Synching With the Devil's Son

Chapter 86

Bella's P.O.V.

"What exactly did you tell my father we were doing today?" I ask both men in the front seat, not really caring who answers.

Lucien looks back at me. I can see an excitement in his eyes, like he's hungry and we just happened upon a hoard of his favorite food. "We're hiking in the Mountains today," he tells me with a sarcastic grin. "It's best to stick to the truth as much as possible."

"I don't see the truth in that. You're hunting my assailant, not going for a leisurely stroll through the forest."

"Ahh," Lucien's father says, "but we will be my dear. I fully expect Mr. Henry to hightail it into the mountainous woods where he thinks he'll be able to evade us." He and Lucien chuckle evilly, sending shivers up my spine.

"Yeah," Lucien agrees, "and that's where the hike in the Mountains come in."

I purse my lips. "What should I do while you two are...hiking?"

I see Mr. Amon look at me in the rear view mirror. His penetrating stare is hard to ignore. "You should relax in the car and wait for us to bring him to you."

I am still not sure I am able to face my assailant, but I'm in too deep now to refuse. "You'll leave me music and food, right?" I ask quietly, not really wanting to be left behind, but not wanting to go with them either. Lucien's father chuckles softly as Lucien turns around in his seat to say, "I've got everything you need to have a restful and relaxing day, okay?"

I nod and turn my attention out the window. Restful and relaxing? I am everything but restful and relaxed.

We pull into the town of Sevierville and park, keeping the engine idling. "What now?" I ask, my anxiety spiking because of what Lucien and his father are about to do.

"Now we wait for Mr. Henry to collect his coffee and breakfast from this cafe," Lucien's father says.

Just as I'm about to ask how he knows John Henry will be there, Lucien's Dad holds up a finger and I see a man jump out of his truck and head inside. "Was that him?" I ask quietly.

Lucien's Dad nods, watching the door intently for John to come out. When he emerges, he hops in his truck and heads the way we just came from. Mr. Amon turns the car around and follows after him, filling us in on what he discovered. How he knows all this, I don't even want to ask. "John Henry works for the forestry service, a noble occupation for sure, but it gives him too much down time. Time he spends drinking, smoking pot or snorting cocaine, watching pornography and maiming small animals he manages to capture. He has a comrade that works with him, a Mr. Skylar Jeffrey Schmidt. Mr. Schmidt will undoubtedly be heading my way at the end of his life due to a multiple array of offenses, including his penchant for beating up prostitutes, stealing cars, and selling drugs to the local high schools. My instincts tell me these two work together in everything, not just for the forestry service."

Geeze, I thought you needed to be vetted with background checks to work in a government job. How did these two squeak through the cracks, and how in the living Hell does Mr. Amon know all these intimate details? Best not to ask, but there is one thing I do want to know. "Are they both connected to my assault?" I ask.

Mr. Amon nods his head. "The two of them have a recorded stamp in my records on June 29th, 2019, in Pigeon Forge. It's too coincidental to be anything other than your attack." He's quiet for a moment, and I see him glance at Lucien. When Lucien nods slightly, he continues. "On the same date, and about the same time, there is a celestial log for a Mr. Thomas Richard Kincaid. I understand you know this man." He looks at me in the rear view mirror again, his penetrating gaze makes me start to sweat.

I can feel my heart stutter. "Are you telling me Tommy participated in my attack?"

Lucien's Dad slightly shrugs a shoulder. "I am not sure...at the very least, I think he was a bystander."

"WHAT??!" I gasp. My vision starts to darken. No, no, no, no, that cannot be right. Tommy has been a family friend since before I was born. "Bella!" I can hear Lucien calling me, but my focus has turned inward. Puzzle pieces are beginning to fit together. The two thousand dollar anonymous contribution to Parker's Pets every month, the way Tommy didn't say a proper goodbye to me the last time he was home, and his insistence at selling me his car way below market value. They all point to a very prominent boil on the ass of humanity. He was there and didn't do anything to help me. "Bella!" I hear again, refocusing on my surroundings. Lucien is now in the back seat with me, holding my hands.

"I'm okay, I just needed a minute...that's why he's willing to sell me his car drastically under market value, isn't it? Because he feels guilty for being there, even if he wasn't an active participant. He allowed it to happen..."

Lucien squeezes my hands. "Probably," he says, "but we won't know for sure until we confront these assholes and ask them."

"Well I don't want his fucking car if it's some sort of payback to make himself feel better!" I growl getting seriously pissed off.

"Miss Parker," Lucien's father says. "If you need transportation, you are welcome to use any of the vehicles I own for as long as you need it."

I look at him in surprise. "You're offering to let me borrow one of your cars?" He nods, and I am at a loss. "Why?"

"Why not? You're in need and I have the ability to help you," he says amicably.

"That's very generous of you, thank you." He nods again. Somehow I'm going to have to merge the dichotomy of who I think the Devil is with this benevolent man who's going to punish my attacker and offered to loan me a car.

Lucien has been looking out the window and I can feel him stiffen. "There they are," he says quietly. "Should we wait for them to drive deeper into the woods before we confront them?" he asks his father.

"I think that would be best," his father says, and I feel the temperature in the car raise a few degrees.