No Wasted Tears (37 page)

She took a step back. Her gaze darted around, searching for something she could grab in order to use it as a weapon against him. But suddenly he had her against the wall, his large hands were going for her
throat.

Destiny gasped and tried to pry his hands off, but he only squeezed harder. Then she thought about her dream and what Adam had said about praying. She heard Stanley yelling; “I’ve had enough of this you…you little—” he started dragging her body. “You’re coming home with me whether you want to or
not.”

“The Lord is my helper,” she choked out through
tears.

“Who? I thought I was your helper,” he said, with a malevolent glimmer in his brown
eyes.

She said it again a little stronger. “The Lord is my helper. He has not given me the spirit of fear but power, love, and a sound mind!”

With a sudden blast of strength that shocked even her, she slid out of his iron grip and brought her knee up. Stanley squealed when she made contact with his
groin.

As he doubled over in pain, Destiny unleashed her elbow against the crown of his neck, then flew across the room and tore out the
door.

Chapter 36

Adam couldn’t believe that Regina had the audacity to come to his church under the assumption that he’d take her back. His spirit was heavy as he drove out of the parking lot of the church. The realization that Destiny had not called made his throat tighten, but knowing that she was probably with Stanley hurt even
more.

Although she insisted that he let her handle Stanley, he couldn’t dispel the feeling that he’d made a huge mistake, despite the fact that his ever-practical brain was applauding him for the decision to walk away. He felt like he should have never driven away. But Destiny had lied to him. Why hadn’t she told him about Stanley? It had made sense to leave yet since he’d left her house his inner man had been screaming at him—shrieking like the sirens on a fire engine—telling him that Destiny was in grave danger and that he had to help
her.

Regina had distracted him, keeping him from leaving the church sooner. His foot shook so bad on the gas pedal that it was difficult to drive. He was on his way home but the nudging of the Holy Spirit refused to subside. There it was again that still small
voice.

She needs
you.

He’d heard those words for the last thirty minutes. He made the turn heading toward Destiny’s house.
She needs
you.

He was halfway there. Maybe she hadn’t gone to meet him. Maybe she changed her mind. Maybe she wanted him to go with her. At the thought, he pressed down on the gas pedal. The frantic tugging on his spirit got worse when he reached the street she lived on and spotted the rental car Stanley had been driving
earlier.

“The Lord is our helper,”
was all he could
say.

Adam
almost jumped out before coming to a complete stop hurling himself out of the car; his panic rose to another level when he saw that she’d left the front door open. Destiny had a thing for locking doors and windows. This had to be a sign of trouble. After pushing the door open, he looked cautiously around, but there was no sign of either of
them.

Maybe she hadn’t left the door opened. Maybe she ran out of the door. Adam took his cell phone out of his pocket and dialed the police. He explained the situation to the dispatcher, asking for help to come quickly. Then he ran out of the house headed to the backyard. He should have come as soon as the Holy Spirit had whispered she needed help. With all of the distractions he’d had today it was a wonder he had heard at all. He knew nothing about Stanley but if Destiny had fled
from him by coming to Seattle, then he had to have some serious
issues.

Calming himself down once he was in the backyard he looked around for any signs of either of them. His eyes scanned the area. Then he heard a scream coming from a couple of houses over. With a burst of energy he jumped over the fence, running toward the direction of the scream. When he rounded the corner he saw Destiny in the back seat of Stanley’s car. He was pulling out of the
driveway.

Looking around for any signs of the police being
somewhere in the vicinity, Adam was disappointed that they were nowhere in sight. Checking his watch, he counted five minutes had passed since he called. Without wasting time, he jumped in his
car.

He knew it would take him a few minutes to catch up with Stanley; the expressway was about ten minutes away. He swore when it started to rain. Turning out of the sub-division he saw the back of Stanley’s car in the distance. Maneuvering around a slow-moving car, he put his foot on the accelerator. Then he noticed Stanley weaving in and out of traffic. It was difficult to see and he lost them for a few seconds. Instead of getting nervous he focused on staying calm and kept his eyes trained on the road. Stanley had to be doing at least seventy miles an hour on these side streets. The rain was not letting up and the wind was making it even more difficult to drive as fast as he needed to. Despite the windshield wipers going at top speed, he still had a difficult time
seeing.

“Lord, please protect Destiny.” He signed, recalling the look of sheer horror on her face in the back seat of that car. Looking at the street and the standing water it would be easy for a car to hydroplane. He prayed Destiny was safe despite the maniac driving the
car.

Before there was time to react, he watched as a Ford truck, moving too fast for the rain, barreled into the side of Stanley’s car. The brakes on the truck screeched as it jack knifed into the side of the car. The impact sent their car hurling through the red light and into the intersection. It looked as if Stanley was trying to gain control before the car hit a light
pole.

Chapter 37

“Something’s wrong. Destiny would have never left the front door open,” Sara said as she walked up the porch to the
house.

“Call her on her cell,” Willie said as he walked cautiously around Sara, making sure it was safe for them to
enter.

“She’s not answering,” Sara walked through the living room into the kitchen where she saw a cup of
tea.

“Sara, I think you’re right. Destiny had to be here, that’s her special teacup. Maybe she and Adam are together.” Sara noticed he was sounding hopeful trying to keep panic out of his
voice.

Sara disagreed by saying, “That’s not likely, considering how she sounded earlier. She wasn’t expecting him to come back today. But even if he showed up she wouldn’t have left the door
open.”

