Untraceable (22 page)

“I might not be
very good company. I may not say very much.”

“That’s okay,” she
replied. “I don’t wanna say much either—it kinda hurts when I
talk.”

“You have a sore
throat?” he asked as he sat on the lounger and pulled her up on his
lap.

“No,” she simply
replied, “It hurts here.” She placed his hand over her heart. “Does
that make sense?”

He lifted her
small hand to his heart and told her it made perfect sense to
him.

The next several
days, she never left his side. The only time they were apart was
when he would put her to bed, but he would have to wait for her to
fall asleep before he could slip away. Then he would go to his
room; the room he had shared with Leese only a handful of nights
earlier. They made love in this bed, showered together in this
shower and, planned and dreamed about the son they couldn’t wait to
meet. He hadn’t had the strength to even open the connecting door
to the nursery. He simply couldn’t do it; just like he couldn’t
sleep without her.

Nadia decided the
celebration would be the following Monday. Micah wanted to wait for
the last of the forensic results, but she didn’t. This, she
reminded him, wasn’t a funeral; they didn’t need remains. They
would have a private burial at a later date. This was a chance for
those who loved her to come say goodbye and think of all the
wonderful memories she left behind.

CHAPTER thirteen

Sunday afternoon, Ryan and Candace
flew to Florida. Nadia invited them to stay in her home, and, even
though his mother’s house was only twenty minutes away, he agreed.
They sat in the living room talking and waiting for Micah to join
them.

Ryan didn’t recognize Micah when he
finally came into the room. He hadn’t shaved since the day he got
the news of the accident. He had a five day growth of beard and
blood shot eyes from lack of sleep. Ryan wasn’t one to hug another
man, for that matter neither was Micah, but the two men found
themselves embracing each other as they both broke down.

They listened as Nadia tearfully
explained what they had planned for the celebration. There wouldn’t
be a casket since this wasn’t a funeral, but there would be a
montage of everything from home videos of Leese as a little girl,
all the way up to her clips from Remake. It would be a display of a
beautiful life, knowing she’d have wanted it that way, but there
was little doubt that there would be more tears than smiles as they
paid homage to the life she had led.

Ryan watched Micah intently as the
discussion continued and he realized that Micah was in a physical
and emotional crater, doubting seriously that Micah would be able
to keep himself together for even another twenty-four hours; he was
on the verge of a medical collapse.

Nadia told him, before Micah came
downstairs, that he wasn’t eating, and all he did was wander around
the house and cry. If it hadn’t been for the fact that Kimmy had
suddenly become so bonded with Micah, she was convinced that he
would have ended his life. Now he was trapped; Kimmy depended on
him desperately and he was walking around as if he had become the
living dead.

It didn’t take Ryan long to formulate
what he wanted to do to help Micah through what had been a horrific
last five days. When he spoke to Candace privately, she was
completely against the idea, but Ryan begged her to do what he
asked. He knew Micah was on the edge and he really didn’t want this
to become a double funeral.

If it hadn’t been for the fact that he
had Candace, he too would have been in the same condition as Micah,
but he had her to love and supporthim through this nightmare. She
was like a gift that Leese made sure he had before she stepped out
of his life. He smiled with just the thought of how hard Leese
worked to get the two of them together and then how difficult it
had been for her to not be jealous when he and Candace began to get
close. God he missed her. She was the beautiful spot in his memory
that would never dim. He loved her so much that he knew she’d want
him to help the man she loved survive through the darkest hours of
loss and pain. With a little assistance from Nadia, he put his plan
into action.

When Micah lay down to sleep Sunday
night, he knew what would happen. He would close his eyes, sleep
would come, the memories would rush into his mind, the pain would
assault his senses and he would wake within an hour or so and lie
there the rest of the night and stare heavenward and hate God. Then
he would beg forgiveness, and ask God to tell Leese how much he
loved and missed her.

But tonight would be different.
Somewhere in the darkness, his heart elated and she was his once
again. Her soft body pressed against him, his arm wrapped around
her and pulled her in tight, the scent of her hair, the smell of
her tender skin, she was his again and sleep stayed with him as he
thanked God in his dream state for allowing her one more time to be
in his arms.

When morning came, Micah had made it
through his first night of rest since the crash. The dream had been
as good as reality. But, as he began to slowly wake, the dream
wasn’t a dream at all. She was there, and he was holding her. Yet,
something wasn’t exactly right. That was when he saw Ryan sitting
in a chair across the room staring at him. Micah closed his eyes,
as the illusion that had been his beautiful wife disappeared from
his mind and he knew the woman he held in his arms wasn’t Leese,
but Candace. She had showered and used Leese’s shampoo and body
wash, and then slipped into his bed when he had fallen asleep.
Leese was gone, but the memory and scent of her had taken him
through a long and difficult night to give him the rest that his
tired body and mind craved. Slowly he removed his arm from
Candace’s waist and rolled to the opposite side of the bed. He sat
up, and then put his face in his hands and cried.

He felt the soft touch of a woman’s
hand as Candace came up behind him and told him they hadn’t meant
to upset him. They had only wanted to help him rest for the night.
He reached his hand up to cover hers as it laid on his
shoulder.

“
I know, and I can’t tell
you how much I appreciate what you’ve done for me, it’s just… God,
I wanted so badly to see her face when I opened my eyes. I just
knew this hadn’t been anything more than a horrible nightmare and
that she was back, but…” He broke down again. “Candace, if you
don’t mind could I—could I hold you for a little while? You smell
so much like… I just need her in my arms.”

