Forever Freed

by Kathleen Brooks

  It seemed as if Evie blossomed more every hour they were together. When they’d met, she had been so closed off. Now she was glowing. Keeping his hands and his feelings to himself was getting harder and harder. Yes, in private he loved her with his body. But in public he kept his distance to keep an eye on their surroundings. All he wanted to do right now was go over and kiss her in front of everyone and tell her that she was becoming a part of his life he didn’t want to ever let go.

  Instead, Jackson stopped behind the couch she was sitting on and leaned forward. His lips brushed her earlobe and he felt her shiver. “I’ll be right outside if you need me. And, Evie, you’re so beautiful. I can’t wait to have you to myself again.”

  Evie licked her lower lip, and he saw the blush rise on her cheeks. His job here was done. The door hadn’t even closed behind him when he heard Aniyah.

  “Lord have mercy, I thought you’d catch fire right there on my couch.”

  Okay, so maybe he wasn’t as subtle in public as he thought.

  * * *

  Evie was having the time of her life. The drink had been a hit. She had met Cady Woodson, the young owner and master distiller at Barrel Creek Distillery. Cady would be supplying the bartender that night and Evie showed her how to make the drink. Due to the distance between the church and the distillery, Aniyah had decided to have both the ceremony and the reception in different rooms at the distillery.

  With menu and venue decided, the house partially cleared as people headed off to accomplish their wedding tasks. Aniyah and her family and a few people from Keeneston were all that were left.

  “Father Ben was so kind,” Aniyah was saying as Sydney pinned the wedding dress hem in place. “He got everything ready for DeAndre’s aunt to perform the ceremony. She’s a pastor, and DeAndre has always wanted her to marry us. We’re going to use his great-grandmother’s Bible. And now Cady and all the guys are helping get the distillery ready. Mo and Dani are giving us their limo for the night for after the carriage ride that Wyatt and his family have gotten together. Then Cy and Gemma got us a wedding night in downtown Lexington.” Aniyah paused to blow a kiss to Gemma. “And DeAndre and I already ordered the flowers, cake, and music. What else is there?”

  Katelyn Davies, Sydney’s mother, looked at her friend Bridget, who nodded. “Well, Aniyah dear. We got you something too. It’s a joint gift from our whole family along with Dylan and Abby.”

  “Is it the new stand mixer? I feel like I went from wanting cute clothes to household appliances in the blink of an eye. Now all I’m thinking about is decorating and hosting parties. Is that weird?” Aniyah asked.

  “Not at all,” Sydney said with a mouthful of pins. “Now a new washer gets me more excited than jewelry.”

  “Cole was telling me about this vacuum that picks up dog hair,” Sienna almost whispered as if she were afraid of being overheard. “And now I really want it. Do you have any idea how much hair Hooch leaves around the house? It even has an upholstery attachment!”

  The women dissolved into laughter but then Katelyn spoke up again. “I’m sorry, it’s not a mixer. DeAndre told my husband that you two wanted to go to the beach for your honeymoon, but couldn’t go right away.”

  “We really wanted to go to that fancy Able Resort and Spa in the Caribbean, but we couldn’t get the room we wanted. They were all sold out and we can’t afford the upgrade. Apparently, December is a huge travel month for the Caribbean so we’re going to wait until after Christmas,” Aniyah told her.

  “I don’t know if you know this, but my father sold fifty-one percent of his hotels to Sebastian Able,” Katelyn explained.

  “And then Abby called him, too,” Bridget added as she and Katelyn shared a look. “If you remember, Abby brought him as her date to Sydney’s Daughters of Elizabeth charity ball before she and Dylan got together.”

  Aniyah bobbed her head. “Of course I remember him. He was a fine looking man. I also remember that Ahmed almost killed him with his stare. I’m not into older men typically, but Ahmed only gets better with age.”

  “I couldn’t agree more,” Bridget said with a smile that showed she was the beneficiary of those good looks.

  “Well,” Katelyn said, standing up and holding an envelope out to Aniyah. “You better start packing.”

