Code of Silence (10 page)

“Are you mad?”

“I don't know what I am yet.”

He huffed. He could never predict her responses.

She spun to him. “Why? What'd you expect me to say?”

He shrugged, and he knew he should stop talking but couldn't help himself. “I hoped you could acknowledge I tried to do a good thing for you.”

She raised her eyebrows. “Is that why you told me then, Luke? To make yourself feel better?”

He threw his hands in the air. He couldn't win, and he hated that they'd still escaped and yet remained in just as much danger as before. “I was trying to be honest. And even if you had a heads-up from me, would you have really turned it down? They'd still have found you.”

“Well, if
I'm
being honest, you could've waited until a better time when I could process and handle the news a little better.” Her voice cracked.

“Answer me straight up. If I had waited and told you later...first off, I have no idea when that would be, and second, wouldn't you have thought I was lying?”

Her eyes softened. “I don't know.”

“Gabriella, I don't want to ever be the guy that lied to you. I know how much honesty means to you, and though I'm doing a rotten job of it, I'm trying.” He wanted to lie down, to ease the pain in his hip. Never before had anything good come out of his mouth when he was tired or in pain. “And I'm sorry. I'm exhausted.”

She searched his face, and he wished she'd voice her thoughts aloud. She stepped closer, pain mirroring his features. Her eyes widened as she looked past him. “In the trees,” she whispered.

Gabriella tugged on his wrist until they were between two lilac trees. She turned into his chest as bees buzzed around their heads. He wrapped his arms around her and stilled. The bees went back to work on the blooming buds. As the smell calmed his pounding heart, he leaned down and whispered into her thick dark hair. “Did you see him?”

She shook her head into the flannel shirt. “No. I saw the arborvitae trees we went through shake.” She stiffened in his arms. “I'm allergic to bees, Luke.” She flinched again as a bee buzzed from one tree to the next. “Worst place to hide.”

Luke held her as he peeked around the corner. Sure enough, Rodrigo had appeared, looking up and down the stream. “If you're allergic, how do you pick berries?” he whispered, hoping to distract her.

“I go early in the morning or late at night. It must be later in the day than I thought.”

Great. “Do you have an EpiPen in the house?”

She mumbled into his shirt. He bent his head down low, careful not to jostle any of the branches. “Say again?”

“One in my glove box. But he took the keys, remember?”

He wouldn't forget that anytime soon.
I need some wisdom, Lord.
Without weapons there wasn't much he could do. A river rock caught his eye. He bent down, which was no easy feat as Gabriella kept her hands and face covered in his shirt. He grabbed the smooth rock. The buzzing seemed quieter near the ground. If he didn't succeed, maybe they could crawl away. Though, clover grew on the other side of the trees—another known bee hangout.

Luke inhaled through his nose to calm his heart and straightened, pulling her up with him so she could keep her face protected.

He needed to pretend he was playing in the church softball league or the stress would mess up his aim.
Just another afternoon beating their rival team, the Swinging Shepherds.
He pulled his arm back, twisted his hips and let the rock fly.

A pulling sensation spread across his thigh. He bit his lip to keep from groaning aloud. Warmth dripped down his leg. Great. He'd ripped the wound back open.

The crackling from the tree branches across the river confirmed he met his mark. Two brown streaks ran in the opposite direction through the dense wooded area. “Deer?”

“What?” She peeked up at him.

He grinned. “I think I scared some deer.”

Crack! Crack!
Gabriella jerked in his arms. Splashing followed. Rodrigo ran through the water into the forest, chasing after his new friends. “I don't think he could see them from his vantage point. Come on. Before he figures out who he's chasing.”

He pulled her out of the lilac trees and they ran until they were under the cover of the willow tree branches. She hunched over her knees, catching her breath. “You're bleeding again.” Her voice went flat.

“Yeah.”

“Some pair we make.” She beckoned him to step behind the trunk. “I didn't think he would be on to us this soon. I don't want to lead him to the barn, Luke.”

“Don't slow down on my account.”

“Unless we change our minds and want to run through the field of alfalfa, we're about to get our feet wet.” She marched past a group of shrubs, revealing a couple more pools of water.

He marveled at the beauty surrounding him. As she trudged past another group of trees, the sound of a hundred streams of rippling water drew him forward until he spotted the smallest of waterfalls from one hill down to the rocks below surrounded by low-hanging foliage.

A splash set his nerves on edge. “Rainbow trout,” she said. Fish larger than most fishermen dreamed of wiggled their way up the tiny waterfall.

He looked over his shoulder and almost hollered at the pair of steely eyes looking at him from a dwarfed tree. “Is that an eagle?”

“Uh...no. That's an osprey.” She hit his shoulder and pointed up in the sky where giant wings made a shadow twice as large below. “Now that's an eagle. I wish we could stay and hide here.”

