Stacey watched as Nina Marie walked away. What had this woman done to her? Her arm ached from Nina Marie’s touch. Was this some type of witchcraft? She needed to find Morena and get her help—fast. Why wouldn’t Nina Marie leave her alone?
Quickly, she made her way through the party looking for Morena. When she found her standing talking to Layton and a man she didn’t recognize, she let out a sigh of relief. They’d protect her from Nina Marie.
“Hello,” she said to the group.
They all greeted her warmly, including Layton who had a slew of compliments.
“Stacey, I’d like to introduce you to the newest member of the Optimism non-profit board. This is Deputy Assistant District Attorney Tony Sampson.”
She shook his hand and smiled. He was probably around six feet tall with short blond hair and green eyes. Although most men seemed to look handsome in tuxes, she couldn’t help but think he was good looking. That only distracted her for a brief moment from her immediate problem. But she didn’t want to be rude. “It’s wonderful to meet you, Tony. I think you’ll love working with Optimism.”
“Thank you, Stacey. It’s already been a great experience, and I’m just getting started.”
“I’m sorry to interrupt, but Layton, could I steal you for a brief word?”
“Of course. We’ll be right back,” he said to Tony and Morena. Layton took her by the arm and led her down a long hallway. “Tell me what’s wrong.”
“It’s Nina Marie. She put her hands on me tonight, and it scared me to death. The pain I felt was indescribable.”
“Are you all right?” He swept her up into his arms into a tight hug.
She couldn’t help it as tears filled her eyes. “Layton, she wants me to work with her. She said that you couldn’t teach me everything she can, and when I told her that I didn’t want to be disloyal to you, she hurt me.”
Layton sighed and then pulled back from the hug. “First, thank you for your loyalty. It will be rewarded—have no doubt about that.”
“I wouldn’t have it any other way.”
“I’ll speak to Nina Marie, but you should see this as a huge compliment. She recognizes how special you are, and she wants you for herself and Astral Tech.”
“She has a strange way of showing it. My arm is still aching.”
“She was trying to demonstrate her power. Trying to show you the things you could do if you let her be your teacher.”
She shook her head. “Layton, I don’t want to hurt people like that.”
He ran his hand down her cheek. “You’re so innocent, Stace, and I can appreciate that, but at some point you’ll realize just how dangerous this fight is that we’re in, and unfortunately, sometimes using force is necessary. As much as I hate to say this, maybe Nina Marie is right.”
“What?”
“You could probably benefit greatly from her teaching.”
“You want me to work with her?”
“Not work for Astral Tech, but accept her training. Because you want to know something?”
“Tell me.”
“I think we can use this as an opportunity to take Nina Marie down once and for all.”
“I’m so confused.” She didn’t understand how Layton’s thought process worked.
“Because once she tutors you, then you will eventually become stronger than her. Then between you and me, we can vanquish her once and for all.”
She sucked in a breath.
“Don’t be afraid. This is all part of the plan.”
“I am scared, but I’ve learned to trust you. You haven’t led me astray yet, and you’ve always been there for me. So if you think I need to do this, then so be it.”
“Go back to her. Tell her you’ve changed your mind. Let her think I’m not involved. It will be much better that way. You’ll get the benefit of all she knows. Then you and I will bide our time until you’re strong enough.”
“Thank you, Layton. For everything.”
“And one word of advice. I saw the way you were looking at Tony. He’s not worthy of you, and he already has the hots for Morena. So best to stay away, okay?”
Was she that transparent? She had to work on that. “Thanks for letting me know. I have bigger issues to deal with than men at this point.”
“Agreed. Now go and find Nina Marie and put our plan into motion.”
Layton left her reeling from his comments, but she had to put on her big-girl heels and deal with this head-on. He’d never failed her before, and he had so much more experience in all of this than she did. And if he were right, then maybe she could become more powerful than she ever imagined. It could change her life forever. Wouldn’t that be worth the risk?
Now she’d have to go seek out Nina Marie and tell her that she’d had a change of heart.
She winded her way through the large crowds. The atmosphere was festive, especially as the night wore on and the guests were having more than enough champagne to make their bidding process a success.
Finally, after searching for what seemed like forever, she spotted Nina Marie across the room locked into what appeared to be a deep conversation with a tall, dark, and handsome man.
She touched the crystal that hung around her neck, the lapis lazuli, and decided that now would be the time to start trying to test out its powers—and her powers with it. She grabbed onto the crystal and said a few incantations she had prepared. But instead of targeting Nina Marie, which would be an utterly useless endeavor at this point in her spiritual ability, she turned her attention to the mystery man with her.