  Evie watched as Aniyah’s mouth fell open. “Are you messing with me right now?” she asked as she took the envelope and opened it. Tears started to stream down Aniyah’s face before she just shook her head and reached for Katelyn. As she cried into Katelyn’s embrace, Evie saw the card. It was for a week at the resort . . . in a suite.

  “Come here,” Aniyah cried as she swiped at her tear-stained face. Bridget and Gemma joined in the group hug and Evie noticed Aniyah’s family sitting and watching thoughtfully. “Thank you so much for your kindness. All of you.” Aniyah sniffled and pulled back to look around the remaining people in the room. “You ladies are my sisters and I love you.”

  “We love you too,” Riley said, getting up and hugging Aniyah along with Sienna, Sydney, and Reagan.

  “There was a hole in my soul when my parents got their wings, but they sent you fine people into my life to guide me. And you guided me back to my own family.” Aniyah started crying again as she held out her hand to her family.

  “We know we can never replace your mother,” Gemma told Aniyah as she clasped one of her hands in hers. “But you are our daughter anyway.”

  Evie had to look away. Tears were pressing against her eyes. What she’d give to have that. Her throat worked as she tried to swallow her emotions and longing.

  Aniyah’s grandmother lifted her hands up toward the heavens. “Thank Jesus that He, and no doubt your mother and father, delivered you into the hands of this town. I hope you don’t think this is too presumptuous, but we brought you something too. Don’t feel that you have to use it.”

  Auntie Bea got up and walked into her bedroom.

  “You have something new,” Granny Louise said, pointing to the dress. “But we have something old and blue for you.”

  Evie watched as Aunt Bea came out carrying an old-looking pine broom that appeared handmade. A blue and silver ribbon wrapped around the handle. The ends of the ribbon formed a bow where the broom’s skirt met the handle. Aunt Bea handed the broom to Aniyah whose hand had risen to cover her heart.

  “Is this the broom Momma and Daddy jumped?” Aniyah asked in a whisper.

  Granny Louise’s eyes had a sheen as she nodded. “This was the broom my mother and sisters made me the night before my wedding. I passed it down to your parents, but when they left, I think they accidentally left it behind.”

  “I know they did. I remember Momma telling me about this.” Aniyah held the broom reverently in her hands. “She told me how on the eve of her wedding you found flowers to place in the skirt and the three of you women sat and decorated it.”

  “Yes, child. It’s a family tradition. On the eve of my wedding, my mother, sister, and I also sat and decorated this very one. We’d like to decorate it with flowers on the eve of your wedding as well. Then someday you can decorate it for your son or daughter,” Granny Louise said as she sniffed back happy tears.

  “Thank you,” Aniyah said, opening her arms for her family.

  Evie was choking back tears along with everyone else in the room. She got up and silently collected her things. This was a time for family and while she wished she had a family like this one, it wasn’t hers. But someday . . . it was possible. For the first time in her life, the thought of having a loving family of her own warmed her heart.

  29

  Evie told everyone at the dinner table about her afternoon of wedding planning and Sienna’s offer to help her try to remember whatever hint it was that Jonathan had said about the main target.

  Ryan had stopped by before dinner to tell her they caught two of the people she’d identified. They’d been left at the FBI office in Seattle, handcuffed together and tied up with a bow. The suspects made a deal to tal
k so long as the FBI protected them from the unidentified man and woman who found them in their hideout and interrogated them before leaving them handcuffed to the front door of the FBI’s office.

  When Evie and Jackson had looked at the surveillance video from Seattle’s FBI cameras, she saw the indistinct image of two people. One taller and one shorter. Jackson had just laughed and Evie narrowed her eyes. It couldn’t be them, could it?

  “The bow was a nice touch,” Jackson remarked to Ryan. “You know that was her idea.”

  Ryan had shaken his head and said goodnight to them as Talon joined them with a large Blossom Café to-go bag.

  “Well, it sounds as if the town has the wedding well in hand,” Lucas said. “Too bad we’ll be working and can’t bring dates.”

