When Judy had called her parents, they knew instantly she was different. She sounded like their little girl again. They had learned not to press her, so they didn’t ask what had happened to prompt this call and a return to her easy affection. She told them she was going on a trip.
“Who will you be going with honey?” Her mom wanted to know.
“Oh, it’s one of those group things.”
“That’s good dear. They are much safer. Where will you be going?”
“The Mediterranean.”
“I’m so glad, sweetheart. You work so hard. Will you call us when you return?”
“Sure, Mom.” She paused. “I love you.”
“Oh baby, I love you too.”
“Is Dad there?’
“Yes, would you like to talk to him?’
“Yeah.” She could tell her mother covered the phone and called urgently to her Dad who was probably kicked back in his recliner watching Wheel of Fortune.
“Hello, cupcake.”
Judy felt a lump constricting her voice. “Hi Daddy.”
“Is anything wrong?”
“No, Daddy. I’ve been doing a lot of thinking. Thank you for always being there. I know I haven’t always been the easiest person to deal with.”
“We’ve worried about you.”
“I know. And we’ll talk about it soon, but I wanted you to know I’m getting some things sorted out. I’m going on a trip. Mom will fill you in. When I get back, I’ll come home and we’ll talk okay.”
“We’ll be here, cupcake.” After they said their good-byes and hung up, Judy sat there for a few minutes. She felt energized. She was reclaiming her life. A smile spread across her face.
Mrs. Gage looked up from her desk when Judy came in. “How did it go?”
“Great.”
Mrs. Gage beamed. “Is your work agreeable to your sudden departure?”
“They were ecstatic. They’ve been trying to get me to take a vacation for eons. And I spoke with the Director of Kenann’s counseling agency. I think you were right about telling him the truth. He deals with confidential information as his livelihood, so he can keep a secret even one as unbelievable as this. He knows me from my work next door, so I had credibility. He agreed to cover for her with other staff and assured me her job would be secure when she returns.”
“Good. Everything is proceeding smoothly. We will leave in the morning.”
“What do I need to pack?”
“Bring your own personal items. You will be traveling as yourself. I did not have time to get an altered Passport.”
“Mrs. Gage! Who do you know that alters Passports?”
“There’s a lovely little man in Jackson, Mississippi who does excellent work.”
Judy shook her head in amazement. Mrs. Gage continued, “Once we are settled in Alexandria, I will outfit you with your new persona.”
“You’re the boss. After I get my things, I think I’ll go to Kenann’s. When we get her, I think it will be comforting for her to have some familiar things.”
“How considerate and insightful of you dear.”
Judy smiled shyly. “What are you going to do?”
“Oh, there are plenty of last-minute details to tend to. You run along, dear. We’ll all spend the night here if that is agreeable?”
“Sure.’ Judy let herself out through the kitchen and walked the few blocks back to Kenann’s to pick up her car. She had her key in the lock when she noticed movement out of the corner of her eye. She turned and was stunned to see Granny James rise from one of the wicker chairs on Kenann’s porch.
“Granny! What are you doing here?”
“Kenann was supposed to call me yesterday. I waited until this morning and when she did not answer her phone, I knew something was wrong. I took the earliest flight I could get out of Charleston and used her address to get a taxi from the airport.”
“How long have you been sitting out here?”
“Oh, about an hour. I figured the preacher who Kenann said lived next door would be home eventually.”
“Oh, Granny.”
“Judy, tell me what’s happened.”
“It’s complicated.”
“Is Kenann alright?”
“She’s not hurt but she’s been taken.”
“Taken! What do you mean taken?”
“Kidnapped, I guess. That’s where it gets complicated.”
“Can we go inside? This heat has about drained me.”
“Of course.” Judy used her key to let them into the main entry hall and on into Kenann’s apartment. She got Mrs. James a glass of tea from Kenann’s refrigerator.
“What happened, Judy?”
“Well, Kenann went to Mrs. Gage’s party Saturday night. While she was there, she was grabbed by a man in the garden but Danny Mac, the preacher, he rescued her but later on both of them were taken.”
“Judy, this is unthinkable. Who would want to kidnap them?”
“Some group that knew Danny Mac from his military days. They took Kenann, I think, to make Danny Mac cooperate.”
“Do you know where they have taken them?”
“We think its Alexandria, Egypt.”
“What?”
“I know it all seems pretty bizarre, but Mrs. Gage has taken charge and organized a rescue party. We are going after them.”
