Page 12 of In God's Name

“Lilith you’re not making any sense,” Joe responds calmly, “did I know what?”

“Did you know The Garden killed my brother?” I grit out through my teeth. It’s a large accusation, but with no other leads, I’m willing to grasp at strings. I wouldn’t have been sent this information for nothing, right? Maybe someone on the inside wants to right their wrongs.

There’s a long pause of silence before Joe’s voice comes through the line, “What are you talking about, Lilith?”

Finally the tears break loose and a sob makes its way up my throat and out of my mouth.

“Did you know Elijah is Apollyon’s nephew?”

“Like the founder of the clinic?”

“That’s the one,” I sigh, relief flooding my system now that I know Joe wasn’t aware. At the bare minimum I can be grateful I wasn’t just a chess piece to all of them. “I’m sorry for getting angry,” I continue, “If Elijah shows up will you please have him call me?”

“Yeah sure…” There’s another long pause before he carries on, “I don’t know what’s going on but take care of yourself. Mary and I miss having you around the clinic.” I give him one more sigh before ending the call and setting my phone down next to me on my bed. Everything feels completely hopeless. I feel like I’ve been tossed into a mix of something much darker than Jesus wanted me to take part of.

I get up and begin pacing around my room, letting my thoughts wander every which way. By the time I’ve finally grown exhausted with myself, my phone says it’s a little past nine. There goes another day, wasted with nothing to show for it. I pull myself out of my room and head towards the kitchen to grab a small snack. I’ve earned a night of rest after everything that's been going on the past few weeks. A romcom and some popcorn sounds perfect right now.

As I turn on a lamp the light catches something on the counter. Sitting next to my oven is a vase full of baby's breath and roses. My heartbeat pounds through my bloodstream as I

stare at the flowers, frozen in place. My body begins to walk towards the gift and before my brain can catch up, my hands are already picking up the note that was tucked into the bouquet.

“Is it not a sin to be ungrateful? How could you give the gift away? Let’s try again.”

Anger begins to replace my fear as I reread the note. I have worked so hard for this beautiful and safe life of mine, and some twisted psycho is ripping it away from me. I begin to rip apart the petals, letting the soft material fall to the ground around me. Once the flowers have been demolished I turn and grab the vase, smashing it against the ground. The glass scatters like a family of mice being chased by a barn cat.

My heart rate finally begins to descend as I look over the wreckage. The ground sparkles back up at me as the light reflects off the shards of glass. It’s too late now to hand over the evidence I think to myself as bits of red from the flowers begin to mix with the shimmer of the glass. He was in my apartment. The police were just here and if they had done anything, had someone kept watch, had they sent out a patrol car, he could’ve been caught. The ache in my chest grows as my sobs bring me to the floor. Slivers of glass cut into my knee but the sadness engulfing me is too much for me to care about the physical pain. My world has fallen apart so quickly.

The next morning I avoid my kitchen entirely. After my meltdown, I was too exhausted to clean and found myself

tucked in bed for the rest of the night. The mess is still in there, haunting me, but I refuse to let it win today.

“Today will be better,” I whisper to myself in the bathroom mirror as I finish pulling up my hair. It feels like a lie, but if I’m going to continue on, maybe a lie is what I need right now. Pulling out my phone, I reread the message thread between Leah and I this morning.

I found someone who can help

With?

The email. I found someone who can trace it.

Who???

I’m meeting him for coffee. I'll send you the address. Be there by 11

The messages give me a splinter of hope, and I look back up to the mirror more sure this time, “Today will be better.”

Chapter fifteen

Kameron

My prey has no idea she’s being stalked. Sipping on an iced coffee, I watch as she sits herself down next to another woman in the booth across from me. She’s all dolled up today, with a high ponytail, beige waistcoat, and a little black dress clinging to the curves of her body. Everything about Lilith physically, screams sex. Lust, attraction, and danger seem to leak from her pores as though it flows through her seamlessly. Her sunglasses didn’t leave her face as she entered the establishment, convincing me her eyes must be swollen from last night. I had hung around after leaving her present, and finally got the reward of her acting much less like a victim and more so the kind of person who would get a hitman called onto them. It was incredible. Her little tantrum last night and the way she acted towards the man at the bar are the only glimpses I’ve gotten of my prey’s fire. And for the first time since I’ve begun this job, I have a target that excites me. I’m ready to take on the challenge of snuffing out that flame burning inside her.

I continue mindlessly scrolling on my phone as I wait for something to happen at her table. Lilith and Leah had been sitting there for fifteen minutes anxiously prodding at their drinks and shuffling their feet. Occasionally one of them would speak up, but it was nothing more than small talk. A quick “How did you sleep?” here. And a “Do you have any dinner plans?” there. But their body language screamed at me that there was more going on than what met my eyes.

After a few more minutes my luck finally turns around. A taller, lanky man dressed in sweats rolls into the coffee shop, looking around like a lost puppy. His glasses line his dark brown eyes that light up as he spots the women. Practically bouncing over to the table, he announces himself to them.

“Hey! It’s Leah right?” He smiles over to Lilith’s friend. Why does that name sound so familiar? Leah nods and gestures for him to sit down across from them. I lean forward on my table, making sure I’m able to listen in.

“I see you brought a friend,” the man says, smiling over to my prey.

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