“Thank you… I’m sorry, but I don’t think I caught your name.”

  “Oh, apologies. I’m Reverend Bradley Harris. You can call me Brad.”

  “I like Brad.” Lily was smiling at him and using both hands to bring the large glass of water to her lips.

  The tone in Lily’s voice made James smile. It was the first time she’d heard Lily speak without worries in quite some time, and James relaxed slightly.

  “I’m glad you like him, bumble bee.” James slowed her eating, managing to consume half the sandwich and a few bites into the second half. Brad was frowning at her, but she ignored him.

  “Would you mind if I tried to call my friend again? He didn’t answer the first time.”

  “Not at all.”

  James stood carefully, remembering what happened the last time, and made her way back out to the office. Dialing in the number, she listened as it rang.

  #

  Max was just coming back to the station after dealing with a non-fatal car accident involving a pregnant woman and a cocky, unobservant businessman. The people under him in his new position were starting to get back into the swing of things and everything was beginning to settle down. The week that had passed with no further word on their boss or his best friend allowed the Station time to absorb what was going on. Finally, there were jokes being thrown back and forth, and there was a sense of levity. It always seemed to stop or slow when returning from calls, but that day had been exceptionally good.

  Heath had only paid him one more visit to inform him that there was no further update. Rob, however, called with more information regarding their whereabouts and to tell him that the police investigation had been stopped, or at least halted, by his own people. It certainly explained why Heath had little to no new information. Max found it interesting that he gained more information from a man he never knew than the police officers he worked with on a daily basis. Max reclined in his chair when the phone rang.

  “This is Interim Chief Chase Maxwell.”

  “Max?” The voice was so timid that he could barely make it out, but he would know that tonal quality anywhere.

  “James? Oh my God, where have you been?” He slid his chair over and shut the door so that he could hear her and not be overheard.

  “Kansas City? I honestly don’t know. What day is it?” She sounded as if she’d been sleeping; her voice was husky and deep and her thoughts not quite put together.

  “Tuesday.”

  “Tuesday? So, we’ve been gone eight days?”

  “Yeah.” Max was starting to become worried about her. “Are you okay? I mean, are you hurt at all?”

  “Um… I have a cut on my head and I was passed out for quite a long time—longer than I thought, apparently. I have Lily, she’s fine. But we had to leave Addison. Oh! Rob—I need to talk to Rob.”

  “Calm down, it’s okay.”

  He could tell she was starting to panic. Everything in his body was rejoicing the fact that he was talking to her, but he started to panic when he realized they weren’t all safe.

  “I can get ahold of Rob, but you need to tell me where you are.”

  James was staring off into space again, her mind searching for the words. “We’re at a church. New Hope? New Faith? I don’t know, Max, New something Fellowship. I don’t remember. Kansas City.”

  “Right, you told me that.”

  He would have repeated her words, but the fact that she didn’t remember telling him the city in the first place bothered him. The injury could have been far worse than she had thought and without proper medical care—well, he didn’t want to think about that at the moment. It was not like her at all to be so scatterbrained.

  Backing up his thoughts with questions, he asked, “How bad is the cut on your head?”

  “Pretty bad. It’s not bleeding anymore, but I got hit again.”

  “James,” he spoke sternly, hoping it would reiterate the point he was about to make. “I need you to go to the hospital and get checked out.”

  “No! I can’t go there.”

  “James. This is important. I need you to ask the pastor or whoever is there to take you to the hospital and then you need to get hold of the police.”

  “No, I can’t do that Max. I can’t do it. They’ll find us. I can’t let them find Lily. They were going to hurt her.”

  Max could hear a rustling as she fiddled with the phone.

  “I need you to call Rob. Addy said to get hold of Rob, and I can’t let them hurt Lily. I need to talk to Rob.” She was sputtering the sentences in a nonsensical manner. She wasn’t paying attention to what she said; she was only focused on the panic as it started to set it.

  “James,” Max started, quieting his voice to keep her calm. “I will get hold of Rob, I told you that. I need you to slow down. You’re in shock.”

  “I can’t let them hurt her, Max. I can’t…” She broke off, sobbing, and couldn’t finish.

  “All right, all right. Just take deep breaths.” Max waited until he could hear her draw air into her lungs and let it out slowly. “Now, how will Rob get ahold of you?”

  “I’m sure he’ll find a way.”

  She hung up the phone and left Max staring at his dark monitor, stunned over her abruptness.

  The door swung open as a gentle knock sounded. He turned to look at Horace. “Dinner’s ready, Chief.”

  “Yeah, I’ll be out in a minute. Shut the door, please.”

  The man listened, and Max dug around in the back of his desk for the cell that Rob had so kindly mailed him. Pressing the only number in its memory and letting it dial, he held the phone to his ear.

  “What’s up, Max-a-million?”

  The voice grated on Max’s nerves sometimes. He let out a breath and carded his hand through his hair. “James called me.”

  “She what?”

  It was as if everything stopped. There was no clicking of keys from the other end of the phone line, there were no voices, and there was no background noise: everything was silent.