“Take me to Mrs. Gage.”
“Okay.” Judy drew the word out with a sinking feeling.
“I’m going with you.”
“Now, Granny.”
“Don’t you now Granny me. If you think I’m going to sit by and let someone else go after my baby you’ve got another thing coming.”
“Okay, okay. Just let me get some things from Kenann’s room.” She packed a small bag and helped Granny carry her own small suitcase out to her car. She ran by her place for a few things and then drove them the short distance back to Mrs. Gage’s mansion.
“Oh my,’ was the only thing Granny said when they pulled up in front. Judy had planned to take Granny’s elbow going up the wide front steps, but she skipped up them while Judy tried to catch up. Granny rang the doorbell before Judy could tell her to go on in.
Mrs. Gage opened the door with a smile of greeting already on her strong face. She waited until Judy broke the silence.
“Mrs. Gage, this is Kenann’s grandmother - Mrs. James.”
“Oh, come in. Come in, you poor dear. You must be worried sick.”
“I’m going with you.” Mrs. James spoke without preamble.
“Of course, you are.”
Judy’s head snapped around to stare at Mrs. Gage. “She is?”
“Of course. There would be no way to prevent her short of ... what is the phrase?”
“Hog tying.” Mrs. James supplied.
Mrs. Gage laughed heartily. “Precisely.”
Despite her anxiety over Kenann, Mrs. James found herself grinning too.
Look out Egypt, here we come. Judy thought.
* * *
Both Kenann and Danny Mac slept soundly for several hours. Danny Mac was the first to awaken. He felt under his pillow for the gun and the GPS device. He relocated them between the mattress and box springs trying to shield their view by his body in case of video monitoring. He felt better having them secured. He wasn’t sure the listening device would pick up laying under the mattress, but he would try to find a better location later. He rose quietly and went to the bathroom. When he came out, he noticed several boxes and bags lying on the credenza near the door. He turned when he heard the key unlocking the door. Angelo walked in.
“You have changed more than I imagined.” Danny Mac raised an eyebrow in response.
Angelo continued. “You sleep next to a beautiful woman and do not touch her. Where is that man I knew?” This confirmed Danny Mac’s suspicion that the room was on video monitor.
Danny Mac weighed his options and decided he needed to be completely honest and let God protect them in His way. Originally, he thought if they knew he and Kenann were not lovers it would jeopardize the balance that was keeping Kenann safe. It felt good to put himself completely back in God’s hands. He had forgotten how draining it was to try to juggle everything on his own.
“Kenann and I are not lovers, Angelo. We are friends. And even if we were in love, we would do our best to wait until marriage to make love.” Once again, he felt the great gulf between the man he used to be and the man he had become. Angelo looked at him incredulously.
“Does this religion of yours take away what is between your legs?”
“No, but it asks me to control it. Not let it control me”
“This religion makes you weak,” he paused, “Not a man.”
“On the contrary, Angelo. I like to think it makes me stronger.”
“You are crazy. Enough of this! She wants to see you again. I will be back in an hour. Be dressed and ready to go out when I return.” He turned and held the door open for a young woman pushing a food cart. She took the other cart without a glance at Danny and left as quietly as she came. Angelo locked the door behind them.
Danny turned and found Kenann lying on her side watching him. “You decided to tell him about us?”
“Yeah, the more I thought about it, I realized I was trying to protect us by my own power.”
“And now?”
“I gave it back over to God where it belongs.”
“Does that mean you’re not going to kiss me anymore?” She grinned, dissolving the knot he had forgotten lying in his stomach. He answered her with the same lighthearted manner.
“No, it means I’m going to make your life miserable with unwanted advances. Come on. Let’s eat. He’ll be back soon.”
Kenann, pondering what Danny would do when he found out his advances weren’t unwanted, got out of bed and began fixing herself a plate. Danny said around a mouthful of egg and biscuit, “I get the bathroom first. Women take longer.”
“Chauvinist.”
“Realist.” He laughed and became absorbed in opening some jelly.
She was glad the hours of rest had restored them to an equilibrium. She had grown to depend on Danny Mac’s friendship as a stabilizing force in the short time they had known each other. She always felt like she was ‘coming home’ anytime she was with him. It was that ‘kick off your shoes and put your feet up’ kind of comfort that she had never felt with anyone else. It scared her to realize how much she needed him. The therapist in her saw this as unhealthy dependence. The woman in her knew she was powerless against it. And because she needed him in her life at all cost, she wasn’t willing to risk losing him by a failed romance. Sexual attraction may come or go but she knew, with care, Danny Mac would be a friend for life. So, she would be his friend and feel secure that this part of him would be hers, forever.
