False Healer

Chapter Twenty

Nathan walked outside Duke's place, followed closely by Duke, who kept behind him in case he needed his help again. What Nathan didn't realize, was that Duke had quickly sent a text to Audrey as he walked, informing her that Nathan was with him and that he had plans to go after Taymor.

After sending the text, Duke quickly put his phone back in his pocket, took a look at the car he and Nathan were about to get into, and sarcastically asked, "Wow, Nathan, did you actually steal a car to get here?"

Nathan glared at him as he got in behind the wheel and answered, "No, I commandeered this car. When this is all over, it will go back to, whoever it belongs to. See, I'm a cop, not a criminal like you."

"Very funny!" Duke responded. "May I ask why it is your doing all this without Audrey? I mean, a beautiful woman just admitted to you that she loves you and instead of embracing her like you should have, you pushed her away."

"You need to stop talking about this, right now," Nathan said firmly. "It isn't any of your business."

Duke looked over at him as he drove and could see that there was something bothering him as he replied, "Nathan, if whatever it is that's troubling you is the reason why you're going after Taymor without your partner, you're making a huge mistake. Isn't that what her job is? To protect you, I mean? Just as it is your job to protect her?"

Nathan answered softly, "If it was any other case, then the answer would be yes, but this isn't like any other case. Taymor has targeted me and I can't risk her getting hurt because of me."

"I'm still not following," Duke responded.

"When I spoke with my dad, on the day the dead rose up all around Haven, he told me that I couldn't love her because she is too important around here," Nathan replied reluctantly.

Duke looked over at him and asked, "He said that to you and you decided to listen to him now? You never listened to your old man before."

Nathan rolled his eyes and then answered, "And I wasn't going to at first, but after everything that's happened in the last week, Audrey's even more determined to bring this scumbag down in order to protect me. What if she gets hurt? What if she gets…? I can't risk anything happening to her while trying to protect me because Haven needs her to end the 'Troubles.' This town needs her; more than I do. If I have to leave Haven and live the rest of my life with this affliction in order to keep her safe, I will."

"But Nathan, your life is here," Duke said as he was surprised by the things Nathan was telling him. "You just got back your job as chief and your father left you in charge to protect Haven and its citizens. I can't believe I'm saying this, but this town needs you as much as we need Audrey. Audrey needs you. No one knows her or understands her, like you and no one else can."

"Most of the citizens don't want me here, Duke," Nathan responded as he looked over at him, then back at the road. "Not after all I've done to stonewall the Rev. A lot of them joined a cult in hopes of getting rid of the 'Troubles' and some of them were only too happy that I became one of their targets. I don't blame them for being afraid. I'm afraid, but I am even more afraid to lose the one woman I will always love. I can't be the reason we lose her. Please, just drop this."

Duke nodded and replied, "Fine. Do you even know where to start looking for this guy?"

Nathan answered, "I think I know exactly where he is. The shack near where I was tied down to the altar."

"The police searched that whole area when we were looking for him," Duke responded. "He wouldn't be stupid enough to return there. Besides, I'm sure Dwight looked around there as well for any clues to his whereabouts."

"I didn't say he was hiding in the shack itself, but there's a passageway that's hidden, running beneath the shack and leads to someplace else," Nathan replied.

Duke looked at him and asked, "And how do you know this?"

Nathan smiled as he answered, "I was awake more than Taymor and Abassi thought I was. I overheard some of their conversations. From what I gathered, the two of them were the only ones, who knew this passageway was there. My guess is that the Rev told them about it before he died and someone decided to build the shack above it to keep the entrance to it hidden."

"And you think you can find it?" Duke asked again. "Of course you do. Do you plan on shooting Taymor when we find him, or are you actually going to arrest him?"

"I won't stoop down to their level," Nathan responded. "I may hate them for what they've done, but I won't become a murderer. That's not who I am."

Duke nodded and said, "Good. Let's get this over with. I'm getting hungry. If we're successful, I'll treat you to a lobster dinner to celebrate. They're freshly imported just this morning."

Nathan glared at Duke as he replied, "I hate lobster."

"I know," the smuggler answered. "You didn't actually think that I was going to give you a free meal, did you?"

Nathan smiled then stopped talking for awhile. Duke looked over at him and saw the sadness and anger in his eyes and face. When he saw that Nathan was no longer paying any attention to him due to him being deep in thought, he cautiously reached into his pocket and hit a button on his cell phone, then let go and pulled his hand away. Nathan had no idea that Duke had just recorded their entire conversation, as he had realized this might be the only way Audrey will ever learn why Nathan had pushed her away.

Back at the police station…

On her way back to the station, Audrey stopped by the Grey Gull, as well as at his boat, in hopes that Duke had found a way to stall Nathan from going after Taymor until she arrived, but as she did, both of them were nowhere to be found and she had yet to receive another text from Duke since he had left her the first one telling her that Nathan had come to him for help.

When she finally arrived back at the station, Audrey went into the cells room to speak with Abassi for herself. However, the man just sat in his cell and stared at her. She knew that he had already refused to give up any information to help them to find Sandri Taymor, but she thought that by appealing to his more compassionate side that made it so that he felt guilty for killing the people he had, that maybe he would give her something to help her find Nathan. She was wrong.

Once she left the room, she began to pace back and forth again, waiting to hear back from Dwight, whom she had called to let him know that Nathan was now out there looking for Taymor too. As she finally collapsed in her chair in her office, she angrily pushed several files and papers from off of her desk, onto the floor.

She was angry with herself that she had left Nathan alone for a second time. If only she knew what it was that was really troubling him so badly to where he would do something so stupid. Maybe then, she would have been able to talk him into letting her help him. She knew that there was something more to it than him just trying to protect her; something much deeper.

However, before she could think on it anymore, her phone suddenly beeped and another text from Duke appeared. As she read it, she suddenly jumped up and ran out of the station. Stan just stared as she did so, then went back to work. Whatever the message said, he knew that it must have been the big break she had been waiting for.