The Belial Stone (The Belial Series) (32 page)

CHAPTER 92

L
aney and Jake headed back to the enclosure in the truck.  Henry had stayed behind with Gideon’s body.  Just in case, as he'd explained.

“Jake, what was that?”

He shook his head.  “I don’t know, Laney. I really don’t.”

Laney pulled up in front of the enclosure in a daze.  That fight had been incredible.  But what did it mean?   Who, or more accurately what, was Henry

“Where do they think they’re going?” Jake asked. 

Laney followed Jake's gaze.  Kensington and Priddle sprinted from behind a piece of rubble, heading for a giant SUV.  They must have been hiding out and only now tried to escape.

She leaped out of the car, rage fueling her.  “Oh no, you don’t.”

Kensington was only a short distance from his car.  She put on a burst of speed.  Ahead of her, Kensington fumbled for his keys, dropping them to the ground in his haste.  Laney reached him just as he retrieved them. 

She spun, aiming a back-kick at the base of his spine.  Kensington screamed as his chin connected with the roof of the car and his broken arm crashed into the door. 

Anger rolled off her in waves as she stalked towards him.  Grabbing him by the back of the head, she slammed his face into the car, breaking his nose.  She spun him around and let him drop to the ground. 

He sniveled, clutching his nose and moaning.  She looked at him with disgust.  This was the man who had killed hundreds of men in the name of power, who was responsible for Drew's death, and who had endangered the people she cared about.  And when confronted, he collapsed without a fight. 

She thought she should say something to let him know that he had lost.  As she looked at the sniveling mess of a man on the ground, though, she realized he wasn’t even worth the energy to speak the words.

“You good?” Jake asked from behind her.

She looked over her shoulder at him.  She smiled.  “Yeah, I’m good.”  She started to turn, when she heard the retort of a gun.  Confused, she looked around, trying to determine where it had come from. 

Jake closed the distance between them in seconds and grabbed her around the waist.  Priddle stood peering over the hood of the car, his gun aimed at them.  Somehow, he had crawled around the side, unseen, to take his shot. 

Jake pulled Laney close as he shot over her shoulder.  Jake’s shot found its mark, right in the middle of Priddle’s face, now all but gone.  The force of the shot blast forced him backwards, into the cage where he’d enslaved men to further his own career.

“Laney?  Are you all right?” Jake asked, his face a mask of concern. 

“Yeah, I'm fine,” she said, as her legs buckled.   She stared at the darkening pool on the ground below her with confusion. 

Where’s all that blood coming from?
she thought, right before her world went black.

CHAPTER 93

Great Falls, MT

P
atrick sat next to the hospital bed, waiting for Laney to open her eyes.  The bullet had cut through her right lung, just missing her spine.  She’d survived the surgery, but the doctors said the next couple of hours were critical. 

Patrick looked around the room at the medical equipment, listening to the heart monitor beeping away, keeping track of her heartbeat.  He wasn’t sure he could stand this. 

Yoni had gone running when he heard the retort of Priddle’s gun.  Patrick had hobbled along behind him.  The first thing he’d seen was Jake’s anguished face as he knelt next to Laney, the ground stained with her blood.  He didn’t remember much after that. 

He vaguely recalled the Chandler helicopter landing in the field.  He and Jake had flown to the trauma unit at the Benefis Hospital in Great Falls. 

The hospital’s helipad already had a helicopter on it, so Jake had made the pilot land in the parking lot, indifferent to the cars and pedestrians who'd had to scramble out of the way.   

A medical team whisked Laney onto a gurney right from the parking lot.  She'd immediately been taken into surgery.  Patrick had stood there numb, watching the doors to the operating room swing shut behind her. 

Henry, Yoni, and even Tom had all been by, but Patrick couldn’t have said when they had shown up or when they had left. 

Jake had paced the waiting room like a caged tiger during the surgery and refused to leave.  The police and feds had shown up two hours ago to get Jake’s statement, after their attempts to get him back to the enclosure failed.  Patrick had encouraged Jake to speak with them.  He knew Jake needed to do something.  He promised to call him if anything changed. 

But he hadn’t had to call.  Laney lay still in the bed, only the monitor letting him know she was still here.  He looked up as a shadow fell over him. 

Jake stood framed in the doorway.  “Any change?”

“No. Nothing.”  

Patrick stretched and looked at the strong man staring at his niece from the door.  Jake’s eyes were wild and he could tell he was trying to keep a storm of emotions at bay. 