He emerged from the bathroom later in sharply pressed khaki pants and black polo shirt. His black hair falling becomingly across his forehead made him look all the more like a native to this country.
“Looking good, MacKenzie. Now it’s my turn. Let’s hope Miss Efficiency got my hip size right. Nobody likes a wedgy.”
Danny Mac laughed and started to perform the now familiar nudge to her forehead. She dodged expertly out of his way.
“Hah! I think I’ll start practicing my karate moves on you, old man to keep in shape.”
“Anytime you think you can handle it you jump right in, James.”
“Ooh, that sounds an awful lot like a challenge.”
“No, it’s more like a warning.” They both were smiling as she went into dress. Her outfit turned out to be tailored perfectly for her shape. The black pants and hounds tooth jacket complemented her well. Even the bra fit which amazed Kenann who could never find one that did.
“That’s it. I’m taking this woman away from Dragon lady. She must become my personal shopper.”
She did a runway modeling turn for Danny. She stopped and turned sober.
“This is getting weird, Danny Mac. I’m actually enjoying myself. How sick is that?’
“I’m sure it’s all part of the plan to keep us cooperative and in line.” He looked up to the ceiling fixture. “Isn’t that right, Katerina?”
“Oops, I forgot.” Kenann giggled. “Guess that crack about Dragon Lady wasn’t so good, huh?”
“It was perfect.” Danny Mac placed his hands on either side of Kenann’s face. “And so are you. You’ve been very brave and bold through this whole thing. I’m constantly amazed by you.” He leaned in and whispered, “And because I know this will irritate her as much as being called Dragon Lady,” he leaned in further and slowly captured her lips with his. He took his time changing the angle of the kiss to deepen it. Kenann couldn’t help responding and brought her arms up to encircle Danny’s neck. When he finally released her, he pulled back just enough to look her in the eye. She met his gaze squarely.
He whispered more to himself than to her, “What’s happening with us?”
Kenann realized he was as scared of their intimacy as she was. A tiny spark of hope erupted into a flame. From somewhere deep within her she answered, “Inshallah, as they say in these parts.”
Danny Mac grinned. “Yes, as God wills.”
That’s how Angelo found them - locked in a close embrace and looking at each other.
“Friends, my ass,” he muttered.
* * *
Katerina was all business this time, but she completely ignored Kenann as if she was not standing directly beside Danny Mac. He made note of this and put his arm around Kenann pulling her close. She laughed softly. She couldn’t help it, she really enjoyed baiting Katerina. She was also comforted by the warmth of being tucked under Danny Mac’s protective arm.
Katerina drew in a deep breath exhaling slowly as she looked at them. It was costing her not to scratch the smile off that little minx face. All in good time. All in good time.
“Your work begins tonight.” Kenann felt Danny Mac’s muscles contract slightly. “Sit down while I brief you.”
They sat around the small round table in the suites dining area.
“There is to be a dinner party tonight - a very important event for the organization. We will go so I may introduce you into the inner circle of the society I mentioned earlier. It has taken me several years to get this far. I have earned their trust and now with you at my side, I will begin the process of taking control.”
“And how do you plan to do that?”
“You will assassinate the current leader.”
“I’m not killing anyone, Katerina.” Before either of them could react, Katerina had grabbed Kenann by the hair and jerked her away from Danny’s side, pulling her to her feet. Danny jumped up, knocking the chair over but stopped cold. Katerina had a dagger poised at Kenann’s rapidly pulsing jugular.
“Does this remind you of anything?” The color blanched in Danny’s face. “You see, even then Angelo was doing my bidding. That kid was ready to blow my cover and the whole operation. I couldn’t take the chance that he had told you anything, so I wanted you to think he could not be trusted. I never dreamed you cared enough for that kid to almost kill Angelo over him.”
Danny Mac hadn’t moved. Katerina wound her hand tighter around Kenann’s hair and pulled her head back farther, exposing more of her neck.
“You choose, Danny Boy. Her life or the life of a man you’ve never met.”
“Let her go,” Danny’s voice sounded hoarse.
Katerina laughed and shoved Kenann, who landed in a heap on the floor. Danny Mac knelt, put his arm around her and helped her to her feet.
“Katerina, you brought me half way around the world to kill someone you could have killed yourself at any time?”
