Page 50 of Destiny Reclaimed
“You probably don’t remember me. I was quite a few years ahead of you in school. I’m Jack’s distant cousin—fourth cousin to be exact. I recently moved back here.” He chuckled. “Small town, if you go back far enough almost everyone is related, right?”
True statement, and though Jack’s family was small, being a native of the area, he did possess some family reach. She should know, her family was much larger than her husband’s.
The man’s gaze held hers. Those almost black eyes of his matched those of Jack’s and his father’s. Strong family trait there.
The intensity of Arthur’s gaze diminished and turned warm. “I’m sorry about your brothers,” he said in a tone as sympathetic as a minister’s during a funeral service.
Even with the tears swelling in her eyes and the slight lump in her throat, she managed to respond, “Thank you.”
He reached out and touched her shoulder. This time, his touch was different, soft, and meaningful. Had she misread him earlier? Her tense muscles loosened.
Arthur closed his eyes and drew in a long breath. Her shoulder tingled as if his fingertips emitted some sort of force—electricity. Sudden visions of her twin brother flashed through her mind. Just as quickly, the emission reversed and energy drained from her body. Her vision blurred and her knees went slack. She reached out to grasp anything to break her fall, but her flailing hands were useless.
The strange man’s bulky arms caught her before she hit the floor. He whisked her off her feet and toward the storeroom where he sat her on a straight-back wooden chair.
He took a knee in front of her and aligned their gazes where her head hung low.
“Are you okay? Is there anything I can do to help you?”
Her heart panged. Why on earth was she suddenly thinking of her twin—brothers. If he could find a way to bring her brothers back that would be helpful, but she doubted he could do that for her and her parents.
“Gwen?”
“Huh. No,” she replied with a slight shake of her head.
“Stay put,” he instructed. “Let me get you a glass of water.” He rose, spun around, and exited the storeroom.
After a minute or so, Gwen decided she’d sat long enough and wanted to go home and just climb back into bed. Instead, she started to slip down in the chair as if her muscles and bones were made of jelly. Fear cracked through her like a whip. What was wrong with her.
Arthur returned in the nick of time to keep her from sliding off the chair by wrapping one of his large hands around the upper part of her arm while holding the glass of water in his other hand.
After he steadied her, he held out the cup to her. “Maybe this will help.”
It took all she had to lift her arm to take the cup from him. She took a sip, then another. Rather than help, it seemed to make her brain as useless as her extremities. Her vision fogged.
Fear raced through her veins. Her heart hammered. What had this man done to her? First, it was as if he sucked the energy out of her with his touch, and now, she could hardly see or think. She needed to get away from him.
Gwen pushed her hands down, pressing her palms to the seat on either side of her but had no strength to lift herself off the chair. Had he drugged her? Poisoned her?
Oh God, the baby.
She tried to rise, only to have another life-sucking touch to her shoulder ensue.
“Whoa now, wait just a minute. You’re too weak.”
She tried to twist away from him but felt frozen in place. Her heavy eyelids closed on their own.
“Gwen, can you hear me?” Arthur asked.
She fought to lift her lids and managed a squint. Yes. What...” She swallowed hard. Her mouth felt dry as a desert. “Wh-what have you done to us?”
“Us?”
“The baby,” she rasped out.
Even through the cloudiness, it was easy to see a sly grin rise on Arthur’s face. Why, what on earth would make him happy about this situation?
“Oh, sweetheart.”
