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Chapter 707
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2023-04-19 10:05:10“Hi, Daddy,” Serena said softly. “It’s me, Serena. How are you feeling today? You seem good. Did Nurse Selma give you a haircut? It’s a little shorter.” She stooped to give him a kiss on the cheek and ruffled his hair.
She ventured a long glance into his eyes. They used to be the most beautiful, sparkling hazel, changeable depending on his mood or clothing. Sometimes they were toffee, sometimes green, and sometimes they were even golden amber. But after the stroke, they had turned and stayed a muddy brown, reflecting no essence of the life trapped within. She laid her purse and water bottle on his hospital bed and pulled a chair up so she could sit across from him.
What to say, what to say? Lie, damn it. And definitely don’t say anything about Jared!
“I know I haven’t been here in a little while. Things have been crazy busy over at the shop. Everybody wants to see our beautiful mountains and rock formations,
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Walking quickly and with purpose, Serena made her way down the street, turned a corner, and walked up the path to her home. Seeing the house looming before her brought back all sorts of memories. Memories not yet ready to be faced. So she grabbed the Jeep’s keys from her purse, choosing instead to jump in her car and drive to her shop. She knew she had a ton of paperwork to do. Maybe that would distract her enough from her troubles.Every few minutes, Serena checked her rearview mirror, watching for any signs of people following her. Now that she was alone, looking out for herself became her number one priority. She still had to contend with Dr. Chappo and his crazy scheme. When she pulled into the back lot, she saw no one loitering or hanging out in their cars, and waited another few minutes. She went in the back entrance, snuck into her office, and called Callie on the intercom system.“Hey, Callie, it’s Serena. I’m in my office, but I don&rsq
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Wheezer and Steve had gotten a perfect view as Serena hopped in her Jeep and headed off to parts as yet unknown.“When the hell did she slip in?” Wheezer wondered as he put the car in drive and peeled out of their hiding spot.“Well, let’s think about this. Didn’t we waste twenty minutes picking up the worst fucking burgers in the USA? My guess is she came in to work while we were out. We wouldn’t have realized it because her Jeep is like all the others. Anyways, it doesn’t matter. We’ve got her now. Just don’t get too close to her, Wheezer. I don’t want her getting skittish and bolting.”“I know how to tail someone. What do you think I am, a weekend thug or somethin’?” He gave Steve a caustic look.“Or somethin’ is right. I don’t want to fuck this up again, man. Hey, watch the goddamn road, will ya!” Steve’s feet flew up to the dashboard. &ld
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Realizing she may have put herself at risk even though she had checked numerous times for anyone following her, Serena hastily packed up her belongings and made the arduous trek back to the trail’s beginning. She returned to her Jeep a different person though, a person maybe without all of the answers, but definitely more assured of what she wanted for herself. She had come to certain understandings about Raphael. She had decided that they did not have a future together, but she could forgive him his cowardice at not revealing Sirona as his wife. She had declared war on Sirona’s soul. She wasn’t sure how it was all going to turn out, but at least everyone knew where they stood. And she had a better knowledge of the possible motives behind Dr. Chappo’s obsession with her. Knowledge is power. I may not be a goddess, but I’m one strong-willed, pint-sized woman!****Wheezer watched as Serena emerged from the forest. He saw her look around ten
Last Updated : 2023-04-21Leesa's Advent Chapter 711
Jared jumped madly on Serena’s bed. “Get up! Get up! It’s time for school. Get up!” If he jumped any harder, she’d bounce right out of her bed. As it stood, her entire body felt like a tossed salad, and her mouth as dry as the desert itself. She groaned something inaudible and tried opening her eyes a crack. Everything blurred and colors swam dizzily before her, so she immediately closed her eyes again.Completely disoriented, Serena stirred. She heard men’s voices, but what they were saying she couldn’t decipher. This isn’t my bed, and Jared hasn’t jostled me about. It had only been a damned dream. She lay on the back seat of a car that had to be going over rough terrain. Something stuffed her mouth making it impossible for her to swallow or speak, and her hands and feet were bound. She tried once more to open her eyes for a look around, but waves of nausea took over as soon as she lifted her head but an inch. Blackness swamped her again.****Serena had gone to the Cookstove Trail.
