The Fall and Rise of Kade Hart: A Hart Brothers Novel (11 page)

He goes back to when he was outside with
Ethel and the footprints were not there. The back of the house has
spotlights on it so it was plain there were none at the time. He
speeds through the film and suddenly the footprints appear, but
there is no evidence of anyone ever being there.

“I’m not sure how this can be,” Kade
says.

I know exactly how it can be. They found me.
But why didn’t they come inside and kill us, like they did to my
family? That’s the part that doesn’t make sense. Now I’m faced with
having to tell Kade. He needs to know because
they
were
here
. I’m not sure how I can explain because I don’t know
who
they
are. My shadows. The ones who watch and follow me
all the time.

“Come back to the den with me. I need to
call Sister Helena and tell her I won’t be back until later.”

“I’ll be there in a minute. I want to look
at this one more time.”

“Kade, you won’t find anything.”

Maybe it’s my tone. Or maybe it’s what I’ve
said. His head jerks up and the look he gives me is fierce.

“What do you mean?”

“Come into the den and I’ll try to
explain.”

A quick inhale and a nod later, he gets up
and trails behind me. Sister Helena is none too pleased. Kade
finally grabs the phone out of my hands.

“Sister Helena, I mean no disrespect, ma’am,
but have you looked outside? There are almost four feet of snow.
The roads are impassible. Emmalia cannot walk home in this. I won’t
allow it. It’s not safe. I will return her to the convent as soon
as it’s possible, but I won’t risk either of our lives. If you have
a problem with this, you can take it up with Father Anthony.” And
then he hangs up on her.

“Oh, boy. She will make me pay for
that.”

“I am sorry. But that is a vile woman. She
is no woman of God.”

“Of course she is. She just doesn’t know how
to deal with things that aren’t in her control. She’s not a bad
person.”

“I beg to differ. So, shall we sit and you
can tell me what you need to say?”

“Yes.” After we’re both seated, I begin. “I
lied to you. But before I tell you this you have to know this may
put your life in danger. I can leave now and you’ll never have to
see me again. It would be the safest thing for you, Kade.”

I’m silent as he looks at me. He has many
questions and I know he wants them answered, but I pray he lets
them all go and lets me walk away now.

“I’m not afraid. I’ve already told you.”

“Damn it, you should be! Listen to me, Kade.
You should be very afraid.”

I wait as I stare him down. But he doesn’t
budge. Not an inch. So I plunge in.

“My real name is Juliette Emilie Bressan. I
wasn’t raised in an orphanage. I was born and raised in New
Orleans.” I look up to the heavens and say, “Oh, God, I’m sorry for
doing this. Please forgive me.” Then I bring my focus back on Kade.
“Two and a half years ago I came home from LSU after graduation to
find my beloved family had been slaughtered.” My hands start to
tremble so I clench them together to get them to stop. “They were
lying on the floor of the living room in a huge pool of their own
blood. My dad’s throat was ripped out, my mom’s and sister’s were
sliced to the point their heads were all but taken off, and my
sister …” I have to stop for a moment and collect myself. “My
sister, Sylvie, was naked and her body had all these weird wounds
all over it. They were all clearly tortured.” My voice catches at
the end and a sob escapes.

Kade’s right in front of me, on his knees,
holding my clenched hands. “It’s okay. I’ve got you.”

“It was the most gruesome scene ever. I
still have nightmares about it. Of course you already know that.” I
swipe my face with my sleeve.

“I’ve often wondered what put that look on
your face.”

“Yeah, well now you know.”

“Was it always your intention to become a
nun?”

“No. But there’s more. My dad left me a
message in his own blood. He told me to hide. So I ran. I didn’t
know what else to do. I totally freaked. He kept a safe in a
storage unit so I went there and pulled out the cash and
jewels.”

“Jewels?”

“My parents owned a jewelry store. And I got
in my car and drove. I ended up in Oklahoma, Texas, then Arizona.
But here’s the thing. Their deaths were never reported.”

“What? I don’t understand.”

I explain how it was all covered up.
Buried.

“How can that be?”

“The same way those footprints mysteriously
appeared. Someone made them, but no one shows up on your video
feed.”

He’s quiet, thinking. His thumbs rub circles
on mine. The motion entrances me.

“Did your parents have enemies?” he
asks.

