Enigma (40 page)

Stepping onto the line I steadily walked nine paces heel to toe, turned, and walked nine more heel to toe back to where I started without a flaw.

“Thank you, ma’am. Now I’m gonna need you to balance on one foot and say your alphabet for me.”

“Are you kidding me?”

“Do I look like I’m kiddin’ you?”

“All right! All right! Have it your way!”

I lifted my left foot to where I was only balancing on my right foot and said the alphabet.

“Thank you, now what I need you to do is follow my pen with your eyes without moving your head.”

“Sure thing, Sparky,” I replied with agitation and attitude.

The officer held up a pen and moved it steadily from one side to the other as I followed it with my eyes.

“Are we done now? I’d like to have your badge number and the station you work out, of because this is clearly harassment!” I stated, as collected as I could.

“Ma’am, you need to calm down before I arrest you for obstruction!” the officer shot back at me.

“It’s obvious I passed the test. Can you just write me a ticket so I can go home now?” I hissed, ignoring his previous threat.

“Ms. Holland, I’m gonna warn you one more time to control your mouth, or you will be arrested is that clear?” he spouted as his face began to turn red.

“Crystal!” I snapped at him.

“Ma’am, I’m gonna need you to turn around and put your hands behind your back,” the officer instructed.

“I thought you said I had one last warning,” I stated with a rather cocky tone in my voice.

“I lied!” he whispered in my ear as he slapped the handcuffs onto my wrists.

“I’ll be out in no time, so this is really all a big waste, you know that right?” I smirked.

“Ms. Holland, you are under arrest. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to an attorney. If you cannot afford an attorney, one will be appointed to you free of charge if you so choose. Do you understand?” I nodded.

Once I was in the backseat of the cruiser, I could not help but remember how much it reminded me of the one I had been in the night of my parents’ death. Under normal circumstances this would have been enough to throw me into an emotional frenzy, but there was no way I was going to let this harassing, over dramatic punk see me cry and have the satisfaction that he was the tough guy who broke me down. I am sure Avan would just love it when he had to come pick me up from jail! Once again, I screwed everything up—big surprise.

I stayed as quiet as a mouse the entire ride, not making a sound. I was too afraid that I would end up giving him more ammunition to use in his stupid charge against me. It was bad enough that I was going to have to explain myself to Avan as I confessed that my attitude problem got me arrested. The last thing I needed was to have some judge punish me by sentencing me with mandatory anger management classes. I had decided I was going to remain silent until Avan came to get me out, only answering yes and no questions until we got there, when we drove right past the police station.

“Where are you taking me? The police station was back there,” I yelled from the backseat.

“I’m aware of that, Ms. Holland. Just sit back and shut up!” he bellowed.

“Where are we going?”

“It doesn’t matter. We’ll be there soon enough and you can see for yourself.”

“Are you insane? Take me back to the police station!”

“I’m afraid I can’t do that, Ms. Holland. I did not really have a legitimate reason for arresting you, so if I take you there I’d be the one in trouble. Besides that, I’m pretty sure the gentleman who wants to see you is getting a little frustrated it’s taking us so long.”

“What gentleman?” I demanded.

Everything was wrong and I felt with everything I had. I was in potentially the worst situation I had ever gotten myself into.

“Who wants to see me? Who are you working for? Tell me now!” I screamed.

“Ms. Holland, your best bet is to sit back and shut your mouth,” he threatened.

I tried concentrating as hard as I could on trying to control the car, but it was no use. I could not do anything to it no matter how hard I tried. I leaned back on the seat feeling defeated.

“I guess I should’ve mentioned earlier that my boss made some modifications to the car. Whatever you’re trying to do back there won’t work, Ms. Holland,” the officer said with a slow low rumble of a laugh.

The car made a turn, heading into to a parking lot by the beach with a black limousine waiting at the far end. The cruiser pulled around and came to a stop as the officer got out of the car and waited by the hood. It had gotten so dark outside I could not make out anything but a dark figure wearing a long black coat and hat emerging from the limousine. Immediately I remembered the dark outfit that Allen used to wear when he was trying to leave hints for me about my past.

I wanted to see his face to make sure it was him. Who else could want to see me without wanting to reveal their identity and show up in the same dark clothing he had so many times before? I could hardly contain myself as the figure made its way over to the font of the cruiser where the officer stood. I could not hear what they were saying, but I could tell from the officer’s body language that he was not happy by any means.

All of a sudden the officer advanced toward the dark figure, aggressively pushing whoever it was back a few steps. The figure regained its balance, and what happened next blew my mind. I saw the figure reach inside the long, dark coat at the same time the officer reached for his gun. I wanted to close my eyes and look away in hopes that anything else would be prevented, but it was not an option since it was happening right in front of me. The moonlight bounced off something in the dark figure’s hand, revealing a shiny, metal object. With the sound of two loud shots, the officer fell to the ground, lifeless and void of any movement.

I could not believe what I had just seen take place! I watched the figure kneel beside the officer, checking for a pulse before standing and turning its attention to the cruiser. My heart dropped, and I suddenly forgot how to breathe. It was clear now that this could not be Allen Hearsch and whoever it was intended to capture me. This meant one thing—the figure that was coming toward the car was working for Damron. This also meant that Natasha had been right and once again, I had put what she said in the back of my mind without a second thought.

I never should have gotten out of the car when the officer asked me to take a field sobriety test! I knew better than to think I would have been mistaken for a drunk! The second that officer asked me to get out of my car, I should have shoved it into drive and floored it. I had made the officer’s job more than easy, and now I was trapped in a car that had been modified as a holding chamber for an angel, which prohibited me from using any of the powers I had. About that time I felt one of the charms from my bracelet move against my hand as I shifted my weight on the seat. Natasha had brought me my bracelet today! I still had the hope of contacting Avan and the others before it was too late!

When the door opened to the cruiser, I was instructed by a surprising voice to get out and keep my back turned while making my way to the limousine. Immediately I began taking each angel’s charm in my opposite hand, sending out messages one right after another into the universe in hopes that they would reach them in enough time. I knew the voice without even having to wonder who it was, as Lena told me to keep my mouth shut and do what I was told. I did not bother trying to talk her out of whatever she and her father had planned, assuming it would not make any difference.

I finished sending out the messages with my bracelet just as we reached the door of the limousine, where I was blindfolded and lead inside onto the seat. I could tell that Lena and I were not the only ones inside by the sounds of breathing. I had no idea who was in the car with us and hoped that one of them was Allen so that we could figure out how to get out of this mess together.

We drove for a long way in complete silence as I listened to the breathing patterns and heartbeats of those in the car with me, trying to detect any signs of change to give me a clue about our destination. Unfortunately, whoever the individuals were, they were too skilled to give anything away. They knew I what I was doing and they did not intend to give me any information whatsoever. They had anticipated my spying on the least of things to try to put this new puzzle together in order to find a way to alert everyone else. The only good thing now was that I could tell by the feelings I had that no dark angels were present at this time.

When the car stopped, I heard the door open and a strong grasp around the top of my arm removed me from the car. I could hear two distinct sets of footsteps passing back and forth. I guessed that one of the sets of footsteps belonged to Lena, since she seemed to be the delivery technician for this assignment. The other set seemed to disappear after a car door shut, so I chalked them up to belonging to the person driving.

Once the car drove away there was no sound, leaving me to think I had been left in an undisclosed location, handcuffed, blindfolded, and abandoned. Though it probably had not been nearly the length of time it felt like due to being in total darkness, I was sure it had been at least five minutes before Lena came back for me.

“Night, night, Mattie!” Lena said as I felt a sharp blow to the back of my head.