Uncommon Ground-Pleasant Hearts Series- Book 1
UNCOMMON GROUNDPLEASANT HEARTSSERIES- BOOK 1JOY OHAGWU
UNCOMMON GROUND :PLEASANT HEARTS CHRISTIAN SUSPENSE SERIES-BOOK 1JOIN HER EXCLUSIVE VIP READERS CLUB. And get Author Joy Ohagwu’s starter Library for FREE.Details are at the end of this book. Don’t miss out.FOUNDATIONAL SCRIPTURE“Behold, I will do a new thing, now it shall spring forth; shallyou not know it? I will even make a way in the wildernessand rivers in the desert.”-Isaiah 43:19
To JESUS, Giver of new beginnings
1T“Hhe day started like an ordinary day but unraveled atthe blink of an eye.old the steel handle!” Dennis Bancroft, twentyyear gas industry veteran and seasoned extractionengineer with Fignon Gas, gripped his overalls and pushed ablack button to sound the evacuation alarm for the WhiteOak hilltop facility. But he doubted his men heard him whilethey battled to seize control of the Operations ControllerRoom’s double doors against a stubborn and sudden gust ofwind. The gas pressure indication meters on his dash
2JOY OHAGWUshowed something was wrong underground. Pressure wasrising fast—too fast.Confusion swirled through him because an hour earlier,nothing seemed out of place when he’d visually observeddown the valley. But from experience, he knew better than totrust his eyes in judging gaseous matter. Moreover, an hourbefore now was too dark to see any possible problems as thesun just started to grace the horizon. His blood pressurespiked when the gauges in the monitoring room threatenedto blow a minute ago. Gauge needles swung forward near red—the mark of danger.Though Fignon Gas was situated uphill, even a minor gasleak could turn deadly miles away. He hated what he had todo next, but he had no choice. He leaned into the emergencyannouncement mic, sweat beading his forehead. “Everyone,please Shelter in Place! I repeat, Shelter in Place!”The ground beneath him shook vehemently, and thetransparent sealed gauge screens shattered. He managed toreach the Drop Dead plug and yanked it to cease all gasextraction operations. Every machine spluttered to a stop.Trembling, he crawled beneath his desk, clutching the footof his desk drawer. The fluorescent overhead blew out andplunged him into early morning darkness. He closed his eyesand willed the shaking ground to stop, but it only quakedharder. Gripped by fear of the unknown, a panic attack set inand he passed out. But not before thanking God that his son,
Uncommon Ground-Pleasant Hearts Series- Book 13Trevor, had chosen a Navy recruitment interview overworking at the station that day.My daughter’s face is like a sealed curtain, Stella HeartParsons reminded herself, lest she let Sharon’s bigbrown eyes take her in. Her hair, which Stella had groomeduntil Sharon prided herself in its length and fiery-red lush,cascaded in a ponytail in contrast to White Oak’s brighteningblue morning skyline. Leaves on oak trees around CrossoverBuilding—her office building—turned shades of red andyellow, casting a perfect fall image. In the year since thebuilding’s creation, its beauty grew on her daily. But today,they were moving and Sharon came to help her pack.Stella sighed. If she’d ever needed a day to go perfectly, itwas today. But Sharon appeared set to ruin it. As had beenher attitude for the past ten years.Something wasn’t right. She trained her eyes on bothoccupants before her in white lab coats. She had told them tobe careful when boxing fragile lab items. So what happened,because she couldn’t see any shattered glass—yet?Her inquiring gaze swept the room. “What’s going onhere?” Instead of an answer, the sealed curtain—Sharon’sface—propped with the curve of a coming smile. A pastedsmile shielded the barrier she never let slip. The questionbarely escaped her lips before Sharon’s brows arched high as
4JOY OHAGWUshe feigned ignorance with inched shoulders. She was goingwith her typical nonresponse, leaving Stella to get heranswers elsewhere.But Stella stayed her eyes on her daughter this time,insistent. Someone would tell her what the scene she walkedinto meant. Unease settled on her heart. Was something seriously damaged?Something felt wrong, but not just with the scenario. Abroader problem loomed, though she couldn’t place a fingeron it. Tightness crawled up her arm. But Stella chucked it upto restless sleep and the unease rousing her belly to missingbreakfast.Sometimes, working in medicine-related environmentsproduced tense moments, but nothing she hadn’t seenduring her hands-on days. Even when you’ve got a PhD innursing and no longer practiced emergency-care nursing, theresearch still got intense. Maybe she’d pushed too hard lastnight when she’d insisted on staying up late to complete andsubmit her final report for this project. She hated procrastination, though it plagued her oftentimes. But giving thehospital her final project before sleeping at one a.m., cleareda huge item off her to-do, leaving her free to come in andpack today. What came next? She still prayed.Though it was time to move on, she appreciated thehospital’s generosity in giving her the opportunity and spaceto pursue her dreams. Once more, she surveyed the wellequipped and state-of-the-art lab they had provided for her,
