Deadly Deception - By Andrea Johnson Beck Page 0,29
I’m not going to let anything happen to you.”
Silence again.
“I feel like I’m losing you.”
Her stuttered statement rumbled over her dry lips. The physical pain of his disappearing again was crippling.
“You haven’t lost me.”
“Yet,” she said.
Her faith waivered; she wore it for all to see. Carter brought her back to lie down. She felt his weight sink behind her. His arms circled her waist as he interlocked his fingers under her university T-shirt. Their skin-to-skin contact was enough for her to lull herself to sleep.
***
“In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.”
The elderly pastor, towering over the mahogany coffin, read from Genesis; Sam’s family quietly sobbed, holding onto one another, clutching white roses. Under the green vinyl tent, Anne could hear the soft pattern of raindrops falling from the ominous sky. The clipped wind bit through the mourners gathered around Sam Goodman.
His frail wife sat on a white metal chair, embracing their sleeping toddler, who was dreaming of rainbows and ponies. Anne spotted Ryan Dover, Sam and Carter’s camping buddy across from her; he occasionally would dismiss a tear or two as he stared at the glossy brown enclosure that held his dear friend.
Anne could feel a presence beside her, braiding her fingers through soft leather gloves. She shifted her gaze to the right; Adam was standing stoically, focusing his attention on the pastor. Not wanting to cause a scene, she retained his grip until the service concluded.
“And all of God’s people said… ‘Amen.’”
One by one, people approached the casket and placed their long-stemmed roses on top of it. Some cried, some laid their cheeks to the cold surface and some said a quick but quiet prayer. Anne attempted to break from Adam but he tightened his grasp, guiding her to the casket. Controlling her breathing, she placed the rose gently on the casket, kissed her fingers and touched his smiling photo. She would miss those peppered red freckles.
“This way.” Adam bent down, whispering in the curve of her ear.
A shudder thundered through her spine. They walked away from the crowd of mourners and toward a black Lincoln Town Car. A burly man loomed next to the back passenger’s door. He looked like he just came from securing the president. Anne yanked her hand away, rubbing her fingers that ached from being crushed in Adam’s vice grasp.
“What the hell are you doing here?”
The man opened the door, motioning for her to get in.
“Please, Anne.”
Hesitantly, she slid into the spacious back seat. Adam followed suit. The windows were so heavily tinted she could barely see the world of gravestones around her.
“You didn’t answer my question. Why are you here?”
Adam kept enough distance between them so he could somewhat face her; their knees were nearly touching though Anne scooted herself closer to the opposite door, feeling the cold leather against the back of her exposed calves.
“Anne, we have much to talk about. You can’t keep avoiding me.”
“So you stalk me at my friend’s funeral?”
“You gave me no choice,” he replied, sighing.
“I’m not ready to talk to you yet.”
“Carter isn’t who he says he is, Anne.”
“Funny, he said the same thing about you.”
Anne crossed her arms.
“I’m sure he did, and I am also quite certain you have believed his every word.”
Anne could feel her face beginning to flush with frustration; she turned her gaze to the window. Droplets of rain were trickling down, distorting the grey scenery around them.
“He is putting you in danger by revealing everything to you. He’s playing you for a fool, because he knows you would do anything for him.”
Anne shot fury his way.
“Again, he said you were playing me for a fool, lying to me every day, expressing to me your love and devotion, knowing it was a complete and utter lie. You will never understand what I feel for him.”
Adam winced at her scathing words.
“I do because that is how I feel for you. I vowed to protect you and right now you may not see it that way but you will. I knew one day our paths would interweave and in my delusional thinking, I trusted that our relationship would triumph, but he has pulled you into his twisted world of lies.”
Anne’s face softened as she watched Adam’s eyes fill with anguish.
“Adam, please tell me what’s going on.”
Anne reached out to him, placing a hand on his thigh, begging for him