CHAPTER 13

"I've got you now, Irish!"

The sound of Sheila's voice caused a shudder to flow through the little angel's body as she searched for a path that would lead her far away from the inmate. But as she stepped backwards, one slow, frightened step at a time, she felt her back come in contact with the cold, hard feel of steel.

Bars.

She was still in her cell, but somehow Sheila had gotten inside with her. The woman's angry eyes were now focused on her and on her lips, an evil sneer.

"You've got nowhere to go, pretty baby; no one to save you this time. No one cares about you here anyway."

The knife that was raised above the inmate's head glinted in the dim light, yet the cell was mostly dark. It was night time, so where was Andrew? He should be here by now!

"Please, no. Sheila, you don't want to do this. I haven't done anything wrong!" She was reasoning with the unreasonable, but it was all she had left. God had abandoned her and Andrew was missing. She was all alone and trapped, with no way to escape such vile evil.

The knife was drawing closer and Sheila's eyes appeared to glow in the dark. Monica placed all her weight against the bars behind her, but they wouldn't budge and still certain death was quickly approaching.

"Please no...please...Andrew, where are you? Please, help me! Somebody!"

"Angel!" Andrew continued to try in vain to wake his wife from the nightmare that held her in its clutches, but she continued to sob out desperate pleas for help, even as her entire body trembled violently.

"Baby, wake up. It's just a dream, Angel. I'm here. I'm here. No one is going to hurt you." Desperate to end this for her, Andrew gathered her into his arms and held her tightly up against his chest and he could immediately sense that she was now starting to awaken.

"Andrew?" His name was part question and part sob.

"Yes, baby. You were dreaming, nothing more. You're all right. I'm right here with you," He kissed the top of her head repeatedly as he rocked her in his arms, wishing that the terrible trembling would cease.

Between sobs, the little angel tried to take deep breaths to calm herself. She could feel Andrew's arms holding her so tightly and it brought great peace to her heart as the remainder of her nightmare began to slip away.

"I'm sorry," She whispered, the shame evident in her voice, "I didn't mean to wake you."

"Monica!" Andrew pulled away enough to look down into her pale and tear streaked face, "Baby, you don't owe me any apology. It was a nightmare and if you are afraid, I want to be holding you, no matter what time it is." Tenderly, he wiped the tears from her cheeks, "Do you want to talk about it?"

"No," She whispered with a determined shake of her head, "I want to forget all about it. Besides, you know what it was about."

She was right. He did know and it made his heart ache to think about how that assignment was still haunting her. But then again, she had never spent so long on one assignment in conditions that were far less than perfect.

"Can I make you some tea? Or maybe some warm milk to help you fall back to sleep?" He wanted to do something to help her as the shame and guilt he saw in her brown pools saddened him greatly.

"No," Monica replied softly as she lay back down and looked up at him, silently begging him to do the same. When he did, she immediately curled into his arms, "I have all I need right here."

With her ear resting against his heart, Andrew gently stroked her hair, lulling her closer to sleep, "I love you so much, little angel of mine." He whispered, kissing the top of her head.

Despite her own conflicted emotions, Monica managed a sleepy smile, "I love you too, bigger angel of mine."

X

"Yes, that's exactly right, Angel," Andrew encouraged the next afternoon at the bowling alley as he helped her to hold the ball properly. If Monica had indeed learned "more about this lovely game" she was giving little indication of it and he suppressed a grin. It had simply been her way to try to lure them out of the cabin last night.

"Now, stand here, behind the line and you are going to take three steps. While you are doing that, bring the ball back and on the third step, release it, all right?"

Monica nodded her head eagerly before her brow knitted together in concentration and it was all Andrew could do to stop himself from grabbing her into his arms and kissing her until she was breathless, but he managed to refrain. He watched in hidden amusement as she took the three steps slowly and then released the ball rather awkwardly. Nonetheless, she then stood watching it, with her hands clasped together like a child as the ball rolled, rather slowly, down the aisle before finally making an uneventful roll directly into the gutter.

He hid his amused smile as she turned once more to face him, "Andrew?"

"Yes, Angel?"

"I think this alley may be a wee bit crooked, because I'm certain I bowled perfectly straight."

He covered his laugh with a pretend cough, ignoring her suspicious expression, "Yes, well, sometimes, people have a tendency to roll the ball a bit more to the left or to the right. So with you, you tend to go towards the right, so when you release it, you'll want to stand a bit more towards the left." Taking another ball, Andrew stood behind her as he handed it to her and then with his hands on her waist, he guided her toward the left of their alley, "Right about here, I think." Kissing her cheek, he then took a step back, "When you release it this time, Angel Girl, give it a little more umph."

"Umph?" She turned her head to look at him curiously.

"Yes..umm, a little more force behind it."

"Oh! Yes, I understand."

Her little grin melted his heart and Andrew wondered just how quickly they could manage to bowl and then return to the cabin. He watched in complete adoration as she took the three careful steps and then did manage to let the ball go with more force than the last time. Again, she watched the ball excitedly as it once again moved toward the right hand side of the alley but managed to stay out of the gutter. Despite the better throw this time, the ball was still losing speed and by the time it reached the pins, it just managed to knock one over.

"Andrew! I got one!" Turning to face him, her dark eyes danced with happiness and her face was lit up with a radiant smile.

Her simple joy warmed his heart and he was relieved that the nightmare from last night seemed to have been forgotten, "Of course you did, Angel! I had no doubts."

On his turn, Andrew bowled a strike and then looked at his wife, feeling a bit guilty that she had been so happy over one pin and then he had managed to knock them all over. But he needn't have worried.

