Free The Shadow of Death (Psalm 23 Mysteries Book 9) by Debbie Viguié

beginning of a new chapter.”
    She prayed that he was right.
    She turned and followed him out of the house, watching numbly as he locked the door. Aaron was waiting at the car and he took the bag from Jeremiah. She was appreciative of the fact that he’d stayed outside instead of invading her home.
    She climbed back in the backseat, grateful that Jeremiah did as well. He held her hand the entire drive to the airport which seemed to take a lifetime.
    They moved through the airport quickly and efficiently. She stuck as close to Jeremiah as she could, trusting him to take care of everything while she still tried to come to terms with what was happening. Once they made it to the gate the three of them sat together somewhat separated from the other passengers.
    She noticed that Jeremiah’s eyes were constantly moving, sweeping over the other passengers, people walking by, everyone and everything. It was the same with Aaron.
    “We’ll be landing in New Jersey and changing planes there. Then it’s straight to Tel Aviv,” Jeremiah said quietly without looking at her.
    “Okay,” she said. “Is there anything I need to do?”
    “Get some rest if you can. They’ll be long flights and who knows what’s waiting for us on the other end.”
    That wasn’t reassuring but it was good advice. She leaned back in her chair and closed her eyes, trying to calm herself down. It would be a start if she could at least unclench her fists.
    After what seemed a very short time Jeremiah touched her arm. “They’re boarding our flight,” he said.
    She had managed to tune out all the announcements that kept playing so she hadn’t realized it was time. She stood quickly, feeling nervous.
    They boarded the plane and sat together with Jeremiah in the middle and Cindy in the window seat. She couldn’t help but feel like Aaron was sitting on the end to make sure they didn’t go anywhere. It was a plane, though. There was nowhere for them to run.
    She dozed fitfully, having no interest in the movie that was playing. At last they touched down in New Jersey and again she found herself hovering next to Jeremiah as they made their way to the next gate.
    Half an hour later she was sitting down on the second plane, the last one. If she closed her eyes to sleep when she opened them she’d be in Israel. Jeremiah squeezed her hand as though sensing her trepidation. They were in this together and that gave her courage. She had insisted on coming, she couldn’t slow him down. She had to be strong, careful, and do what he asked. She made a vow as she sat there in that plane seat as the wheels left the ground and they headed for Tel Aviv. No matter what happened they would survive and both of them would go home to California, together.
    “Have you been back, since...” she asked, letting the question drift off because she was pretty sure she already knew the answer.
    “No.”
    Jeremiah leaned his head back against the headrest and closed his eyes. A few minutes later his breathing slowed. He was asleep. That was good. She should probably try to sleep as well. It was dark outside and all the shades were down. The cabin lights were off and a couple of reading lights burned in the darkness.
    She tilted her head back and tried to relax. She focused on the sound of the engines that were near her seat. As the plane leveled off she could hear people around the cabin beginning to snore. At least some people were getting to rest.
    On the aisle Aaron shifted slightly in his seat then seemed to settle down. She wished she could. Jeremiah was sleeping away and she was going to be awake the entire flight, she could feel it. She wondered how soon before the flight attendants initiated a beverage service. Maybe she could get some hot tea to soothe her nerves.
    Perhaps she could just hit the call button now and someone would be nice enough to get her the tea so she wouldn’t have to wait. She opened her eyes. She had her head tilted toward Jeremiah and Aaron. She