Even in the Darkness

A gray-green mist touched the air with moisture, and Tori shivered as she stepped out the door of the shop. Clothes hung from lines that stretched from building to building across the alley, colorful banners limp in the moist air. Voices called back and forth, children giggling and laughing as they chased each other barefoot through the alley. Tori kept her head bowed as she moved toward Chet Preteep, whose short, wiry frame balanced on a motorbike that didn’t look big enough to carry its driver, let alone a passenger.

Tori fought back hysterical laughter. “Will I fit on there?”

“Yes. Like this.” Parinyah sat sideways behind her son, looping an arm around his waist before sliding off again, her movements surprisingly spry for a woman that Tori knew was almost eighty years old.

“All right. I can do that.” Tori did as she’d been shown, her arm around Chet’s waist, holding on with a grip just tight enough to keep her from falling. “Thank you again.”

“You take care of Melody.”

“I will.”

“Ready?” Chet glanced back, his dark eyes filled with worry.

“Yes.”

He spoke a few quiet words to his mother, then started the motor and headed down the narrow road that ran behind the shop. Several people shouted greetings as the motorbike passed. Some seemed curious, perhaps wondering about Tori. Luckily they wouldn’t remember much about her appearance. Tori was thankful for that. Thankful that Parinyah had thought of the scarf and the long garment that hid Tori’s clothes.

Chet stopped the motorbike at the entrance to a wide, paved road that buzzed with motorcycles, tuk-tuks and a few cars. All were driving at speeds much greater than what Tori imagined the motorbike could achieve. Her grip tightened on Chet. “Is it safe?”

He either didn’t understand, or chose not to answer. The motorbike edged closer to the road, the engine humming impatiently.

Tori shifted, trying to balance her weight more evenly, and felt the hair on the back of her neck stand on end.

Someone was watching.

Slowly, easily, as if she were glancing back for no reason at all, she turned to look. The heavy mist and fading light concealed more than they revealed, and at first Tori saw nothing. Then a dark figure near the corner of a building caught her eye—tall, broad, deceptively relaxed. She didn’t need to see clearly to know who it was. Noah. She knew it as surely as she knew he had let her escape. That he had planned all along to let her go so that he could follow her to the box.

Her suspicions about him had been correct.

It shouldn’t have surprised her. She’d been betrayed too many times to expect anything different. First by Melody’s father, his flowery words and promises of love empty of meaning. Then by Joe. Kind, sweet Joe. The perfect partner, his strong faith more than making up for Tori’s floundering one. He’d seemed flawless until she’d caught him kissing a choir member. And then there’d been Kyle. She didn’t dare think of him. On the hollow emptiness that came from being betrayed one too many times.

No, Tori wasn’t surprised by Noah’s lies and betrayal. How could she be? Betrayal was all she’d ever known.

The motorbike lurched forward, a car horn blasted a warning, and Tori was too busy hanging on for dear life to think about Noah or her own disappointment.

Chapter Four

The road to the Raymonds’ clinic wound uphill through dense jungle. There were no streetlights to guide the way, and already the thin ribbon of pavement seemed to disappear in the deepening shadows. Without the headlight from the motorbike it would be impossible to see what lay ahead. That was fine. Tori was more concerned about what lay behind.

She turned her head, peering into evening gloom. She saw nothing. More importantly, she heard nothing.

“No one follows?” Chet spoke above the chug of the bike’s engine, the worry in his voice obvious.

“No. We’re fine.” For how long? Tori might have had a head start, but Noah wouldn’t be far behind. Even if she’d eluded him completely, it wouldn’t take long for him to find out where she was headed. Mae Hong Son wasn’t much more than a small town, and Tori had visited it several times with the Raymonds. Those visits would have been noticed, talked about.

As if he sensed her worries, Chet patted the arm she still had wrapped around his waist. “No worries. The Raymonds will be fine. They have many friends in Mae Hong Son. Many people they have helped.”

“Maybe so, but money can be a powerful incentive.” She thought of the bamboo huts that lined the outskirts of the town, the agricultural economy so reliant on weather. Who wouldn’t be tempted by a secure future and a life of ease?

“Money is less important here than honor. Our people will protect the Raymonds because it is the right thing to do.”

Tori wished she had as much faith in human nature. She didn’t. “How much farther to the clinic?”

“Maybe ten minutes.”

“Is there any way to get there more quickly?”

“No. This is the only road in. There are a few trails through the jungle, but taking them at dusk would be foolish and dangerous.”

“My entire trip to Thailand seems foolish and dangerous right now. If I’d stayed home, none of this would have happened.”

“It’s never good to look back and think of what we might have done differently. You came to Thailand on good faith that you would be safe. Unfortunately, Thailand, like any other country, has its share of criminals. I’m sorry you had the misfortune to run into them.”

“I survived. That’s what matters.” That, and making sure Melody stayed safe.

“My mother said you were taken from your hotel room?”

“Yes. In Chiang Mai.”

“And the people who took you wanted the box?”

“That’s what they were asking for.”

“Strange. It is a nice piece, but not valuable. The locket you had made is worth much more.”

“I know. It doesn’t make sense.”

“A worry for another time, I think. For now, we think only of getting to the clinic. Then we’ll get the box and get it far from the Raymonds.”

“When we get to the clinic, I want you to turn around and go home. I can’t put you in any more danger than I already have.”

“The Raymonds have been my friends for five years. They’ve taught me English, taught me about God, shown me and my family true kindness and Christian love. I won’t turn my back on them during this trouble. Nor will I turn my back on someone they care about.”

There was no sense in arguing. Despite Chet’s passionate words and clear regard for the Raymonds, Tori couldn’t let him get any more involved in her troubles than he already was. If he insisted, she would have no choice but to sneak away from the clinic without his notice. It wouldn’t be difficult. If she could escape a man like Noah Stone, she could escape the loyal, trusting man who now helped her. But you didn’t escape Noah. He’s behind you. Following. Waiting for a chance to grab the box. And when he gets it…then what?

The thoughts worried at Tori’s mind as the motorbike sped on. How much time did she have before Noah caught up with her? Probably not as much as she needed. She glanced back, but the road was still empty. To either side, towering trees and thick foliage bristled with life; nocturnal animals emerging from their daytime sleep, diurnal animals tucking themselves away for the night. If Tori were at home, she’d be starting her day, heading to the veterinary clinic to see her first patient. Instead she was running for her life.

She blinked back hot tears and shoved aside thoughts of home. Right now, her focus had to be on getting the box and carrying it far away from Melody. There’d be time for everything else later.

“There. The clinic.” Chet gestured to the right where bright yellow lights spilled through the trees, the sight a welcome relief.

Seconds later, he rounded a steep curve and pulled the motorbike up in front of a long, low building. Tori didn’t wait for him to turn off the engine. She was off the bike, sprinting to the clinic door, bruises and pain forgotten as she pushed the door open and stepped into the wide lobby. It was empty. Something she’d expected so late in the evening. The Raymonds’ apartment was at the back of the clinic, and she headed that way, knowing a buzzer had already announced her presence. Any minute now, either Mark or Joi would come to see who’d arrived.

As if on cue, the soft pad of feet sounded in the hall and a feminine voice called out. “Sawatdee kha.”

“Joi? It’s Tori.”

“Tori!” Joi Raymond raced around the corner. “Praise God. We’ve been worried sick. Your grandfather called us and said you’d never arrived home. Are you…?” Her voice trailed off as she caught sight of Tori’s head covering and tunic. “Tori?”