“I guess it’s my turn to speak with the police.  Will you stay with her?”

“Of course.”  Jake stepped into the room and pulled a chair to the other side of the bed.  He leaned over and took Laney’s hand.  He looked like a drowning man grabbing onto the last life preserver. 

Patrick needed to leave him with some glimmer of hope.  He paused in the doorway.  “Jake, did you know Laney’s full name is Delaney?  Her mother, my sister, wanted her to have the family name.”

Jake looked over his shoulder with a small smile.  “Delaney.  It suits her.”

“More than you know.  Delaney is an old Celtic name that means ‘descendant of warriors’.  That’s who Laney is.  That’s who she comes from.  If anyone can come back from this, it’s her.”

Jake nodded and Patrick walked out of the room, hoping he was right.  He walked through the electric doors that separated the intensive care unit from the rest of the hospital.  The police were in a conference room down the hall to the right.  He turned left.  He needed a minute. 

He walked the halls of the hospital, glancing into the rooms as he passed.  Some patients sat watching TV alone, others had family or friends keeping them company.  They all seemed secure, comforted.

             
Patrick had none of that.  There was no comfort for him.  He felt an icy coldness to his very bones.  What if she died?  What if after all of this, he lost her?  He had comforted people in mourning.  But this felt different.  She was part of him. 

He only made it to the end of the hall before he collapsed in a chair, his legs too weak to keep him upright.  He bent his head to his hands and prayed. 

CHAPTER 94

W
hen Patrick left, Jake turned back to the bed.  He leaned over to whisper into Laney’s ear.  “Come on, Laney.  Open your eyes, sweetheart.” 

Her eyes stayed stubbornly closed.  He gripped her hand tighter.  She’d faced attacks by men with superhuman abilities, gun fights, and even capture in that hellhole. 

And she’d stood up to all of it.  She hadn’t backed down.   She’d fought.  She’d won.  This couldn’t be how it ended.  This was just one last challenge for her to overcome. 

She hadn’t made it through so much to die at the hands of someone like Arthur Priddle.  She would make it through.  She had to. 
             

“Please, Laney.  I know how strong you are.  You can beat this.  We need you here.  Your uncle, Kati, Max, Henry, Yoni.  They all need you… And me, too, Laney.   I need you, too.” 

And he realized it was true.  Somewhere along the way, he'd fallen for her, and the idea of her not being in his world was too painful to contemplate.  “Come back to me.”

He lowered his head to the bed and felt a small pressure on his hand.  His eyes flew to her face.   “Laney?” 

Another squeeze on his hand and a small smile appeared on her face. 

Jake squeezed her hand back and returned the smile, tears stinging his eyes.  “Thank God.”

EPILOGUE

Syracuse, NY

T
hree weeks later, Laney lay curled up on her couch, a blanket across her lap.  It was blessedly quiet in her house.  Her chest still ached when she moved too quickly, but other than that, she was doing pretty well.  The doctors had said she needed to keep her activities to a minimum.

She smiled listening to Jake rustle up lunch in the kitchen.  Luckily, she had someone t
o make sure she did just that.

A wave of grief blindsided her and she leaned her head back, breathing deep.  These moments always took her by surprise.  They came out of nowhere.  She’d be fine, reading a book, walking up the stairs, when an image of Drew would send her spiraling.

She, Patrick, Jake, Tom, and Henry had flown back from Montana a week ago, after stopping to visit Drew’s grave.  It had been a heart-wrenching journey.  She and her uncle had stood by his grave, holding on to each other, lost in their grief.  It had been the first time since all this began that they had really had a chance to mourn their loss.  She supposed she was going through all the stages of grief she hadn’t been able to experience with all the tumult following his death.

Drew should have had a full life, not been cut down so young.  It was such a senseless loss of life.  It was impossible to believe all his energy was gone.  How could he truly be gone? 
              She took a deep breath, trying to force the grief from her mind.  She focused on her breath.  In, out.  In, out.  

She breathed in the quiet, thankful for the peace.  Kati had taken Max to the movies, and the nonstop stream of visitors had finally ended.  In the week she'd been home, her students had been by, as well as her friends from the police force.  Henry had brought Danny for a few visits.  In fact, they’d rented a house not too far from here for the foreseeable future.  They’d become a constant fixture in each other’s lives.

Tom had been by almost every day as well.  He and Jake were getting to know each other again.  Kati and Max were back.  Yoni had even flown in with his very pregnant wife. 

