Whispers of Her (The Truth Series Book 3) Read online

  Whispers of Her

  By J.A. Owenby

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

  Copyright © 2017 by J.A. Owenby

  Published by Kindle Direct Publishing

  www.jaowenby.com

  All rights reserved. In accordance with the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976, the scanning, uploading, and electronic sharing of any part of this book without permission of the publisher constitute unlawful piracy and theft of the author’s intellectual property. If you would like to use material from the book (other than for review purposes), prior written permission must be obtained by contacting J.A. Owenby. Thank you for your support of the author’s rights.

  Edited by Molly McCowan

  Cover Art by Andrew Brown

  First Edition

  ISBN-13: 978-1547105649

  ISBN-10: 154710564X

  Click here to gain access to previews of J.A. Owenby’s novels before they’re released and to take part in exclusive giveaways.

  Acknowledgments

  Brett, thank you for all your love and support. You da man! I love you.

  A special thank you to Paula Cain Williams for her legal advice, to Mindy Hand and Aubrey Minear for their gun knowledge, and to Thad Foshee and Angela Threadgill Mims for their military expertise and insight. Thank you, Thad and Angela, for serving our country.

  I also want to thank Sheri Kaye Hoff, Jeannie Kemper, Kara Long, Sarah Jones, Nancy Schnaufer, Cristel Olive, Pat Harvey, Shannon Barnard, Bonnie Gortler, Vivienne Smith, Aubrey Minear, Angela Fowler, Brittney Valencia, Gabriel Jones, Dawn Plummer, Michelle Meek-Muradian, Lisa Felton and Merle, Dana Walker, Lori Keenom, Heather Bradley, Bette Stevens, Aunica Cole, and Melanie Greer Williams.

  And to my sweet office kitty, Chloe, who snores while I write.

  The Truth Series

  The Truth She Knew

  Echoes Beneath

  Whispers of Her

  Short Stories

  Tears in the Sun

  Blurred Lines

  Table of Contents

  Acknowledgments

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Chapter 31

  Chapter 32

  Chapter 33

  Chapter 34

  Chapter 35

  Chapter 36

  Chapter 37

  Epilogue

  About the Author

  Chapter 1

  Spring 1990

  “I thought I’d lost you forever,” he said as he wiped his tearstained cheek and pulled his chair closer to my hospital bed.

  I stared at him as I reached out and trailed my fingers down his face and across his jawline. I wasn’t sure if I was dreaming or if he was real. I pulled the oxygen mask away from my face.

  “You’re really here?” I whispered.

  “I am,” he said and nodded. “I realize the mask isn’t comfortable, but your lungs need it after the fire.” He reached for it and gently placed it over my face again.

  I pulled it away as soon as he let go, my eyes widening.

  “You know about the fire?” I asked, my voice raspy.

  Walker ran his hand through his hair and frowned. I didn’t understand. How did he know about the fire?

  “Tell me everything you know,” I demanded. I tried to push myself up into a sitting position, but my body betrayed me and I sank back into the bed.

  “You should talk to the doctor, Lace,” he said and stood up.

  My eyes traveled down his body. The last year and a half had changed him. His shoulders filled out his T-shirt and his jeans no longer hung on his hips the way they had when we’d first met. Muscles rippled through his arms as he crossed them in front of his chest. Disbelief washed over me. Was he really in the same room with me? Even as my gaze drifted across his face, a hollow ache pulsed through me with every beat of my heart.

  My thoughts were interrupted as the door opened and two police officers marched into my room.

  “Walker Farren?” the taller, dark-haired cop asked.

  “Yeah, that’s me,” Walker replied.

  “You’re under arrest for the attempted murder of Xander Koffman.”

  My mouth dropped. What the hell was happening?

  “What? No, there must be some mistake!” I said as I attempted to sit up again. “Walker?”

  Walker’s face fell, and he stared at his feet as the officer handcuffed him. The click of the metal echoed throughout the room.

  “No, wait! Please,” I pleaded as tears spilled down my cheeks. I collapsed into my pillow as the police officers led Walker out of my room. My cries came out in muffled, choked sobs.

  Attempted murder? Xander? I clutched at my stomach as I wondered if I was still pregnant or not. I needed some answers, and right this second wouldn’t be soon enough.

  “Stop your crying.”

  I peered up from the pillow as Mama walked through the door and approached my bed.

  “Mama?” I asked. I reached for her hand. “Thank you,” I whispered.

  “For what? What are you talking about?” Mama asked, irritated.

  “It was you. You came into the house and saved me. I remember what you said—you said you loved me and were proud of me.” My tears silently fell down my cheeks as I squeezed her hand.

  “Well, that should’ve been your first clue that you were hallucinating. Not sure I would’ve chosen those words. I wasn’t there with you, Lacey.”

  “What?” I said as my eyebrows knitted together. “You carried me out of the fire. But I don’t know if I lost the baby.”

