Eden (8 page)

“
Okay, so I’ll take a nap.
Or at least rest a while if I can’t fall asleep.”

“
Really?”

“
Really. Why?”

Jared fidgeted. “It’s just
that...you’re rarely this agreeable. I’m beginning to wonder if I’m
in an alternate reality.”

“
Wow. I’m sorry I’ve been
such a pain in the ass. I thought couples are supposed to get along
on their honeymoon?”

Jared’s brow rose. “So that’s it?
You’re just being affable?”

“
No, I trust you. You know
my body better than I do, and I don’t want to do anything that
could hurt the baby.”

Jared took a deep breath, and blew it
out. “It’s good to hear you say that.” When I frowned, he shook his
head. “No, I’m serious. Sometimes I wonder.”

“
You think I would do
something to hurt our baby?”

“
No!” Jared said, hugging
me and chuckling at the same time. “No, that you trust
me.”

“
Of course I do,” I said
against his chest. “Let’s go to the casita and lay down for a
while.”

Jared nodded, and then took my hand.
He strolled down the dirt path, and we laughed and joked as we made
our way to our whimsically painted tin hut. His eyes were brighter
than I’d ever seen them, free of any clouds. When we reached the
door, Jared lifted me in his arms and carried me to the bed,
carefully lowering me onto my back.

“
You know,” he said,
brushing my hair away from my face. “I’ve always thought you
extraordinarily beautiful, but this way,” he touched my rounding
belly, “I can’t stop looking at you. You’re stunning.” His fingers
returned to my hairline to sweep my bangs back, and then again, his
fingertips gentle and soft against my skin. It felt so good, I
could have melted into the bed I was so relaxed, but I wasn’t
sleepy.

“
You’re not supposed to
say that until I’m big as a house and need a little encouragement
to be seen in public every day.”

“
I can’t wait to see that.
I’ve been all over the world, but that will be the most marvelous,
beautiful thing I’m ever going to see.”

“
Until you see our child,”
I noted.

Jared beamed. “I have a lot to look
forward to.”

I cupped my fingers behind his ears
and pulled him toward me, tasting his lips. “So do I.” I tugged at
Jared’s shirt, and pulled it over his head. Jared pressed his warm
chest against me, and I sighed. At least that part of our lives
could return to normal.

“
You should rest,” Jared
whispered against my skin.

“
I will,” I
promised.

Just as I had closed my eyes, they
were open. The sun still shined, and Jared sat on the edge of the
bed, pulling his T-shirt over his head. He turned to me,
puzzled.

“
You promised to nap if
we—”

“
I did,” I yawned. “I
slept so good. What time is it? I feel like I’ve slept all
day.”

“
Nina, it hasn’t even been
twenty minutes.”

“
You’re
joking.”

Jared frowned. “This is
disconcerting.”

“
Why? I’ve never really
been a nap-taker.”

“
Yes, but when you do,
you’re out for three hours.” Jared leaned down, pressing his ear
gently to my stomach. He stayed there for a moment, and then
sighed. “Something’s different. I can’t put my finger on it. You’re
different.”

“
I’m not. I told you I
wasn’t sleepy. Let’s go snorkeling. I’m bored.” I stood and picked
a bathing suit from the suitcase, and hurried Jared to do the same.
I prodded him to the beach, eager to have some fun. We snorkeled,
we swam, we splashed each other and explored the farthest corners
of the island. At night, we spent time together in the outside
shower, and then snuggled in bed. If I hadn’t already been
pregnant, by the end of our honeymoon I surely would have been.
Jared was insatiable, and it seemed that with every quiet moment, I
whispered suggestive things in his ear.

Just like our last visit to Little
Corn, the week went by too quickly. Jared noted the familiar
sadness in my eyes as I packed.

“
We can come back. When
you graduate, after the baby is born, we can come back and stay as
long as you’d like.”

“
I have a company to run,
you forget.”

“
That will run just fine
if you decide to take a leave of absence.”

I shrugged, repeating the tedious
cycle of stuffing my wedding dress into the garment bag and then
smoothing it out. “Maybe.”

Jared seemed to be out of sorts as
well. We didn’t speak much as the hired help stacked our belongings
in the truck, and then again in the boat. Jared held me as the boat
bounced across the waves to the main island, and relied on small
talk as we waited for the plane to depart from Nicaragua. It was
like saying goodbye for the last time to an old friend. It felt
like loss. This time, there would be no ring to cheer me up, only
the ominous thoughts of what might be waiting for us at
home.

The fairy tale was over.

Once we were in U.S. airspace, I
immediately dialed Beth to see what the situation was at Titan.
Sasha worked to make life difficult for everyone, and Grant was
more than ready for me to return so he could leave for his own
vacation. Just a few weeks of school left, and then summer hours
would be enforced.

Ryan was still recovering in the
hospital. Beth noted that Claire never left him alone for a moment.
Her comment made me think about the times I visited Ryan in the
hospital after he was attacked, and I wondered if he had taught her
the Logo game. I couldn’t imagine Claire sitting beside his bed
giggling and being silly. She was more likely to pout in the
corner, trying to ignore his vies for attention and incessant
questions. I hoped that I was wrong.

The pilot announced on the overhead
speaker that we would make out descent soon. Jared tightened my
seat belt and kissed the tender skin in front of my ear, whispering
that it would be okay. I didn’t feel particularly nervous about the
landing, but I assumed he meant life in Providence. With everything
that had happened in Little Corn, it was easy to get lost in that
other world, and pretend real life in Rhode Island was just a bad
dream. But the bad dream was real, and we were about to live
it.

