Redeeming-Love-By-Francine-Rivers

F R A N C I N E R I V E R S
But I don’t believe. I’m afraid to believe. She stopped abruptly and opened
her eyes, her mind suddenly blank. The words to the song were gone.
Vanished.
The place was silent, every man staring up at her where she stood, alone
on the empty stage. She could feel the burn of tears behind her eyes. Oh,
God, make me believe!
Someone began singing for her, picking up the words where she had left
off. His voice was rich and deep, so like Michael’s her heart jumped. She
searched for him and saw him near the bar, a tall, gray-haired man in a dark
business suit.
As suddenly as they’d disappeared, the words came back to her, and she
sang with him as he continued. He walked slowly through the parting
crowd. He stopped below the stage and smiled up at her. She smiled back.
Then she looked around at the men again, all silent now, stunned. Some
couldn’t meet her eyes but looked away, ashamed.
“Why are you all here?” she cried out, the tears so close she was afraid
they would choke her. “Why aren’t you home with your wives and children,
or your mothers and sisters? Don’t you know what this place is? Don’t you
know where you are?”
The curtains swished open behind her, and the dancing girls came racing
out. The piano player began again, and the young women began singing
loudly around her, kicking their bare legs up high. Some of the men began
to clap and cheer. Others just stood there, silent, ashamed.
Angel walked slowly off the stage. She saw Duke waiting for her, a look
in his eyes that she had never seen before. Perspiration beaded his brow, and
his face was pale with fury. He grabbed her arm brutally and yanked her
into the shadows. “What made you do a stupid thing like that?”
“God, I think,” she said, stunned. She felt jubilation—and the presence
of a power so immense she was trembling. She looked up at Duke and
wasn’t afraid of him anymore.
“God?” He spat the word out. His eyes blazed. “I’m going to kill you. I
should have killed you a long time ago.”
“You’re afraid, aren’t you? I can smell it. You’re afraid of something you
can’t even see. And do you know why? Because what Michael has is more
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