“Martin is hunting her? She must be trying to cover her own mistake. Trying to fix it before her boss finds out.”
A pause.
“I’m guessing Alan Martin doesn’t even know you exist. And I’d like to keep it that way.”
Hope flickered through Nimue’s fear. “How can you be sure?”
“If Martin knew you had something he needed, Liam would be dead already. Not followed.” Emberly shook her head, rewrapping the gold bar. “She’s desperate. Makes her dangerous, but sloppy too.”
She stuffed it back in the pack. “You said an hour?”
Nimue nodded. “What do we do?”
“I’m not here alone. Steinbeck’s with me, and he’s got contacts.” Emberly leaned forward. “When she returns, you offer her the bar. Promise more.”
“Then?”
“Then we trust—God, Stein, the good guys.”
“What if she hurts Liam first?” Nimue’s hand shook against the blanket. “That video…He didn’t know he was being followed. I’m going to lose him.”
“Have faith. We can?—”
“Have faith?” The words burst out harsher than she intended. “Listen, I know I’ve always been the one with faith, but I’m starting to wonder if somehow I got off track, wandering around in the wilderness alone. And maybe that’s how it should be. Maybe God is teaching me that I’m supposed to be alone?—”
“That’s a lie.”
“Why? If it weren’t for you, I would be completely alone?—”
“And yet, you’re not. You do have me. And I have you. And God gave you a family—and now He’s given me a family, and…I think the whole point is that we’re not alone, Nim. God says He’ll be with us, wherever we go.”
She stared at Emberly. “So you’re really serious about this faith thing?”
“My sister drove me crazy for years, trying to convince me that God was on my side.” Emberly took Nim’s hand. “She finally made me believe it.” She leaned close. “Maybe so I could help her believe that God has never left her. That He’s always with her. Just like He’s always with Liam.”
Nimue swallowed.
“You told me once that God loves me more than you do. Well, God loves Liam more than you do.” Emberly squeezed her fingers. “And God is with us.”
“I didn’t say I loved Liam.”
“You didn’t have to.”
Heat crept up Nimue’s neck.
Emberly’s smile was soft but knowing. “We talk about trusting God with all our hearts. But trusting Him with those we love most? So much harder.”
She leaned closer. “And Liam’s tougher than he looks.”
Nimue’s throat tightened. With Steinbeck’s help, maybe…But Liam’s face on that phone—unaware, vulnerable—haunted her.
“I dragged him into this mess. And now I have to fix it.”
“What you have to do is lay in that bed and stay alive.” Emberly stepped back. “And have a little faith.”
SIXTEEN
He should go back.