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

contact with her, Rachel got the feeling she wasn’t telling the truth. At the very least, she was leaving out details she didn’t want Rachel to hear. But Rachel was too tired to argue with her. “Have you heard anything about Abigail? Is there some way to get her out? Is she okay?”

Baby Jacob began to fuss, and Luna handed him back to his mother. “I will meet back with Malachi tomorrow. I told him to give Abigail a message that you and the baby are healthy. I’m sure she’s grinning from ear to ear by now.”

“And she is well?” Rachel rocked the baby in her arms.

Luna looked back out the window again.

“It is just as you dreamed, isn’t it?” Baby Jacob fussed, and she moved him up on her shoulder.

Luna nodded. “I’m sorry, Rachel. But I’m going to try and get her out of there. It’s going to be a bit harder without Jonathan, but I’m going to try my best. I promise.”

Baby Jacob was fast asleep. Rachel gently placed him in the bassinet beside her bed and swaddled him with a blanket. “Can we not just go to the police? Shelly says they are good and helpful, and Hannah’s husband, Todd, he is big and strong.”

“It’s just not that easy. With Abigail in the situation she’s in, we could do her more damage than good if the police go barging in. Besides, there are laws out here. The police cannot enter without probable cause.”

“Probable what?” Rachel asked.

“They need a reason. They can’t just go onto someone’s private property and harass them for no reason.”

“But there is a reason1 My sister’s life is in danger! And Naaman is dead! And Jonathan has been run over by . . .  someone. That is not enough probable . . . whatever you said?”

“If we could prove that The Chosen had Naaman killed and attempted to kill Jonathan then yes. If we could prove that Abigail is being held against her will, then yes, but what proof do we have?”

Rachel shook her head. “How do you know so much about it?”

Luna grinned. “Law and Order. It’s a television show. It’s all about crime.”

“You get your information from a television show?”

“Yeah. You should watch it. Very informative.”

“I think not.”

“Suit yourself, but if we can get them out of there, then they will be on the right side of the law. The police can protect them, then.”

“Like they are protecting you?”

“Yeah, well, you have a point there.”

Rachel remembered the note she’d gotten in the hospital. She got up slowly, sat on the side of the bed, and held her incision as she waited out the pain. Wincing, she slid out of the bed and went to her dresser. Getting out of bed had been a slow process for her since she refused to take the over-the-counter medication Shelly had bought for her. She didn’t need it. She would heal.

She hadn’t told Shelly about the note because she didn’t want to scare her. And now that she had someone else who counted on her to take care of him, she would do whatever she had to do to keep him safe. If Shelly knew, would she make her leave? She didn’t think so but was unwilling to take that chance. Selfish or not, she had to take care of her baby boy. And until she could get a job, Shelly was all she had. She pulled the note from her top drawer and handed it to Luna.

“What is this?” Luna asked, holding it awkwardly.

“Open it.” Rachel nodded.

Luna lifted the flap of the envelope slowly and cautiously as if it might hurt her. Then without notice, she whipped it open.

Rachel raised an eyebrow.

“Well, if it were a bomb or something, it would have gone off by now.”

Rachel had yet to get used to Luna’s gruff demeanor. The girl was very outspoken, and at times, used the strangest words. Still, Rachel liked her. In fact, she found herself a bit jealous of the way Luna was able to communicate with others. She was not quiet and shy like Rachel was. She wasn’t afraid to stand up for herself and those she cared for. Luna was a valuable person to have on your side. She was glad for that.

Luna unfolded the paper and read the message quietly and then aloud. “You are in danger? Tell us something we don’t know,” Luna said. “Where did you get that from?”

“It was in my Bible when I was reading it in the hospital,” she answered.

Rachel didn’t feel comfortable telling Luna about the stranger she’d thought she’d dreamed up in her room. After finding the note, she was pretty sure it had been real, but it just seemed too creepy to speak out loud. She had no proof someone had been there, and the nurses had assured her she’d had no visitors. Rather than argue, she left it out.

“Wait, let me see that again,” Luna said, picking back up the paper from where she’d set it on the end table. “Why does this look familiar?”

“Because you just read it?” Rachel raised an eyebrow at her and then giggled.

“That envelope Jonathan and I got. The one with the money in it. Our names were written on the outside in dark bold letters just like this. All caps.”

“You figured that out on your own?” Rachel was in awe of the girl’s skills.

“Right? If Jonathan were here, he’d say I was a regular Perry Mason.”

Who? Rachel crinkled her nose at Luna.

Luna laughed. “Jonathan has been on this Perry Mason kick ever since he discovered the television. It’s an old, black, and white TV show about a detective who has a clever way of solving mysteries. He’s probably laying on the couch, watching it as we speak.”

“Oh. More television.”

“Sorry,” Luna apologized. “But on a positive note, if this is from the same person who delivered the package to us, I think he is just warning you to be careful.”

Rachel sighed with relief. She wasn’t ready to