Chapter Nineteen

Darby’s pulse was beginning to calm down after her fright. The group of men had walked past the car which had been fine until one of them had glanced back and caught her eye. He’d carried on walking for a moment, then had tapped the man next to him on the arm and said something. They’d all turned around to stare at her. Next thing she knew they’d surrounded Eban’s car and were yelling threats and obscenities through the windows.

Obviously, they hadn’t watched the latest news conference that Elliot had so confidently orchestrated.

Calling Eban for help yet again was embarrassing, but she’d panicked. The incident had been so threatening and reminiscent of when she’d been grabbed off the island that she’d wanted to scream and shut down all at the same time. She hadn’t. She was proud of the fact she hadn’t. A small victory perhaps. She’d take whatever she could get.

She’d worried they’d damage Eban’s car or break in and pull her out, drag her off… The fact she’d be helpless to stop them was terrifying. Now Eban was with her she felt so much safer, but she couldn’t rely on him forever. What was she going to do when he left? Dye her hair so she was less recognizable? Wear big sunglasses everywhere she went? Carry a gun for protection?

This was Alaska and many people carried concealed weapons for self-defense. She hadn’t considered she might become one of them until this moment.

She grasped her hands together and tried to stop their shaking. “What did the pastor tell you? Anything useful?”

“He wasn’t there. I spoke to a guy called Ray Rasheed. Know him?”

She shook her head.

Eban stared up at street names as they headed toward her therapist’s office which was located in a strip mall not far from her apartment. His satnav map was on the screen, but he ignored that. “Rasheed said I just missed him. Did Pastor Regis ever attend any group therapy sessions?”

“No.” Darby’s heart rate was slowly returning to normal. “Not when I was there, but he was in the church next-door sometimes when meetings were going on.”

“So, he could have overheard your conversations?”

Darby shrugged. “Sure, he might, although I can’t imagine why he’d want to.”

Eban’s mouth pulled up on one side. “A lot of sick people get off listening to the suffering of others.”

Darby blinked at him.

“I also know there are plenty of good people to balance out the monsters.” Eban backtracked in a clear effort to reassure her. “Unfortunately, the monsters can do a lot of damage before they’re locked up.”

Darby shuddered. “Pastor Regis never struck me as a monster.”

Eban’s grip tightened on the steering wheel. “That’s the other problem. Monsters aren’t always easy to spot.”

Darby sank deeper into her jacket. She didn’t want to deal with fiends. She wanted to study the mysteries of the earth’s crust and attempt to predict when volcanoes might erupt in an effort to understand them better and to save lives. Ironically, volcanoes seemed less deadly and more stable than some people right now.