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“Damn it! You’d better be all right, Serena. And if you are, I’m gonna kill you when I see you,” Raphael muttered to himself as he flew over the mountains toward Michael and Emma’s house. “Why did you have to run? Why couldn’t you stay and hear me out? I could have kept you safe.”The D’Angelos lived near the base of the Superstition Mountains in Prophet’s Point. From their house, it would only take about a half hour or forty minutes to get to the area where Dr. Chappo lived. By air, about a minute. It took all of Raphael’s willpower to keep from flying straight there. There were two things that stopped him. He didn’t have the exact location of Dr. Chappo’s estate, and he knew Gabriel spoke the truth. Going alone right now would ensure failure and put Serena’s life even more at risk. So he’d settled for following through on the directive: go to Michael’s and get his head on straight. Not an easy task in and of itself.It wouldn’t take him three hours to get to his house, but it wasn’t
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Serena groaned, and with her eyes still tightly shut, brought her hand up to swipe at invisible cobwebs about her face. This is the worst hangover in history! Her mouth felt drier than the desert itself. Sand and dirt were all she could think of as she tried to swallow, and she coughed madly. As she gagged and took in raspy breaths, something cool and moist relieved her parched lips and droplets trickled into her mouth.“Easy there, ma’am, easy,” a soft voice coaxed. Someone gently wiped her lips with a wet rag and squeezed water into her mouth. Serena opened her mouth a bit wider, wanting more and more of the precious fluid.As awareness began to form meaning, it became clear that hangovers like this weren’t the typical at all. In fact, she now remembered that she hadn’t been drinking. But what exactly caused her head to feel as if it weighed a ton and her eyelids to be stuck closed? Fear mixed with confusion. Swirling, distorted images of Bull, Wheezer, and Steve mixed with a sour b
Last Updated : 2023-04-22Leesa's Advent Chapter 714
When she had looked up information about Sirona, not only did she find text on her, but images as well. And she’d be damned if the gown wasn’t a replica of one she had seen in one of those images. Her suspicions were correct. He thought her to be Sirona, the Goddess of Healing, reincarnated. Damn it all!“I guess my other clothes wouldn’t do now that I’m all clean, huh?”“Oh no, ma’am! Strict instructions. You are to wear the gown. Your other clothes are to be taken and thrown out. They’re all shredded, anyway, so there’s no sense in keeping them. I think you made out better in the deal. This gown is gorgeous!” Roberta gushed.“Oh, for heaven’s sake,” Serena muttered and rolled her eyes. “Okay, let’s put the thing on me.” She stood a tad stronger than just a few minutes ago. Good news.Roberta expertly tossed the gown over Serena’s head and secured the many buttons along the side. Serena had to admit she felt phenomenal in the gown. It left one shoulder bare and draped seductively ove
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“Success, gentlemen! Success!” Kemuel shouted as he, Gabriel, and Michael came bursting through the front door.“Shh!” Emma hissed. “Come on! We’re so close to a full night’s sleep from the twins!”“Sorry, I forgot.” A wail suddenly arose from down the hall. She sprang into action, throwing a glare toward Kemuel and ran down the hall, hoping to avoid a double whammy.“Brother, you are in the doghouse tonight!” Michael ribbed.“Come on in, Kem. There’s plenty of room for the both of us,” Raphael muttered sourly.“I won’t be in for long. She likes me,” Kemuel boasted as he sat down next to Raphael. “So, we went, we saw, and we got out. We are ready to roll. Gabriel, give up the goods, my brother.”Gabriel described the lay of the land surrounding Dr. Chappo’s mansion in detail. “As predicted, there’s a full
Last Updated : 2023-04-23
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Serena awoke to the sound of birds chirping and the smell of fresh coffee brewing. She rolled over lazily, reaching out for Raphael, but the space was empty. With eyes still closed, she frowned. Where is that man? That man had probably been out of bed since the crack of dawn, beside himself with nerves for today’s big event, she thought regretfully. They were to be married today. Their lives intertwined for all of eternity. What man wouldn’t have cold feet at the prospect? And they’d known each other such a short time, too. She opened her eyes and blinked a few times, and frowned again. She had awakened in the safe house. Last night, she’d killed a man in her own home, and knew she could never go back there ever again. She didn’t care how good the Brethren’s cleanup crew could restore her home. It would never erase the vivid memories and horrors of what had happened there. She and Raphael would have to find themselves a new home, together. Until such time, this place would be it, th
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It’s going to be a long day without Raphael, Serena thought, as she washed and dressed. But she carried on. With so many loose ends to tie up, final checks to be made, people and places to coordinate, she scarcely had time to think about anything else. Except for her father. In the quiet moments between the bedlam of planning a wedding, she reflected upon him and her heart ached. She had arranged for a nursing home staffer to drive him and his wheelchair to the Chapel of the Holy Cross for the wedding. They didn’t usually allow weddings there, but somehow, Raphael swayed their decision. Kemuel promised to wheel her father down the aisle beside her, and she loved him instantly for that. But her dream was to have him walk her down that aisle. A sob caught in her throat, and she quickly shook her head to whisk it away. None of that nonsense, Serena. Don’t be greedy. At least he is alive and here to be a part of it all. As the day waxed on to evening, Serena felt unsettled. She hadn’t s
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Raphael spent the next few days cloistered with Serena, away from everyone and everything, like a honeymoon before the wedding. But every morning he made creative excuses to tear himself away from her for a little while and work with Fred. To make sure she didn’t visit her father, he dropped her off at her shop first so she could plan a small wedding with Callie and catch up on the mountains of paperwork.The healing sessions with Serena’s father went spectacularly, and with Raphael’s charisma, he convinced the nursing home staff to keep any improvements secret from her. They thought it romantic that he came to help with his fiancée’s father’s rehabilitation. Everyone there rooted for him, amazed at his miraculous awakening. All of the therapists worked their tails off during his therapy sessions, wanting to see their severely stroke-damaged patient beat the odds and walk his daughter down the aisle.On the morning of the fifth day, Raphael got Fred walking without any assistance.“Co
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Raphael grabbed her hands. “Do it!” he demanded. He placed them on his temples and spoke to her through their bonded connection. She felt every thought he had had of Sirona over the years straight to the present down their threaded connection. She heard every thought he’d had of her, including every word he had spoken while holding her in his arms at Dr. Chappo’s estate. He sent her everything that filled his heart and soul about her, and finally, at last, she knew.She knew. And knowing was everything to her. He gently brought her hands away from his face, kissing her fingertips as he eased them down, and she took a few steps backward, looking at him as if for the first time. No one before had ever felt about her the way he felt about her, let alone express so strongly all he’d expressed when she’d lain dying in his arms.“You’re in love with me.” She gasped, astonished. Tears welled again in her eyes, but this time, for a very different reason.“Yes.” He took a bold step toward her.