He didn’t need to say more as, with
his closed eyes, she allowed him to pull her into his lap and wrap
his arms around her. He inhaled the precious scent of a little bit
of his personal heaven, his face nuzzled into her hair as his tears
flowed against her neck. When he finally opened his eyes, he
released her, and rose to thank Ryan for his extremely kind
gesture.

“
I couldn’t have made it
through another night,” he choked as he hugged Ryan.

“
I didn’t think you would,
and Leese would have haunted me forever if I hadn’t done something
to help you. You’ve got to realize Micah that she loved you like
nothing in this world. I don’t think I’ve ever seen someone love
someone as hard as she loved you. You know where she’s at, right?
You have to know God loved Leese and she’s home with Him. I would
tell you she’s happy, man, but I know her; she’s probably been
harping at God ever since she got there to have Him do something to
help you deal with this—so if you want her to be truly happy,
you’re going to have to make it through this and just be so
grateful that you had a chance to be the person she was in love
with.”

Ryan and Candace left Micah alone as
they went downstairs. There were only six hours until the service
and Ryan had to get in a little bit of sleep. As much as he wanted
to help Micah make it through the night, he couldn’t have taken the
chance of him mistaking Candace too well for Leese. That had been
her one terrified complaint about his plan.

“
What if, in the middle of
the night, he thinks I’m her and tries to make love to
me?”

Ryan had sat awake all night and kept
a vigil over the woman he loved. The hardest part was that he told
Candace that she too would need to stay awake most of the night
because she typically thrashed around quite a bit, where Leese
could lie still for hours. She had done an excellent job, because,
even though she dozed off before dawn, she had willed herself to
remain motionless. Part of it was fear that stayed with her even in
sleep, and part of it was that she wanted to help.

When it came time to leave for the
church, Micah came down the stairs as the man Nadia and Kimmy both
knew and loved. He was showered and shaved, rested and dressed
sharply. He was the man Leese had fallen in love with; he was that
sexy hitman who had stolen her heart away not long after they met.
And, he realized that Ryan was right: Leese would want him to make
it through this. He didn’t know what kind of life God had planned
for him beyond today, but he was finally convinced that God did, as
Leese reminded him so many times, have a purpose for everything. He
would stay at Nadia’s until Kimmy was stable and then he would
return to his house in Louisiana and wait to discover whatever that
plan would be.

His parents were flying in today for
the ceremony. They all had offered to come earlier, but Micah told
them no—he wasn’t ready to be with his family yet. David had plans
to spend several days with Nadia after the service. It would be
good to have his brother around for a while. And God knew Nadia
needed the support that he hadn’t been since they had gotten the
news. But, after their few days of finishing up loose ends, David
would try to talk Nadia into going with him to Canada. He and Micah
discussed the situation over the phone and David agreed that Nadia
and Kimmy, for safety sake, needed to slip away. David wouldn’t
take any chances with those he loved so very much. The question
was: could he convince her to go, without upsetting her when she
would, most assuredly, ask why.

The church was beautiful. Hundreds of
bouquets of flowers filled the sanctuary. Micah had helped Nadia
pick what would play on the big screen and now he was so glad to
have a chance to watch Leese as she sang and laughed, danced, and
smiled. She was even more beautiful than he remembered
her.

The doors opened an hour before the
actual service so that friends and family could sit and watch the
video and take a little time to say their prayerful goodbyes to a
very special young woman.

There were so many people. His family,
Matt and Bev, Jewels and Brent, Nate and Natasha, Kevin and Carlie,
Ryan and Candace, Don, Sadarius, Dobrey, and on and on the list
went as people filled the church to capacity. Fifteen minutes
before the service was supposed to start, Micah felt the touch of
Pastor Anderson’s hand on his shoulder.

“
Micah, you have a phone
call. Come down to my office and—”

“
I’d prefer to just sit
here. Would you please tell whoever it is that the service is about
to start.”

“
I tried, but the lady
said it was extremely urgent that she speak with you
now.”

Micah rose from the pew, dried his
eyes and followed Pastor Anderson down the long hallway to his
office. The pastor unlocked the door and told Micah he would wait
to start the service when he came back into the
sanctuary.

The office was totally silent and
peaceful. There was the aroma of Bibles and cedar. He sat down in
the pastor’s chair and picked up the phone, wondering who would be
on the other end.

“
Hello?”

“
Micah?” came a calm,
female voice.

“
Who is this?” There was
something about the voice that caused his skin to prick with goose
bumps, but he couldn’t discern her by one simple word.

“
Is it a beautiful
funeral?” she asked.

“
Who is this?” he
repeated.

“
I bet it is. No expense
spared, I’m sure. I’m just so surprised that you’re still alive—I
was counting on you being alive, but I’m just wondering how hard it
has been not to stick that damn Glock to your head and let a hollow
point take care of your pain. You know they really do a lot of
damage.”

It clicked. He recognized the voice.
It had been long ago and he had been hidden in a house that was for
sale while watching and listening as this woman spoke to the men
she hired to kill Leese.

Sharon.

His blood flushed with an old familiar
heat. “I should have aimed for your head,” he stated with true
conviction.

“
Yes, you’re right; then
you wouldn’t have all these problems.”

His heart felt as if it stopped
beating; now he knew who planted the bombs on her car. He told
Leese he was never going to kill again, but he hoped she wouldn’t
grudge him one final death.

“
I’m going to kill you,”
he said with an eerie calm.

“
Oh, I don’t think you’re
going to do any such thing, but you are going to kill
for
me. I need you to
finish the job D’Angelo and I had you working on.”