"Ah Andrew, you're so wonderful at bowling," there was definite pride in her voice for him as she walked up to him and reached up on tiptoe to wrap her arms around his neck, "Just one of your many talents," She winked at him mischievously and he laughed before he took her face into his hands and kissed her deeply.

The two angels played for quite some time before Monica elected to go to the snack bar to get them drinks...well, Andrew a root beer and herself a coffee. Though she was disappointed that they didn't have any mocha latte, she elected for a cappuccino and an order of nachos and then sat down in a booth to wait for it to be ready.

Glancing out through the bowling alley, Monica could see Andrew practicing his bowling and she smiled, secretly enjoying watching him when he didn't realize she was. She could just make out the strong muscles across his shoulders and arms as he released the ball and she felt her heart speed up pleasantly. Never in her wildest dreams could she have imagined marrying him to be so wonderful.

"Look, I just need a place to lie low for a couple of days until the police move the search to the next town over. Then I'll find some money and get a flight out of here."

The voice coming from the other side of the wall was one Monica would recognize anywhere and she felt her blood run cold, even as it rushed in her ears. Somehow Sheila had escaped and even though the little angel couldn't see the inmate, she knew it was her. Their paths crossing again was surely not a coincidence, but it left Monica in a panic, wondering what to do.

"Listen, I won't bring you any trouble, okay? That stupid Irish girl in the prison actually did me a favour as when they went to transfer me to the other facility, that was when I got away."

The person on the other end of the phone apparently started talking, as Sheila fell silent, but Monica was already on her feet and approaching the counter once more, "Excuse me," She whispered to the girl working the counter, "But there is a woman on the other side of that wall who has escaped from prison. Her name is Sheila and-."

"Hey, I saw that on the news!" the girl exclaimed, "Wow, nothing interesting ever happens here and now we have an ex-con! Cool! I'm going to call the police."

Monica nodded her head in agreement and then turned to hurry back to her husband, only wanting to get as far away from Sheila as she could. But before she could even move an inch, a quiet whisper to her heart stopped her movement and caused her eyes to fill with frightened tears.

She had an assignment.

And it was Sheila.

X

"Great," Sheila was speaking once more, "I'll wait for you in the parking garage across the street."

The little angel blinked back tears as she gazed across the room at Andrew, who was still throwing balls down the aisle, not aware of her situation by the grace of God alone. Usually, Andrew would know the second her heart was frightened, but the truth of this was obvious. Her Father wanted her handle this one with only Him.

Turning back to the girl at the counter, Monica explained quickly, "She's going to the parking garage across the street, so send the police there," Glancing over her shoulder once more, her heart gave a tiny ache, "And that man over there is my husband...if he comes looking for me, tell him I'm okay and to wait for me, all right?"

"You're not going to follow her, are you?"

"I have to, but I'll be fine."

"You don't look fine now," The girl observed the young woman's pale face and frightened doe-like eyes.

"Really. I'm fine. Just send the police across the street." Turning on her heel, the little angel hurried out the door and in the direction she knew Sheila had gone. Darkness was just starting to fall over the little town and Monica gave a tiny shiver as she crossed the road, offering up a silent prayer for protection and strength in facing the source of most of her nightmares from the prison.

She entered the parking garage slowly, nervous eyes darting around in search of the inmate, but God was guiding her footsteps and as she stepped around the first corner, she came face to face with Sheila.

"You!" The inmate growled, her shock at seeing the angel quickly turning to anger, "If it weren't for you, I'd be free right now instead of on the run!"

"That's not true, Sheila. Your freedom would have only been at the expense of my life and you know I was innocent. Your freedom would have left you with blood on your hands had you managed to kill me." Somehow, Monica spoke around the trembling of her voice, but as soon as the words were out, she found herself being slammed against the wall.

"Your blood on my hands would have been a wonderful thing, Irish and it isn't out of the question now. You're going to report me and that is not going to happen, so it seems that killing you is still the only option I've got."

Though her head pounded from where it had made violent contact with the wall, her eyes widened when Sheila pulled out a gun this time instead of a knife. A second later the barrel of the gun was pressed against the angel's temple.

"Say Good night, Irish," Sheila hissed in her ear as she prepared to pull the trigger.

But before she could, a brilliant glow enveloped Monica and the angel's relief was nearly palpable, though she had little time to reflect on it. Sirens were sounding in the distance and Sheila still needed to hear God's words.

"What the hell?" Sheila shielded her eyes from the bright light that was coming off the Irish female, even as Monica took the gun from her hand and threw it up into the air where it turned into a white dove and quickly flew out of the garage.

"I'm an angel, Sheila, sent by God to tell you that He wants you to put aside your hatred of all of His creation."

"God knows nothing about me!" Sheila countered, her anger never leaving her for a moment, even in the face of an angel.

"He does and he wept with you when you were a little girl and your father beat you again and again. God understands where your anger comes from, Sheila, but He asks that you stop the cycle of violence because no one wins by it. You've always been His precious child, Sheila, and God wants you to return to Him."

The screeching of tires sounded on all sides of them as officers got out of their cars with guns drawn, demanding that Sheila place both of her hands on top of her head. As the inmate did as they demanded, she leaned in closer to Monica, "Never gonna happen." She spat just before she was handcuffed and led over to the police car to be searched for any weapons.

The little angel watched sadly as Sheila fought them every step of the way. Yes, she had faced one of her greatest fears from her last assignment but it was difficult for her to feel anything other than sadness as her words to Sheila had simply fallen on deaf ears.