Even in the Darkness

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“What? We can’t leave the clinic.”

This time it was Mark, the disbelief in his voice obvious.

“I wish it weren’t necessary, but it is.”

“Maybe you should explain.”

“This box was carried across the border from Myanmar and delivered with a truckload of tourist trade items. It’s different than most trade items, though. It’s inscribed, and it wasn’t meant for sale.”

“I didn’t see an inscription.” Tori leaned closer, caught the scent of Noah’s shampoo and backed away.

“You wouldn’t have. Not unless you knew where and how to look. Each letter of the inscription is the size of a red blood cell. Thirty lines of text can fit in an area the width of a strand of hair. Even with a magnifying glass it’s difficult to see that there’s any writing there.”

“I’ve never heard of such a thing.” Mark leaned closer, his gaze on the box, his curiosity evident.

“Most people haven’t.”

“Then what’s the point?” Tori wanted to grab the box and the magnifying glass and look for herself.

“That is the point. The technology is new, but effective. A much more secure mode for transferring information than cell phone or computer.”

“Information?”

“Dates. Times. Places of delivery. The Wa has put technology to good use.”

“The Wa? Then we’re talking drug trade. I’ll get Melody and start packing. Mark, you want to call Dr. Graw and see if he can stay at the clinic for a while, maybe scrounge up some extra hands from Bangkok or Chiang Mai?”

“Yeah. How long are we talking, Mr. Stone?”

“Noah. I wish I could tell you.”

Mark looked like he’d press for more, but seemed to think better of it. Instead, he gave Joi’s shoulder a quick, comforting squeeze. “I’ll use the phone in the clinic and make sure things are locked up while I’m there.”

He hurried away and Joi followed suit, heading down the hall to find Melody.

Which left Tori alone with Noah and the bitter knowledge that her visit to Thailand had led to the destruction of the safe, fulfilling life her friends had worked so hard to create.

Chapter Five

“Your friends are better off away from here.” Noah spoke as he slipped the box inside his pack.

“I know.” Pale, drawn, dark bruises standing out in stark relief against her skin, Tori’s voice betrayed none of what she felt. It was her eyes that spoke volumes, and Noah had read every bit of the story they told as she watched her friends walk out of the room.

“Then why do you look like you think their lives are about to end?” He slipped the pack back on and met her gaze head-on.

“Because they are. At least their lives as they know them.”

“For a while maybe.”

“Longer than that. Do you really think they’ll be able to return here? That they won’t be targets of revenge because of what I’ve done?”

“What have you done?”

Her face hardened, her eyes flashing fire. “This is no confession, if that’s what you’re looking for.”

“I’m looking for the truth.”

“The truth is exactly what I told you before. I bought that box as a gift for Melody. I didn’t know about the information on it. I didn’t know that I was getting in the way of the Wa’s plans. But I don’t think that’s going to matter to them. What will matter is that I caused them trouble. What better way to get back at me than to hurt the people I care about?”

“It’s not the Wa you have to worry about. It’s Sang Lao.”

“You mentioned him before. The name isn’t any more familiar to me now than it was then.”

“He’s a local businessman. The Thai Royal Police and the DEA have suspected him of drug running for years. They just haven’t been able to prove it. The information on the box might be just what they need to put him in jail and throw away the key.”

“And if it is? Will the Raymonds be safe here? Or will there still be retribution because they helped me?”

“We’re ready.” Joi’s entrance into the room saved Noah from having to answer. The girl at her side had Tori’s long, lean frame and deep red hair. Though her face was heart-shaped rather than oval, her eyes startling green rather than chocolate-brown, there was no mistaking the connection between birth mother and daughter.

“You have enough packed for a couple days?”

Noah wondered if he was the only one that heard the break in Tori’s voice as she asked the question.

Joi held up two large duffels. “Plenty. And I had Melody grab an extra pair of jeans and a T-shirt for you, Tori.”

“Thanks.”

“I’ve got a medical kit, too. Once we get wherever we’re going, we’ll get some of those cuts and bruises fixed up.”

Unfortunately they weren’t going to the same place. But that was something Noah thought would be better discussed when they were safely away from the clinic. “Let’s head out.”

Mark was still on the phone when they entered the clinic lobby. He gestured for another minute, said a few more words and hung up. “Everything’s set. Dr. Graw’s going to stay here until we get back. Let me just run through, make sure everything is locked up. Then we’re out of here.”

Noah forced back impatience as Mark checked the clinic one last time. He understood the doctor’s need to make sure things were secure, but he could feel the hot breath of danger on his neck and the skin-crawling awareness that said trouble was coming and coming fast.

“Almost done?”

Mark turned from the window he was about to double-check and must have caught something in Noah’s gaze, because he let his arms drop to his sides and nodded. “We’re set.”

“We should pray before we go.” Joi put a hand on her husband’s arm, her bright blue gaze moving from one person to the next.

“There’s no time for that, Joi. We’ve got to get moving.” Tori started toward the door, not quite hiding a grimace of pain as she moved.

Noah caught the back of the caftan she wore. “There’s always time to pray.”

It was a truth he lived by, though from the expression on Tori’s face she didn’t believe it. He thought she might argue, but then her gaze went to Melody who stood wide-eyed and curious next to her mother. “Right. You’re right. Let’s pray.”