Total pages in book: 95
Estimated words: 103819 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 519(@200wpm)___ 415(@250wpm)___ 346(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 103819 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 519(@200wpm)___ 415(@250wpm)___ 346(@300wpm)
Avery and his crew landed as close to Ashland, Alabama as they could. He drove first to Pastor Dalton's residence. The house was far nicer than it appeared on television, but regretfully, no one answered. Prepared for that eventuality, Avery drove to the local church, one he'd learned the man had pastored for the last forty years.
The church was simple and quaint. The congregation couldn't be too large, given the size of the building, but by the looks of things, the ambiance was that of a true Southern Baptist church.
The massive hellfire and brimstone scripture on the billboard out front and the dramatic crucifix on the front doors all showed a church clear in its interpretation of the bible. Hellfire and damnation all the way. Avery never paused as he walked straight up to the small church. He grabbed the handle and jerked. Denied. The building was locked up tight.
"I noticed a Cadillac parked out back as we drove by," Tyrone, one of the bodyguards, said from behind him.
"I can get in there," Marcus, the other, much quieter bodyguard, said from behind him as he pointed to the locked church door. Avery turned to give Marcus room, and the man pulled a small black bag from the inside of his jacket pocket. Within a minute, maybe less, the front doors popped open.
The church was dark and surprisingly smaller than it looked from the outside, with the altar as the chapel's largest feature. The pews were outdated and solid wood. They looked uncomfortable as hell. And deep red carpet and equally as red velvet drapes closed the whole place in. No light filtered into the small room, making it feel oppressive. As they made their way closer to the altar, Avery could hear talking from somewhere in the rear of the building. They headed toward a door at the back of the altar, and he could make out both a woman's and man's voice.
The conversation seemed intense, maybe a little frantic. Avery followed the sounds. Tyrone and Marcus were on his heels. Evidently the offices of the church sat in the back of the building. They entered the well-lit hallway, where they could see a single back door, barred shut. An office door sat directly to the right, completely closed but clearly the location of the voices they'd all heard.
"Let me touch you again, Helena," a deeply Southern, husky voice said. Avery recognized the voice and knew instinctively what was happening. Catching Pastor Dalton in a compromising situation would just be the icing on the stay-out-of-our-lives-forever cake. Avery quickened his steps while looking over his shoulder, putting his finger to his lips. He wanted to catch him off guard.
"But I don't like it, Pastor Dalton. You said I would, but I don't. You're scaring me." Shit! That wasn't a woman's voice after all. The door was locked and Tyrone didn't miss a beat, not waiting for Marcus to work his magic. He reared back, and in one swift kick, the door caved in. The light from the hallway streamed inside the dimly lit office. Everything inside Avery hardened as he caught sight of Pastor Dalton on a small sofa with a young woman underneath him. She couldn't have been much older than seventeen or eighteen. She wasn't completely undressed, but close, and looked scared. She actively fought off his hands. Tears streamed down her face.
Tyrone and Marcus never paused and were on the situation without a second thought or instruction from him. Marcus ripped the aging pastor off her and Tyrone had the young woman up and covered, removing her from the office. They were both off-duty Washington DC police officers and understood the need to quickly subdue the perpetrator and remove the victim from the threatening situation.
"Tyrone, keep her in the chapel," Avery called out.
"Unhand me!" The pastor struggled until his eyes landed on Avery and recognition set in. "What the hell are you doing here? This church has no place for the likes of you…" Avery ignored the rant and went to the desk telephone. The pastor lunged for him, Marcus eagerly cut him off, tossing him back on the sofa with a solid punch to the gut. The pastor was red-hot mad, spewing his venom until the hit landed, and he doubled over in pain, gasping for breath. Avery dialed 9-1-1.
"What's your emergency?"
Avery anchored his hip on the desk and looked directly at Pastor Dalton when he spoke. "I'm at First Baptist in town, and I've witnessed a crime. I need assistance, please," Avery said, and the pastor finally found his voice. He went nuts. The old partially naked man again flew off the sofa and began a violent rant so nasty, Avery had a hard time hearing the operator on the other end of the line.
"I can do this all day long," Marcus said, after tackling Dalton again and violently throwing him back on the sofa. "Get up again, I dare you." Marcus got right in the pastor's face.
"Marcus, keep him in here. The police are on the way." Avery left the phone on the desk, letting the recording capture everything the pastor screamed, and strolled out of the office with a casual gait he truly didn't feel. His mind raced as he made his way back to the chapel where Tyrone stood guard over a weeping, still somewhat frantic, young woman. Tyrone had taken off his coat and wrapped it around her. Her shirt must still be in the office.
"I just need to go home! My parents are going to be so angry," she bellowed, collapsing against Avery as he sat down beside her.
"Sweetheart, I've called the police. They'll make sure you get home safely, I promise. Are you all right?" Avery asked. The pews were equipped with small boxes of tissues. Avery pulled several and handed them to her as the tears poured down.
"I thought I was coming to babysit for a meeting this afternoon after school. I didn't want to do that," she cried.
"You need to tell the police officers the truth of what happened when they get here. It's the only way to keep this from happening again," Avery said, handing her another tissue.