The Divine Whisper (31 page)

“What do you mean you fight for yourself?
Who would you possibly have to defend yourself against?”

“I fight for whoever has the biggest pocketbook,” he proclaimed.
“One-eight hundred-Nephilim-For-Hire.”

The man laughed at his own joke but Gemariah’s heart had dropped to his stomach.
Nephilim was not a word that many people knew
, he thought. Maybe she was one of them, and just choked it up to the guy being out of his mind. At that moment, he prayed that Nicole didn’t remember the story he had told her some weeks ago.

There was still one thing that wasn’t sitting right with him.
““How’d you get those then?” Gemariah nodded his head to indicate the other man’s back-pocket.”

“You mean these?” He laughed and pulled out a star.
Gemariah could tell that he had had them for a while because of the comfort in which he held them. He then started to roll one over and around his fingers as he continued. “Who would have thought that He would trust me with a set? I guess the jokes on Him now, isn’t it?”

Gemariah didn’t answer.
He had had enough and was ready to get Nicole out of there. “Did you need something specific or are we free to leave now?”

A look of disappointment flashed across the other man’s face, so quick that Gemariah second guessed himself on what he really saw.
“I take it that you weren’t in the mood for a family reunion today?”

“You didn’t answer my question.
Did you need something?”

The easy smile left the other man’s face, and an angry scowl replaced it.
“Not that you deserve to know this, I myself don’t even know all the details, but there’s talk of an underground operation. It’s similar to human trafficking, but it’s for the most elite species, nephilim included.”

“This is the first I’ve ever heard of something like that.”
Gemariah looked doubtful.

“Believe what you want, but on that assignment you botched of mine, you became a target.
Well, not you specifically.” The man leaned to the side again to look at Nicole. “Your family.”

“This is ridiculous!
We’re leaving,” Gemariah declared. He reached back and grabbed Nicole’s hand. He started to walk around the truck to keep Nicole as far away from the stranger as possible. That was the plan, but he didn’t count on her stopping when she got near him and pulling her hand from his.

“Were you telling the truth?” she asked hesitantly.

“About what part, Sweetheart?”

Gemariah didn’t like someone else using that endearment for her, and he really didn’t like the grin the other man shot her either.

“The part about being family.”

“All I can say is that I never lie.
I’ve found that there’s no point and it waists my time to think of ones clever enough. It’s easier to keep a story straight if you keep it truthful.” The man looked at complete ease.

Before she could continue the conversation, Gemariah grabbed her hand again and pulled her to the other side of the truck.
Once he had her securely in the passenger seat, he shut the door and walked back around to the driver’s side. He was irritated to see that the man hadn’t left. “You still here,” he hissed.

The man put his hands up in surrender.
“Fine,” he spat out, “I can take a hint. Never mind that I put my own welfare in jeopardy by approaching you. I get when I’m not wanted.” He started to turn away.

Gemariah sighed heavily.
“I’m not saying that I believe you, but don’t think for one minute that I’m not going to try and verify
everything
you’ve told me.”

“I’m counting on it.”
The man had no fear in his voice, like someone would if they were about to be made into a liar.

Gemariah opened the door and turned to get in the truck.
Stopping before he stepped up, he turned his head. “What do they call you, anyway,” he shouted out.

“Conner.”

“Conner…” Gemariah wanted his full name.

The man shrugged.
“That’s it. Just, Conner.”

Gemariah didn’t say anything else, but climbed in his truck and took off.

Nicole sat next to him in silence.
What he wouldn’t do to know what she was thinking… feeling. In his head, he was preparing himself for the many questions that she was going to shoot his way. That was why when she finally spoke, it surprised him what she said.

******

“You shouldn’t have been so rude.”

“Excuse me?”
By the shocked tone in his voice, she knew that he wasn’t expecting her to defend the man.

“Family is a hard thing to come by.
If he’s telling the truth, you could have just ruined your chances to ever be on good terms with him.”