“No, Lover. I plan to have an iron clad alibi when the deed is done to remove all suspicion from me.”
“Then have one of your goons eliminate him while you’re busy being seen somewhere else.”
“But you see, I need your mind as well as your skill. This man has an elaborate system of protection that surrounds him. I have been unable to find his Achilles heel. That’s why I sent for you. This must be flawlessly planned, executed and completely untraceable to me. So tonight, you will begin the process of studying Monseigneur Montefort. You will give me the plan and you will kill him, or I will kill her.”
Danny Mac instinctively stepped in front of Kenann before she could speak.
“Alright, Katerina. You hold all the cards. We will be ready tonight.”
“No. You go with me. But to show you I am a good sport, she can go with Angelo. As it so happens, he is in need of a date.” Kenann cut her eyes over to where Angelo stood as still as a statue. He met her gaze and gave her an unholy smile. She felt her stomach roll. For the first time since this whole thing started, she was truly afraid.
They returned to their now familiar room and sat together on the side of the bed. Danny Mac reached over and took Kenann’s hand.
“It will be alright. God will be with us.”
“Danny Mac, I don’t have the same kind of trust in all that stuff that you do. The only thing I know about God and going to church is from the little bit I have been around Granny James.”
“Kenann, trust in God is very simple really. You can look at all the evidence and there is plenty of it to be convincing, but when it’s all said and done, it really is a ‘leap of faith’.
“But that is so scary.”
“Yeah, it is the first time or so, but it doesn’t take long to see that he really is taking care of you. Then it is gloriously reassuring and liberating.”
“Okay, how do I take this leap of faith?”
“Well, I don’t mean to sound like a preacher, but have you accepted Jesus as your Savior?”
“Well, I know about the whole dying on the cross thing for the ‘sins of the world’ but I’m not sure I understand what you’re talking about with accepting him as my Savior.”
“Believing he died for the sins of the world is a beginning. Believing he died for you gets a little more personal. And when you truly believe that and all that goes with it, it will produce a response. Call it gratitude, devotion, maybe even relief to be freed from the burden that sin weighs on us, but when that change happens people want to get as close to Jesus as they can.”
“Well, how do you do that?”
“Do you want book, chapter and verse?”
“I will eventually. That’s one thing Granny James did drum into my head. ‘Speak where the Bible speaks’.”
“Good for Granny James. I will show you the scriptures but basically once a person truly believes that Jesus is the Son of God then they will automatically repent or be sorry that they are so imperfect compared to him. They feel pretty unworthy of this wonderful gift they have been offered. But the good news is that once a person has been baptized, they take on the symbolic death, burial and resurrection of Christ. Their sins are forgiven, and the holy blood Jesus shed on the cross continues to cleanse us of our sins every day. You’ve seen the bumper sticker ‘Christians aren’t perfect, they’re just forgiven’? It’s true.”
Kenann listened as Danny Mac continued. “At baptism you become ‘in Christ’. It’s a mysterious thing, but the Holy Spirit comes to dwell in the new Christian to help them. It is a wonderful life, Kenann.”
“It sounds pretty good.”
“I’m always here if you want to talk about it. And if you decide you want to become a Christian, I’ll be the first one in the water.”
“Thanks, Danny Mac. You have been very sweet to me.”
Danny fought the urge to take her into his arms. This was a crucial point in Kenann’s life and he didn’t want to cloud the issue with his own growing desire for her. They sat there for several moments deep in their own thoughts. Kenann turned to Danny.
“Will you pray for me about tonight, that God will keep me safe while I am with Angelo and he won’t, you know, do anything to me?”
Danny felt his stomach tighten. The thought of Angelo laying a hand on Kenann filled him with rage. He offered his own silent prayer for strength and took her hand again. “Sure.”
They bowed their heads out of years of habit.
“Father, you know all things. You know how frightened we are and how weak. Please be with us in a mighty way. Send angels to surround Kenann in protection and allow them to make their presence known so she will be comforted. And be with me, Lord. Give me wisdom in how to handle what lies before me and the strength and courage to do your will in all things. Thank you for Jesus and it is by the power of His name that I pray. Amen.”
Kenann turned into Danny Mac’s arms and clung to him. “I especially liked the part about the angels. If I remember right, they have been known to kick butt.”
Danny Mac chuckled.
“Yes.” He stroked her hair.
“The biggest and baddest warrior angels will be with you tonight, baby.”