She watched with glee and awe as he took a step back from Nina Marie, who then reached out. As she approached, she could start to hear their conversation.
“I don’t know what happened. I just had a wave of dizziness hit me,” he said.
She chanted a few more words before making her entrance. Nina Marie didn’t even notice her because she was so focused on her male friend.
“Hi,” Stacey said.
Nina Marie looked at her and then back at her guest. “Hi, Stacey. Just give me a second.”
“Sure,” she said.
“Abe, maybe you should go sit down on one of those couches. I’ll get you some ginger ale and be over in a moment.”
“That sounds like a good idea. Sorry to be rude.” He tilted his head toward her and then walked away to the lounge area.
“Sorry about that. Walk with me, Stacey, while I get Abe something to drink.”
“Ginger ale won’t help him,” she said. She’d decided she needed to let Nina Marie know that if she was going to do this, she was going to take it seriously. Nina Marie probably wasn’t going to be happy with her tactics, but she had to prove a point, and he was just stuck in the crosshairs.
“What do you mean?”
“I did that to him.”
“Whatever for?”
“I wanted to let you know that I changed my mind about working with you. You were right, and I was letting my emotions get in the way of my long-term goals.”
“That’s great news, but why attack my date?”
“I was actually just trying out a new spell and working with crystals. I’m sorry about that, but the good news is it seemed to really work.”
Nina Marie ordered a ginger ale, and they started walking back to the lounge area. “I have a question for you.”
“Sure,” she said.
“We’re going to go take him this drink. I’d like you to talk to him for a minute and let me know what your read is on him.”
“In what sense?”
Nina Marie leaned down. “His religious inclinations,” she said softly.
“I assumed if he was with you that he was an Astral Tech member.”
“No. I’ve recently started seeing him, but I have some conflicting information about his true allegiance. This will be a perfect first test for you. On the spot, no preparation, just pure instinct. And obviously you can’t come right out and ask him about it.”
Her pulse thumped quickly as she prepared for the challenge. She could do this.
They found Abe sitting on one of the plush navy couches in the lounge area.
“Here you go. Drink this,” Nina Marie said. “It should help settle you.”
“Thanks.” He took the drink from her hand. “I’m feeling much better now though.”
“Then let me formally introduce you to my friend Stacey Malone, and Stacey this is Abe Smith.”
She took the opportunity to really take a good look at him as she offered a friendly smile and gentle handshake. “So nice to meet you, Abe. Glad you’re feeling better. There are a lot of people in there.” She let her hand linger in his as long as she possibly could without it turning awkward. She’d learned a lot about reading people’s energy. Now it was time to see if she could put that into practice.
“Yeah, very crowded,” he said.
“This is really a big deal. Nina Marie told me there would be a lot of people, but this even exceeded my expectations.”
“Layton goes all out for this event,” Nina Marie said.
She studied him carefully. She estimated him to be in his thirties or forties. He wasn’t the type of guy she would normally be attracted to, but she could see that he could have appeal to Nina Marie. But that was beyond the scope of her assignment. She needed to keep him talking because the more he talked, the better she could read him. “Do you work with Nina Marie?” she asked, already knowing the answer.
“No.” He smiled over at Nina Marie. “I work in construction. I literally ran into Nina Marie at the mall the other day. We hit it off, and I was happy when she invited me tonight.”
Something was off with him. It didn’t take a clairvoyant to know that. “You don’t exactly look like the shopping type.”
He laughed loudly. “I’m not at all. I had to buy a gift for my niece’s third birthday. Is it that apparent that I’d rather poke my eye out than go shopping?”
Everyone laughed at that statement. This guy was smooth. Too smooth. Too prepared with stories. At least in her opinion, but she’d been put on alert, so maybe she was just being paranoid.
“You guys chat for a moment. I have to say hello to someone that caught my eye before they leave,” Nina Marie said.
Nina Marie was giving her a chance to evaluate him one on one, which was good.
“So what do you do?” Abe asked her.
“I’m currently in college and interning at Optimism.”
“You work with Layton?”
“Yes, I do. Do you know him?”
“I just met him tonight for the first time. Although I must admit, I’m not sure I’ve sorted out all the differing players and politics. Two competitors that seem to be on friendly terms.” He shrugged. “It’s all beyond me. I’m not a CEO nor do I want to be one.”