  “Y’all really need to make up your minds,” Jackson said as he teased his friends about asking Poppy and Zinnia out.

  “I’m going to grab more rolls. Do you all want anything from the kitchen?” Evie asked as she stood up. The guys all shook their heads and went back to teasing each other. Evie looked up as she stood from her chair. What she saw out the front window froze her in absolute terror.

  A clown stood in the shadows of the porch. It wasn’t a cheerful clown; it was a very scary clown. This one had a black painted nose and black lips painted up toward his cheeks with large pointy teeth. He slowly raised his hand and waved at her. Evie felt her body begin to shake. Fear had such a hold on her that she couldn’t move, never mind scream.

  “Evie?” Jackson asked and then looked to where she was staring. In a split second, he and the guys were racing out the door with guns drawn. Evie watched in silent horror as the clown turned toward the door in surprise as Jackson leapt through the air and tackled him out of sight.

  “Breathe, dearie! Breathe!” Evie heard the voice as if they were far away until she felt the smart smack of something hitting her hand.

  Evie blinked and dragged in a ragged breath. When she looked away from the window, she saw Miss Daisy standing there with a wooden spoon and Miss Lily and Miss Violet holding on to each arm.

  “C-c-c-clown.”

  “What in tarnation?” Miss Lily gasped as Jackson hauled the clown to his feet and ripped off the blood-red tufts of hair.

  “Oh my!” Miss Violet gasped, raising a spatula as if it were a sword.

  Evie stopped breathing again as Jackson and Talon each took an arm of the struggling clown and dragged him inside. Evie felt her whole body seize and her vision start to tunnel as he approached.

  “What the heck, dude? I’m just here to wish some lady a happy birthday.”

  “We’re FBI. Who are you here for?” Jackson asked as he shoved the clown into a chair and Jackson handcuffed him to it.

  “Whoa! I’m a singing clown. I work for Singing Messages in Lexington. I haven’t done anything illegal! Oh my god, please don’t arrest me. I’ll be kicked off the soccer team, and I’m finally starting!”

  Miss Lily hurried up with a wet towel and began to wipe off the make-up.

  “Who are you?” Jackson demanded.

  “Bryson Edelstein. I’m a junior at East High School in Lexington. This is my part-time job to save up to go to Israel next summer with my synagogue’s youth group. Please, let me go,” Bryson begged.

  Evie finally took a deep breath as more and more make-up was removed.

  “Who are you here to sing happy birthday to?” Jackson asked.

  “Evie Scott,” Bryson said quickly. “Are you going to hurt me?”

  “He checks out,” Lucas said softly as he put his phone away.

  “Uncuff him,” Jackson said to Talon before turning back to the kid. “Who paid you to sing to Evie?”

  “I have the order form in my pocket, it’s on there. Can I get it?”

  Jackson nodded and Bryson reached into his clown suit before handing the paper to Jackson. “Gary Ellis,” Jackson said, turning to Evie.

  Evie shook her head as she tried to regain control. “That’s Jon’s father. He’s dead.”

  “Looks like Jon kept one of dad’s credit cards. Lucas, call Ryan and tell him what happened and run a trace on the card.” Jackson looked down at Bryson again and Evie started to feel bad for the kid, even if he did scare the crap out of her. “Do you know Jonathan Ellis?”

  “I don’t think so. Does he go to school with me?”

  “Ever heard of American Rebellion?” Jackson asked, not answering the question.

  Bryson nodded slowly. “I heard about them on the news.” Suddenly his face went as white as the paint Miss Lily had wiped off. “You don’t think I’m part of them, do you?”

  Jackson stared long and hard at the boy before shaking his head.

  “What do you want to do with Bozo here?” Talon asked.

  “Let Ryan have him. Kid, you better call your parents.”

  “My dad is going to kill me,” he said worriedly.

  “Here,” Talon said, holding out his hand. “I’ll call and assure him you are helping us.”

  “Ryan will be here in a minute. Have the parents meet him and the kid at the sheriff’s station,” Lucas said, walking back into the room.

