The Incubus, Succubus and Son of Perdition Box Set: The Len du Randt Bundle (34 page)

There was indeed a man leaning
against the tree. He was smiling, and for a moment Rebecca couldn’t figure out
who he was or what he was smiling at. When the realization dawned on her, her
hand shot to her mouth.

‘Justin!’ she yelled as she made her
way to the house. ‘Come! Quickly!’

‘What’s wrong, Becky?’ Justin
shouted from within his study. ‘Is everything all right out there?’

‘
Hurry Justin!
’

There was a sound of furniture
moving as Justin got out of his chair. As quickly as he could, he made his way
to the hallway. ‘What’s the matter?’

‘You have to see this,’ she said and
pulled him outside by the arm. ‘You have to...’

Justin looked at where she was
pointing. He couldn’t see anything out of the ordinary.

‘He was there,’ she said. She looked
around, but the man was gone. ‘He was standing right by the oak tree.’

‘Who was?’

Rebecca looked at Justin with a grim
expression on her face. ‘Simon,’ she said. ‘Simon stood there at the tree.’

Justin took a few steps toward the
tree. ‘Are you sure it was him?’ he asked. ‘Couldn’t it have been the mail man
or something?’

‘I know what I saw, Justin.’

He took another look and raked his
hands through his thinning hair. ‘There’s no one there now.’

Rebecca sighed. ‘I’m worried.’

‘Worried? About what?’

‘I’ve been having nightmares about
Jared,’ she said. ‘And now I’ve seen Simon.’

‘And you think that these nightmares
are related in some way?’

‘Well, it must mean
something
,
right?’

For a moment Justin didn’t say
anything. The gentle afternoon breeze carried the memories of thirty years ago.
A week after they moved out of Kelwick, Simon appeared to both Justin and
Rebecca in a dream. He told them that their son would one day influence the
history of the world, for good or evil. Millions would either die at his hand,
or be led to Christ. That would be Jared’s destiny. That much would definitely
happen. Free will would ultimately decide which fate Jared would embrace. And
now, almost thirty years later, Rebecca was having bad dreams about Jared. He
couldn’t help but wonder. Was Simon trying to tell them something? Was he
trying to prepare them? Justin figured that only time would tell. He wanted to
believe that they had raised Jared to the best of their abilities and that
their son would make the right decisions in life. ‘I don’t know,’ he said as he
led Rebecca back into the house. ‘I simply don’t know.’

*   
-    -    -    *

 ‘Is something wrong?’ Natasha
asked as she entered Jared’s office.

Jared approached her from his desk.
‘Close the door,’ he said and waited until both doors clicked shut.
‘Everything’s fine. I just wanted...needed to see you again.’

‘My, Mister Greene,’ she purred. ‘If
you keep saying things like that, I might start thinking that you like me.’

‘Like, my dear Natasha, is an
understatement,’ he said and leaned forward to kiss her.

Natasha pulled back. ‘Not so fast,’
she said with a sly grin. ‘You will have to earn your rewards.’

‘Anything,’ Jared said. ‘Just name
it, and it’s as good as done.’

She smiled and traced her fingers
over his lips. ‘There’s another fund raiser on Monday evening...’

‘I’m there,’ he said without a
moment’s hesitation. ‘Say no more.’ He leaned over again to kiss her.

She shoved him back gently. ‘This is
a very important function,’ she said. ‘The topic is of great importance.’

‘Done,’ he said. ‘Now kiss me.’

‘Promise that you’ll go.’

‘I promise.’

She smiled and moved closer to him.
For a moment she looked into his eyes without saying anything. He then brought
his face down and kissed her.

Shaun looked at them for a brief
moment. They didn’t hear him enter the office. He shook his head and then
slowly retraced his steps and closed the door behind him.
Not good
, he
thought.
Definitely not good.

*   
-    -    -    *

Amy was on her way out when the
phone rang. She bit her lip. Friday afternoon traffic was always bad, even for
a town the size of Kelwick. If it was a client that wanted to enquire about a
customer order, or needed to place one, the conversation could go on for longer
than she was prepared to stay.

The phone rang.

It might be Jared
, she thought to herself.
She sighed and picked up the phone. ‘Kelwick Christian Media, good day.’

‘Amy?’

‘Yes...?’

‘Hey. It’s Shaun.’

Amy breathed out a sigh of relief.
‘Oh hi, Shaun. How are you?’

‘I guess I’m okay,’ he said. ‘And
you?’

She smiled faintly. ‘I guess I’m
okay, too.’

‘Haven’t seen you in a while,’ he
said, trying to establish some sort of common ground before getting to the
point. ‘You hardly visit anymore.’

‘Jared’s been busy the last couple
of days. It’s been difficult to attend to any of our social responsibilities.’

Shaun was quiet for a moment. ‘About
that,’ he said. ‘Jared is the reason I’m calling you.’

‘Is he...is everything okay?’

‘I don’t think so, no,’ Shaun
answered truthfully. ‘Jared’s been behaving kind of strange these last two
weeks. He’s virtually changed overnight. It’s as if he doesn’t care about the
company anymore.’

Amy sat down. ‘So it’s not just my
imagination?’

‘Afraid not, no,’ Shaun said. ‘It’s
as if nothing matters anymore; as if the only thing he can find time for is
that woman.’

That woman.
Amy’s blood froze. ‘What
woman?’

‘That new PA he’s gone and hired.
She has an unnatural hold over him.’

Amy’s throat constricted and it felt
like her lungs could only store half the air they normally did. She was aware
of the flutter in her voice as she asked, ‘Why are you telling me this, Shaun?’

‘The Business, Amy,’ Shaun said.
‘I’m telling you this in the hope that the two of us can bring Jared back to
his senses and save the company.’

‘What...what’s wrong with the
company?’