“No. Or at least none that I’m aware of.
I’ve been through this scenario so many times my brain hurts
thinking about it.”

“No doubt. I want to run this by my
brothers.”

“No! Oh, Kade, you can’t do that. If whoever
did this could make my family literally drop off the face of the
Earth, they could do it to anyone else, too. Don’t you see? The
more people who know about this, the more dangerous it is. I hate
that
you
know about it. I know my life has a very short
endpoint. I can’t outsmart these people forever. The fact they
located you lets me know my extermination is going to be soon.”

“What the fuck are you saying?”

“They’re going to kill me! And now I’m
afraid they’ll have you on their list too.”

“Don’t say that, Emmalia.”

“But can’t you see that it’s true?”

“No! Swear to me you’ll fight. Swear you’ll
let me help you.” He grabs my hands and squeezes them.

“I’ll try. But honestly, those people,
whoever they are, have great power. I think they must be government
or something. Who else could do that?”

“Yeah, you’re right. But one question. Why
didn’t they come in here and kill us during the night?”

“I’ve asked myself the same thing. They
follow me all the time. I see their shadows and feel them watching
me. But there’s something else.” I pull out the necklace from
beneath my shirt. “This.”

Kade picks it up between his fingers and
examines it. His hand accidentally skims across my chin and I jerk.
Heat explodes and then travels throughout my body. I know he can’t
miss the flush that must be infusing my cheeks.

“Are you okay?”

Um no, I’m not okay. You are affecting me,
Mr. Hart.

“Uh huh.” My lips press together as I
answer. This evocation of new feelings in my body is something I
don’t want to deal with right now. There are more important matters
at stake. Like the profundity of what I just shared and how it can
impact him. Besides, he is the last person that would want anything
to do with someone such as myself. I resemble a tattered scarecrow
in my worn, out of fashion, clothing that’s too large for me and my
uneven, straggly haircut. The last time I had my hair done by a
professional was when I was still in college. That’s a sad
testament to my life.

“What kind of stone is this?”

“Hang on a minute.” I go to my coat and
rummage through my pocket until I land on my calendar. Hidden under
the plastic flap is the note I found on the necklace as well as my
father’s notes. I hand them to Kade and let him read them. He
recites the first one out loud.

“‘To the keeper: wear at all times. Let not
it fall into false hands lest ye face universal destruction.’ Have
you ever exposed this to heat, cold, darkness and light?”

“At first I exposed it to sunlight and it
changed colors. After that, I just put it around my neck and wore
it all the time. It frightened me so I was afraid to do anything
else.”

“This is what they’re after,” Kade says.

“That was my thought, but why not just knock
me down and take it? They have to know I have it. They could search
me and find it in a matter of seconds.”

“Good question. You just blew my
theory.”

“And what the heck is it anyway?”

“Not sure. But it may have been important
enough for your family to die over.”

This conversation addles me too much to sit.
I hop to my feet and pace. The first place I land is at the window.
Then a thought strikes me. “We need to look out the front. I bet
there are footprints there, too.”

Kade moves like a panther, smooth and with
stealth. His shirt clings to his muscle clad body and my own body
responds. I hate myself at this moment. I shouldn’t be thinking of
this right now. I just put his life in danger by telling him about
me. I need to focus. He’s booted up with a jacket on and out the
front door. In scant minutes he’s back inside, depositing his
outerwear and heading to his office. I follow him.

His hands speed across the keyboard, almost
as fast as mine would and I ask myself if there’s anything he’s
incapable of. Yes. Preventing my imminent death.

“Same as in the back. Footprints but no
evidence of anyone producing them.”

“I’m not surprised.”

“Emmalia, this makes no sense.”

“I really hate that name.”

“Emmalia?”

“Yeah. When I came up with the idea to join
the convent, I needed to change my name, so I came up with Emmalia.
Emmalia Bradford. I found some skeezy dude in Chicago to create
fake ID’s for me. A birth certificate and passport. He even had a
way of getting me a bona fide social security number. Then I had
him forge a baptismal certificate for me. He said that was the
first time he’d ever been asked to do that, but I needed it to get
into the convent. So now I even have a legal Colorado ID under that
name. Juliette doesn’t exist at all anymore. Of course, her
existence was wiped away when they wiped away my family. And it
kills me because I feel like I’m fading away.”

