CHAPTER 14

Monica was shaking so badly that Andrew had a difficult time getting her out of the barn at all. She kept trying to turn around and look at the sunny corner of the barn, imagining that if she did then all that was wrong would simply disappear. She wouldn’t let it register in her mind that it was real and that no amount of wishing or even praying could make it go away. God had no control over the acts of men, especially those who had turned their backs to Him so completely.

“But Andrew,” she cried out again, struggling to go back inside, “the kittens! Please, we have to get them. Without their mama… and Scout! How can we leave him… Andrew,” she was pleading with him and it was enough to break his heart as he held onto her firmly and continued to move up the path.

He cursed himself for ever allowing her to run ahead of him. If he had only searched the barn the way Paul always did then he could have at least spared her from having those horrible images of death in her mind. She had already been witness to enough violence, and he wondered how much else she could be expected to withstand. Then he wondered how much he would be able to stand by and watch, when all he wanted to do at the moment was take her away from everything evil in the world and bring her safely Home.

“Monica, you aren’t safe here… we need to get you out of here right now,” he tried to keep his voice steady and calm as his strong arm around her waist guided her along.

“No…” she shook her head, “Andrew, please!”

Five minutes ago she had been happy and laughing and now her world, already in chaos, had been once again turned upside down like a snow globe, scattering the pieces of her existence to the winds. She felt her legs give out and Andrew’s arms lifting her up as she continued to sob against his chest. She was trying to stop the tears and the horrible shaking that had infected every part of her body, but both things seemed beyond her control and she clutched at Andrew’s shirt, trying to draw strength from him.

Andrew kept turning his head at every gust of wind, at every rustling in the grass, his face set in fierce determination. There was absolutely no way that he was going to allow anyone to lay a hand on one hair of Monica’s head. He had now seen what this man was capable of; he had seen a part of what she had seen, and it didn’t scare him, it made him angrier then he had ever been in his existence.

He finally set her down on the back step, surrounding her body with his own as he opened the back door and ushered her inside. “You have to stay right next to me,” he told her, waiting to see her nod that she understood. “We just need to get the car keys from Paul’s room.”

At that moment, Paul charged through the door, his gun was out again, and this time he barely lowered it even when he saw his partner and his assignment standing before him. “It looks all clear out back. I think he may have come in the night, the sick bastard, but we’re not about to take any chances. Andrew, go grab the keys, and meet us at the car.”

“But my things,” Monica said tearfully, “don’t we have--”

Paul cut her off and grabbed her by the shoulders. “Monica, we don’t have time. Do you understand what’s happening here? He’s found you. He could be outside right now. We need to get you out of here, out of this town, out of this state. We’ll get you new things.”

The Irish angel nodded, doing everything she could to keep new tears from coming out. She knew that she couldn’t afford to be stubborn, it would only put everyone else in danger as well. Allowing herself to be led out of the house she barely noticed that Andrew was already outside, waiting by the car. He tossed the keys to Paul and opened the back door, his eyes still watching for anything suspicious as he helped Monica in and climbed in after her. He didn’t even care if Paul thought it was odd; she needed a hand to hold onto and arms to hold her, and he wasn’t going to let her suffer when he could do something about it.

Paul didn’t say a word though, seeming to recognize that the young woman before him was barely hanging on by a thread, and that she needed something to cling to at the moment. A small part of him wished that he was the one holding her, but he was the senior agent, and he had a job to do.

They sped down the driveway, leaving the cozy house and the rolling fields behind, laying down a path of burnt rubber as they turned onto the road. Paul wasn’t paying attention to any of the speed limits as he drove down the nearly empty road, swerving around any car that got in his way.

“I already phoned ahead and there’ll be a plane waiting for us as soon as we get to the airport,” he said as he looked into the rear view mirror, his own eyes taking on a sad look when he saw the desolation in Monica’s face.

She nodded, still not saying a word, only grasping Andrew’s hand in hers and leaning against him. She wanted to just curl up in his arms and let him deal with everything, but she knew she couldn’t do that. However, he seemed to read her mind, and wrapped an arm around her shoulders, pulling her close. She looked up at him in surprise.

“It’s alright, angel,” he whispered into her ear. “Just try to calm down and let me handle things for a little while.” Then he reached into his pocket and pulled something out which he placed into her hands.

“My kittens,” she said tearfully, running her fingers along the tiny figures.

“You’d be surprised what an angel can do when he gets a little help,” he said, looking upward and letting the smallest of hopeful smiles cross briefly over his face.

She managed a weak nod of her head, before she rested it against his chest. She was still shaking and the occasional tear escaped her eyes as she felt Andrew tighten his hold on her. She only wanted to break down and sob, but she was trying to keep herself as together as she could, despite the fact that she didn’t feel as if she were succeeding. She felt as if she were completely falling apart and the horrible images in the barn kept flashing through her mind, feeling more like something out of a bad horror movie than something she had witnessed in reality. Her heart broke at the thought of the Scout and the kittens, now without their mother, they would surely die as well.

Her blurred vision gazed at the tiny figurine in her hand, before she closed her hand around it and drew it to her heart, closing her eyes tightly against the tears.

Andrew hadn’t missed her motions and he knew that though her grief over the kittens was great, she was grieving harder for the loss of her security. She had just been starting to calm down and adjust to her situation at the farm and had been finding some joy in the arrangement, but just as quickly, it had been snatched away from her. He had never seen her so frightened and looking so forlorn as he did right now and he was more than concerned that her trembling had yet to cease.

“Where are we heading, Paul?” He asked softly, never releasing his hold on the little angel as his eyes met briefly with those of the agent by means of the rear view mirror.

“Another safe house,” He replied tensely, trying to control his anger over what had occurred today, “Warmer climate, but more security then we had here. We now know he is looking for her and I’m afraid that outings such as yesterday are over as my guess is that he spotted her in town.”