Uncommon Ground-Pleasant Hearts Series- Book 15satisfaction coursing through her veins. Here, her findings onimproved techniques for emergency insulin delivery offeredpriceless, faster absorption, sure to improve diabetic care ifimplemented. That was enough compensation for her. Eventhough it still had to undergo rigorous testing and regulatoryapproval by the government, she celebrated. She had criedwith joy on the night of her breakthrough discovery. Thenshe ate pizza all night and made up for it by working out fortwo hours the following morning until her arms were sore.Thankful and satisfied with the project’s completion, shestill had time to figure out how and what to pursue next tokeep providing for her and Sharon.As a single mom, she’d faced her share of tough financialtimes. Especially during her PhD program. Eating noodlesand eggs for dinner night after night offered their onlyoption that didn’t involve borrowing. She couldn’t workovernight shifts at the hospital like her colleagues didbecause of Sharon, so she was stuck with a few part-timeshifts to meet their needs. But she’d persevered, and surprisingly, Sharon never complained about what little they had.Armed with her PhD in a lucrative field coupled with hernew research experience, she’d have her pick of jobs themoment she hit Apply, and she had God to thank for that.Stella looked long and hard at the two again, removingher red-rimmed designer lenses which she rarely wore thesedays, and placed them on the counter.“Before I entered, I mean? What happened?”
6JOY OHAGWUSharon met her question with a daring stoic glare. Atseventeen, her fierceness cut both ways, depending on howshe was feeling.Now, Stella got her sealed-curtain response. Problem was,Stella frowned, you never knew what was behind the curtainunless you shocked it open—or she let you in—which has nothappened in a decade, to my recollection. Not since the fateful daywhen everything turned sour.Resisting the urge to travel along a bitter memory lane,Stella spun to the only other person who could tell her whatwas going on. Terra, her lab assistant on the project. Butwhen Terra looked away as soon as Stella’s gaze fell on her,Stella doubted she’d speak either. Some code of silence wasin effect—one that excluded her. Frustration rose, and shejumped when the air conditioner kicked on and blew wispsof hair with a chilling blast onto her face. Why was shejumpy?Since she woke up this morning, tension had wound hernerves into a hard ball. If she couldn’t shake it soon, onlystrong black coffee would take the edge off and get her alert.She counted on its waking effect. But this day had barelystarted, and things already felt out of place. She lived anorganized life and hated disruptions. She rubbed her neck toease the knot. Sharon curled her arms with her face twistedin a frown while Terra remained rooted like a statue, herblack hair packed in bob fashion. Again, a nagging feelingtugged at Stella—something, other than the scenario before
Uncommon Ground-Pleasant Hearts Series- Book 17her, was wrong. Queasiness gripped her gut. Should I pray?Better deal with this pair and their actions first.She pointed to Terra, whose hands vibrantly swung wideopen in denial without an accusation being made yet. “Terra,why do you have a soiled Band-Aid lodged inside yourmouth?”Both exchanged glances, but said nothing. Terra trembled, while darting her eyes between Sharon and Stella. Sheknew. Her loyalty was being tested. Terra respected Stella asher boss, but Stella knew where her loyalty would ultimatelyrest—the person with whom she shared a similar worldview.She shifted, glanced downward, but remained silent.Having three younger sisters had done little to prepareStella for motherhood. She’d thought she knew everythingshe needed. Stella, Erica, April, and Summer had uniquepersonalities and learned to respect each other’s boundariesgrowing up. But as a mom now, every day unveiled a newchallenge, and she’d learned to depend on God even more.Sharon, who was clued in by Terra’s silence, relaxed hertense shoulders, sure that Terra wouldn’t give anything up.Hurt trailed her brazenness right down to Stella’s heart. Shecontrolled her breathing, exhaled slowly, and bit her lip tocurb her anger.Stella was starting to feel like a stranger in her own office.She was tired of being the single authority in her family withno backup when her instruction was flouted or her authoritychallenged. Great peace have they which love thy law, and