He’s sitting in the chair at his desk and he
grabs and pulls me into his lap. He holds me tight as he says,
“You’re not fading away. I know you’re here. Ethel knows you’re
here. The people at the animal shelter know you’re here and all the
other places where you spend hours volunteering. Even at the
convent.”

His arms are comforting and I take solace in
them for the moment. I’ve been alone for so long that for this
brief period I allow myself to forget my horrid past.

My voice is muffled, my mouth pressed
against his chest when I answer, “I’m tired of being Emmalia. And
I’m tired of being scared. Sometimes when I go to bed, I pray that
I don’t wake up.”

Hands grip my shoulders and give them a firm
shake. “Don’t say that. Ever! Life is precious, Juliette. Savor
every minute. Do you think your family would want you to feel this
way?”

I lift my head and our mouths are mere
inches apart. What would it feel like for his lips to press against
mine? His eyes are so clear. A fringe of thick long lashes frame
them and I have to hold myself back from touching his brows.
Instead, I move my hand to my cheek.

“‘
See how she leans her cheek upon her hand. O, that I were a
glove upon that hand that I might touch that
cheek!
’”

My breath hitches when he speaks. He stares
and my mouth is like sawdust. Our gazes lock and his hand covers
mine.

“Romeo and Juliet,” I breathe.

He only nods. A yap from Ethel breaks our
connection. Disappointment fills me, but then I should be happy for
it. I’m supposedly going to be a nun. I shouldn’t be sitting on a
man’s lap, wanting him to kiss me, listening to him quote
Shakespeare. Guilt replaces disappointment and I bound out of my
perch.

“Juliette,” Kade calls out as I practically
sprint out of the room. He calls my name again, but I pay him no
heed. I keep moving until I’m on the stone terrace, filling my
lungs with frosty air. The freezing temperature bites into my skin
but it brings some sense to me. What in the devil was I thinking?
My hands dig into my hair, pulling at it. Kade is one more
complication in my messed up world that I do not need. My emotions
need to be even keeled, not involved with some out-of-reach man
that I can never have. And besides, what purpose will it serve? My
life expectancy is pretty much at its end anyway.

“Juliette, come inside. You’ll freeze out
here.”

I turn to face him and now all I can see is
beauty. Before, he was just another human being. Why did I allow
this to happen? Why did I share my past with him? I need to leave.
I’m going to have to leave Denver and the convent now, too. When I
turn back around to face the yard, I see them. Shadows twist and
mold with the background. They slip behind things, melting into the
background. My fear notches back up so I hurry inside.

“I have to leave,” I say. I run upstairs and
hear Kade’s footsteps behind me.

“You can’t leave. Not in this weather.”

“I must. They’re out there.”

“Who are
they
?”

“The shadows that follow me. They were in
your backyard.”

He runs downstairs and outside. I can hear
him. I pull on my boots and sweater, and hurry downstairs. I’m
stuffing my arms into my coat when he comes back inside.

“There’s no one out there.”

“Yes, there is. You don’t know where to look
for them. I can see them. I’m going to draw them away from you. I
don’t want you in danger.”

“You can’t leave in this weather. There’s
way too much snow for you to walk home.” He grabs me and pulls me
close.

“Kade, I’ll be fine.”

“I’m going with you.”

“No! That’s exactly the point of my
leaving.”

His eyes penetrate mine. My hand reaches for
his cheek. “You are the best man, Kade Hart. Please, I’ll be
fine.”

“Juliette, let me at least drive you.”

“Okay,” I say, resigned.

“I need to get dressed in something warmer.
I’ll be right back.”

As soon as he’s out of sight, I quietly slip
out his front door and run in the direction of the animal shelter.
He won’t drive this way to look for me. Running isn’t possible; the
snow is too deep as I trudge my way through. In some places, the
drifts are waist and chest high. My pants are thin and uninsulated
and soon I’m freezing. This was a bad idea. Unlike most people that
live here, I don’t have great outdoor gear. I’m not an outdoor
enthusiast and I have no money to buy things such as that. The
money that I got from the safe was used for living expenses other
than the thirty five thousand the forgery expert charged for my
documents. Most of my clothing is purchased from second hand stores
or given to me from the other nuns. It’s ill fitting and none of it
is very warm, including my coat.