Eden (21 page)

We continued south, and by
daybreak reached Maryland. The morning sun glistened on a sign that
read
Eden Pop.793
. Trees lined the median on one side of the road; railroad
tracks on the other. Other than a few billboards and a patch of
land used for tractor sales, I couldn’t see much of
Eden.

“
That’s an interesting
name,” I said.

“
It fits, too,” Jared said
straight-faced. “The town is just as hard to find as the
garden.”

“
Ha, ha,” I teased,
unimpressed with his joke. “So do we have an actual
destination?”

Jared smiled. “We do, now. When I saw
we were on Ocean Highway, I thought of the perfect
place.”

“
Which is….?” I trailed
off.

“
Virginia
Beach.”

I smiled. “I’ve never been
there.”

He met my eyes, matching my
expression. “I thought it would be a relaxing place for you to wait
while the investigators figure out what happened, and then when
they contact us—and they will—we will return in a few days, upset
and flustered.”

I frowned. Jared’s plan wouldn’t work.
If anything, once the Providence PD followed the breadcrumbs we
left for them, we would look more suspicious. Jared’s loft had
already been declared an act of arson, and they had assumed it was
him. Unable to prove anything, no charges were filed. But now that
my car had also been targeted, he would be under investigation
again. If they found out we were there at the time of the
explosion, they could charge and hold us for a number of things.
With every thought, my concerns compounded.

“
It’s not the first time
I’ve had to explain myself to the police. I promise there is no
need to worry. We’ll explain our version and leave for Jerusalem as
planned. If I can kill a dozen or so dirty cops in one night and
keep our names out of it….”

“
But her family. Don’t you
think the police stopped looking back then because they dug deep
enough to see what was going on? Sasha’s family will want
answers.”

“
Ryan and Claire will take
care of it. The family will have answers. They’ll just have ones
that don’t imply either of us. You have a bodyguard that everyone
knows about, Nina. Now everyone will know why. You’re a target, and
Sasha was collateral damage. It’s not far from the truth, actually.
The only difference is that we won’t have to explain why we fled
the scene.”

Jared took my hand and kissed my
fingers, and then pressed my knuckles into his chest. “I’m sorry
about Sasha. She didn’t deserve to die, but you can’t blame
yourself for her death. If it’s anyone’s fault, it’s
mine.”

I stiffened. “How can you say that?
You couldn’t have known—”

“
I should have known. That
very easily could have been you.” He frowned at the thought. “I’m
glad it was her and not you. I know you’re wallowing in guilt about
what her family will feel when they get the call, but I want you to
think about the moment that car exploded. If it wasn’t her? Honey,
I would have watched my wife and child’s death in the same moment.
You can’t wish that for me.” He released my hand and wiped his eyes
with his thumb and index finger, and then sighed. “I’m just glad it
wasn’t you.”

I wanted to tell him that it shouldn’t
have happened at all, but I was afraid it would only make him feel
worse. “First the loft, now the car,” I sighed. “We won’t have
anything before long.”

“
We need to take out
whoever the hell knows anything about explosives, that’s for sure.”
He laughed once, sounding exhausted. “This being so in tune with
you and Bean that I’m missing important things like a bomb on your
car is also a negative.” He shook his head. “It was ignition-based,
so it couldn’t have been there before you left for Titan. It had to
been set up between the time you got there and when it blew. Bex
would have sensed it. The only time they would have had a window is
after I arrived.”

“
How is that possible? You
were in the Escalade a few feet away.”

“
Exactly,” he said, his
expression unsettled. “It was difficult to focus
before….”

“
Before what?” I asked,
knowing better. Jared had become skilled at leaving me out of the
loop. It wasn’t like him to slip.

He replied with only a sigh, but he
was visibly upset. It was then that I made a decision. I no longer
wanted to be in the dark. I was a mother now. With so many
important things at stake, it was time I took an active role in the
effort to save our lives.

“
Tell me,” I
said.

“
After we…I’ve been more
in-tuned to you for a while. I had just become used to wading
through the mess to get to the basics of what I used to feel when
you…when we….”

“
This would be a good time
to forget your usual hour-long explanation and just get down to the
naked truth.”

“
The baby. I sense it,
too. It’s amazing, but it’s also distracting. Very
distracting.”

“
You sense the baby?” I
smiled. “So is Bean your Taleh, too?”

Jared frowned. “This whole situation
is unprecedented. That would mean the baby is human, and that’s
obviously not the case. Maybe it’s because the baby is a part of
you. I just don’t know.”

From that point on, Jared remained
silent except for the few times we made pit stops. As the sun began
to set, we had just breached the outskirts of Myrtle Beach. I
couldn’t help but think about the fact that Sasha’s mother hadn’t
heard from her for a full day, and at any minute they would go to
her home, and the panic would begin. Sasha would be reported
missing any moment. The guilt began to close down around me once
again, so much so that it was hard to take in the beauty
ahead.

While we were eating a late lunch,
Jared had called ahead and reserved a condo at Myrtle Beach’s most
Northern Point, the Grande Dunes Oceanfront. As we pulled up to the
resort, I gasped at its extravagance. It worsened my sense of
guilt.

“
What is it?” Jared said.
I could see the hope in his eyes. He wanted this to be an escape,
but I couldn’t stomach maternity massages and facials knowing my
friends and Sasha’s family were going through hell.

“
I appreciate what you’re
trying to do. I really do. But this is not a real vacation. We’re
hiding out while most of the people I know think I’m dead, and
Sasha’s family frantically search for her.”

Jared nodded and squeezed my hand.
“That’s the idea, but I’m not pitching a tent on the beach for my
pregnant wife. You deserve a little comfort while you’re busy
stressing out for everyone.”

