie’s breath came out in a defeated cry.

  “You got her?” said a voice beside them. Rena was back, rubbing her neck… and pissed.

  The man simply held them for a moment longer without loosening his grip. Something about him warned Melanie not to push, so she remained still in his arms. Hard muscle pressed against her from all sides. Again, a sense of familiarity niggled at her brain, but fear prevented her from dwelling on it. Finally, he began to walk, pushing her backwards. With her arms full, Melanie had little choice but to move with him, completely at his mercy.

  “You can’t keep us here!” she whimpered helplessly. They stepped together as a unit. “Do you know who she is? What she’s done?”

  “I know.”

  “Then you must know she’s crazy! She uses men just like you to do her dirty work. She killed my boyfriend and she’ll only go after more people if you allow her to pull your strings!”

  Melanie lost her footing. She tightened her grip around her son as the man swept her in his arms. He effortlessly carried the whole package up the wide concrete steps, through the gaping doorway and back inside the old church. If only DJ were home, safely tucked in his crib where he should be, she wouldn’t be so damned compliant.

  “He stinks,” the hooded figure whispered as he set her down at the top of the stairs that led toward the basement classrooms.

  Rena was close behind. “He needs his diaper changed. I’ll do it.”

  “What? No!” DJ was yanked from Melanie’s grasp before she could stop it. The sight of the lunatic handling her child awoke the tigress within her. “Don’t you take him! Give him ba–”

  A large hand snaked around her mouth, while the other gripped her around the middle. Once again, she was flush against his unyielding body.

  “Cooperate,” he rasped.

  The word, spoken so ominously, enhanced the dread that continued to creep down her spine, but she nobly fought it. Her son needed her. She struggled in the man’s arms and, much to her surprise he let go. When she defiantly headed for the stairs, he stopped her with two words.

  “Don’t, Mel.”

  Every hair on her scalp tingled. Slowly, heart pounding, she turned toward the dark shape of her captor. “What did you call me?”

  No answer. Instead, he backed up and jerked his head toward a small overturned bucket below the window. “Sit down.”

  Her eyes narrowed. “You know me, don’t you?”

  “No.”

  “Bullshit. Only my friends call me Mel and every time you talk it’s like you’re trying to disguise your voice.”

  “Sit. Down.”

  “Or what?”

  “Says the mother without her kid.”

  It was slipped in there so smoothly, a moment passed before the meaning sank in. Despair darkened her eyes and she finally complied. She’d been mistaken. No one she knew could be this cruel.

  Once more, he quit pacing and glanced at the woman huddled on the floor. A shaft of guilt pierced his chest, but he quelled it with conviction. If only she knew this was the safest place for her… and for her boy. Her other child, however, was still a possible target. It was hard to make that call, whether to bring the baby girl with them or not. Perhaps she was safer with her father.

  Jeez-Louise, Melanie and Mac had been busy. Those two kids of theirs couldn’t be much more than a year apart. Oddly, though, she never mentioned her other child, the owner of the pink blanket that Chewie ha
d so cunningly robbed. Perhaps she was afraid he’d take her, too… not that he’d planned on involving a child at all. Now the risks were that much greater.

  His cell lit up. He checked the screen.

  All done. Should I bring him back?

  He stroked his beard stubble in thought. Then he typed: Not yet.

  Melanie’s cooperation was too important. Her child presented a problem he hadn’t counted on. Something had to change, as this was no longer a simple plan.

  Sensing her eyes on him, he turned, regarded her with doubt. Should he? It was never supposed to happen. He shouldn’t put her through that kind of turmoil; it wasn’t fair to her.

  But life had handed him a shit-ton of unfair.

  Since he’d sent the dog downstairs to keep an eye on Rena, they were alone. Expelling a heavy breath, he moved barefoot over the debris, knowing if she were to close her eyes, she’d never know he approached.