A sweet aroma overpowered the smell of forest fires in the west. His stomach roared. A slow, hesitant smile grew on her face. “Good timing.”

Gabriella pointed to a spot without shade directly to the south of where they hid. It looked like giant hills of twigs piled high. “One is blackberries, the other raspberries. The raspberries are probably our best bet. If you get the spring batch, the birds and the pests haven't really touched them yet. It should be relatively safe to eat without washing.”

“Stay here. We don't need you taking chances with your allergy.”

Her shoulders dropped, most likely in relief at his suggestion. He looked all around before darting to the bush. The buzzing confirmed his choice. Although most of the berries looked pink, he tenderly lifted a branch, careful to keep his fingers in the small space between the thorns. His mouth watered at the grouping of luscious red fruit. He filled the flannel pocket and his two hands before hustling back to her in the shelter of the shade.

“Hold out your hand.”

She accepted with a smile. “We need to keep moving. Especially since we're taking the long way.”

“I think that's wise. Rodrigo is bound to have figured out by now he was chasing deer.” Luke threw the remaining berries into his mouth. “Is that enough to hold you, Gabriella?”

The birds sang as she hiked uphill. Her eyes looked wet as she glanced at him. “Besides my mom, you're the only one who calls me by my full name.”

“It's what you like though, right?”

She shook her head. “That's the thing. Everyone just calls me Gabbie and doesn't ever ask. How'd you know?”

“I overheard you tell Thad you preferred your given name once.”

Her eyes widened. She shook her head. “And you're still single.”

The comment hit him the wrong way, although he wasn't sure why. He couldn't tell if she meant it as a compliment or a dig. “Did you ever get your rebound relationship?” The question slipped out before he could filter it.

She spun around and placed her hands on her hips. “When you say it that way, it makes it sound as if I wanted a rebound.”

“I believe your words were, ‘I don't want you to be my rebound.' That pretty much implied it.”

Her mouth gaped. “You're twisting my words.”

“No, that was an exact quote. You remember these things when a girl rejects you after you've kissed her.”

She jerked back as if he'd slapped her. “We never kissed!” She huffed. “And, I'd only found out three months before that the person I
thought
was going to stay committed to me for the rest of my life had instead cheated on me.” She flung a finger in the air. “Someone just told me it takes five years to get over someone cheating you. Five years! And maybe I didn't need that long, but I needed more time than it took you. I didn't reject you, Luke. I told you I was scared to lose your friendship. I needed it.” Her eyes brightened with a moist sheen. “Ironically, I lost that anyway.” She turned on her heel and took off.

Luke wished he didn't remember that moment in time so vividly, but he'd held her so tight and as he brushed his lips against hers, she'd stepped away. “If we didn't kiss, what would you call it?” Luke pumped his arms to keep up with her lengthened stride up the hill. His injury made him take two steps for every one of hers.

Gabriella's face reddened. For a split second he worried she'd been stung until she said, “It was a hug, Luke. We were stepping away from a hug. Believe me, you'll know when I kiss you.” She held up a hand, this time her face bright red. “I mean, if I kissed you ever.” She shook her head. “Not that I would.” She groaned. “Can we just please drop it?”

ELEVEN

G
abriella wished she could roll down the grass hill and pretend she was young, carefree and without worry. If she could do it all over again, she'd do everything differently. Maybe she'd never have disobeyed as a teen, and her mother would feel she could share everything with her, trust Gabriella with her secrets. And somehow this could all be avoided. She'd insist her mother go in for her yearly checkups, and the heart attack that stole her would be prevented. Her mother avoided doctors, as much as law enforcement, so who knew if it could've been stopped without a medical history to examine.

His voice pierced through her thoughts. “But it takes two people to lose a friendship. What am I saying? You never lost my friendship. You avoided me as much as I avoided you. I never chose to stop being your friend.”

“It was so easy to be around you before that. You had to push. You had to make it awkward.” Anger she thought disappeared long ago resurfaced. Her throat burned. She hated to admit it, but the memory still hurt. The remaining months of college had been lonelier than ever.

“Sometimes the thing we dread discussing is the conversation we most need to have.” He released an exaggerated sigh. “Gabriella, I'm sorry. I've never been good at timing. With Rose, with the media thing, with needing some closure between us...”

She frowned. “What do you mean with Rose? How was that bad timing?” Gabriella took a step back and tilted her head. “Wait a second. Did you know about her and Thad before I did?”

He shook his head. “No. I tried to tell you back then, but I didn't handle it well. I had intended to break it off with Rose before we ever found out her and Thad were together behind our backs. And if I had broke up with her, maybe they wouldn't have kept it a secret, and we could have found out in a much less painful way. I've always regretted that.”