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A bundle of nerves, that’s what she’d turned into. Since leaving her father’s, Serena had been nothing but a bundle of nerves, rehearsing over and over again what she would say to Raphael up on the Rock. Looking all around her now, frightening memories kept popping into her mind, making her think that at any moment, Steve or Wheezer were going to jump out and nab her. Unfortunately, she had gotten to the summit way too early, and now paced like a caged bobcat. It had to stop. The bad guys are dead, Serena. Think positive, and let go the past. So, finding a suitable rock to sit on, Serena decided to do a little meditation to soothe her worried heart. “When I see him, I’ll know the right words to say,” she notified the birds. It may sting for a bit, but it’s for the best.****Raphael showed up at the base of the mountain with time to spare, and noticed Serena’s Jeep already parked. Perfect, he thought. He checked his pocket for the millionth time, making sure the ring box hadn’t fallen
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Raphael watched Serena leave the nursing home from behind one of the bushes in the front. She seems in good spirits, he thought. Only when he saw her disappear down the street did he dare to venture out of his hiding place. He walked into the nursing home and headed straight to the reception desk.“Hello, I’m here to see Mr. Sikes.” He smiled amiably at the receptionist.“Wow, two visitors in one day. Fred’s a lucky guy. Sign in right here, please. You’ll sign out before you leave. Take this badge so we know you belong here. Room 103 is down the hall, make a left, and he’s at the end on the left.”He looked at her name tag, and winked. “Thanks so much, Judy.”Walking down the hall, he found himself fidgeting with the badge in his hand. Am I actually nervous? Hell yeah! Raphael, the man, is about to meet the father of the woman he loves. Raphael, the man, is about to ask for this guy’s daugh
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Great! Just great! There’s a leak in my bedroom ceiling. Wait a minute, that’s not right. I’m not in my bedroom. I’m locked away in Dr. Chappo’s house. She remembered more. Being bound to a gurney, her body broken and dying. But I’m not lying on a gurney now, and I actually feel great. How could she be dying and still feel great? And what’s with the rain shower on my face? Slowly her eyes fluttered open, and she gasped.It was raining. Angel’s tears. Raphael’s tears, to be exact.She lay in his arms, and from the way he shuddered and sobbed, she thought maybe he didn’t know she lived. To be honest with herself, she’d only realized this fact just a few moments before. Iridescent wings were outstretched and trembling though no breeze made them flutter so.She gently raised her hand to caress his cheek and whispered softly. “Shh…there now, Raphael, shh. It’s all right. I’m ok
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Raphael noticed a knob on the box. It made sense to dial it to its lowest setting. He followed the tubing to its clamp on Serena’s side and decided to completely clamp it off. Now, no more blood could flow. But he still needed to get the needle out of her arm. He found gauze and tape on the tray stand and proceeded to extrude the catheter from her arm carefully so as not to injure her. He replaced it securely with the gauze and tape. His hands shook. I can’t fall apart like this right now! He quickly shrugged off the threat of paralyzing fear.“Hey, Raphael, this guy says his name is Steve. Isn’t that the name of one of guys who assaulted Serena?” Gabriel asked.“Yes, yes it is,” he said through gnashed teeth. Rage filled him and he clenched his fists, trying to gain some semblance of control. “Bind him, tightly. Make sure he can see Dr. Chappo. I’d like him to see what happens to assholes like him when they choose
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Searing hot pain shot like lightning throughout every inch of Serena’s body. Well, every inch she could feel, which left her very disturbed indeed, because she couldn’t feel anything past her waist. She could barely breathe without severe pain ripping through her chest and back. She knew what that meant—broken ribs. But what about her legs? Where were they? And why did her wrists feel shackled? Oh, dear God! What’s become of me? Her shallow breaths quickened. Her heart raced and fought for freedom behind her aching chest. Tears burst through her closed eyes and flowed untapped down the sides of her face.A voice sliced through the whooshing sound in her ears. A voice she knew all too well, and had come to despise with every molecule in her being.“Uh, Doc, I think she’s coming ’round. What do you want me to do?” Steve asked.“Hmm? Oh, nuffin. Nuffin, Seeve. Jus’ keep watchin’,” Dr. Chappo sl
