Read Online Scars Of Defiance by Lorena Angell - Free Book Online Page A

doing until I’m stopped.”
    “Someday, I want to hear more about your parents. But for
now, I’ll take these cookies with a better understanding of what drives you,
Zachary.” Dr. Jensen smiled and patted him on the back and left.
     
    Zachary entered the bedroom carrying his toolbox. Paul told
Sierra at one point what his father was doing, but Sierra had a hard time
believing any camouflage carpentry could trick Reginald’s henchmen. Paul
reassured her that his father knew what he was doing and told her not to worry.
    Sierra wasn’t worried. She had Paul to protect her. His
masculine presence took the oxygen from her lungs. Since the confusion and
awkward start of the morning, Paul had changed his whole demeanor, and it
wasn’t necessarily a good thing. His change had her thinking about him
constantly and growing more and more attracted to him, if that was even
possible.
    “Alright, Paul. This should do the trick,” Zachary said. “This
lever here releases the locking mechanism, and the door drops down.” He pulled
the lever, and the trap door swung downward into the crawlspace. “Once you’re
down, push the door up to close it, and slide the latch from the underside to
secure it. Closing the door from up here is a little trickier. You have to push
this handle on the wall and secure the lock with the same lever used to open it.”
    Paul looked at the floor of his closet in amazement. The
trap door was completely invisible to the naked eye. It fit seamlessly into the
hardwood floor as if it were part of the floor. The lever had been brilliantly
installed on the side of the shelving unit directly above the trap door,
blending in perfectly with other wooden shelving parts. If there was a raid,
Paul would be able to hide Sierra quickly and effectively.
    “Now give it a try,” said Zachary.
    Paul kicked the lever and quickly jumped down the hole and
closed the door in a matter of two seconds. With an injured crosser in tow, it
would take a little longer. Paul scanned the area under the house, noting the
restricted head room and cool dampness of the dirt floor. The trap door dumped
him to one side of the large open space that was beneath the living room, his
parents’ bedroom, the bathroom, and his own room. His mother had filled the far
corner under the living room with boxes and bags of clothing, bedding, and
non-perishable foods, while his father had worked on the craftsmanship of the
door. Should they ever have to use the crawlspace, it was well equipped to
handle them for a couple of days, if need be.
    To Paul, this new responsibility lifted his spirits and put
a damper on the itch to fly the coop. The desire to leave and make a life for
himself, one that didn’t include crossers, was relaxed a bit due to the
renovations in his room and the girl in his bed. He couldn’t wait to tell Greg.
He had finally been promoted to caregiver.
    Caregiver to a really beautiful girl.
     
    “Paul, we’re not going to sleep in the same bed tonight are
we?” Sierra asked after everyone else had left the room and they were alone.
    In truth, Paul had already thought about this, and it made
his stomach churn with anticipation. He had slept with her last night just to
keep her from dying. It was necessary and essential. But tonight, she was
basically fine. Except for the occasional shivering and sore ankle, she’d recovered
completely from her crash into the lake.
    “I think we have to,” he said. “It would be too much of a
giveaway if we were raided and someone was asleep on the floor or couch. It
would be obvious we were sheltering guests, and our home would be torn apart.”
    “Are you raided often?”
    “We’ve had a few. They’ve all been successful though.”
    “What do you mean?”
    “None of our crossers were discovered.”
    “How do you keep them hidden?”
    “There’s a basement under the kitchen and dining room part
of the house. We have a room down there designed specifically for defectors,
with six