“I’d love to be CEO one day, but I know I have years ahead of me to get that experience. I have to ask you something, though, since you’re new to all of this. Are you into the New Age way of life?” That was an innocent enough question given the context of their conversation.
“Honestly, I’m not familiar with it. Nina Marie has been giving me some information on it. At this point in life, I’m not the religious type.”
“But you were at some point?”
He nodded. “I grew up in a religious family but once I became an adult, that all wore off. Too much hypocrisy.”
“Just like Pastor Dan.”
“You know him?”
“Yes. I used to go to Windy Ridge Community Church.”
“Wow. Do you think he’s guilty?”
“It’s a hot topic amongst this crowd tonight, for sure. I have to say I was a bit surprised given what I knew about him, but I’ve come to realize that most people have secrets.” As soon as she’d said the words, she hoped she hadn’t pushed it too far.
But he seemed relaxed. “Exactly. The world only sees what we put out there, and there are plenty of people walking around this earth wearing masks.”
“You’re getting all philosophical on me.” She smiled. Yeah, it seemed like he was hiding something, but she didn’t get a strong believer vibe from him. Nina Marie would be happy with her findings.
“Ah, looks like you’re saved by Nina Marie’s return.”
Nina Marie walked back over to them. “What did I miss?”
“We were just getting to know each other,” Abe said. “On that note, you ladies please excuse me for a minute to get some more ginger ale. It seems to be helping me a lot.”
“So what did you think?” Nina Marie asked.
“I think he’s holding back. That he’s hiding something. Some angle he’s working, but I didn’t get a Christian vibe from him at all—not in his words or his energy. Who is telling you otherwise?”
“I didn’t want to taint your approach so I didn’t tell you before, but it’s Layton.”
“What?” Her heart sank. “And he’s sure?”
“Yes. But I wanted a second opinion.”
“What do you think?”
“I think I’m too close to be objective, and for that matter, maybe he worked his gentlemanly charm on you, too.”
She shook her head. “I really don’t think so. I’m not saying he is embracing our beliefs either, but he wasn’t exactly quoting the Bible at me.”
“That’s my concern. What if this is all a subterfuge of some sort.”
“But to what end?” She couldn’t figure out how to put this all together.
“Whatever he’s doing, I intend to figure it out. If it turns out that he is up to something, he’s going to regret the day he decided to take me on.”
**
Grant awoke in the middle of the night gasping for air. Where was he? What was happening? He tried to take a few deep breaths, but he couldn’t get enough air. It felt like there was a huge weight pushing down on his chest.
Fear struck him as he started to wonder whether he’d be able to catch his breath. Was he having a panic attack? He tried to move, to get up out of the bed, but he couldn’t move. This had to be a nightmare. He’d wake up any minute and think how crazy this was.
After another minute of struggling to breathe, it hit him that this was no dream. This was real life. The room felt incredibly cool but his body was on fire. A trickle of sweat dripped down the side of his face.
Could he be facing a spiritual attack right now?
He’d heard Olivia tell stories of how she faced spiritual warfare as a child, that dark forces came at her during the night, but he never thought that something like that could happen to him. Unlike Olivia, he wasn’t prepared. He didn’t have the experience and foundation to fight like she did.
He’d become a Christian, but he’d wrongly assumed that the hardest part would be taking that first step in faith. No, now things were much more difficult for him. The questions, the doubts, the confusions surrounded him, especially with all that had happened with Pastor Dan.
He did the only thing he thought he could do. He started reciting scripture. First, barely anything came out of his mouth. But the more he spoke, the more air he was able to get.
The problem was that he had only memorized a few verses, but at least it was something. “Greater is He that is within you than He who is in the world.”
Then he went onto the Lord’s Prayer, and then Psalm 23. As he uttered the last line of the Psalm, he could feel the weight lifting off of him.
He was able to sit up and suddenly he didn’t feel warm at all, but much cooler. Dear Lord, what just happened to me? I’m so confused.
He jumped up out of the bed and turned on the lights. He walked from his bedroom and into the kitchen, flipping on all the lights as he went. Taking a look at the clock, he saw that it was almost three in the morning. He couldn’t call and wake Olivia up, but he really needed to talk to someone. It occurred to him at a time like this he would really want to talk to Pastor Dan, but that was impossible with him in prison.
