Page 99 of Her Faithful Protector

“I want to show you something.”

She agrees, and after settling Quinton with Morgan and Tyler, we head north. Her hands are on the steering wheel, but she never forgets to reach out to me every now and then. Sitting next to her, I admire her fearless nature, having gone a step further than just knocking gloves with her once formidable fiancé. I’m certain that Quinton will grow up to be just like her.

“Here,” I say, pointing to the St. Leo monastery.

Ava slows down, taking in the view of the 1930s complex. “You grew up here? It’s almost unbelievable.”

“Sister Laura found me wandering around there.” I point at the west corner of the abbey. “I was drunk and completely drugged. But I remember… I remember her holding my hand and leading me into a kitchen. My God, the warmth and the smell of fresh pumpkin soup. Yeah… as far as I know, my life started then.”

Ava wraps a hand over mine. “Bless Sister Laura. I wish I’d met her.”

I nod, thinking that it would have been wonderful. When Ava and I met in Bozeman, I was on bereavement leave from theMarine Corps after Sister Laura’s passing. It dawns on me, the sentimental tie that exists between the woman I saw as my mother and the woman I fell in love with when we first crossed paths.

I say, “I owe it to Sister Laura. For a while, I couldn’t talk. I couldn’t even walk properly. I was called ‘Snowflake’ then because I was so pale.”

“So, where was that butcher shop? You know, that black and white photo of you.”

“Oh, that sidewalk? It was about thirty miles from here.”

“So you roamed around.”

“I have no recollection of it, but I guess a picture paints a thousand words. Yet I came back here.” I gaze at the corner where Sister Laura found me. “Amethyst Avenue is about a block away from here. Whatever I was thinking, escaping that place, only to circle back?”

“It saved you.”

“I guess,” I sigh. “Like I said, Scalpel never had a permanent base. He abducted me in Syracuse. And then we must’ve moved from place to place until we ended up here. But he had a pattern. He chose a place near a church to hide his victims. That was his signature. As if asking for forgiveness from God while committing his despicable act.”

“Perhaps he was making fun of the Big Man, doing the sin right under his nose,” Ava argues.

I scoff as I motion to her to drive on, getting closer to Amethyst Avenue without her realizing. By now, I should’ve been an emotional mess, surrounded by the air that belongs to my nightmare. But I’m not.

“Where to now?” Ava asks innocently.

I make a bold request. “Drive me there, please?”

“Jack… I don’t think it’s such a good idea.”

“Please.”

She reluctantly agrees. Following my instructions, we make our way to the sinister house—Scalpel’s one-time fortress.

“I don’t remember this building, yet I hate it.” I take in the details of the house as I step out of the car. The paint on the walls is peeling, and the roof is weathered. “I learned from Sam that our mother died of a broken heart. It’s all because of the man who used to haunt this place.”

The door to the basement is broken, neglected by whoever resides there now. I pass it by. I never even contemplated going back into that repulsive prison cell. Instead, I explore the gardens, looking for the ventilation that keeps appearing in my nightmares.

I find myself on the eastern side of the house. Approximately five paces from the front, I squat, using my bare hands to dig the soil against a wall.

Damn.

There it is.

I don’t have a detailed memory of this place, but the darkness and putridness stay with me. Along with the presence of Scalpel.

“Jack… Jack… baby!” Ava’s voice sounds far away, but as she keeps calling, it gradually comes to me.

My hands freeze, being held by Ava. I don’t realize they’re trembling, my fingers bent, desperately scraping at the paint surrounding the ventilation.

“I’m sorry.” I expel air rapidly. “This is me, Ava. This is what I meant by being broken beyond repair. I have nightmares about this place almost every time I close my eyes. I never meant to hurt you in my sleep.”

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