  “Baby?” Mama spat. “No wonder you were left to burn in that house. You got pregnant out of wedlock, and God was going to destroy you both. I didn’t save you, and I would’ve never interfered with God’s plan. He allowed this fire so you would stop your evil ways.”

  “That is quite enough!” came a voice from the doorway.

  Mama spun around and I sat up as much as I could, my eyes widened with shock.

  “Get out right now, or I’m calling the cops,” Emma said as she held the door open and pointed toward the hallway. “How dare you say something like that to her. Get out, and don’t come back. You’re no longer welcome anywhere near Lacey.”

  I’d never seen Emma’s face turn as red as it was at this moment. She’d also never raised her voice to an adult that I was aware of.

  Mama got up and walked out the door without a word. She might have left for now, but I didn’t trust her not to return. Especially if she believed I deserved to die.

  Emma closed the door and flew across the hospital room toward me. “Lacey! Oh my God!” she said as she wrapped me in her arms. I settled my head on her shoulder and sobbed.

  “I’m here. It’s okay,” she said as
she patted me on the back.

  I cried until my head throbbed so badly I couldn’t stand it anymore. I pulled away as Emma sat on the edge of my bed. I reached for a tissue and wiped the tears from my cheeks. Movement caught my eye, and I glanced toward the door as it opened.

  “George!”

  “Hey,” he said as he approached me. I grabbed his shirt and pulled him in for a long hug. “I’m so sorry. I’m so, so sorry,” he whispered as he hugged me and tears slipped down his cheeks.

  “I’m okay, or I think I am. I don’t know. I don’t know anything really,” I said as the fear bubbled up inside me. “I need some answers.”

  “Hon, I think we should call the doctor in for you,” Emma said as she held my hand.

  “I’ll go get someone,” George said as he wiped his nose on the back of his hand and walked out of the room.

  “You’re really here?” I asked Emma.

  “You’re in the hospital. Where else would I be? As soon as George called me, I got on a plane,” Emma said.

  “George called you? I’m so confused. And they arrested Walker! Oh my God, what’s happening?”

  “They arrested Walker? I knew he was here, but what did they arrest him for?”

  “Wait, you knew he was here?”

  “Yeah, but I’ll get to all that in a minute. What did the cops say?”

  “Something about the attempted murder of Xander,” I muttered as I tried to piece everything together.

  “Hi, everyone,” the doctor said as he entered my room. He pushed his glasses up his short nose as George walked in and sat down. “Lacey, I know you have some questions, but first I’m going to check your vitals. Would you like your friends to leave the room or stay? It’s up to you.”

  “Stay,” I whispered.

  I lay still as he took my pulse and listened to my breathing. When he was finished, he replaced the oxygen mask on my face.

  “Okay. You’re exhausted and you’ve suffered from some smoke inhalation, but you’ll make a full recovery.”

  I stared at him as I waited for him to continue.

  “The bad news is that . . . I’m so sorry, Lacey, but you lost your baby.”

  I slumped forward, putting my face in my hands as I started to sob again.

  “Shit,” George muttered in the background. “I’m so sorry. That’s—that’s why you decided to stay?”

  I nodded as I continued to cry.

  “I’m going to send in a grief counselor for you to talk to,” the doctor said. “You should make yourself comfortable—we’re going to monitor you for a few days. You’re lucky you made it out of the fire alive.” He patted my arm and then left me with Emma and George.

  “You were pregnant?” Emma asked as large tears streamed down her face.

  “Not anymore,” I hiccupped as I rubbed my stomach where my baby should have been. I wasn’t sure how it was possible to experience such enormous loss. I’d only known I was pregnant for a few days, but as the harsh reality of what I’d lost sunk in, agony permeated me. A piece of myself had shattered, and there was nothing left to fill the emptiness.

  George approached the other side of my hospital bed and pulled up a chair. He took my hand in his.

  “We were terrified when we heard,” he said gently. “We thought you were gone. I’d just stood on your front porch yesterday. I should’ve known.” He shook his head in disbelief.

  “I couldn’t tell you yet. I’d barely had time to process it myself.”

  “I get it. It all makes sense now,” he said.

  I turned toward Emma and took a breath. “What happened? How are you here? Why is Walker here? Who took me out of the house? I’m so confused.”

  Emma grabbed a tissue and dried her tears. Her face clouded as she gathered her thoughts. “Well, do you remember the other night when I called you and said I had something to tell you about Walker?”

  I nodded. How could I forget? Xander had flown into a rage over that message.

  “I was trying to tell you that he and Brittany got divorced a few months ago. He showed up at my apartment and begged me to tell him where you were, saying he’d made a horrible mistake. I know he screwed things up, but there was something different about him, and I caved. I told him you were here in Oregon. He said he was going to book a flight this week and find you.”

  Emma paused, glancing at me. I nodded for her to continue.

  “I gave him as much information as I could—George’s name, the university, everything I knew. He said he’d take it from there. I guess he wasn’t kidding, either. Lacey . . . Walker was the one that saved you.”