“I can’t believe you’re on his side.
You don’t even know him. Didn’t you hear everything else he said?” he asked.

“Of course I did.”
She didn’t understand most of it, even though she felt as though she should. Something was clawing at the back of her mind, something she had possibly forgotten. “I don’t know about the other stuff, but you could tell that he definitely thought that he could have been putting himself in danger by coming to you. That’s what families do.”

“I already have a family.”

“Everyone can use more.”

“Not me.”

His words stung. He couldn’t possibly mean her and the babies, but there was that lingering doubt in her mind. She covered up her feelings with a smile, and turned to look at him. “But wouldn’t it be nice—”

“No!
Now drop it!”

His shout got her to shut her mouth.
She felt the anger boiling up inside of her, but decided to stay silent and look out the window. She saw the world flying by, and tried to calm herself. It wasn’t working, but she still stayed silent. Even when her palms started to sting from where her nails were digging into her skin, she stayed silent. She hated to be scolded like a child, and she sure as hell didn’t deserve his attitude, but she still… stayed… silent.

She didn’t’ care if he believed it or not, but she knew that Gemariah would eventually need his brother, just as her children would need their uncle. Therefore, she wouldn’t stay silent forever. All she needed was a plan.

CHAPTER 15

Ever since the encounter outside the ice-cream shop, Gemariah was even more watchful over her, so it was harder to slip away than she thought it would be.
Everything she said that she had to do, he was right there with her.

Everywhere they went, she was more in tune with her surroundings.
She would look at anything and everyone more closely than she had before. There were even a couple times she thought she saw Conner turn a corner or disappear into a building right as she looked over.

After a little over a week, she was sure that it had been Conner and was positive that he was still following Gemariah.
She had had enough. He was either a psychopathic stalker or he really was trying to look out for them. Whichever the case, she planned to find out. She had a plan to break away from Gemariah’s watchful eye… it was time for her to get some answers.

There were too many secrets still being kept from her.
The farther along in her pregnancy she got, the more anxious people became. Anytime that she asked what was wrong, the person smiled and said the same thing, “Nothing.”

There was something about listening to Conner speak.
It was his own language of words and terms that Gemariah had no problem following. To her, it was completely alien. She couldn’t help but think that what he had to say was important. She had enough of Gemariah blowing off her questions. It was time that she went right to the source and got her answers. Or better yet, he would come to her.

Nicole packed her purse.
She made sure that she had her ID, pepper spray, some money, and just in case she was wrong about everything, she slipped a four inch dagger in as well. Now came for the tricky part.

She walked downstairs to see Gemariah watching television from the couch.
She couldn’t help it as her gaze took in how much the house had changed since she first saw it.

She remembered what it looked like coming into the house for the first time.
The house was clean, but it was also cluttered. It looked as if he had quickly picked up and wiped things down before she got there. Magazines were stacked in a corner, dirty dishes were nicely organized in the sink, and patches of dust were on the woodwork where he had missed. Nicole could tell right then that cleaning did not come naturally to him. A glorified bachelor, as some might put it.

When she had come to live with him, he constantly would throw down a shirt or a towel on the floor if it was dirty, not ever bothering to pick it up.
It drove her insane, and she had hounded him enough that eventually he had started using the hamper.

She was off of bed rest, and now could help around the house when she wasn’t exhausted.
Except, it was as if Gemariah had trained himself to become the type of person who didn’t let things lie around.

She smiled and looked at the candy wrappers, empty bag of chips and an empty soda can on the coffee table in front of him.
He is still a slob
, she thought with a smile, b
ut at least he's a slob that picks up after himself when he's done
. Like it or not, he had become somewhat domesticated.

She finished her way down the stairs and put on a big smile.
“Okay, I’m off. I won’t be home too late.”

“Mmmhmm.”
He didn’t even look up from the TV.
Thank God for football
, she thought.