  She sat up, her slender shoulders stiff with expectation. He lowered himself before her, mirroring her position with his knees to the floor. They were close. She didn’t budge. The questions must have been compiling in her beautiful head since he’d ordered her to sit down because she whispered…

  “You kissed me.”

  She remembered. “Yes,” he answered truthfully.

  After a moment’s hesitation, she nodded. “It was… familiar.”

  Aw, hell. “Just familiar?”

  He could hear her frantic heartbeat. It pounded beneath the light cotton of her t-shirt as she hesitantly raised her hands. If he let her do this, there would be no turning back. His dark, possibly limited existence would put a stain on the comfortable life she’d found without him. But, much to his dismay, the decision had been made the moment he took her.

  He bowed his head… and waited.

  Chapter 4

  Almost afraid of what she might find, Melanie pushed at the dark hood until it fell back to rest between his shoulders. There was just enough moonlight to illuminate soft, flattened hair.

  Her brow furrowed. She ran deft fingertips through the mass, bringing it back to its natural spiky state. Then her touch moved to his ears.

  Her eyes closed. Yes… ears flattened beneath her hands as he trailed kisses down her naked belly.

  But it wasn’t him. It couldn’t be. To confirm it, she felt his forehead, knowing the evidence would be there if it were. Her thumbs found slight imperfections over an inch above each brow.

  Her breath froze in her lungs. She opened her eyes and rested them on his bowed head. Anchoring a fingertip beneath his whiskered chin, she slowly raised his face toward the meager light. “Noooo…” she breathed, eyes widening in shock. “It can’t be…”

  She rose up on her knees and grasped his head between firm hands, yanking it back for a more thorough inspection. Somewhere between reality and fantasy, she explored the features of a man who no longer existed. This whole nightmare was slowly morphing into a dream. She and DJ weren’t really in danger. Rena wasn’t really free. This was all just a dream!

  The cheekbones were high and firm beneath her touch, covered in the same light beard she remembered so vividly. The brows were the same, the crooked nose that had attracted so many women when he was alive… and she was sure his lithe, athletic physique was the same beneath the black, daunting clothes.

  His eyes remained closed as if he were afraid of her reaction. It was the last verification she needed.

  “Open,” she moaned, hot tears trailing down her cheeks. Powerful hands skimmed up her sides, grasped her shoulders. When he finally did as she asked, the crumbling structure around them faded away, leaving only the ethereal pair of eyes she was gazing upon. Her face crumpled and she buried her quiet sobs against the warmth of his neck.

  “Shhh,” he soothed, holding her tightly to him. “I’m so sorry, babe.”

  “Sorry!” She laughed through her tears. “I’m going to be the one who’s sorry when I wake up.”

  “It isn’t a dream.”

  His scent engulfed her nostrils. She lifted up, buried her nose in his hair and inhaled deeply. “I can smell you this time. Wow, it’s the same! Like the outdoors, all earth and man.”

  “Mel…”

  Her lips covered his, desperate with need. He was back. If only for a short time, Derek Bennett was back and in her arms. “God, I miss you. So much.”

  The words were spoken through kisses, but his lips remained hesitant beneath hers.

  “Mel, stop. Wait…” With a burst of speed, he shoved her away, rose to his feet and put distance between them. “This isn’t good.” He combed fingers through his hair as he paced.

  “What’s wrong?” she pleaded, coming at him again.

  He backed away. “You need to understand something.”

  Now that he no longer hid from her, his voice was clear and achingly familiar. Her heart melted even more. She took a step closer. He took a step back. “Do you know how many orgasms I’ve had in my sleep from dreams just like this one?”

  His spine straightened. “Really?”

  “So intense… I almost hurt when I wake up.” And she couldn’t wait to wake up from another. He groaned and turned his back. She flattened her hands against the tight muscles that stretched across his shoulders. They were bigger in this dream than in the others... bigger than what she remembered.

  “Dammit, Mel, snap out of it!”