Andrew’s heart saddened at the words which stated that once again his best friend was going to feel like a prisoner, but right now, she didn’t even appear to be listening. He knew her well enough to know that she was withdrawing into herself, trying to find a safe place until she could deal with what was happening and right now, she was lacking the emotional capability to do that.

“How much more security?” He asked, needing to know that she would indeed be safe.

“There will be few more men assigned to the house and the grounds. The house is larger than the farm and there is security downstairs so that when we retire for the night, we will turn the system on downstairs. I’ll show you both how to turn it on and off. The house is being stocked now and anything we need will be brought in, including new clothes for Monica,” Paul returned his eyes to the mirror once more, great concern filling them as he saw her eyes closed tightly, but the tears continuing to fall.

He could only imagine how much this had shaken her and he longed to whisk her away from this whole nightmare. She was clinging to Andrew as if he was the only thing she had left in this world and he was certain that was how it felt to her at the moment, “Andrew, is she hanging in there?”

Andrew gazed down at the little angel, his heart aching for her, “She’s doing the best she can, Paul,” He replied sadly.

The agent nodded his head in understanding as his anger burned once again. The killer was playing with her now. He could have broken into the house last night and killed her, but instead he preferred to torment her for awhile, all the while leaving her hints of what he was capable of and nothing made Paul more furious. To be stalked and threatened was almost ten times worse than being faced with this man. What he was doing would tear down her coping devices, piece by piece and leave her feeling more than vulnerable and he was determined to not allow that to happen to her.

Paul received clearance at the airport and drove the car right to the plane, throwing it in park and only wanting to get Monica safely into the air. There were already other agents present, to make sure that their departure was a safe one and for that Paul was eternally grateful.

“C’mon, honey,” Andrew urged as he helped Monica from the car, noting how she never looked at him and how the hour ride had done little to calm her shock from what had happened, “Paul, get her on board. I’ll be right there…”

At those words, the little angel’s head shot up as she met her swollen eyes with his, the one word coming out a cross between a whisper and a whimper, “Andrew…”

“Go with Paul, Monica,” He replied, giving her a reassuring look, though he could see her distress, “I’ll be right there.”

Paul wrapped his arms around her shaking shoulders and had to all but force her towards the plane as she seemed to be quickly heading towards panic at Andrew not being with them. He supposed she had grown attached to them both as well, and his partner had been her rock during the ride here and that sudden absence was yet another change for her, brief though it might be.

Managing to get her onboard the private plane, he gently laid his hands on her shoulders and pushed her to a seating position on the sofa before quickly wrapping a blanket around her trembling shoulders, “You’re safe now, Monica, okay? We aren’t going to let him near you.”

The only response he got was a slight nod of her head as Andrew hurried onto the plane, not wanting to give his friend much time to worry about him. He was carrying a box, which he sat down on the sofa near her, before sitting down on the other side of her.

“I need to go over a few things with the pilot. We’ll be taking off momentarily,” Paul advised his partner, hating to go when Monica was so visibly despondent, but not having a choice.

As Paul departed, Andrew nudged his friend gently and nodded his head towards the box, “That’s for you, Angel.”

Still not speaking as she didn’t trust herself enough to do so, she reached trembling hands to open the box and the sight that greeted her, caused her to break into fresh sobs.

The kittens.

Andrew hadn’t expected the nearly hysterical reaction from the little angel as she continued to cry even as she picked up each kitten in turn and brought it to her face, kissing tiny noses and looking into innocent and trusting eyes. They blinked at her sleepily, seemingly unconcerned to be away from the only place they had known as home, and two of them began to purr when she held them against her cheek. Finally, after making sure that they were all healthy and unharmed, and nestling them back among the towels that lined the box, she turned to him, her eyes bright with tears that she refused to let fall.

“You went back for them,” she whispered, amazed.

He brushed a stray tear from her cheek and then took both of her hands in his. “I knew you wouldn’t stop wondering about them Angel Girl. I had to get them for you,” he stated simply, as if doing things to make her happy was as natural as breathing to him, and in all honesty, it was.

“But how? You were only out of sight for a minute,” she said, her brows furrowing.

He brief smile graced his features as he said, “I told you, Monica, you’d be surprised what an angel can do with a little help.”

A tear choked laugh escaped her and she felt a few more years leak from the corners of her eyes, only to be quickly brushed away again by the blond angel kneeling in front of her. She wanted to fall into his arms again, but she knew that Paul could return at any moment. The angel had also come to a decision while looking at the kittens, and that decision was to pull herself together and force herself to be strong. She hated knowing that now Paul and Andrew were going to be twice as worried about her, and she didn’t want to give them anything else to deal with. She knew that Andrew probably wouldn’t be very happy with her, but it was something she felt she had to do. There would be time enough to deal with her emotions after everything was over and done with.

“Monica,” Andrew said hesitantly, feeling her withdraw just enough that she was out of reach of his heart. “Don’t.”

“I have to, Andrew,” she said, a bit sadly. “Please try to understand.” She looked at him beseechingly, unable to find the energy to put everything into words, but recognizing that he could already tell what she was doing.

“You’re not going to solve anything this way,” he said, firmly.

She shook her head and turned her attention back to the kittens. “They haven’t had any breakfast,” she stated, then looked up at him, her face looking as though a curtain had been drawn over her emotions. “Do you think there’s any milk on the plane?”

Andrew closed his eyes momentarily, hating that it felt as though she was suddenly miles away although only inches separated them. “I’ll go check,” he said, his voice sounding resigned and deeply hurt. He stood up and moved to the front of the plane, and with every step the hurt in his heart changed to rage at the man who was the cause of all of their troubles.