  My mouth dropped open as I tried to wrap my mind around what she’d just said. I shook my head. How could I have thought it was Mama? I saw her. She talked to me.

  “I don’t have all the details,” Emma went on. “I just heard that he showed up before the fire department and ambulance. He was carrying you down the stairs when they arrived. That’s all I know. I have no idea where Xander is or what happened to him. I only know that Walker saved you. And if I hadn’t told him where you were, you’d be gone, and we’d—we’d be making funeral arrangements instead.” She hiccupped as she grabbed another tissue.

  George reached over me and patted Emma’s arm. “It’s okay. She’s safe now,” he said.

  I didn’t feel safe. My skin prickled with fear, and I jumped at every little noise. I wasn’t sure who was going to walk in the door next, Mama or Xander. I bit my lip as I leaned my head back and stared at the white ceiling. I’d lost my baby, and I’d lost myself. I wasn’t sure I had the strength to come back from it all.

  “How did the house catch fire?” Emma asked, her voice barely above a whisper.

  “Xander,” I replied. “He taped my hands and feet with duct tape, kicked me in the stomach, and set the house on fire. He left me in his bedroom,” I said as despair tore through my chest.

  Emma covered her mouth in an attempt to muffle her gasp.

  “He’s not just mean, he’s fucking crazy,” George said. He shot a glance at Emma. “Oh, sorry. Lacey is used to my mouth.”

  “That’s okay. I hate to say it, but I agree with you,” Emma said.

  “Yeah. I figured out just how crazy a little too late,” I muttered.

  “You should come home with me,” Emma said so softly I almost didn’t hear her.

  George glanced at her.

  My face fell as the reality set in that I had no money and no place to live. I wouldn’t be able to get a job for a while, either. I wasn’t even sure how I was ever going to sleep, much less go to work and be around people again.

  “Okay.”

  “Really?” Emma asked, surprised.

  “Where else do I have to go? You and your parents are the only family I have.”

  “You have me,” George said.

  I squeezed his hand. “I love you. You’re awesome, and I wouldn’t have made it this far without you. I have to go home, though,” I said. “Not only is Mama here, but Xander is too. Between the two of them, I don’t have a chance of staying alive.”

  “My God, that’s the most fucked-up thing I’ve ever heard,” he mumbled.

  “It’s way messed up,” Emma said as she pushed her glasses up on her nose. “Lacey, I’m going to step out in the hallway and find a phone so I can call Mom and Daddy. They were worried sick, and I need to let them know we’ll be home as soon as the doctor clears you to fly.”

  “Wait, what about Lisa?” I asked as Emma stood up and walked toward the door.

  “Well, your timing is good. She just moved out. She and her boyfriend got a place together, so it just so happens that your bedroom and furniture are waiting for you.”

  I nodded. I’d never planned on returning to Arkansas. My stomach rolled at the idea of going back. I loved Oregon. I loved the green trees and grass all year round, I loved the rain, and I loved my friends.

  “What am I going to do without you?” George asked.

  “I have no clue,” I mutte
red. I was too exhausted to try and make him feel better. “You could come with us.”

  “Ha! I’m not sure the South could handle me.”

  “You might have a point.”

  “Maybe you can come back?”

  I nodded. I couldn’t think about the future when I could barely hold myself together in that single moment. I stared at the ceiling tiles and willed the tears to stay away.

  “He kicked me over and over,” I said, my voice hovering just above a whisper. “He knew I was pregnant and he laughed as my jeans soaked up the blood.”

  George didn’t say a word as he crawled into my hospital bed and wrapped his arms around me. His lips brushed my cheek, and we lay there together as tears streamed down our faces.

  Chapter 2

  My last few days in Oregon were a blur. I couldn’t sleep, and I refused to eat. The doctor kept the IV in and ordered something to help me rest. I scared the crap out of Emma and George on more than one occasion as the bad dreams of flames and smoke engulfed me. As horrible as they were, the nightmares broke through the shock and numbness.

  Mama was right. I was incapable of making good decisions where guys were concerned. Maybe I should find her and surrender. Maybe she’d been right all these years. Maybe I should stop running and give in.

  “Are you ready?” Emma asked, interrupting my thoughts.

  “Sure.” I wanted to tell her no, I wasn’t ready to go back to Arkansas, but my choices were severely limited.

  I turned toward George and felt the weight of his gaze travel over my face. His thin shoulders sagged, and his eyes glistened. I couldn’t believe that less than a year after meeting him, I was telling him goodbye. It wasn’t supposed to happen like this. I wanted to reach up and wipe away the pain that was etched into his face.

  “Please be safe,” he said as he hugged me.

  “I will,” I whispered in his ear. I released him and walked backward out the door, giving him a small wave before I turned and left my hospital room.

  I half expected Xander or Mama to jump out at me as we walked down the hall. Emma cleared her throat, and my nerves calmed for a minute. At least I wasn’t alone.