  “She called me. Said she was at some church in Kansas City. She said that she couldn’t go to the hospital because she was scared they would find her. I think she got out somehow, don’t know though.”

  “What church?”

  Suddenly the tapping against the keys was back and normalcy started to return. It was odd how even that sound and Rob’s voice calmed Max’s frayed nerves.

  “New something Fellowship. She wasn’t sure of the name. I think her head injury is pretty bad.”

  “Head injury?”

  “Yeah, that’s all I know. She doesn’t have Addison with her, only the kid.”

  There was a sound that Rob regularly made with his tongue and teeth, and it echoed through the phone line.

  “Did she say where Addison was?”

  “No, I don’t think she knew. She barely knew where she was. God, could they really still find her?”

  Rob drew in a deep breath and let it out. “Listen, Max, it honestly depends on how bad they want them. But the simple answer is yes. If they want them that bad, then they will find them. That’s why I’m going to get people down there as soon as possible. I’m going as well, so don’t worry. I hope she’ll recognize me.”

  “Recognize you?” Max was biting his lip and running his thumb nail against his other hand, pushing his cuticles back.

  “Yeah, she met me once, years ago. And if you didn’t notice, my sister and I do have an uncanny ability of looking alike. It comes in helpful sometimes, especially in these types of situations.” The man spoke rapidly and the clicking at the keyboard remained steady and loud throughout his speech.

  Max sighed, “Right, you do.”

  “Anyway, I want you to stay where you are and keep working. Don’t tell anyone that you heard from your little friend, because if she really doesn’t have Addison with her, then we’re going to need to find her fast. My guess is that Addison told them to leave because there was an opportunity and remained behind for one of a few reasons, the main one being a distraction. She’s done this type of work before; it’s not something she isn’t used to. Anyway, again, don’t tell anyone. That’s really important, you got that Max-a-million?”

  “Yeah, don’t tell anyone.” His eyes shifted to the door to his right. “Not a soul.”

  “Good. I’ll let you know as soon as I have them, and I’ll fill you in on what else is going on, okay? Good,” Rob went on without waiting for an answer from Max. “When that happens, I’ll have more information about what you can say, what you can’t say, what you can share, and what you can’t. It’s very important that only certain people know what’s going on right now, at this point. Got it? Yeah?”

  “Yeah, I get that, Rob. That’s been made very clear to me.” Max rolled his eyes and hung up before Rob had the chance to continue.

  #

  James put the receiver down and let out a sigh of relief. Even though it wasn’t a long or helpful conversation, it was amazing to hear Max’s voice again. She hadn’t realized how much she had missed him. Lily and Brad were walking toward her; the girl was sporting a new pair of flip flops.

  “Hey baby, where’d you get those?”

  “Brad gave them to me.”

  Lily moved close to James and hugged her leg.

  “Did you say thank you?” The girl nodded, and James moved her eyes upward to stare at the minister. “You didn’t have to do that.”

  “It comes with the service.” He handed her over a pair of her own. “They’re the only ones I have; I hope they fit. They should keep your feet from getting burned next time.”

  “Right.” James took the proffered item and then looked down at Lily. “How are your feet? Do they still hurt?”

  Lily shook her head and bit her lip looking at the minister. “Brad made them feel better.”

  “With the shoes?” James bent down and lifted one of Lily’s feet into her hands so that she could investigate and see if there was any damage to the skin.

  “Uh-uh. With his hand.”

  “With his hand?” James stopped speaking and looked up at Brad, pushing Lily behind her. “Care to explain?”

  Brad put his hands up again, like he was defending himself, open palms to show that he meant no harm.

  “I can explain.” His head turned to the side. “It’s my gift. I thought you were aware that I had one.”

  “What are you talking about?”

  James was still pressing the tiny body of the girl behind her, shielding her from seeing anything of Brad. That way, if anything did go wrong, James would get the full brunt.

  Taking his hand slowly, he tapped the side of his head, his finger hitting his temple.

  “When you probed. I’m sorry, maybe I didn’t let you in long enough. It’s rather rude to do that, actually.”

  James turned her head sharply and sneered. “Rude to do what?”

  “Do you really not know?”

  “Know what?”

  “Your gift?” His brows rose, and his hands moved carefully to his sides. He made sure that she had a full view of them.

  “I know about my gift. What about your gift? It’s the only reason I let you take Lily without me being there. But what you’re talking about is crazy.”

  James was becoming more and more confused as the minutes ticked by, and her head was starting to hurt again. It was like someone had blown up a balloon made of a thick rubber, squeezed it tight before releasing it and letting it smack against the inside of her skull.

  “My gift is the Body. I can heal injuries. I healed your daughter’s feet. They were burned from walking on the hot asphalt.”

  “What do you mean Body?” James was still wary of him, but she was at least starting to relax a little.

  “Want to talk about this somewhere more private? I promise, nothing will happen here.”

  James looked around, noting the public space they were in, and nodded to him. Following the quiet man, they traversed down corridors and up a few flights of stairs before they came to a room that was obviously meant for hosting. There were beds strewn about, dressers, and lockers bordered the wall. She was quite impressed. A table sat in the center of the room with chairs around it. James let Lily go play on the bed with some crayons and paper that Brad pulled from one of the drawers in the dresser.

