Read Online Assassins: Assignment: Jerusalem, Target: Antichrist by Tim Lahaye, Jerry B. Jenkins - Free Book Online Page A

him. He felt Buck’s tentative hand on his back and wished he could tell his son-in-law not to worry, that his support meant everything. Tsion laid his warm hand on Rayford’s head and called on God “to be everything this man needs you to be during the most difficult season anyone has ever been asked to endure.”
    Rayford found himself sobbing for the second time that night, only now he did not wail the mournful cries of the hopeless. He felt bathed in the love of God and the support of his family. He had not given up the idea that God might still use him in the comeuppance of Nicolae Carpathia, but that was―at least briefly―less important than his place within the group. They could handle his not always being strong. They would stick with him when he was human and worse. They would support him even when he failed. How could he ever express what that meant to him?
    It was not lost on Rayford that Leah, though she had understandably not felt comfortable enough to touch him, had prayed for him. She did not pretend to know the problem, only indicating a recognition that he was apparently not himself and needed a touch from God.
    When the prayers finally fell silent, Rayford could muster only “Thank you, God.” Tsion hummed a familiar tune. First Chloe, then the others, sang. Blest be the tie that binds our hearts in Christian love. The fellowship of kindred minds is like to that above.
    The four of them rose and returned to where they were sitting. Rayford pulled up a chair. “Thought I was getting voted out of the club,” he said.
    Tsion chuckled. “We would not even let you resign,” he said. “I would like to ask you, Leah, if you would mind waiting until tomorrow to tell us your story. I think we have all been through enough for one day, and we would like to give you our full attention.”
    “I was going to suggest the same,” she said. “Thank you.”
    “Do you have any aversion to staying where Floyd used to sleep?” Rayford said.
    “Not unless anyone else has a problem with it,” she said. “And I know this sounds weird, but I won’t sleep well unless I have a sense of the rest of the place. Could I get a quick tour, just so I know where everything is?”
    “Chloe and I will be happy to show you,” Rayford said, hoping to start a connection that would facilitate conversation.
    “I’ll check on the baby,” Buck said. Tsion rose wearily. “Good night, all.” Rayford was impressed that Chloe knew enough to ignore the cellar. She started in the back of the duplex, where Leah had come in. “There’s nothing in the other flat,” she said. “It was more structurally damaged anyway. You came through the nook area here. This has been rebuilt since the earthquake when a tree smashed it and killed the wife of the owner. Her husband was at our church at the time and died when that collapsed.
    “Then the kitchen, of course, and off to the left the living room. Then the dining room, where we never eat but a lot of us work. Past the stairs there is a bathroom and the front room where Buck and I sleep with the baby.”
    Upstairs they showed her the other bath, Rayford’s room, Tsion’s, and Floyd’s.
    “Thanks,” she said. “And where did Ritz stay?”
    Rayford and Chloe looked at each other. “Ah,” he said, “I wasn’t aware you knew he had lived here.”
    “Was it a secret?”
    “The whole place is.”
    “I’m not supposed to know he lived here? I knew Dr. Charles and Mr. Williams and Hattie lived here.”
    “I just didn’t know you knew, that’s all,” Rayford said. “I hope it doesn’t make me sound suspicious.”
    She stopped. “Of what? You want to examine my mark? Something gave you the confidence to bring every emergency my way. If I wasn’t trustworthy, would I have risked my life for all of you?”
    “I’m sorry, I―”
    “Really, Mr. Steele. If I was working for the GC I could have tipped off the potentate when his lover miscarried his child while I attended her.