Authors: Elizabeth Courtright
Healing Grace (36 page)
Leo planned to go home for the holidays—he always did—but this year he wouldn’t be alone. This year, he would attend his brother’s wedding with his own wife on his arm. And, by his side, a son.
He couldn’t wait to introduce Henri to his family, to
Maman
. He would take the boy sailing. They’d build castles on the beach. Already he could imagine Henri running through the gardens with his cousins…
So absorbed was he in his musings, at first Leo didn’t notice the trailing footfalls. At this hour, the streets weren’t busy, especially the back alleys. A fissure of awareness rippled down his spine. But he shucked it off. The prickling was instinctive from too many years involved in things he never should have been involved in.
A glance back assured Leo the man behind him was just another sorry soul heading home. Hefting the pack more securely on his shoulder, he continued on, quickening his pace. Only two blocks separated him from Felice. From Henri.
Of course, the boy would be asleep, but Leo would go to his room anyway. Not to awaken him, only to look. Once he had his fill of gazing at his sleeping son, he would take Felice to bed. He’d tell her he’d been true to her these three months. It was a lie, but it would be his last. In this new life, he was determined to be an upstanding man, a loyal husband, a good father, like his brothers…
Her house was just ahead, around the corner. And someone was awake. Even from the angle, Leo could see the sitting room window flicker with lamplight. That meant Felice was still up. Most likely she was writing letters, or something like that. She did that a lot. Oddly too, the dormer windows on the third floor were lighted. Leo had thought Henri’s governess would be fast asleep this late.
He kept on, along the sidewalk on the opposite side of the street, until the townhouse was almost directly across from him. A shadow—a whisper of movement—above, compelled him to look up, but not to the sitting room window. Instead his eyes were drawn to the attic. There, behind the panes of glass, was an apparition.
Long raven locks glowed around transparent white-swathed shoulders. Large elfin eyes stared back at him. Even from the distance Leo could make out the pert little nose and redder hue of lips. It was the governess… the sprite… and she was… good god, she was stunning!
Her name was Amie…
amie
meant
friend
…
Something hard, like a wielded club, hit him in the back, in the shoulder, and spun him. A second deafening blast pierced the night, and he was grazed above the ear. Automatically he grabbed his head and staggered.
The next blow clouted into his thigh. He heard himself grunt and almost went down. Hobbling, he moved as fast as he could toward the jutting porch of the nearest building.
He reached it, somehow dodging a third and fourth explosion. At least he thought he’d eluded the gunfire. If any more bullets hit, he didn’t feel them. He dropped to his knees around the side of the step where the brick would shield him, and scrambling, tried to dig the revolver from his pack.
But liquid was running down from his forehead, pouring into his eye, and he couldn’t see. His arms and hands didn’t work right, either. He couldn’t hold onto the satchel, couldn’t reach inside. His shoulder and leg began to tingle with numbness. The sensation was strange. Pain, but not pain, and fuzzy, narcoleptic-like exhaustion.
He coughed to unclog his tightening throat and thick liquid, like cream, gagged him. It tasted metallic. Choked gasps followed, though they sounded far away, and made his chest burn. It was bad, searing him from the inside out. Unable to hold onto the step any longer, he tumbled and rolled, sprawling over his pack.
He couldn’t breathe, but he could see again… all around him was the night sky… stars, so many stars… on a dark blue canvas. In its midst was a dark-haired angel in a flowing white gown, hovering, slowly descending, down, down…
“Est-ce qu’il est mort?”
It was a gravelly voice, a harsh whisper, somewhere near, but not near.
“Allez! Finissez-en avec lui!”
Is he dead? Finish him
, the voice had said. Whoever it was wanted to kill him.
Not yet. Not yet
. The words echoed through Leo’s head.
I have to see Henri, my son
…
But Leo could see nothing… except the angel…the
belle
amie
… floating over him, coming closer, closer… and then he realized why.
She was coming to carry him away.
Because he was already dead.
Did you enjoy this book?
Thank you so much for reading
Healing Grace
, Book 3 in the Grace Series. If you enjoyed the story, please leave a rating or a review on Amazon or Goodreads.
Thank You…
All proceeds from the sale of this book benefit the Third Chance Foundation.
The Third Chance Foundation is a nondiscriminatory, nonprofit corporation which provides postsecondary scholarships to foster and adopted children. Our sole purpose is to help today’s youth achieve career goals and follow dreams. We believe there is no aspiration too trivial or undeserving.
Our scholarship funds are raised through book sales. For more information, please visit us at www.thirdchancefound.org. The more books we sell, the more scholarships we will provide!
We thank you for your contribution. By purchasing this book, you have changed a life!
“It was hard to keep a straight face!” says Elizabeth’s mother of the tales Elizabeth wrote as early as six years old. Her parents sure got a kick out of them anyway!
Today, this diehard romantic owes her inspiration and imagination to her family. Proceeds from the sales of her books benefit the Third Chance Foundation, a non-profit organization which provides scholarships to foster and adopted children, like her own. She and her husband of twenty-two years—her knight in shining armor—amidst their chaotic house full of kids and pets, consider themselves extremely blessed.
Elizabeth enjoys hearing from readers! Your questions, comments and feedback are most welcome. Please feel free to visit Elizabeth’s website at
www.elizabethcourtright.com
. Reviews can also be posted on Amazon or at
www.thirdchancefound.org
.
To contact Elizabeth directly:
In the Grace Series
Healing Grace
Forgiving Grace (forthcoming)
Redeeming Grace (forthcoming)
In the Unveiled Series
