3. Silas
Chapter 3
Silas
“ W e have two installations this afternoon,” Lance announces as he checks his clipboard. “Michael is flying out next week to head a protection detail in LA, and Jaxson will be out of town until the end of the month, though he’s handling some of our digital work from his brother’s house.” He writes something on his clipboard, then sets it aside and withdraws some large black radios from a box beside him. “These will work if the cell towers go down with the hurricane. We have plenty of food, water, batteries, blankets, and medical supplies to help the town should we take the brunt of the storm.”
“News said it will be hitting sometime tomorrow morning,” Elijah says. “I helped Mrs. McGinley board up the library, and we’ve taken care of Doc’s place and the church, too.”
“Good.” He turns to me. “You prepared?”
I nod.
“How about you?” he asks Bianca.
“I’ll be getting my windows boarded up as soon as I get home,” Bianca replies.
I have to force myself not to steal a glance at her. Just once. Sitting across from her this morning was torture because even as I despise everything she is and the lies she told me, I still find myself drawn to her.
Like a moth to a flame—she would destroy me, burning me up until there’s nothing left but ash. If I ever let her that close again. Which I won’t. Even I’m not that stupid.
“Great. Caleb is coming in for an onboard interview this afternoon. He’s finally agreed to come on as one of our techs.”
“Yeah?” Bianca sounds so thrilled I steal a glance at her now. She’s beaming at Lance, her emerald eyes bright with joy. “That’s wonderful!”
“He finally caved,” Lance replies with a grin. “I’ve been trying to get him to come on—even just part-time—since he moved here.”
Up until about two years ago, Caleb was living in the swamps of Florida, completely off-grid. That had come in handy when Michael had been shot. Reyna, Michael’s now-wife, and Michael stumbled into his homestead, desperate for aid.
He’d been there to offer it, and we’d found them tended to and safe.
After that, he’d decided to leave the swamps and relocate here, though he maintains a good distance from most of the residents as he tries to acclimate to being around people again.
Still, he’s a good man, and one I’d trust to have my back.
“Glad to hear he’s coming in,” I say.
“We’re growing, that’s for sure,” Lance replies as he runs a hand through his auburn hair. “With the number of new clients we’re taking on, as well as the monitoring for our current ones and the aid we lend to Sherriff Vick as needed, the help is definitely appreciated.”
I doubt Lance ever thought his calling would turn into a large business like this, but it certainly has, and now Knight Security is the fastest-growing private security company on the East Coast.
“Elijah, any news to add?”
“Nope.” The tech lead crosses his arms. “We’ve had a relatively quiet month, no break-ins, so nothing to report on that end.”
“Good. Let’s hope it stays that way.” Lance sets the clipboard down. “All right, let’s end in a prayer.” He bows his head, and although I’m not a praying man, I do the same out of respect for my coworkers. “Dear Lord, we thank You for this day, for the ability to help others, and for Your guidance and discernment in moments of trial. Please be with us as we navigate this hurricane and keep us grounded in Your light. Please protect those in the path of this storm and guide us so we can help those who need it most. In Your holy name we pray, amen.”
“Amen,” Elijah and Michael reply at the same time.
“All right, hope you all have a great day. Silas, can I talk to you for a minute?”
In lieu of verbally responding, I push up from the desk I was leaning back on and walk over toward his desk. Elijah, Michael, and Bianca all clear out of the lighthouse, shutting the door behind them.
“You’re on monitor duty today, huh?” I ask, dropping down into the chair beside his desk.
“That I am. At least for a few hours. After Caleb leaves, I’m headed home to be with Eliza and the baby. I’ll be monitoring the systems from there.”
“Nice. What’s up?”
“I’ll keep it brief since I know it’s Eloise’s birthday today.”
“Appreciate it,” I reply.
“I mainly just wanted to check in and see how you’re doing. You’ve seemed a bit strained lately, and I wanted to see how I can help.” I’m not surprised the former Army Ranger and captain sensed something was off. The man picks up on everything.
“Just settling in still,” I reply. It’s not a complete lie. Ever since Bianca moved here full-time and started working for Knight Security, it feels like someone pulled the rug out from under my feet. I’m still trying to adapt to seeing her every day.
But I can’t tell Lance any of that because I’ve kept the fact that I know her a secret for many reasons. None of which I care to explain to him at the moment. Or maybe ever.
“You’re sure that’s all it is?”
“It is.”
He nods. “Thanks for letting Eloise come to church with us yesterday. Did she have fun in Sunday school?”
“She did. Thanks for taking her. She’s been asking to go but I just?—”
“Couldn’t make it,” he interrupts, though his expression tells me that he knows it had nothing to do with couldn’t and everything to do with wouldn’t.
“Yeah. That’s it,” I reply, running a hand through my hair. “Is that all? I need to go pick her up and get her to the arcade before she drives Mrs. McGinley up the wall with questions.”
Lance chuckles. “Sure thing. Let me know if you need anything, okay? I know you like to keep your personal life under wraps, but I’m here if you need me.”
“Thanks. I know you are. See ya.”
The sun is warm on my face as I walk down the steps of the lighthouse toward my truck that’s parked in the lot. When Lance and I first met, I’d practically been dead. Bianca and I had just been rescued after spending a month running for our lives in the jungles outside Culvers’ prison camp.