She was almost to the door that led out to the garage when she heard him shout out.
“Wait! What? Where are you going?”

Dang it!!
Keeping her smile on, she turned around to face him just as he hopped over the back of the couch and started towards her. “Don’t you remember? It’s girls’ night out.” She pointed over to the dry-erase board on the fridge that clearly stated, “Tonight: GIRLS NIGHT OUT!!”

He looked somewhat confused as if he didn’t remember seeing that written before.
That was probably because he hadn’t since she wrote it on there twenty minutes ago while he was still engrossed in the game.

“Who’s all going to be there?
Trinity?”

“No, just some girls from work.
I don’t think you’ve met them.”
Best not to get into specifics
, she thought.

“Where are you going?”

“Jeez Dad! Interrogation, much?”

When he didn’t say anything, but kept looking at her expectantly, she sighed.
She guessed he expected specifics. “We’re meeting at the Blue Runner for food and drinks.” She held up a hand to silence any comment he might throw in. “Obviously non-alcoholic ones for me,” she stated before going on. “I’ll be home no later than eleven, I feel fine, and I’ll drive slowly.”

At first, he didn’t say anything and she thought that she was busted.
He was looking at her closely and even tilted his head to the side as if he were inspecting a unique bug and wondering if he was going to smash it or not. “Why are you so nervous?” he finally asked.

She thought that she could play dumb and act like she didn’t know what he was talking about, but in the end, she went with honesty.
“Because I am so scared that you won’t let me go, or if you do, you won’t let me go alone,” she whined. “Don’t get me wrong, spending time with you is great, but I need to breathe! Just for one night,” she added. She told herself that she was going to be honest with him, she wasn’t counting omitting information.

He stepped forward slowly and surprised her when he put a hand on each side of her face and tilted it up as he lowered his lips to hers.
They had been living under the same roof for months, and even fell asleep in the same bed occasionally, but everything had been platonic. He had not kissed her since the morning after their intimate night together, and she found that she had really missed the feel of his lips.

It was just a simple kiss that never became too intense.
He finally pulled away and smiled. At that moment, he looked so young and carefree that she almost kissed him again to keep the expression on his face. Instead, it was him that moved first and leaned down again. He lightly kissed her forehead and when he pulled his lips away, his body followed as he took a step back.

“Have fun,” was all he said before he turned away smiling.

This new development between them clouded her mind and threw her off kilter. All she could think of to say was, “Really?”

He turned to look at her and raised one side of his mouth higher than the other in a crooked smile.
“Unless you want me to come with you,” he said as he started to walk back in her direction.

His words snapped her mind back in place and she remembered what her plans were.
Startled and thinking that he was actually going to come with her, she jumped back and held her hands in front of her to ward him off. “No. No, that’s alright. I’ll be back soon.”

He laughed at her antics and walked back over to plop himself down on the couch.
Before he could lift the remote, she was out the door and climbing into her car.

She had come up with her plan the other day when Trinity and she went out for lunch.
In tune with spotting their new shadow, she had caught a glimpse of Conner when they were walking into the restaurant. It was then that she knew. He wasn’t just following Gemariah. He was following her too. Maybe just her, who knew? Either way, she would soon find out.

She drove into the heart of the city.
Once the buildings started to block what little sunlight was left, she started to slow the car. An eerie feeling started to lick at her spine and for the first time, she started to have doubts about what she was doing.

Taking a fortifying breath, she kept the car moving, and proceeded with her plan.
Originally, she was going to drive farther and closer towards the neighborhoods south of the city, but with her resolve already faltering, she thought it best to find someplace to stop sooner rather than later.

It wasn’t too long until she found a small patch of grass mingled in with the buildings.
It looked as if they tried to make a park, but the environment and surroundings were not kind to it. There were a couple trees starting to get their leaves and a bench that was semi intact. Someone had once painted what looked to be a beautiful mural on the side of a building that bordered the area, but it had since been disfigured by graffiti.

Deciding that the place was as good as any, Nicole parked her car across the street and took her time getting out.
The night was descending fast and with the surrounding buildings blocking her view, the only light came from a flickering street lamp at the corner.

The eerie feeling crept back up, and she stood at her car, wondering if her plan was such a good idea.
Then she remembered all the times Gemariah shut her out when she tried to bring up what happened outside the ice-cream shop. That was her motivation to keep moving. Everything had a place and everything had a meaning, and it all felt like too much of a loose end. It was unsettling to her, and she was on a mission to correct that.

Therefore, she came up with the idea of putting herself in an unsavory situation.
Conner approached Gemariah to warn him about something, so she was banking on the logic that he would approach her if he thought she was in danger. Little would he know that she had a small knife and pepper spray in her purse that she was tightly hugging to her chest. She might be doing something drastic, even for her, but she wasn’t stupid.

Entering the grassy area, she slowly walked to the bench and sat down gingerly.
When it didn’t collapse underneath her, she sat back a little more. Then she waited… and waited… then waited some more. Sighing loudly with impatience, she brought her wrist up to check her watch and wasn’t shocked to see that thirty minutes had passed. It was unusually quiet and the only people that she saw were an older couple walking down the street. They looked at her strangely, but kept walking. She didn’t blame them. To them she was a tiny blonde woman sitting alone in the dark for no reason. She might have kept walking too. She didn’t know what they would have done if she hadn’t had her large pregnant belly covered up.

That wasn’t the case though.
She had a reason!

Where the hell is he
, she thought? Deciding to let him know why she came, she abruptly stood up and started looking around. When she didn’t see anything, she decided to yell.

“Conner!” she shouted.
“I know you’re there, and I just want to talk!” She bluffed in hopes that it would bring him out of hiding.

When there was no movement, and no sound out of the ordinary, she tried again.
“Conner!’

A twig broke, and she spun around to look at the other side of the park.
At first she didn’t see anything but grass and a tree, but when she looked closer, she saw that the trunk was casting a larger shadow than it was supposed to.

“Conner, is that you?”

The shadow shifted and a large man slowly stepped out from the shadows and into the light. The first thing she noticed was how big he was when he straightened to his full height. The second thing she noticed was that the man, with his pockmarked face, greasy black hair, and missing teeth, was not the same man that she saw Gemariah talking to.

“No Conner here, Sweet cheeks, but I can be the man you’re looking for.”

Terror immediately set in and she started to back away. At the same time, she reached into her purse to wrap her hand around the pepper spray. She just needed to get to her car, and then she would be safe.

“Stay back,” she said to the approaching figure.
“I mean it.”

It was a time when she wished that she didn’t look like a little girl, and that she had a more menacing sounding voice.
She couldn’t scare away a puppy, if she wanted to.

When he sneered and took a larger step toward her, she turned to flee.
She didn’t have the opportunity to run because the moment she turned, she hit a wall. It was a fleshy wall, but still just as unmovable.

Hands came up and grabbed her shoulders.
For a moment, she thought that it might be someone to help, but her hopes were dashed away when he spoke. “Don’t worry. We’re not here to hurt you… much. If you do what we say, there could hardly be any pain at all.” The voice was smooth, completely betraying the words he spoke.

She swallowed the lump in her throat and tried to look how close the man behind her had gotten, but was stopped when the other man gently moved her chin up to look at him.
Her eyes widened in shock. Every feature on his face was perfectly placed. He was beautiful. She felt herself slowly starting to relax, until she looked into his eyes. To go along with his perfect looks, and silky voice, his eyes should have shown her the world. Instead, there was nothing. They were blank, empty… soulless.

She started to struggle, and his grip tightened on her arms.
She pulled back even more, but her back hit another soft surface. Immediately, she knew that the man from under the tree had made it to them.

“Such pretty hair,” his gruff voice said as he ran his hands through her long strands.
“Soft to the touch, and long enough to get a good grip on.”