He’d been warned that as he kept walking down the path of faith that he would be challenged, but it confounded him that any demonic force would take the time to bother him. He was a nobody, and certainly not a strong and powerful warrior of God like Olivia or Dan. He was a rookie, prone to make rookie mistakes. Did he have more of a role to play in this than he realized? And if so, how was he in any shape to handle that?
The questions and doubts that surrounded him only seemed to be getting more entrenched, but even with all of that, he had no intention of abandoning the journey that he had started.
Were the forces of darkness toying with him? It was strange to think that not many months ago he thought all of this spiritual realm stuff was complete fantasy. But now that he’d experience it multiple times firsthand, there was no way he could deny it. Tonight’s event had been the scariest yet, even more so than when he was attacked last year in his house. This felt even more sinister.
If it had been a year ago, he wouldn’t have believed in any of this. He would’ve credited the whole thing to a crazy nightmare. But it wasn’t a year ago and his life had forever changed the moment he took that case representing Optimism, and even more than that, once he’d met Olivia Murray.
He was in this strange limbo where he knew in his gut what he wanted to believe, but he didn’t understand why all the doubts and questions bombarded him.
“Why me?” he said out loud.
He fired up the coffee pot and then went to grab his laptop out of his bag. He might as well do some work to try to move on from what had just happened. But he feared that he might never be the same.
**
Tony had offered to meet Olivia at her office. He’d had some time to review all of his evidence and was ready to put a plea offer on the table. But it was one he knew she’d never go for. It was his duty, though, as an officer of the court to try. Because if he didn’t at least put something out there, the judge would think that very odd.
Deep down, of course, he wanted this thing to go to trial because it would be good exposure for him on a high profile case. Hopefully, once she heard what he was offering, then they could just move this thing forward in the process.
The BCR offices were in a swanky office building north of the city. He often wondered how different his life would have been if he would’ve taken the offer to work in the big Chicago law firm when he finished law school at the University of Chicago. He’d graduated near the top of his class and had plenty of offers, but he’d always wanted to be a prosecutor.
So he’d taken the government salary versus the six figure private sector one, but he had a long term plan. One that involved running for office one day, and this case was exactly the type of thing he needed to build up his portfolio of work and raise his public profile in the community.
As he walked into Olivia’s office building, he was reminded of what he’d given up and the sacrifices he’d made. He just kept telling himself that one day it would be worth it. He rode the elevator up to the main floor for BCR and waited while the receptionist alerted Olivia to his arrival.
He knew the BCR office had just recently opened, and they had clearly spent a big chunk of change on the décor, in addition to the office space.
Olivia walked out to greet him, and he provided an obligatory smile. “Nice to see you again,” he said.
“Come on back to my office and we can talk. Just follow me.”
He did as she directed. There was something different about this woman, but he couldn’t quite put his finger on it.
“Here we are. Please have a seat.”
As he stepped through her office door, he tried to keep his expression neutral, but it was difficult. The view of the Chicago skyline from her window was absolutely breathtaking. “If I had an office like this, I don’t think I’d ever leave. Did you invite me over here to rub it in?” He laughed
“It is very nice. But believe it or not, fancy offices can only get you so far. You have to love what you’re doing or it’s not worth it. No matter how great the view is.”
“And do you?” he asked.
“What?”
“Love what you do here at BCR?”
“I love being a lawyer.”
“Ah, but that doesn’t mean you love being a lawyer in a big international law firm.”
“It has its ups and downs. I have law school loans that I’m paying off. So it was the best route for me.” She paused. “Now I know you didn’t just come over to have a friendly chat and check out the BCR offices, so what’s on your mind?”
She was right about that, but it was good to talk to his opponent. She didn’t realize it but everything he learned about her could be future ammunition to use against her. “I’m here to talk about the case. You know we have the preliminary hearing scheduled for next week.”
“Yeah.”
“So let’s talk a plea deal before that hearing happens.”
She raised an eyebrow. “I’m listening.”
“Look, I’ve gone through all the physical evidence. The state has a very strong case against your client. Not to mention a highly credible witness that a jury is sure to believe.”
“I hear what you’re saying, but you still haven’t presented your offer, Tony.”
“Ten years.”
Her brown eyes widened and then she laughed. “You’ve got to be kidding me.”
“Hear me out.”
“That’s ludicrous.”
“No. I don’t think you get the full picture here. Because I can prove the amount is over a hundred thousand dollars and it involves a church, this makes it a Class X felony under Illinois law.”
“I am well aware of the felony classification.”
“Then you should know that carries up to a thirty year sentence.”