The media had also been another constant fixture since their return.  Luckily, though, Henry had managed some magic and called them off.  As a result, the last few days had been relatively peaceful.  So she had finally been able to talk her uncle into going back to the office.  He’d barely left her side these last three weeks.  She couldn’t blame him.  She didn't like letting him out of her sight, either
. 

Laney grabbed the remote, looking for something mind-numbing to distract her.  But, despite her best intentions, her mind kept drifting back to the last few weeks and where everyone would go from here. 

The men had all been found after they’d scattered.  Over three hundred had been killed at the enclosure.  According to the preliminary autopsy results, the causes of death ranged from strangulation to gunshot wounds to blunt force trauma to starvation.  She’d expected the large number, but it had still come as a shock.  And the men that lived all had a host of medical issues.  Tom was actually in pretty good shape, relatively speaking.  His friend Seeley had also survived, but it was going to be a long road back for him.

Americans for Progress had quietly settled a multimillion dollar lawsuit with the men who had survived and the families of those who hadn’t.   Henry had arranged for the legal team that brought the suit on behalf of the men. 

Henry had also made sure that Kenny Coleman’s family received a significant payout from the Kensington estate.  He’d even established college funds for Coleman’s two grandchildren and taken care of their outstanding medical bills.  It wouldn’t bring their grandfather back, but at least the family would no longer have to worry about money. 

Robert Kensington and the guards who’d been rounded up would be incarcerated for the rest of their natural lives.  She was pretty sure that the prison population would not welcome them with open arms.  And God help her, she couldn’t work up any compassion for what they would go through in prison.  Her only sympathetic thought was that maybe if they experienced enough hell in this life, they’d get some credit for time served in the next one. 

The Chandler Group had officially taken over the dig in Montana.  Her uncle was going to be the archaeologist in charge.  The Church had already given their permission.  The Church recognized the impact the findings could have on human history and they wanted to be sure they were part of it.

She, Jake, and her uncle had had a number of conversations with Henry about the Belial Stones.  They all had agreed the world simply wasn’t ready for them.  If any more stones were found at the site, they would be locked away, hopefully to be retrieved one day when mankind was ready. 

That’s what had been resolved.  But Laney’s mind kept getting caught on all the issues that hadn’t been settled.  She knew that some were academic and others a matter of theoretical debate.  The most pressing questions in her mind, though, didn’t involve ancient civilizations, angels, or even the nature of man.  They involved the nature of just one man – Henry.

She knew Henry was a good man.  She had no doubt about that.  He had put everything on the line to save all of them.  The image of Henry reaching down to pull her uncle out of that crevice would stay forever branded in her mind.  And Henry had taken it upon himself to make sure that all of those harmed by Kensington’s agenda were taken care of. 

She also knew that there a side to the man he’d kept hidden from the world.  Henry’s knowledge of ancient civilizations and religious matters went beyond simple academic interests. 

And his physical abilities were astounding.   In the hospital, she’d researched gigantism to see if the incredible strength she’d observed was part of the condition.  But, if anything, people who suffered from the condition were weakened by the syndrome, despite what their large size suggested.  So what accounted for Henry’s abilities? 

And then there was his mother, Victoria.  What had Gideon meant when he said he knew his mother?  And for a long time?  For Gideon, a long time would be centuries.  Was she like him, a fallen angel?  Or was Gideon just taunting Henry? 

She sighed. 

“What was that for?”  Jake asked as he set a tray on the coffee table in front of her.

“Just trying to figure out some of the mysteries we don’t have answers to yet.”

Jake sat next to her and tipped her chin up, kissing her lightly on the lips.  “Which mystery in particular?”

“Henry.”

“Ah.”

“It doesn’t bother you, not knowing?”

“Laney, I know everything I need to know about Henry. He’s a good man.  In fact, he’s one of the best men I know.  He’d put his life on the line for mine without hesitation and I’d do the same for him.  That’s all I need to know.”

“And his abilities?”

“When he’s ready to say something, I’ll be ready to listen.  Until then, it’s his truth to tell.”

She nodded.  “I know.  I’ve just never been very good at leaving mysteries unsolved.”

He shifted closer to her on the couch.  “Well, if you need something to distract you, I have some ideas.”

Laney slid her hands up his chest and around his neck.  “I don’t know.  They'd have to be some really, really great ideas.”

Jake leaned over her.  “I do love a challenge.”