They reached the second river. She tugged on his shirt to help him keep his balance and led him to the dirt trail next to the bank. “You meant to break it off with Rose earlier? Why?”

He kept his head down, but his eyes darted her way. “I had no idea she was cheating, but something felt off.”

“How?”

He rolled his eyes. “You'll think I'm shallow.”

She rolled her eyes. “Spill.”

“Fine. I knew things weren't right between us when she stopped laughing at my jokes.”

Gabriella's breath hitched. She looked away from him so she could wipe the giant smile off her face before he spotted it.

“You're laughing at me, aren't you?”

She shook her head, staring at the skies in hopes she really didn't laugh. “I don't presume to know how guys work, but it just seems a bit cliché.”

“How so?”

“Not that you were wrong, but in the future, you know, if you find the right girl... What if your jokes just aren't that funny?”

“Too far.”

She turned to find him holding up a finger, but his wide grin assured her he took it how she intended. “My jokes kill.”

“Good. You can use them on Rodrigo.”

He chuckled, his voice deep and comforting. She instantly regretted not being able to tour the property under different circumstances.

It seemed ironic that laughter could soothe and hurt at the same time. As if she was dehydrated for joy, but when she had some, it reminded her of all the other sorrow in her life. She quickened her step.

Luke sighed. “To put it a better way, when Rose and I were together it was like she'd mentally checked out. Except, of course, when we hung out as couples.”

“I'm jealous.” She glanced up. “Not that she checked out...that you knew ahead of time. So you could guard your heart.” Maybe she'd had him all wrong. Maybe he didn't take relationships flippantly. Was it possible he got over Rose so fast because he had already emotionally distanced himself? Or was the reason he pursued her so soon after the breakup because of loneliness?

“Can I ask you a question?” he blurted. “You started the foundation here, but then you decided to teach in Oregon. Why? Is it because Thad moved here?”

That was the most ridiculous question she'd ever heard. Could it mean he was jealous...of
Thad
? “No. I purposefully didn't keep track of where he went. It's one of the reasons I don't even have a Facebook account. I didn't want the temptation to torture myself with how they were doing.”

The wind picked up and blew back her hair. At least it was finally dry. “Believe it or not, I was a really poor student in math in junior high, but my mom and my aunt had what seemed at the time as a natural business sense. Well, apparently we know why now, but anyway—they were responsible for helping it finally click for me. I used to tease Mom that she should be a teacher because she could make math sound exciting. She lit up when explaining the importance of being able to figure out percentages and do multiplication in your head. Then she took me shopping.”

Her heart squeezed at the memory. “I never forgot that. I kept thinking about all the other kids in my school that hated math. I wondered if I'd ever have found the dream to teach if I didn't have someone to support me and tutor me like Mom. And most parents don't feel qualified enough to help their kids with advanced math, so...”

“That's why you started the foundation.”

She nodded. “And I knew it would have a greater chance to succeed if I based it in a city.”

“Then why didn't you move here, too?”

Her gut churned. “I wanted a chance to succeed without my mom.” Her voice caught. He had no idea how much she regretted the choice. She would've spent more time with Mom and not cared to prove herself if she could reverse time. “I thought if I taught in the valley it'd be a slap in the face not to live on the property, too.”

“Did your mom ever call you on it?”

“No. My great-aunt gave me grief, but not Mom. I think she understood.” Her breath grew shallow. “I hope she understood.”

He nodded. “She did.”

She raised an eyebrow. How could he possibly know—

“Did you ever end up dating?”

Her neck tingled. Couldn't they just walk without talking?

“Talking keeps my mind off my leg,” he said, as if he could hear her thoughts.

“Oh,” she stammered. “Um. Yeah. Some. Nothing serious. They didn't really get why teaching and the foundation were so important to me.”

He nodded. “They didn't get that your love language is service.”

Her eyes widened, and her step faltered at his words. Another gust of wind blew her hair back. The leaves flew off the tree and spun all around them. Luke stepped closer, as if ready to shield her if she needed it. Her throat closed at the gesture. The lightheartedness she experienced only moments ago seemed to blow away with the wind.

Gabriella pointed over his head at the storm clouds building at the top of the foothills to the west. “Looks like we might get rain later.”

“Good. Should help lower the risk of you getting stung out here. How much farther to the barn?”

“There will be a sharp bend in the river up ahead. If we walked out of these trees we would need to just run diagonally across the corner of the alfalfa to get to it. Going the long way...maybe a mile left?”

“Do you know why your mom built the barn so far from the house?”

Ah, a safe topic. “Yes. So I guess we lived in the barn while she started her business and mined a big section of the property. Once she made enough money, she built the house and we moved.”

