Saving Faith By: David Baldacci

day. No felons need apply.”

Faith’s face flushed. She took a mug from the sink rack and poured a

cup of coffee.

Lee stood. “Look, that was out of line. I’m sorry.”

“I deserve a lot worse than that, actually.”

“Fine, I’ll let other people do the honors.”

Faith poured a cup of coffee for him and sat down at the table. Max

came into the kitchen and nudged her hand. She smiled and petted the

dog’s broad head.

“Max taken care of?”

“All set.” He checked his watch. “The bank opens shortly. We’ll have

just enough time to pack. We’ll get your stuff, head to the airport,

get our tickets and fly, fly away.”

“I can call down and arrange for the house from the airport. Or should

I try from here?”

“No. Phone logs can be checked.”

“I didn’t think of that.”

“You’re going to have to start to.” He took a sip of coffee. “Hope

the place is available.”

“It will be. I happen to own it. Or at least my other identity

does.”

“Small place?”

“Depends on what you call small. I think you’ll be comfortable.”

“I’m easy.” He carried his coffee into the bedroom and came out a few

minutes later wearing a navy blue sweater over his T-shirt. His

mustache and beard were gone and he had a baseball cap on. He was

carrying a small plastic bag.

“The evidence of our make overs he explained.

“And no disguise?”

“Mrs. Carter’s used to me keeping odd hours, but if I barge in looking

like somebody else, it’ll be a little much for her this early in the

morning. And I don’t want her being able to give anyone a description

later on.”

“You are good at this,” said Faith. “That’s reassuring.”

He called Max. The big dog obediently padded from the small living

room into the kitchen, stretched his body and then sat next to Lee. “If

the phone rings, don’t answer it. And stay away from the windows.”

Faith nodded and then he and Max were gone. She took her coffee and

walked around the small apartment. It was a curious cross between a

messy college dorm and a more mature person’s home. In what should

have been the dining room, Faith found a home gym. Nothing fancy, no

high-dollar, high-tech machines, just barbells, a weight bench and

squat rack that were set up throughout the space. In one corner was a

heavy punching bag and next to it a speed bag. Boxing and weight

gloves, hand wraps and towels were neatly arranged on a small wooden

table next to a box of white powder. A medicine ball sat in another

corner.

On the walls were some photos of men in Navy whites. Faith picked out

Lee quite easily. He looked pretty much the same at eighteen as he did

now. However, the years had weathered his face, cut in lines and

angles that made him even more attractive, even more seductive. Why

was aging so damn tilted in favor of men? There were black and white

photos of Lee in the boxing ring, and one of him with his hand raised

in victory, a medal resting against his wide chest. His expression was

calm, as though he had expected to win; in fact, as though he would not

accept losing.

Faith gave the heavy bag a small punch with a loosely made fist, and

her hand and wrist instantly throbbed. In that moment she recalled how

big and thick Lee’s hands were, the knuckles resembling a miniature

mountain range. A very strong, resourceful, tough man. A man who

could take punishment. She just hoped he would remain on her side.

She went into the bedroom. On the nightstand next to his bed was a

cell phone and next to that a portable panic-button device. Faith had

been too exhausted to notice them last night. She wondered if he slept

with his pistol under his pillow. Was he really just paranoid or did

he know something the rest of the world didn’t?

It suddenly occurred to her: Wasn’t he afraid she might make a run for

it? She went back into the hallway. The front was covered; he would

Pages: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100 101 102 103 104 105 106 107 108 109 110 111 112 113 114 115 116 117 118 119 120 121 122 123 124 125 126 127 128 129 130 131 132 133 134 135 136 137 138 139 140 141 142 143 144 145 146 147 148 149 150 151 152 153 154 155 156 157 158 159 160 161 162 163 164 165 166 167 168 169 170 171 172 173

Leave a Reply 0

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *