Even after the church had emptied, Lesley sat in the pew, her gaze resting on the huge cross behind the altar.Her mind was filled with prayers for Cole.Mentally she pictured an army of angels surrounding him, offering him spiritual protection.His words “If there’s a God” had shocked her.Until that time she wasn’t certain where he stood with the Lord.The bitterness and hatred she had witnessed in him from their first confrontation was even more pronounced now.Paul Walker, with his spiritual insight, had sensed Cole’s inner struggles at their first meeting.
For her peace of mind, Lesley rushed to the phone as soon as she returned to her sister’s house, and dialed the phone number Cole had given her.She let it ring twelve times without an answer.With taut nerves, she hung up and dialed again: still no response.A flood of horrible, heart-stopping fear washed overher.Jennings’ men had found Cole!He was hurt.He could be dying.She had to get to him.
Blindly she grabbed her coat and stumbled out of the kitchen.
“What is it?”Terry demanded, noting the pale, bloodless look on Lesley’s face.
“Cole,” she muttered, feeling numb.“He doesn’t answer the phone.”
“Les.”Terry placed a restraining hand on Lesley’s sleeve.“What are you going to do?”
“Go out there and find out if he’s all right.”
“Les, you can’t.”
Two pair of intense blue eyes clashed.“I’ve got to.”
“At least wait until Robert gets home.Let him go with you.”
“No.”
“The Thanksgiving baskets will be delivered soon, he’ll be back any minute.”There was a desperate ring to Terry’s voice.
“And he could be hours.For Cole’s sake I’ve got to go now.”
“Maybe we should phone the police?”
“No, that would be premature.Cole could be in the shower or outside or sleeping and not hear the phone.But I’ve got to be assured he’s all right.I’ll phone you the minute I know.”
Indecision played across Terry’s face.“I’ll pray,” she added.“And if I don’t hear from you within forty minutes, I’m calling out the National Guard.”
Lesley hardly heard her sister’s words, she was so intent on getting to Cole as quickly as possible.
The car headlights illuminated the way as Lesley drove up the hill that led to the duplex.She pulled into the driveway and purposely left the car lights on, flooding the area with beams of light.Both sides of the apartment were dark.
Only an hour earlier, Lesley had been sitting in a quiet,peaceful church, praying.Now she stood alone in a dark moonless night, facing...she didn’t know what.
“Cole?”She cried out his name and waited.
Nothing.
“Cole, answer me.”
“Lesley, is that you?”
Relief weakened her knees.
“You idiot, what are you doing here?”Cole questioned as he came around from the back of the house.
She ran to him and threw her arms around his neck, laughing to keep from crying.“I tried to phone and there wasn’t an answer.I was frantic!Where were you?”
“In the back, breaking up hay for the deer.”
“Why now?”
“It’s dark, I figured it was safer at night.I’m not really into this cloak-and-dagger stuff, but it made more sense not to be a target in broad daylight.”
“You crazy fool....I didn’t know what to think.Let me use your phone.Terry is worried sick.She didn’t know what I was going to walk into once I got up here.”
