Page 21 of Unshakable

Henri studied Toulawhile she made a simple dinner, more for herself than him, as he ate in New Orleans and his metabolism didn’t need the calories.

Although they’d grown to trust each other, to a point, she continued to keep her granddaughters far from him. He didn’t blame her. Not after his sit-down with Kamen Tourelle.

She lent him her laptop, and from her search history, he discovered she’d looked him up after their first meeting. Good for her. He’d never bothered to run a search on himself.

“Do you like peppers?” she asked from the other room. “I have green peppers and tomatoes from the garden.”

“Sounds lovely.” He changed the subject, “Did your daughter know anything was going on with you and the girls this weekend?”

“No,” she answered, wiping her hands on a kitchen towel. “She’s deep into herself and can’t see her children at all, not even Alease, who tries so hard. It’s sad, in one way, and in another, its advantageous.”

He knew what she meant. Often, leaving people out of the equation saved everyone a lot of heartburn. Like what he’d have to do with Sam for the foreseeable future.

“Come to the kitchen,” she called, placing a large bowl of greens in the middle of the table. “Let’s pretend to be civilized.”

Following her directive, he set the computer aside and helped himself to a small portion to put her at ease. He wanted to turn the conversation to helping her as tactfully as possible.

After she’d taken a few bites, he laid his hand over hers. She stilled and glanced at him. Lines of worry pulled her beautiful lips downward.

“Toula, what do you need?”

She swallowed and hesitated. “How does one buy time?”

Indeed. In theory, one could not buy time. However, money had a unique way of reclaiming time spent doing other things, like working, and paying bills, including a doctoral degree.

She would say no if he offered to pay for anything.

He understood why. They were attracted to each other. They might become lovers if he had a say in the matter. There would be questions from her family and community if her lifestyle changed. She might feel bought and paid for, which she shouldn’t.

“You look miles away.”

Her words brought him back to reality. He smiled and her posture relaxed a bit. “Just playing things out in my head. May I intrude on your memories again?”

“Yes.” She refilled a wineglass and took a long sip. “You want to know about him, don’t you? How he came to me and what happened between us?”

Henri nodded, already having heard her story about Michael. “If there is something he said or did to give us insight as to how he might approach Chloe, we should talk about it. You haven’t even asked me the name he uses.”

“What name does he use?” she parroted.

“Kamen Tourelle. Is he using the same name?”

“Yes.” She turned white. With a heavy sigh, she rested her elbows on the table and her head in her hands. “He is beautiful, you’ve seen him. Irresistible, I suppose, to everyone. To me, as a shy sixteen-year-old, dealing with empathy and wishing to be swept away like a character in a romance novel, he seemed too good to be true.”

“Because of your empathy?”

“Yes, he was quite normal, a veritable flatline of emotion.” She frowned and chastised herself. “I should have known, but my experience and education with empathy had been weak. At first, I enjoyed how very little he seemed to feel. A break from the constant barrage of feelings. I could breathe.”

“He was holding back.”

“Yes,” she agreed. “Since he knew what I was. Pretending must have taken a great deal of energy. He is not omnipotent, or omnipresent. He’s in a body, and as such, he’s limited in his physicality, as far as I know. He simply didn’t know I was there one day and let his mask slip. The whole thing unraveled in a split second.”

Henri sat back. “Which must have been terrifying.”

Nodding, Toula took another sip of wine. “I couldn’t get away fast enough. Over time, I realized he wasn’t a man at all because even the worst human beings are not as vile and destructive as him. We never spoke again, although I saw him from a distance a few more times. Then, thankfully, nothing more until now.”

“Nothing at all between then and now?”

“No, not for me and not for my family, as far as I know. Maybe one of the other families he identified took precedence.”

“Was this before or after Michael?”

“Before.”

“How did you feel when you touched him?” Henri asked, assuming they had touched. “I felt some kind of heat transference when he shook my hand.”

She blinked. “He shook your hand?”

“Yes, so I wondered if anything different happened for you, when you touched?”

“No.” She shook her head with a frown. “For some empaths, touch is unbearable and acts as a superconductor of emotion. Not for me, but I’m concerned for Chloe. She doesn’t touch anyone except me. Did you find anything in your internet searches?”

“Nothing unusual,” Henri replied, considering how very typical Tourelle’s reasoning seemed. “Turns out everyone wants to rule the world, and everyone has some kind of roadmap.”

Toula rolled her eyes and laughed. “You don’t say.”

Everyone on earth wished as much, at least to themselves, once in their lives. Some got closer to power than others, some gained more money and fame. Everything came at a cost, no matter how pretty and shiny.

“I’m afraid it’s another part of his riddle,” Henri admitted. “Biblical scholars all agree. Satan, Lucifer, the Devil, is the ruler of ‘this present age’. His domain is earth and he’s free to run rampant, undoing the good in men’s hearts. What is there for an acolyte to rule?”

Assuming they were not held in check. Why would they be?

“More to research?” Toula suggested.

Henri nodded. “Always more to research. I have some resources at home that might help. There are others I can ask.”

A long moment passed before she asked, “You mean you want to talk to Michael, don’t you?”

Yes, he did. “I won’t if you don’t want me to.”

Toula took a deep breath. “Not yet. See what you can learn without his help. If you need him later, use your best judgement.”

“All right.” He pushed his chair back from the table. “I should get back to the motel.”

“No,” she answered, her gaze meeting his in an abrupt show of desire. “You should definitely stay.”

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