“Well, we can’t just sit around, doing nothing but worrying. Let’s drive over to the lab; maybe she’s there and left her phone off.” Willie started walking toward the front
door.

“Wait! I’m going with you,” Sara called, grabbing her purse. She turned to lock the
door.

Sara said nothing as they drove through the rain-filled streets headed to the Destiny’s place of work. They were nearing the intersection when she shouted, “Slow down, Willie. There’s been an accident and it looks like someone’s been hurt, look at the car against that
post!”

“I have a bad feeling about this, Sara.” Willie’s hands were shaking with fear. He slowed the car to a crawl and eased over to the side of the road. “That looks like Adam’s car pulled over ahead of us. Come on, Sara. We’ve got to see if it’s anyone we
know.”

A policeman was there directing traffic away, while the approaching EMS vehicle blared in the background, surrounded by sirens and a growing crowd, Sara was being pulled by Willie through the crowd. Tears of fear and disbelief were racing down her face as she neared the
scene.

“Let us through; I’m a doctor,” Willie said, showing his name badge from the hospital as he pushed over the onlookers. They pushed their way to the front of the
crowd.

“Oh my God, that’s Destiny and, Willie,
she’s not moving!” Sara sobbed, unaware that Adam had come to her and was holding her. Willie left her, rushing to
Destiny.

“She’s going to be all right. She has to be!” Adam insisted, as he wiped away her tears. They were clinging to each other for
support.

“We have to get to her!” Sara tried to rush past the authorities blocking the way. “Why aren’t they doing anything to help her?” She was trembling
uncontrollably.

“Willie is with her. Let them do their job, Sara. They have to get them out the car.” She knew her pastor was trying to comfort her but something he said confused
her.

“Them? Who else was with her? Oh, my God not Cynthia and the twins?” Her tears were falling even
faster.

“No. It was Stanley. He didn’t make it. He died on
impact.”

“What was he doing here?” Sara was furious when she heard his
name.

She watched them pull Stanley’s body from the car, then cover his head with a sheet. The men were still working to free Destiny. They had to pry the car open to reach her. After getting her out, the paramedics along with Willie quickly checked her out and were soon wheeling her into the flashing lights of the waiting ambulance. Through it all, Sara noticed that Destiny never opened her
eyes.

“Come on Sara. We’ve got to follow them to hospital.” Adam stressed, bringing her out of her trance. As they rushed toward their cars, he prayed out loud for God to let his healing angels touch
Destiny.

While Willie drove himself in his car, Sara and Adam followed him. It was still raining so the traffic was not moving fast. As they drove Sara called Cynthia and Tina. They agreed to meet them at the hospital. She told them what had happened and asked that they pray. When she hung up she saw Adam look at her, “Well?”

“They’re all upset and they’ll meet us at the
hospital.”

Chapter 38

After parking the car, Adam made sure Sara was comfortable waiting with Willie before sprinting toward the emergency room with a gut-wrenching fear unlike anything he’d ever experienced. He knew that as a pastor, his faith should have given him peace. But even as a pastor sometimes fear overshadows faith. This was an all-consuming fear that was dominating the faith he carried with him. The weight of it almost cut off his ability to breathe while he was at the accident scene. She had to pull through
this.

He saw a nurse and asked about Destiny. “She’s with the doctor. You have to wait until he’s finished,” the nurse
answered.

Dejected, he scowled. He’d been hoping for some news. “You might as well have a seat, Adam. It’s going to be awhile; Willie went back with a doctor he knew. He’ll let us know something,” Sara advised
him.

He saw Cynthia and Tina come in together. They went straight to Sara. He watched as they took seats, giving each other silent comfort.

He was too restless. Getting up he began pacing the short hall outside the waiting
area.

After he returned to the waiting area, Tina asked, “Pastor Wheeler, do you know what
happened?”

Adam gave them a short version of what he knew. “Stanley showed up at her house, and I think he was trying to force her to leave with him. When I arrived and saw the house empty, I immediately called the police, but they didn’t arrive on time. So, I decided to follow them. That’s when I witnessed the accident. It’s a miracle it didn’t kill both of them instead of just Stanley. She’s blessed to be
alive.”

Adam felt the tears running down his face. Wiping them away, he said, “She didn’t deserve any of
this.”

“When did Stanley get here?” Tina
questioned.

“He surprised us this morning when we got back. I had no idea who he was or when he arrived in Seattle.” Adam tried not to show his
frustration.

“She hasn’t deserved a lot of things she’s had to deal with in her life,” Sara said
pointedly.

It was then Adam noticed Willie dressed in his scrubs along with another doctor enter the waiting area. “Can we see all of you in the hall, please?”

They came forward. No one said a word as they waited for the
news.

“How is she?” Adam
asked.

Adam watched as Willie shook his head. “Destiny came in
with head trauma, a broken left arm and leg, and a great deal of bruising to her shoulder and face. We’ve been able to set the leg and arm to make her comfortable. She hasn’t gain consciousness, which we believe is from her head injury. Until she wakes up we can’t do anything for the head
trauma.”

Adam listened as Tina asked the doctor, “How long ‘til she wakes up? She will wake up won’t
she?”

He answered with slow caution, “We can’t say how long she’ll be unconscious. She may have a concussion, but we won’t know until she wakes up. We’re hoping it will be
soon.”

“When can we see her, Willie?” Adam asked
anxiously.