  He sat down and gestured for her to follow.

  James pursed her lips before sitting. She kept her back ramrod straight and Lily in her sights. She looked him over once more before asking, “Care to fill me in now?”

  “What do you know of our people?”

  “Our people?” James shifted her eyes over to the child, checking on her. “Not a lot, I suppose.”

  “Well there are many types of gifts—which ones do you know about?” He was being very patient with her, and she couldn’t help but feel appreciative.

  She’d all but waltzed in to the church and he hadn’t once mentioned having to get back to anything or tried to kick her out back onto the streets. Taking a chance, James started. “Um… Life and Fire, I suppose. Mine and hers.” She indicated the humming child.

  “Powerful gifts. Like I said, there are many. I have what is called the gift of the Body. I can heal injuries by touch, like the burned skin or your fainting spell.” He let the words sink in so that she would realize he meant no harm at all. “I thought you knew, otherwise I wouldn’t have done that without your explicit permission. I do apologize for that.”

  “No, thank you. I didn’t mean to offend.” James let out a deep breath that she hadn’t known she’d been holding. “I wasn’t introduced to all this until very recently.”

  “Well, you are quite skilled for someone so newly informed of your gift.” He gave her a quick and reassuring smile.

  “I guess I’ve been using it a lot longer, I just didn’t know. Not until—” James took a deep breath. “Not until Addy, I guess.”

  “And who is Addy?”

  “A very good and close friend.” Her eyes were sad, and she looked away from him.

  Brad didn’t push any further on the subject, figuring that he wouldn’t get much more out of her. “Well, you are welcome to stay here for a few nights. But after that I’m afraid you’ll have to make new arrangements.”

  “I don’t think that’ll be necessary. We shouldn’t be here more than one night at most.” Her yellow eyes locked on his, and he smiled.

  “I’m glad. Not that you’re leaving, but I’m glad you have somewhere to go.” He made a gesture with his arm to encompass the room. “Anything in here is yours to use. The bathroom is just down the hall and there are showers there.”

  “That sounds wonderful.”

  He watched her stay seated as he rose. “Oh, I noticed your head.” He pointed to the back of it. “If you would like I can try to relieve some of it. I’m sorry, but as the gifts have been in my family for quite some time, I’m not sure how much I will be able to do. My abilities are quite limited.”

  “Anything would be great. My head is starting to pound so hard that I can’t concentrate on anything.”

  He moved behind her chair and pressed his palm flat against the base of her skull. “I can come back in the morning and do some more, but I’m afraid it won’t be much more than this.”

  Concentrating as hard as he could, James began to feel warmth and tingling flow through her body, all stemming from where he was touching her. Her mind reached out to his to comfort and give strength. He jerked back suddenly.

  “What was that?”

  “I’m sorry, did I do something wrong?”

  “No, you just… I wasn’t expecting… do you realize what you just did?”

  He didn’t sound angry, and James was confused by his manner. His hands were floating through her hair and lifting the long dark locks so that he could see. “No, what did I do?”

  “You’re completely healed. I can’t even explain it. I’ve never seen that happen before, I’ve only ever heard of stories like this.” He was still searching the back of her head.

  “What do you mean, completely healed? That’s impossible, you said it was impossible.” She reached back to touch where her wound had been.

  “Apparently not. The cut is all gone. Does your head hurt?”

  “No.” James was slow to answer and finally moved to stand, not feeling the least bit light-headed. “That’s weird.” She tested her hands and feet, and ran through her entire body feeling for any type of pain.

  “What did you do?”

  “I was only trying to help you do whatever it was you needed to do. I thought I was helping you.” She was still unsure as to whether he was angry with her or not.

  He was astounded. “Well, you certainly did. There’s no way that I could do that without your help. You really shouldn’t have strained yourself so much though; you’ll be very tired tonight.”

  “Tired?”

  “Don’t you get tired after using your gift?”

  “No, not at all. Do you?”

  “Most definitely.” He was staring at her oddly, as if she was a conundrum in his little world. “Well, I’m going to leave you to it, then. I’ll be downstairs by the offices. There are signs in the hallways that should point you in the right direction. If you need anything, don’t hesitate to find me or ask. I’ll keep an eye out for your friend as well.”

  “Thank you so much. For everything.”

  James smiled and watched him leave the room, shutting the door quietly behind him.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Addison was pulled from the room she had been locked in and shoved into a smaller one with no cameras, no chair, and no light. She was breathing heavily, her mind still in a drug-induced fog as she waited, listening to the sounds of people rushing by and alarms going off. It was the fire alarm. They were apparently in a building that boasted one, which meant that there was far more attached to the facility than she thought.

  She was close to hyperventilating and she realized that her head was getting fuzzy, more than it had been previously. Slowing her breathing, she calmed her racing heart and her nerves as smoke started to billow in under the doorway. There was shouting on the other side of the locked wooden door, but it wasn’t panicked.