Page 1 of His UnBearable Touch

Chapter One

When she’d casually mentioned wanting to venture into the Subway after so many years, it had been one of those comments like ‘I want to sky dive’ or ‘I want to swim with sharks,’ something you say because it’s a ‘someday’ thing. So, it came as quite a shock to her when Davis Osland, the Artistic Director of the Gotham Chamber Orchestra, announced that he was going to take her to the Brooklyn Bridge Station and introduce her to the rush of the early evening subway crowd.

It had seemed impolite to refuse, and Davis promised that the line would take them within two blocks of her sublet apartment, so it seemed an awkward win-win situation. Taking his offered arm, she walked beside him out onto the street in front of the practice hall.

“I really have to thank you for accepting my offer,” he began, and she struggled to concentrate on his words as the bustling crowd nudged and jostled her as they made their way down what she assumed was the sidewalk, “I wanted to do something to make you feel welcome in our little family.”

The sounds around her were mixed in with each other in a raucous tumble of noise.

She was vaguely aware that Davis was still talking, but she was concentrating on keeping her feet under her and shaking off the unsettling feeling that she had made a horrible mistake.

The ground dropped out from underneath her foot and she reached out her hand for something to hold onto. She felt an arm under her hand and heard a muttered curse in response. “Keep your damn hands to yourself, lady.”

“Davis?” She froze and someone nudged her from behind, nearly pitching her forward.

“Sorry, we’re going down the stairs.”

She started to move again. “Just let me know when we reach a landing or some other change.”

Davis tugged her closer, making her unbalanced feelings even worse. “I forgot.”

“You don’t have to live with it,” she felt her teeth gnash together as her foot hit the ground before she was ready for it. The stairs had run out.

“We’re on the landing.”

She managed a smile. “Thanks, figured that out.”

She followed him through the unfamiliar chamber trying to pick out the individual noises around her, all while managing to stay on her feet, hoping for a moment to stop so she could take out her cane. But Davis tugged her along and somehow, they got through a turnstile and down a hallway to another set of stairs.

As they descended she smelled oil, metal, other scents that she was hoping not to name. When she’d said she wanted to try the subway, she’d meant ‘at her leisure’ but Davis kept them moving along, down the stairs to another landing.

She heard announcements, lines and delays barked out from tinny speakers, much of it gibberish.

“We’re nearly there,” Davis mentioned, “just a little bit longer.”

Allegra breathed a sigh of relief, her stomach was in a tight knot. Unfamiliar circumstances ratcheted up her anxiety, the crush of people didn’t help, it only brought back memories. Horrible, painful memories.

She felt something touch the back of her neck and her fingers dug into Davis’ arm. “Can we stop for a moment?”

“Sure, sure,” she could hear his distracted tone of voice and knew that was the last thing he wanted. “But just a minute, a train is coming.”

The warning meant nothing to her. She didn’t understand what that meant.

“Goodness,” he sighed beside her, “my arm is a little hot.”

She took that cue and let go of him, grateful for the respite. Her palms were itching from the rough wool of his coat.

“When the train comes we’re going to have to jump on.”

Allegra nodded, murmuring into the crush of sound. “Sure, just tell me when.” She was hoping he’d remember to take her arm, but for the moment she reached into her coat and unfolded her cane just to hold the familiar handle for a few moments. With the shifting masses around her she worried that she’d just end up hitting someone and causing trouble.

And then the thought melted away.

Somewhere above the cacophony of noise and grinding metal, she heard a mournful sound. The rest of the world fell away as she tilted her head toward the sound and heard the slightest scratch of a bow on strings, but the resulting sound was more of a human voice, lilting and wavering in an echo that reverberated in her chest. She heard the sound like a ribbon twisting through the air, felt the longing as a physical tug on her heart.

The sound seemed closer, tighter around her, and Allegra felt her feet moving toward it. And just as soon as she’d begun, the music disappeared, swallowed up in rush of noise around her. She froze and turned her head, an instinct that no longer worked for her, no longer helped. Her eyes were as dark as the worry that seized her heart. “Davis?”

The crowd continued to shift around her and she held out a hand to find his arm. “Davis!” Her voice scratched from her throat as her fear tightened around her heart. “Where are you?”

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