“’
A little comfort’ would
be the Super 8 down the road, Jared. This is a resort.”

“
It’s beachfront, and the
ocean will clear your head. C’mon.”

Jared checked in while I tried to seem
completely normal about the fact that we brought two large full
suitcases for a quick getaway. The staff was too pleasant, almost
eager that we had arrived. I thought that strange for two reasons:
One, Jared called for reservations just a few hours before; and
Two, we weren’t celebrities. Their behavior quickly had me
convinced that they were shells, and they would attack us at any
moment.

“
Sweetheart?” Jared called
over his shoulder.

I glared at the girl behind the desk.
Her blonde spiral curls bounced against her full, pink cheeks. Her
warm brown eyes were glazed over with the absolute captivation she
felt standing before Jared. I remembered that feeling. Jared was
ridiculously beautiful, and his looks and confidence alone must
have made them think he was famous in some way. Okay, maybe they
weren’t demons with skin, but that girl was still looking at my
husband as if she wanted to eat him.

“
Just fine,” I said with
my best fake smile. Other than watching a colleague I’d known for
three years turn into toast before my eyes, I wasn’t sure why I was
in such a foul mood. Girls like that behaving in a completely
understandable way hadn’t affected me in years. I couldn’t remember
the last time I’d rolled my eyes at waitresses or coeds nearly
slobbering over Jared. It could be several things, but I was sure
my rounding form was the culprit.

Jared returned to me and the luggage.
Inside the room, Jared placed our luggage on the mattress, and
looked around. The room was spacious and light, not unlike any
other hotel room I’d spent time in.

“
This is nice,” Jared
said.

“
Have I ever told you that
you suck at small talk?” I smiled. I walked the few steps to reach
him, and then pressed my forehead against his chest.

Jared laughed and kissed my cheek.
“Yes.”

I went tot he bathroom and splashed
water on my face. The puffy towels smelled sterile and flowery, a
quick giveaway that we weren’t at home. I groaned and stretched. A
belly nearly in full bloom and a long road trip didn’t mesh well
together. I felt stiff and groggy.

“
Nap or beach?” Jared
said. He pulled off his boots and slipped his bare feet into a pair
of leather sandals.

“
Both sound equally
appealing, but a walk on the beach after being stuck in the car is
the better option.”

“
Agreed,” he said, holding
his hand out to me.

We lazily walked to the near-private
beach of the Grande Dunes, letting the new summer wind whip around
us. The scene looked like a postcard; everything I imagine the
perfect beach to be. Jared picked a spot and unfolded a blanket. He
sat with his elbows resting on his knees as he looked out toward
the ocean.

“
It’s almost like being
back in Little Corn.”

“
Almost.”

Jared peered up at me. “Sit with
me.”

I fidgeted, knowing I was about to
play into my childish insecurities. “They were
attractive.”

“
Who?”

“
The girls behind the
desk.”

Jared laughed once, and
then crawled onto his knees. He leaned toward me and placed his
hands on each side of my belly. “Nina, there has always been
something about you that I couldn’t shake. Even when I didn’t want
to love you, I was drawn to you. I couldn’t think of anything else.
Now you’re my wife, and you are carrying our child. There is
nothing more beautiful than that. When you’re sweaty and exhausted
holding Bean, then that will be the most beautiful thing I’ve ever
seen. When I see tears fall from your eyes when we send Bean off to
the first day of kindergarten…
that
will the most be the most beautiful thing I’ve
ever seen. When you comfort me each time we send our kids to
training; on every one of our anniversaries; and when you’re hair
turns gray. Every one of those moments will be the most beautiful
thing I’ve ever seen.”

He nuzzled his nose into my belly, and
then wrapped his arms around my middle. “You always say the right
thing,” I whispered, touching his ears.

He looked up at me. “If the impossible
happened, and something more beautiful existed, I wouldn’t notice.
You have my constant, undivided attention. You always
have.”

I smiled. “Only because I pay
you.”

Jared’s white, wide grin was a
contrast against the tan tone of his face. “Not any more. When you
marry your boss, you can pay yourself.”

I playfully nudged him in the ribs,
still he hugged me to him. Resting on the blanket, we watched the
sun slowly melt into oranges and purples until it sizzled against
the ocean. I wondered if the sky looked the same on the other side
of the world. If once we arrived in Jerusalem, if we would see the
sun again until the baby was born.

I relaxed back against the blanket,
looking up at the sky. The stars were visible on the eastern half
of the sky, but they were still burned out by the sun in the West.
Jared grabbed my arm, and I froze.

“
What is it?”

Jared smiled and pulled out his Glock.
“You almost laid on my sidearm.”

“
You brought your gun?
Worried the grains of sand would shell?” I smiled.

“
When the others start
shelling, it’s impossible to know who’s a threat and who’s not.
That’s why we can’t get to the Sepulchre fast enough as far as I’m
concerned. I almost wonder if they didn’t blow the Beemer on
purpose. If they knew our plan—and I’m sure they did—if they didn’t
kill you in the process, they thought it would keep us from
leaving. Bex has a harder time sensing them, so I know with
my…distraction, it could be dangerous.”

I nodded. “It’s not fair that with
everything else we’re dealing with, your senses are overwhelmed,
too.” I frowned. “Now that I think about it, none of this is very
fair.”

“
Considering the
circumstances, I think it’s clear we have some fans up there. We
have Eli and Samuel vying for us. That’s a huge advantage in and of
itself.”

“
It doesn’t feel like it,”
I grumbled.

My cell phone rang. It was Beth again.
I closed my eyes tight while Jared took the phone and pushed the
silence button. He buried it into the tote I had carried with me to
the beach and then pulled me against his chest.