He’d been in the hospital after suffering his own near-death experience and happened to be walking past my room when he felt—as he calls it—drawn to come talk to me. He’d spoken to me about God, about faith, about surviving, and I’d struggled to have an open mind.
It didn’t keep me from feeling my own draw toward him, though. He spoke with such confidence, such hope, that it lit a bit of my dark soul up. We’d gone our separate ways, but I always intended to catch up with him.
And then Sierra died.
The sudden passing of my twin sister and her husband Rick was another hit to my weary soul. It wasn’t until I was back home in Texas that I found I’d been made guardian of Eloise.
At first, I’d said no.
I’d never even met the child. I’d hidden myself away in a mountain cabin in Montana, refusing to come see her even after she’d been born. Sierra was so upset at my staying away, but how was I supposed to explain the darkness in my soul? The weight that I carried? How could I have told her all the ways I struggled to cope with civilian life once I made it home?
It was when I went in to sign the papers to relinquish custody of Eloise that I’d felt someone—or something—knock the wind from my lungs. And as I’d paused, trying to catch my breath, I’d seen little Eloise sitting in a playpen at the children’s services building, crying.
One look is all it took for me to realize what a mistake I was making by walking away. For all intents and purposes, I became a dad that day.
And I haven’t looked back since.
I get into my truck and pull out of the lighthouse, making my way toward the bakery so I can pick up two cupcakes for Eloise and me tonight. I’ve had custody of her for three years now, and every year I’ve done my best to make her birthday special.
Since my parents are gone, Rick’s too, it’s just the two of us against the world.
Silas and Eloise.
And I’ll die before I let anything happen to her.
So distracted by my thoughts, I didn’t even notice Bianca’s car sitting outside the bakery until I’m parked right alongside it. Dread burns a hole in my stomach, and I shift my truck into reverse, ready to bail, but when I see her sitting at a table in the corner, a single cupcake in front of her, I throw the truck back in park as memories assault me.
I know what today is for her.
It’s Bianca’s birthday, too.
And truth be told, I’m probably the only person in this town who knows it because she confessed to me that she hated today. That her birthday was the start of everything in her life falling apart.
She’s in pain.
I slam my hands against the steering wheel as that realization hits me square in the gut. Leaning forward, I rest my forehead against the steering wheel between my hands. I can still see her, sitting on the jungle floor, her hair wet as rain poured down on top of us. The droplets on her cheeks were either rainwater or tears, who knows, but her pain—it hung heavy in the air around us.
So even though I don’t want to, I get out of the truck and head inside. The tiny bell dings overhead, but Bianca doesn’t look up.
Kyra Redding looks up from behind the counter and smiles at me. “Hey, Silas! I just finished Eloise’s special cupcakes.” She lifts a small white box and sets it on the counter.
“Thanks.” Reaching into my pocket, I pull out some cash and set it on the counter as I take the box. “No change, thanks. You need help boarding up the windows?” I ask, noting the plywood leaning against the wall.
“I appreciate it, but my lovely husband and Henry Acker will be coming by to meet Felix. The three of them are putting them up.”
“Have them call if you need additional hands.”
“Will do.” She beams. “Thanks.” Her phone rings so she quickly excuses herself.
I glance over my shoulder at Bianca again. The cupcake in front of her is still untouched, undoubtedly lemon with white frosting and sugar crystals, as her mother used to make for her each year. There’s a tablet in front of her and she’s reading intently.
I don’t know that she even realizes I’m here.
I could probably just slip out through the door—but when her brow furrows even further at whatever it is she’s reading, and the small scar at the corner of her eye catches my attention, I’m thrown right back into that jungle.
I may despise what Bianca did.
But I cannot deny who she was to me.
So, I make my way over to her. “Enjoy your birthday.”
She looks up at me now, green eyes full of surprise. “You know better than that.”
“It’s still your day.”
“No,” she replies, “it’s not.”
“Then what’s with the cupcake?”
She looks down at it. “Tradition.” Her gaze lands on the box in my hands. “Those for Eloise?”
“She wants spaghetti for dinner.”
“Nice. Good meal.”
“Yeah. Well. I’ll see you around.” I turn to leave, but as I’m doing so, I note a man standing across the street from the bakery.
He’s not looking into the windows, but rather down at his phone. He’s dressed casually in jeans and a gray T-shirt, but the gold watch on his wrist captures my attention. I can’t make out the brand, but it’s far too upscale for a man who dresses casually.
Alarm bells ring in my mind as the air around me shifts. Something is off.
“He’s been out there all afternoon,” Bianca says.
I look down at her, noting the worry on her face as she keeps her gaze focused on me. “You’re afraid.”
“Not afraid,” she replies as she stands. “Just curious. Excuse me.” Taking her cupcake and tablet, she leaves the bakery after waving goodbye to Kyra.
I remain where I am, watching the man with the golden watch as he puts the phone up to his ear and starts walking—in the opposite direction of where Bianca went.
It could be nothing.
It’s probably nothing.
But I can’t shake the feeling that something other than a hurricane is heading to Hope Springs. Something that’s been a long time coming.