Descending the stairs of the jet, and
then walking across the tarmac to the waiting car was eerily
similar. The ground was wet from a late-spring thunderstorm; the
air was so thick it seemed palpable. Samuel stood a hundred yards
away, staying in the background, but allowing us to see him. Jared
already knew he was there, so I knew his presence was for me. This
time, though, Jared didn’t go to him. He walked with me to the car,
and nodded to our driver, Robert, as he held the door.

My cell phone buzzed and I answered.
Grant wasted no time updating my schedule, hinting that I should
come in right away. An important meeting was scheduled during one
of my classes the next day, and he wanted to go over some key
points with me to compensate for my absence.

I hung up the phone and sighed. “Maybe
I should—”

“
You’re already looking
forward to several days of makeup work and tests, and don’t forget
Finals coming up soon. Grant can handle it.”

I nodded. “You’re right. I’ll meet
with him this evening. He has an hour, and then I’ll hit the
books.”

Jared shook his head.

“
What? What did I
say?”

“
You. Agreeing with me
without a single argument. It’s something I’ll have to get used
to.”

I pressed my lips together in a hard
line, trying not to smile. I must have been a true nuisance to him.
I owed him a nice, long vacation from my stubbornness.

“
I can’t believe I’ve been
so awful to you. I’m sorry.”

Jared took my hand in his, and turned
to face me. “You have not been awful. You’ve had an incredible
amount to deal with, and doing things on your terms was important
to you. Making choices was the only shred of control you had in
this entire, crazy situation. I’ve never begrudged you that. In
fact, it’s one of the things I love about you.”

“
Regardless, consider it
significantly toned down.”

Jared smiled. “You don’t have to
apologize for coping. It’s been tough for everyone. It’s been a
lot. However, I won’t lie and say I’m not going to enjoy the new
attitude.”

I leaned in and kissed the corner of
his mouth. “You’re going to see a lot of new from me. I don’t want
to be a victim, anymore. I am now an active participant in what
happens to me and my family. We’re going to get through this
together or not at all.”

Jared beamed. “You amaze me every
day.”

“
Well, if you’re quite
finished being amazed, I need to go into work for a bit. Robert?
We’ll need the Escalade.”

Robert glanced at me in the rearview
mirror with his wrinkled, kind eyes. “Yes, ma’am.” He made a turn,
taking us to our home. That was one thing very different from our
last trip to Little Corn. Home was no longer the loft.

The tires crunched across the gravel
drive, and Robert slowed the car to a stop next to Jared’s SUV. The
door opened, and Robert lent me a hand. “It’s good to have you
back, Miss…,” Robert seemed flustered for a moment before speaking
again, “I deeply apologize. Mrs. Ryel.”

I smiled. “Just for that, you get a
raise, Robert.”

He nodded to Jared, and then popped
the trunk, pulling our bags from the back. “I’ll have your things
laundered and returned to your room.”

“
Thank you, Robert,” Jared
said. He grabbed my hand and led me to the Escalade, pulling open
the door. He lifted me into his arms and placed me gently in the
passenger seat. “Since I don’t have time to carry you across the
threshold, I suppose this will have to do.”

I laughed. “It’ll do,” I said, placing
each of my hands on his cheeks for a quick kiss.

Providence seemed different. Remnant
rain dripped from the trees, the beautiful buildings still loomed
over the streets, and the traffic still made walking across the
post-storm street a challenge for pedestrians who wished to remain
dry. But it was foreign somehow. Providence would always be home,
but for now it was a battleground—a place to stand off with those
who would harm my child. For the next months until I gave birth, I
would walk the streets on guard, in constant suspicion of everyone
I came across, and cautious of every dark street. Having no idea
when Hell would act, or what they had in store for us, it was
important now than ever to be prepared and vigilant. All things
considered, I was glad it was on my own turf. My ancestors weren’t
just Rhode Islanders. I was Nephilim. We survived King David, the
flood, and the yellow fever epidemic of 1797. My husband was half
angel. I could stand up to whatever they could throw at me. That
was what I would keep telling myself, anyway. No sense in worrying
myself to death about it.

“
What is that?” Jared
said, referring to whatever emotion he was sensing.

I shrugged. “Courage, I think,” I
said. “We can do this. I believe in you. I believe in
us.”

Jared’s eyes darkened a bit, and he
reached over the console to grab my hand. The muscles under his
jaws twitched, and his fingers tensed as they intertwined with
mine. “I definitely like the new attitude.”

Chapter Six

Answer

Titan’s tall, block-and-mortar façade
loomed over Fleet Rink. Summer was just a few weeks away, and the
rink had been transformed from its usual icy amusement to a popular
hangout for local rollerbladers. Jared parked in his usual spot,
kissing my lips before I stepped out onto the sidewalk and to the
front entrance of the lobby.

I paused, the first few steps without
Jared felt strange. Except for the few hours I spent getting ready
for the wedding, Jared and I had been side by side every day for a
week. An unsettling feeling came over me, as if I’d forgotten my
cell phone or locked my keys inside the car.

I pushed through the front door and
walked across the lobby, dismissing my unease. Jared remaining in
the car meant that everything was just fine. If he sensed even the
slightest bit of danger, he would be next to me.

“
Get a grip, Nina,” I
whispered to myself. Inside the elevator, I pressed the button, and
took a deep, cleansing breath as the doors slid closed. When they
opened again, the relaxing breath proved to be futile.

“
Well. Look what the cat
dragged in,” Sasha said. One hand on her hip, one hand holding a
short stack of papers, her long red curls set off her sharp
features. A mature person would admit that Sasha was beautiful—I,
however, had accepted long ago that Sasha brought out the stubborn,
angry child within.

“
Oh, my. Did you get
yourself a perm while I was away? I guess the eighties
are
coming back.” I
brushed past her, deciding against shoving my shoulder into her
bony arm.

“
Hot rollers. Grant has
made a point to mention the curls today, too.”