Page 7 of In Darkness Transformed
Her father was just getting out of his cruiser when they pulled into the parking lot. He frowned big-time the second he spotted her riding shotgun in Eli’s truck. Rather than waiting for Safara to come to him, he crossed the parking lot to open her door for her. “Where the hell have you been? And why haven’t you been answering your phone?”
“Hello to you, too, Dad. And can’t we wait until we’re inside before you start the inquisition?”
She slid out of the seat, moving slowly as she tried putting weight on her foot. When she winced, her dad grabbed her arm to support her. “What happened? Are you all right?”
“I’m fine except for a sprained ankle. I’ll explain everything once I get inside and off my feet. A big cup of coffee and a couple of aspirin wouldn’t hurt, either.”
By that point, Eli had joined them on her side of the truck, but introductions could wait a little longer. Once again, she tried walking on her own. After only two halting steps, a muttered curse word and something about God saving Eli from stubborn women served as her only warning before a pair of strong arms swung her up off the ground. The shocked expression on her father’s face was priceless, but at least he had the good sense to go with the flow for the moment. He trotted ahead to the door to the police station and held it opened while Eli carried her inside.
She pointed toward her desk in the corner. Eli plopped her down on the chair and then stepped back out of the way. It was testament to how well her father knew her that he had yet to ask any of the questions that had to be clogging up his brain right about now. Instead, he’d headed directly into the break room.
She waited until he was out of hearing before she whispered, “Brace yourself, big guy. I’m guessing Dad is not in the best of moods today.”
The words were barely out of her mouth when the man in question came marching back with three mugs of steaming hot coffee. He set them down on her desk with a little more force than absolutely necessary and then tossed her a bottle of aspirin.
“Okay, Daughter. You’re sitting down. You’ve got your coffee and pain meds. Now talk, starting with telling me who the hell this guy is.”
She smiled up at Eli. “And so it begins.”
To her surprise, he winked at her before he stuck his hand out toward her father. “Nice to meet you, Mr. Dennell. I’m the man your daughter spent the night with.”
TWO HOURS LATER,Eli was still chuckling about Safara’s outrage over the way he’d introduced himself to her father. Chief Dennell hadn’t been any happier about it than his daughter was, but eventually he’d introduced himself properly as Eli Jervain, and the discussion had gotten back on track. Not that Eli was particularly satisfied with what he’d learned.
Or actually, hadn’t learned. He still didn’t know why Safara had been up on the mountain in the first place. He also suspected both Dennells knew far more about her attacker than they let on. It was hard to tell if they’d closed ranks because it involved an open investigation or if they were hiding something far more sinister. Either way, he’d clearly been an outsider, one they weren’t ready to trust with any secrets. He understood how they felt. After all, he hadn’t exactly rushed to share his own story with them.
For now, all he could think about was getting back to the cabin and kicking back with a couple of beers. But as he rounded the last curve in the narrow road that dead-ended at the cabin, his carefully made plans blew up in his face.
An unfamiliar car was parked out front, and a man in a uniform stood on the porch facing the living room window. His hands were cupped on either side of his face as he peered through the glass, probably to block out the glare of the late afternoon sun. At the sound of the truck rolling to a stop, the man immediately turned around.
Eli finally made sense of what his eyes had been trying to tell him. This was no random visitor. He couldn’t have been that lucky. No, this man was all too familiar from the way he carried himself with authority to his light brown hair cut military short. He was Eli’s commanding officer. More than that, he was a friend. At least he had been in Eli’s old life.
So far, there was no indication that the man had recognized Eli in return. Was it too late to head right back down the mountain? Yeah, probably. Besides, Eli was no coward. If the army had tracked him down, he wouldn’t run.
He drew a deep breath and climbed out of the truck. “Hi, Major. What brings you to these parts?”
Recognition wasn’t long in coming. Mike Voss’s expression went from friendly to furious in a heartbeat. He stalked over to where Eli stood waiting. “You bastard, what have you done? Eight good men died on that mountainside, men who trusted you. They were my friends. I thought they were yours, too.”
His words hurt like hell, and not just because they were accompanied by a hard right hook to Eli’s jaw and followed by a solid punch to his stomach. Rather than fight back, Eli backed away and held his hands up in surrender. “They were my friends, too. I swear it’s not what you think, Mike. I didn’t betray them or you. I don’t know why the helicopter crashed, but I didn’t have anything to do with bringing it down.”
Mike was breathing hard, his hands still tightly clenched in fists. “Then how come you’re standing here while all of them are dead?”
Eli ran his fingers through his hair in frustration. How could he explain without sounding like a crazy man? The short answer was he couldn’t, but he had to try. If he could convince Mike that he hadn’t betrayed everything they both stood for, maybe there was some chance that Eli could get his old life back.
“Look, let’s go inside and pop open a couple of cold ones. I promise to tell you everything.”
Mike planted his feet and crossed his arms over his chest. “I ought be on the phone reporting you right this minute. Give me one good reason why I shouldn’t.”
If the man wanted proof that he should listen to what Eli had to say, he would give it to him. He pulled out his pocketknife and quickly slashed his palm open from one side to the other. His friend stared down at Eli’s hand in horror. “What the hell are you doing?”
“Just watch.”
He pulled out his handkerchief and wiped away the blood that had pooled on his skin. The wound had already started closing up. He waited another few seconds and cleaned it off a second time. By that point, the bleeding had stopped, and the cut was almost completely sealed shut.
Mike took Eli’s hand in his own, holding it closer to his face to get a better look. “That’s the damnedest thing I’ve ever seen. If I hadn’t watched with my own eyes, I would never have believed it.”
He finally released his hold on Eli and stepped back. His steel-blue gaze bored straight into Eli’s. “It might also explain a few things that have happened since that I should tell you about. But first things first. What happened that day on the mountain?”
The man would either believe Eli’s explanation or he wouldn’t. Regardless, it was time to toss the dice. “I died right along with everyone else, but I didn’t stay dead. I don’t know why, and I don’t know how, but I swear it’s God’s own truth.”
