The Forsaken (The Chosen Series Book 2), Patricia Bell [e textbook reader .txt] 📗

back soon. He can only stay a little bit before going back to Todd and Hannah’s” Her mother gave her a sad smile.

“I know. I guess I better get up, then.”

“Yes,” Linda agreed and patted her leg. “Oh, and you got a delivery while you were sleeping.”

“In the mail?” She rubbed at her eyes.

“No, a man brought it. Didn’t say his name but said it was imperative you get it.”

“Okay?”

What could possibly be delivered to her the day after she’d watched a man being run down in the street? As if that weren’t enough.

“I’ll be right down,” she said and headed into the bathroom to wash the sleep from her face.

Before she could make it though, Jonathan called from downstairs. “Hey, Luna. Check this out!”

Check this out? He’d been hanging around the English too long.

“Be down in a sec, bro,” she said, and he chuckled.

Wondering what he was so excited about, she skipped the face washing and headed down the stairs. Jonathan didn’t care. He’d seen her after not taking a shower for an entire week.

Jonathan met her on the staircase. In his hand was an envelope with a stack of cash inside.

“What in the world?” Her mouth dropped. “Did you get an advance?”

“A what? No, it is not mine.” He held it out to her as if it were a poisonous snake ready to strike.

“Well, whose is it then?” Backing up, she almost fell over the step behind her.

“It’s from that guy I told you about,” Linda said from behind. “That’s the envelope he left.” She pointed to the bulky enclosure in Jonathan’s hand.

Luna stared at her mother for a second. “Wait. Let me get this straight.” She walked the rest of the way down the stairs, into the living room, and sat on the couch. Jonathan and her mother followed. “So, a strange man you have never seen before, knocked on the door, handed you a stack of money and left?”

“I didn’t open the envelope, Luna. It’s addressed to you and Jonathan.”

Jonathan turned the envelope over to show the writing. “I saw my name on it and opened it.” He shrugged.

“How much is it? Is there anything else inside?”

Luna was awestruck at how her life could be going so strangely in just a matter of days.

“I do not know.” Jonathan pulled out the money, and a small slip of folded paper dropped to the floor.

They stared at it as if it might contain a curse.

Luna reached down and picked it up. She unfolded it and read the contents out loud. “5/15 PSP.”

“What do you think it means?” Jonathan asked.

“I have no idea. Maybe a date or something?” Luna answered. “PSP. What is that?”

“PSP? That is what everyone calls the market. Short for Phoenix Swap Park,” Jonathan said. “It’s where we go to sell goods.”

“You’ve been?”

“Well, yeah. I went for a while. Every boy gets assigned to go at some point. But after a short while, they decided they needed me in dyes so . . .”

“So, what?” Luna was getting impatient. What was he getting at?

“So, Malachi took my place.”

“Crazy Malachi? Jacob’s older brother?”

“Crazy Malachi? Where did you hear that?”

“That’s what Tabitha called him. She said he was mean, and whoever married him would be sorry.”

“Do you think Malachi is trying to get in touch with us?” Jonathan stared out the window. “But where would he get this kind of money? The Chosen do not handle money. Only the Elders ―”

“Now wait a minute, you two.” Linda stood. “This does not sound good. Things like this just don’t happen in real life.”

“But it did, Mom. You received the envelope yourself.”

Linda shook her head. “It’s too dangerous. First, the man who abducted you gets killed right outside our house, and now a wad of bills comes hand-delivered. I think we better call the police.”

Luna didn’t bother correcting her mother. She’d done it a thousand times, but nothing she said convinced her mother that Naaman had not kidnapped her. Of course, he did refuse to let her leave once she’d gotten there, but it had been Luna’s own fault. He’d warned her that if she came with him, she would have to stay, and she had been hard-headed.

“But, Mom—”

“You can absolutely not keep that money. It’s too dangerous. We better call Chief Collins right away.”

Not wanting to get the police involved, Luna tried to think of a way around it. “Maybe we should just keep it for now. What harm can it do to hold onto it for a while?”

“Luna.” Her mother glared at her. “I know you. You’re planning to do something crazy and if you go out there and get yourself hurt, I will never forgive you.” Her mother put her hand to Luna’s face, and her voice cracked. “I just got you back.”

“Okay, Mom. It’s okay. But please don’t involve the police.”

“Promise me, Luna.”

“Okay, Mom.” But Luna couldn’t look her mother in the eyes. She had every intention of being at the Phoenix Swap Park on the fifteenth of May.

Linda wasn’t swayed. “What is so important about meeting with this guy anyway?”

“He wouldn’t be trying to contact us unless something was wrong.” Luna didn’t dare tell her mother of the warning Naaman had given her just before his demise. Her mother would tie her to a chair before letting her leave the house if she knew.

“Just promise me you will be careful.” Her mother looked away. “You are an adult. There’s nothing I can do to stop you.”

Luna hugged her mother. “I will, Mom. It’s just the swap meet. We aren’t going to any place dangerous.” At least not yet.

AS LUNA LAY IN HER bed, staring at the ceiling, a familiar sound rang in her ears.

Ding.

She reached for her phone and smiled. “Do you miss me,” she whispered into the phone.

“Very much.”

“Couldn’t sleep?” she asked.

“Nope. You?”

“No. All I keep thinking about is Naaman lying dead in the street.”

“I know. Me too. That and the thousand dollars sitting in your kitchen drawer.”

“What do you think it