‘To put it mildly,’ Shaun said.
‘Jared’s behaviour is upsetting our biggest client. If the client decides to no
longer make use of our services, the company can and most probably
will
sink. Jared will lose everything he has. Everyone else would lose their jobs.’

‘This is terrible,’ Amy said. She
did notice Jared’s strange behaviour, but assumed that it was only toward her
that he had changed. ‘This woman,’ she said and swallowed hard. ‘Do you think
he feels something for her?’

‘Yes,’ Shaun said bluntly. Under
less dire circumstances he would have been more tactful with his answers, but
he wanted her to realize how serious this was. ‘I hate to be the one to tell
you this, I really do, Amy. But many people’s livelihoods are at stake here and
someone needs to put an end to this.’

Amy’s stomach twisted into a knot.
Was he about to tell her what she feared the most to hear? Did she want to hear
it? She closed her eyes and waited for Shaun to continue.

‘Every time he opens his mouth to
speak, it’s about her. He takes her everywhere he goes. Lisa was his PA too,
and he didn’t speak to her unless it was business related or otherwise
absolutely necessary. But this...this is different.’

Amy’s knuckles whitened. ‘Different?
How?’

‘I walked into Jared’s office a few
minutes ago. They didn’t see me, but I saw them.’

Amy let out a sob, but brought her
emotions under control by clenching her teeth.

‘They were kissing, Amy,’ Shaun
said. ‘I’m sorry to be the one that has to tell you this, but as a concerned
friend, of both you and Jared, and for the survival of Whyte & Greene, I
have
to give it to you straight.’

She wanted to cry. Her soul wanted
to tear itself loose from her body. But the tears wouldn’t come. ‘I...I’m glad
you told me,’ she said softly. ‘I’ll speak to him.’

‘We have to get that woman out of
his life,’ Shaun said. ‘If we don’t, well...’

‘Thank you,’ Amy said. She hung up
the phone and looked at the clock on the wall. The time didn’t register in her
mind. Her mind was reeling. Reality was spinning out of control. ‘Dear Lord,’
she prayed as the tears welled in her eyes. ‘Don’t let this happen to me.’
I
can’t live without him.
She didn’t care about the traffic anymore. She
didn’t care about anything. If what Shaun had told her was true, the only man
she ever loved had fallen for another woman. Amy swallowed hard, trying to
fight back the sobs that were forcing their way from her throat. Her vision
blurred and her eyes stung. A stabbing pain shot through her mind and her mouth
pulled open wide enough for the first cry to escape. Amy couldn’t contain it
any longer. She couldn’t keep the tears from streaming down her cheeks. Finally
she cupped her face in her hands and wept.

*   
-    -    -    *

Jared groaned as he slapped his
briefcase on the living room table. He didn’t bother with the newspaper
anymore. He stretched his arms behind his back as he began toward the kitchen.
Halfway there, he stopped. Something was different; almost out of place. There
was no smell to welcome him home, no frying onions or baked potatoes.

Nothing.

The kitchen light was off. Were they
supposed to go out tonight?
I hope not!
Did he forget?
Doubt it.
Jared followed the dimmed light coming from the dining room. Amy sat at the
empty table, her hands covering her face.

‘Hey,’ he said as he walked in. He
leaned forward to kiss her, but she turned her head away from him and he merely
managed a peck on the cheek. ‘What’s wrong?’

What’s wrong?
Amy didn’t answer, but
merely looked at him. Her anger conflicted with her love for the man. She
didn’t know if she wanted to scream or cry, so she merely remained silent.

‘Amy,’ Jared said as he sat down
next to her. ‘What’s the matter?’

She swallowed hard. ‘Where were you
the other night, Jared?’ she asked. ‘Where did you go to after the function?’

Jared sighed. ‘I told you; I was at
a friend’s place.’

She bit her lip. ‘Was Natasha with
you?’

He flinched as if he had been struck
by something solid. ‘Natasha was at the function with me, yes. But not
afterwards.’

Amy’s jaw bones tightened. She loved
Jared more than words could describe, but Shaun was right. The man hadn’t been
himself lately. ‘I’m going back to my parents’ place for a while,’ she said.
‘Just until I can clear my head and you can straighten yourself out.’

‘
What?
’ Jared exploded.
‘What’s gotten into you, Amy? You knew from the beginning of our relationship
that I have a lot of friends and that we sometimes hang out until the early
morning hours. You knew that before you decided to accept me for who I am, and
now you act like it’s a sin? What’s that all about?’

‘And just who are you, Jared?’ she
asked. ‘Because I don’t know anymore.’

‘What are you talking about? I’m the
same Jared you always knew.’

Amy turned her head away. She didn’t
want to see his initial facial expression when she asked, ‘Have you ever
cheated on me?’

The question came from nowhere and
threw him off guard. How much did she know? Just how far could he take this?
‘No,’ he answered. ‘I don’t see what that has to do with anything...’

‘Do you promise that you’ve never
cheated on me? Ever?’

‘Amy, what on earth—?’

‘Do you promise, Jared?’

‘Alright, I promise. For crying out
loud, I’ve never cheated on you.’

‘Not even once?’

‘Not even in my thoughts.’

She stared into his eyes for a long
moment. ‘So you’re not only unfaithful, but a liar too.’

‘
What?
’

‘I know what happened this
afternoon,’ she said. ‘I know what happened between you and Natasha when you
thought that no one could see you.

Shaun!
Jared inhaled deeply and decided to
play it cool instead. ‘What on earth are you talking about, Amy? Stop throwing
me with bits and pieces of riddles and just come out with it already.’

‘Shaun saw you kissing that woman!’

That woman?
‘When was this?’ He had
to stall for time; think of a way to make him look like the victim.

‘This afternoon, at around four.’