The Light of His Sword by Alaina Stanford Page A

city,
I’ll drive after that. You need to get some rest. You’re hurt, and
the two hour nap you just took isn’t enough.”
    “Yes, ma’am,” Gabe grinned and threw the
truck into gear. “If we keep up this pace, we should be in St Louis
by morning.”
    They pulled back out onto the highway and
used the bypass to stay on the outskirts of Kansas City.
From there, Alyssa drove until they reached a rural town on the
outskirts of St Louis and pulled into a Walmart. She left Gabe and
Samantha asleep in the truck and ran inside to buy bandages and a
change of clothes for Gabe. She also bought a box of doughnuts,
juice and fresh fruit from the grocery area. When she returned,
Gabe and Samantha were awake waiting for her.
    Gabe jumped out of the truck when he saw her
coming and went to meet her. “Next time, give me a heads up if you
want to stop.” He said quietly taking the bags from her hands and
escorting her to the truck. “We aren’t out of danger. It’s not safe
for you to go off on your own. We need to stay together even if
it’s a deserted area.”
    “Your clothes are a mess. If you don’t
change, you’re going to get a lot of questions when you make this
delivery.” Alyssa smiled knowingly at him. “Besides, the store was
empty. The only people I saw were the employees and no one gave me
a second glance. I thought this was the best place to stop before
we got too close to the city.”
    Gabe glanced in the bags and asked, “You
bought me clothes?”
    “Yes and some antibiotic ointment for your
wounds.” She added as he opened the door and helped her climb
inside the truck.
    “I’m fine, I just needed some rest.” Gabe
answered climbing in behind her and starting the truck. Alyssa took
the bags from him and dug inside for his new shirt.
    She glanced up at him and said, “Take off
your shirt, and we’ll change your bandages before you put on the
new one.”
    Gabe looked around the parking lot; it was
empty. “Okay,” he answered pulling off his tattered shirt.
    Alyssa forced herself to concentrate on the
bandage and dried blood. She pulled a packet of disposable wipes
from the grocery bag and started cleaning the blood from his
muscular chest. His skin was soft and taunt over his lean frame.
Alyssa couldn’t help but admire the six-pack on his abdomen as she
worked.
    Samantha dug in the bag and pulled out the
larger bandages Alyssa had bought. Alyssa gingerly pulled off the
series of band aids Samantha left on the gash across his chest and
stared in amazement. The wound was gone. She flashed Gabe a
questioning look.
    “I’m a fast healer.” Gabe shrugged and
reached for the bag Samantha was holding.
    Alyssa grabbed his left arm and tore off the
bandages over the knife injury. Again, no hint of a wound, not even
a hint of a scar. “Who are you?” She demanded, releasing his
arm.
    “He’s an angel.” Samantha offered proudly.
“Only angels can fight demons.”
    Gabe grinned at Samantha and said, “So you
believe in angels too?”
    He reached in the bag and pulled out the red
and black flannel shirt Alyssa bought for him and put it on. Alyssa
snatched the bag from Samantha, yanked his jeans out and thrust
them at him. “We will turn our backs so you can change your
pants.”
     She reached out for Samantha and spun
her around to face the window. Gabe did as she asked and pulled off
his torn and bloody jeans. He tossed them behind the seat with his
shirt and pulled on his new pants. Despite her anger at his
reaction to Samantha’s suggestion that he was an angel, Alyssa
resisted the urge to glance in his direction. Instead, she allowed
her anger to build. How dare he take advantage of her confidence?
He was using Walton’s insane belief that Samantha would receive a
divine protector to grow closer to her. Little did he know,
Samantha was unaware of the prophesy. Alyssa was not going to allow
otherwise.
    It was insane to believe that some mystical
God would send a divine protector for