  “I’m really sorry, ma’am,” Bryson rambled as Talon called his father. “The order said you loved scary clowns.”

  “It’s okay. I’m sorry you got caught up in this,” Evie told him.

  “Here you go, young man,” Miss Lily said, handing him a bag. “Here is some food for you while you’re at the sheriff’s station. That’s a great costume. I’ll have to remember you for the future.”

  “Here’s a tip. You were very scary,” Miss Daisy said, handing him twenty dollars.

  Jackson came over to Evie and hugged her tightly before taking her by the hand and leading her into the kitchen. “Are you okay?”

  “The spiders,” Evie said, shaking her head. “I should have known.”

  “I don’t understand. What did the spiders have to do with anything?” Jackson asked.

  “I’m scared to death of spiders and clowns. Jon knows this. He has to kill every spider in the apartment. He used to think it was hilarious to scare me with this clown mask when he was younger. He knows exactly where I am and how to get to me.”

  “He sent a clown because he couldn’t get here. We wanted him to know where you are. In fact,” Jackson pulled out his phone and after a few minutes turned it around to show her. “I want to post this.”

  Evie looked at the picture of two clowns. One was smiling and laughing. Her face had been transposed onto it. The second clown was knocked out on the ground and had Jon’s face on it. “A little juvenile, isn’t it?”

  “Yes, and so are the other posts we’ve been putting up on your account.”

  “You’ve put up more?”

  Jackson nodded. “The FBI’s behavioral team has been posting as you all day. They ran a complete psych profile on Jonathan and the posts are specifically designed to draw him out. If you challenge him or make him feel stupid, it’ll anger him to no end. If he’s angry, he’s likely to make mistakes. That’s exactly what we want.”

  He clicked Post and then handed his phone to her. Evie scrolled down. The posts did just that. They taunted Jonathan and his group. “I’m sure he’s livid. I know how to push his buttons, but the team found those buttons and then went nuclear.”

  “They’re the experts for a reason,” Jackson told her.

  “So, if he knows where we are, should we move back to the apartment?” Evie asked Jackson.

  “No. Here the guys have their own rooms. If we move anywhere, it’ll be to Mo and Dani’s farm. It’s the safest place in Keeneston.”

  “Hey, Jackson,” Talon said, striding over. “The kid said the first address he was to go to was your apartment and then this was the second if Evie wasn’t at the apartment.”

  “Why here?” Evie asked.

  “It’s literally the only place to stay in Keeneston since there are no hotels,” Jackson explained.

  Evie thought
about it and asked the question she’d been wondering. “How did he know about the apartment?”

  “Jon had my name and my hometown. If he called the local post office, they’d give him the apartment address.”

  Jackson looked at Talon who nodded as if they had just had a conversation. “On it.”

  “On what?” Evie asked.

  “He’ll question the postal workers to see if Jon called. If he did, what this tells me is he’s never been here. He’s somewhere else and sending people here.”

  “I know what I want to do,” Evie said. Jackson raised one dark eyebrow questioningly at her. “If there’s any evidence of danger approaching, we move to the farm. My only hesitation is that I don’t want to put anyone in danger. The entire Ali Rahman family is out there, including a baby. But staying here puts Poppy and Zinnia in danger at night.”

  “I’ll talk to them. I’ll see if they’ll agree to spend the night next door. I hate to kick them out, but you’re right. We don’t want to put them in danger. Since this is the only place to stay, I’m afraid that when Jon gets here, he’ll come to the apartment or here. I want him to find me, not them.”

  * * *

  Jackson left Evie in the care of the Rose sisters as he talked to his team and to Poppy and Zinnia. Ryan had collected the singing clown. Jackson stood in the dark shadows of the backyard as he called the only people he knew who would give him a real update.

  “What’s up? I’m putting you on speaker or is this a private conversation? Do you need some pointers from the expert on how to please Evie?”

  Jackson smiled into the darkness. “If I’m looking for sex advice, I’m going to your parents. After all, they have five kids so you know they do it all the time.”