Free To Take Up the Sword by Brynna Curry Page B

Guilty.”
    The words echoed in his head, through his heart, and shattered it.
     

 
    Chapter 2
     
    Lea fished her keys out of the pocket of her windbreaker and unlocked the front door of her sweet little house. Uneasiness swept over her for the second time this morning. Turning, she scanned the empty street behind her. Nothing looked out of the ordinary as far as she could tell. At six-thirty, it was too early for the school bus riders in her neighborhood to be waiting outside. She’d be at her desk in her warm classroom if she hadn’t forgotten the graded test papers. Those really needed to be added to the signed papers she sent out over the weekend.
    Though it was an hour before she’d have to report to her first class, she’d go in at seven o’clock to catch up on grading homework. The smell of Dunkin Donuts’ coffee and sweets lingered on her jacket, beckoning her back to the car. She just had to get one thing she’d forgotten.
    Opening the door, Lea froze. Oh my God! What had happened to her house? She picked her way over the broken glass of an old vase in the foyer and looked into the living room. Couch cushions were ripped apart, stuffing all over the floor. Mirrors, shattered lamps tossed into corners. As she picked her way through the destruction of her home, down the hall she found her office and bedroom the same way. Completely trashed. She’d never get the blood out of her clothes or mattress.
    Were the criminals who’d done this still here? Why would they want to attack her home? Unless... This was about Serena’s statue. Lea thought back to the last meeting with her sister here in her home.
    “Lea, I need a favor, a gigantic one.” Lea watched Serena’s red curls bounce around her face as she emphatically pleaded with her sister.
    “Sissy, calm down, I’ll do it if I can.” Lea noticed Serena kept her back to the wall, alternately looking between the windows and her watch.
    Serena thrust a statue into her arms. “Keep this safe and with you always. Never let anyone know you have it. When I need it I’ll come back for it.”
    Lea looked at the cheap trinket curiously and shook it, but it made no sound.
    “I will, because it’s important to you. Can you tell me why?”
    “No, I can’t. I will return for it, Lea.” A chill went through Lea and she hugged her sister so tightly she could scarcely breathe. “I love you. I’m sorry to ask this of you, but I have no one else to trust.”
    “Not even your husband? You’re scaring me, Sissy.”
    “Especially not Jack, his life depends on it. I know you’re scared. You need to be. If I don’t come back or you find you’re in danger, go to this man and only him. Promise me.” She grabbed a ballpoint pen off a nearby table and scribbled something on the back of a small white square. Serena gave her Gabriel’s business card. “Tell him who you are. He will help you. I’d trust him with my life, and in a way I guess I am.”
    “Are you going to be okay?” Lea asked.
    “I don’t know...” She paused as she opened the door. Her eyes were grave as they met Lea’s gaze “Tell no one I was here. We’re estranged. You don’t know me. No one does, not anymore. Take care, I love you.”
    The next time she’d seen Serena was in a casket.
    Whoever had done this must have been looking for the statue. Thank goodness she kept it with her, even on her morning donut runs. She took stock of the damage. In her bed, on her pillow, covered in blood was a mannequin’s head that bore a striking resemblance to her.
    Get out now! Serena’s voice flitted through her mind.
    What the hell?
    Hurry! Run! Find Gabriel!
    Covering her mouth with her hand, she backed into the dresser. Lea dug through her lingerie drawer and found the small cloth bag with stars on it she’d hidden there after Serena’s visit. Checking the contents, she found the roll of twenty-dollar bills she’d saved, one of her two credit cards and all her identifying papers. She