“Up to.”
“Right, but that’s why the ten years is more than fair.”
“You’re missing the most important piece of information in all of this. My client is innocent.”
Now it was his turn to laugh. “You’ve got to be kidding me. I know you don’t normally practice criminal law and you’re taking this on pro bono, so let me do you a professional courtesy and tell you that this is a rock-solid case. One of the most air-tight cases I’ve prosecuted in years. I’ve got both the tangible evidence of the electronic transfers from the church account to his private account plus the testimonial evidence, and no juror is going to be sympathetic toward a pastor who steals from his church. You’re just going to have to face all the facts that the deck is completely stacked against you this time.”
“And I want to be crystal clear to you so as to not waste your time. My client is innocent, and I plan to mount a vigorous defense on his behalf.”
Either this woman was an amazing actress or she actually believed that her client didn’t embezzle the money. Both prospects were disturbing. “I’ve prosecuted hundreds of cases in my career, and I’ve learned that almost all the defendants say that they didn’t do it, but the simple truth is that they often did.”
“There’s nothing simple about this situation.”
“Seems open and shut to me. Tell me what I’m missing.”
“That’s because you don’t know about the background of the situation.”
“Enlighten me then.”
“There’s more going on here than just an open-and-shut case as you call it. For one, I believe my client was framed. And for two, there are spiritual forces at work here.”
Uh oh. Was she really going to try to go down that rabbit hole? The framing defense wasn’t entirely unexpected, but spiritual forces? “What are you going to argue to the jury? That angels took the money?”
“You think I’m joking around here but I’m very serious. There are two New Age companies in town that have declared war against Windy Ridge Community Church and Pastor Dan. They will stop at nothing to destroy him and the church. What better way than to frame him for a crime like this that he didn’t commit. They knew it would have a highly negative impact. All they have to do is sit back and watch it unfold. I can’t allow that to happen.”
This woman appeared to be on some sort of spiritual crusade which made no sense to a guy like him. “I think you’re either completely grasping at straws to try to help your client, or worse, you’re totally delusional.”
She shook her head. “Do you believe in God, Tony?”
He hadn’t been prepared for a religious discussion with her. He’d need to play it safe. “Yes, of course. Don’t most people?”
She leaned forward in her chair, making direct eye contact with him. “Then you should realize that there is such a thing as spiritual warfare, and Windy Ridge happens to be a battleground right now.”
He really wondered if she was on some sort of meds or something. “I know we don’t know each other very well, but I have to ask you if you’re sure you’re feeling okay because you aren’t making rational sense right now.”
She smiled at him. “Believe me, you’re not the first person to think I was delusional and you won’t be the last. But as far as this case goes, right now you’re on the wrong side as far as I’m concerned. You’re a pawn in this game orchestrated, I’m sure, by Layton Alito at Optimism.”
Oh, well, that got his attention. What did she know about Layton? “How in the world could Layton be involved with this?”
“I see that you know him. I guess that shouldn’t surprise me.”
“I’m a member of the Optimism non-profit board. Of course I know him.”
She gasped. “But I thought you said you believed in God? Why would they let a Christian on a New Age board?”
“Beats me. The board is all about charitable events and community service. They haven’t mentioned New Age anything.” That wasn’t entirely true, but he wanted to see how this was going to play out.
“This is all wrong,” she said. “They’re going to try to use you to make sure that they can get to Dan. Do they know you offered a plea deal?”
“Absolutely not. I don’t discuss my legal strategy with anyone outside of the prosecutor’s office.” The more she spoke the more uncomfortable he became. It wasn’t like he believed what she said about spiritual warfare, but he was concerned about being used for someone else’s agenda. Her visceral reaction to him taking the Board position was troubling.
“You’re in the middle of this now whether you want to be or not, and if you truly do have faith, you’re going to need it because if Layton or Nina Marie sense that you’re not on their team, then they’ll come after you, too.”
“Are you trying to threaten me?”
“No. Just the opposite. I’m trying to warn you.”
A chill shot down his back at her words. As she spoke, she did so calmly but seriously. He didn’t quite know how to handle all of this new information so he tried to shrug it off for now. “While I appreciate your concern, I will be just fine. I trust you will take the deal to your client and let me know what he says.”
“Of course.”
“Remember, it’s a good deal.” He stood up ready to get out of her office as quickly as possible. That is not how he expected the meeting to go. He needed to do some of his own digging to figure out if Olivia was crazy or if he was the one that was in trouble.