  Before she knew it, he had her by the shoulders, swung around and backed into the wall. It hit hard, just enough to jar her head. “Ow!”

  With a frustrated breath, Derek’s own head sagged as he held her there. “I’m sorry. Again.”

  “That hurt.”

  His gaze came up, bore into hers. “And it should hurt since you aren’t dreaming! Think about it!”

  The seconds ticked by as she did just that. “Now that I do think about it… you’ve never been this chatty.” He made a sound of disbelief. “But it’s okay. I’ll take it. I don’t care what we do.” The softness was back in her tone. Her palm came up, skimmed over his jaw. “Even when I’m awake, I always feel you with me.”

  Tenderness – or was it pity – reflected in eyes that remained colorless in shadow. “I forgot how sweet you are,” he murmured. She smiled. “But you need to realize… I’m here in a very physical sense, fighting the stiffie from hell all because you keep eyeballing me through those beautiful lashes of yours. So, tell me what I can do to convince you I’m real.”

  Her attention shifted to the telltale bulge beneath his pants.

  Frustration made him flippant. “You want me to show you my dick?”

  “Need a light?”

  The feminine voice behind him interrupted with shocking results. Rena had joined them somewhere along the way and now advanced slowly toward them. The woman’s smoky chuckle filled the air. “I wouldn’t mind seeing it myself.”

  Derek’s hands fell away from Melanie’s shoulders and he backed away. She closed her eyes. He was leaving now. The dream was over.

  But when she opened them again, it wasn’t to the morning sun. It was to face the same dismal scene as before. This time, Derek and Rena stood together. Side-by-side. Murderer and victim.

  The nightmare was back.

  Rena snapped her fingers. “Yoo-hoo.”

  It was then Melanie knew with utmost certainty she was still awake. Had been all this time. What the hell was going on? “Before I even attempt to make sense of this,” she said with renewed caution, “where’s my baby?”

  “Asleep. The poor thing’s exhausted.” Rena’s look softened at the mention of the toddler. “Don’t worry, Chewie will make sure he doesn’t roll off the bed.”

  Melanie’s lips began to tremble as her mind processed the truth. The man she was looking at, who was watching her with utmost caution, who’d been dead for two years... was real. Unless it was all a trick of some kind.

  Rena elbowed him. “She’s wondering how I pulled this off. That somewhere in my evil book of spells I was able to t
urn a frog into you or something.”

  Which was pretty damned close to the truth. Melanie opened her mouth. Hesitated. “Derek? Is it really you?”

  Hands on hips, he nodded once. “It’s me.”

  “I thought we were going to look at his dick.”

  “Shut up, Rena.”

  Slightly affronted, the woman sighed, ambled toward the overturned bucket and sat down heavily.

  Ignoring her, Melanie put one foot in front of the other. “You’re really alive.”

  He nodded again.

  “How?”

  “It’s a long, complicated story.”

  “I was with your sister when I watched them wheel you down to the ER. I was there when the doctor told us all you had died in surgery. I went to your funeral!”

  “Did you see his body?” Rena asked smoothly.

  Her attention sliced over to the smug woman on the bucket. “It was a closed-casket service.”

  “How convenient.”

  “They were honoring his wishes! It was in his will!”

  “Or so you were told.”

  Melanie’s brain scrambled with fury. “What the hell do you know about it, Rena? You were too busy lurking behind bushes planning Danny’s death!”

  Rena crossed her arms and stared back, the picture of self-control. “I obviously knew more than you, sweetheart.”

  Derek broke in. “Mel, I never had a will. And, Rena, you need to leave.”

  His softly spoken command was obeyed without question. Much to Melanie’s surprise, Rena Hellberg was operating under his authority… not the other way around.

  “Wait a minute!” Her motherly instincts kicked in full gear. “I still don’t want her anywhere near my son!”

  Derek grabbed her by the upper arms as she tried to pass by him once again. “You and I need to talk alone.”