Away From the Dark (The Light #2)(72)

I flinched as he brushed my cheek.

“Please.”

“Sister, I’ll tell you when it’s time to beg. Now it’s time for your first lesson.”

The bile from my stomach surged upward as Brother Mark reached for the buckle of his belt.





CHAPTER 27


Jacob


With the winds in our favor and more acceleration than we usually needed, we landed with time to spare for Father Gabriel and Elijah’s timetable. As we unbuckled our seat belts Micah nodded in my direction. Taking a deep breath, I reined in my nerves and walked to the cabin of the plane. It was time to make the same speech I’d made numerous times. “Father Gabriel, would you like either Brother Micah or me to drive you to the community or would you like one of us to call for another member of the chosen?”

Leaning back against the soft leather, he casually looked up at me. “It does seem we’ve made excellent time.”

“Yes, the winds helped to keep you on schedule.”

Father Gabriel stood. “I need that envelope now, yesterday even. I’ll contact Brother Raphael, you two do what you need to do for the plane, and you find me what I need. I expect to hear from you this evening. I don’t think you want to disappoint me.”

“No, I don’t. The call to Brother Elij—”

He lifted his hand, stopping my words.

“Is no longer your concern. Remember, we’ve eliminated your distractions. Finding the envelope is your only concern.”

Eliminated? I swallowed my retort as cool Alaskan summer air filled the plane and we turned toward Micah and the open door. “Father, I will get the cart,” Micah offered as he lowered the steps.

Ever since we’d seen polar bears on and near the landing strip, Father Gabriel had decided he needed a ride to and from the hangar. While that normally didn’t bother me, right now I secretly thought how fortuitous a bear mauling would be.

“Go, Jacob,” Father Gabriel said, “you have things to do.”

I nodded, following Micah from the cabin and down the stairs. A quick scan of the trees and open space revealed nothing out of the ordinary. As we walked toward the hangar, Micah was a few steps ahead of me.

“I’ll get the cart. You get the tug,” he called.

That was fine by me. I’d much rather secure the Cessna than transport Father Gabriel. Quite frankly, if it had been up to me, I’d have tied fresh meat around his neck and left him for the bears.

Getting the tractor and the tug, I thought about the parts of this mission I’d miss. The flying and even ground crew duties were at the top of my list. I purposely didn’t put Sara on that list, because after this was over, I wasn’t losing her.

I had the Cessna pushed back and inside the hangar by the time Micah made it back inside. I’d just started the post-flight checklist when he said, “Go. Do whatever he keeps telling you to do.”

I nodded, but the idea of setting foot back in our apartment without Sara had me trembling with both anger and fear. Though I kept trying to think of other things, I couldn’t stop the thoughts of what she was enduring at the mansion in Bloomfield Hills. No matter what it was, as long as she was alive, we’d survive.

“Did someone come get him?” I asked.

“Yes, Brother Raphael. I’m probably paranoid, but I get the feeling there’s something up. As soon as I’m done with this checklist, I’m heading back to the community. I want to get to Joanna . . .” His expression saddened. “I’m sorry, Brother.”

“Don’t be sorry. Take care of her and little Isaiah.” I tried to not think about the man who’d become my friend and his small family. The human side of The Light was the reason we were back here, why we’d risked everything to give the FBI a few more days.

“I’ll do my best. You know I’ve been praying for Sara.”

“Thank you.” It was all I could say. My first job was to focus and try to remember what I’d done with the envelope. Walking toward the small plane, I imagined the cockpit and where I could have stashed it. If I hadn’t been looking at the floor, I wouldn’t have seen them, but I was and I did. On the concrete floor, every few steps were small drops of something.

Anger swelled inside me, causing my pulse to race as the thudding of my heart filled my own ears. Was it blood? Was it Sara’s? Had Thomas done this?

I scuffed one drop with the toe of my boot, and the dot smeared. It couldn’t be from Sara. If it were, it would have happened last Friday. It wouldn’t still be moist enough to spread. Why was there fresh blood in our hangar?

Just as I was about to open the door and enter the small plane, my phone rang. Father Gabriel’s tone echoed throughout the large space. Micah’s eyes flew to me, filled with both question and trepidation.

I answered before the third ring. “Father, I just started to—”

“Come into the community immediately. We’re convening an emergency Assembly.”

Shit! What does that mean?

“Father, the envelope?”

“At the moment, you’re still an Assemblyman. You need to be here.”

The line went dead.

I took a deep breath and contemplated my options. Without a phone to call the FBI, I had none. “I’m headed into the community,” I said to Micah. “Forget that checklist. Go to Joanna.”