She waved her hand in front of her. “She wasn't done mining the rest of the property, though, so that's why the buildings are so far apart. It had the most land without water features. You'll probably get the most houses out of that portion of property if you decide to develop it.” She bit her lip. She hated thinking about the beauty all around turning into subdivisions of cookie-cutter houses.

* * *

Luke noticed her eyes turn down every time she mentioned the future possibility of ripping up her beloved property. It would be necessary, sure, but would she look at him like the man that helped her make sure her aunt was taken care of? Or the man that ripped up her mom's pride and joy, her legacy...

Or both?

The beauty around him, despite the horrible situation they found themselves in, was a reminder of God's grace, His majesty, and the fact that Luke could trust Him. And his job basically destroyed all the beautiful creation. People needed places to live, sure, but...

Gabriella slowed her pace and looked at him, as if waiting for a response. But he wasn't ready to share his frustration.

“Did you always know you wanted to teach?” he asked.

She huffed. “Believe it or not, I was aimless.”

“You didn't act aimless.”

“I didn't want to disappoint my mom. I didn't want her to feel bad that all I ever wanted was to be a wife and mom. She never had that. Maybe it's because I grew up without a father. I don't really think that's why, but I'm sure someone could make the case.” Her eyebrows rose as her eyes widened and her jaw went slack. She dipped her chin to her chest. “I've never told anyone that.”

He shrugged. “Really? Why not? What's the big deal of sharing you wanted a family someday?”

She shook her head. “Because I also wanted to be independent. If I told people that—” her eyes darted toward him “—they might get the wrong idea.”

Luke almost laughed. In other words, she worried he'd take it as a pickup line. And even if he was delusional enough to think that, it seemed clear she didn't like the idea. His leg ached with each step, and another trickle of blood slipped down his thigh. The conversation wasn't helping him keep his mind off the pain anymore.

* * *

Five feet ahead a collection of boulders sat in the middle of the trail. She stopped. “I'd forgotten about these.”

“What are they?”

“Once a year, on Easter, we would go on a family hike and go down this trail. Mom loved spring because it reminded her of new beginnings and a new life in Christ.”

Her mouth twisted to the side. “We didn't do it this year. They visited me in Oregon because I had too much grading to catch up on to drive here for the weekend. I was so selfish.” Her entire life had been cast with a different light. Where once she thought her classwork of the ultimate importance, now she'd give it all up just to have another hike.

“Gabriella, you weren't selfish. You were trying to be responsible. Your mom knew that. It's why she came to you instead.”

She brushed away the tears. “Yeah, maybe.” She glanced at Luke. “Are you familiar with the story of Joshua and the Jordan?”

His lips shifted to the side. “Um...”

She thought as much. “Sunday school makes sure most people remember the parting of the Red Sea, but my mom's favorite story is in the Old Testament, when Joshua needs to lead the people across the Jordan River. When the feet of the priests who carried the ark touched the water, it parted, and all the people crossed the Jordan on dry land.”

The story her mom had told so many times lightened her mood. “Once everyone crossed, they were to pick out twelve stones—”

“So when their children asked their fathers what the stones were all about, they could share what the Lord had done for them.”

She grinned. “You do remember.” They reached the stones, although they almost qualified as boulders. “So during the mining, whenever they found these giant ones, Mom had the guys move them here. After she collected twelve, she sold the rest for landscape purposes.”

Gabriella stepped up on the first one, two feet above the ground. “I used to pretend I was on top of a mountain range and hop from one to the next one. Scared my mom to death.” Cold rushed through her veins at the realization of what she'd just said. She'd never given the common expression a second thought until now.

“Are you saying your mom put these here so she could tell you what God had done for her?”

The change of subject felt like a slap in the face. “Yes.” Her memories seemed to be playing in fast-forward through her mind. Except now, with the new knowledge...

“Luke, I never really understood the significance until now. Maybe she put these here as a reminder of how God saved her, my aunt and me from the life of the mafia...from death.”

A movement to her right, through the swaying leaves, caught her attention. She froze and hoped the man wading through the alfalfa next to the line of trees hadn't seen them. He appeared to be a couple of acres away, looking left to right. “Luke,” she whispered. “He definitely figured out we weren't deer.”

“Which way is he going?”

“He's following the same line of trees around the field that we did. Only he's just a mile or two behind us.”

A sudden wind gust propelled Gabriella forward. Luke reached out and caught her as she slipped headfirst. She strained against his arm that pressed into her abdomen to right herself. Her heart raced at the thought of the pain she would've experienced had she crashed into the next stone. “That was out of the blue,” she started to say.

Crack!

She couldn't see where the bullet had gone, but the sound was unmistakable. They'd been spotted.

She looked up at Luke, but the giant wall of darkness in the distance took her breath away.