8JOY OHAGWUnothing shall offend them. She recited inwardly as Sharon’seyes taunted her to push harder, a smile dancing at thecorners of her lips again. But Stella wasn’t going to play hergame of control. Past experience painfully taught hernothing good came of it. And right now, she wasn’t willing toentertain the frustration, especially not in this professionalenvironment.Was bringing Sharon here a bad idea? Every day, she’dhoped they would grow closer, yet the chasm widened.Drawing in a long breath, she beckoned Terra closer.Stella would maintain the lab’s integrity and not allow arebellious teen or a coconspirator assistant to thrash it. Oneyear gone and she’d had no major incident. She’d keep itthat way.Sharon released a sharp huff, crossed her arms, andtapped her white sneaker-clad foot on the gray tiles. Whydidn’t life have a rewind button? Stella’d reverse the fatefulday ten years ago, when her sweet little girl became a personshe didn’t recognize—a girl rejecting faith in God. How shewished for—Sharon lifted a drawing ruler and ran it noisily along theedge of the table—bringing Stella’s thoughts back to thepresent. Stella silently withdrew it from her and tossed itinside a nearly full moving box. She prayed for the rightwords.“Sharon, you know better.” Whatever occurred previously, Stella pressed upon her the value of a better choice. If
Uncommon Ground-Pleasant Hearts Series- Book 19only she could communicate that emotionally torturing herdidn’t make life any easier for Sharon as she might think. Buteven if she succeeded to, Sharon wouldn’t stop because it wasnow a habit, a terrible one. Wired to tick her off was Sharon’snew normal, and only God could break it off her.Willing herself not to react out of anger, Stellaapproached Terra where she remained frozen in place withher hands dropped to her sides. The scattered sheets on thetesting area’s desk spoke of an argument—but what couldthese two argue about? Obviously, no one was telling her.It couldn’t be about faith, since they both professed none.Time to gain control of this out-of-control situation.Stella pushed inward a highlighter teetering on thepolished oak desk’s edge, straightened the scattered sheets,and settled them on a file holder. Then she caught Terra’sgreen-eyed gaze, who though only two years older thanSharon, showed more responsibility. Maybe she was scaredand needed assurance.“If something was damaged, I will assume responsibility.So, will someone tell me what happened or do I have to getMark up here? Which do you want?” Perhaps a threat withthe lone security guard posted at the first floor reception areawould spill the truth. But Terra shifted from one foot toanother avoiding Stella’s eyes.And how could she think while staring at the soiledBand-Aid still trapped in Terra’s slightly parted mouth?
10JOY OHAGWUStella pointed at it, and with a sharp exhale, Terra sent theobject flapping off her lips.Fed up, Stella turned toward the testing area and wavedTerra out of the lab, toward her main office suite next door.For the life of her, Stella couldn’t imagine this. “Pick thattape off the floor, will you? And please go clean up, thoroughly.” She pulled her brown leather jacket off the back of a highlab chair where she’d hung it when she entered. She slid iton to ward off the chill from the central air conditioner’sbreeze. This wasn’t the quiet, uneventful fall day she’d hopedfor. And the day was just starting. She spun to catch Sharon tiptoeing away from behind—an attempt to hightail after Terra. Stella halted her with aloose tug on her arm and a firm detaining gaze. Disappointment crossed Sharon’s face as she stared longingly at thedoor. If she’d thought she was getting off easy on this one,she was wrong. “As for you, we’re talking right now. Comewith me.”Yet angry, Stella couldn’t figure the appropriate way toregister her displeasure without scaring Sharon. To say shewas fed up was an understatement. Why was Sharon resistant to authority? To her?Sharon grunted and dragged her feet crankily behind.Her squeaking-shoes-on-the-tile protest did her no good asStella paused midway and stooped to gather the researchbooks that originally brought her to the lab. Why wasn’t shemore like her sister, Erica? Carefree, simpleminded? If she
Uncommon Ground-Pleasant Hearts Series- Book 111was, this scene she’d walked into might not move her. Buteven then, she doubted it.She exhaled loudly enough for Sharon to hear whiletrailing behind and know she’d caused trouble as theywound between two lab tables. Sharon bent over to tie upher loose sneakers’ laces, as though knowing that would bethe next item of reproof. Leaving them loose was the fashionthese days, but Stella insisted she appear responsibly dressedwhenever at her office.Further frustrated, she bit back the regret lining herthoughts. Sharon was her daughter and only child, and shewould not tire of her no matter how difficult. Ever. To makematters worse, Sharon yanked her phone, and her fingerswent to work on it. Always on her phone. Both were inseparable. Not today. No itching fingers.“Put it down, Sharon. On the table.” Stella pointed, andSharon complied, with an accompanying pout.The gold-engraved Stella Heart desk nameplate peepedfrom the tool room’s glass window by the left. She’d officiallyreclaimed her maiden name before starting this project,because professionally it was easier than a compound name.No reason to always explain that she was a widow and nolonger married. She couldn’t leave the nameplate behind soshe moved to go grab it before dealing with Sharon’s behavioral issues.Upon realizing that she’d given Sharon her keys theprevious day, she nodded, and Sharon knew to follow,
12JOY OHAGWUthough her steps still slowed with the knowledge that herreproving lecture was only delayed and not ruled out.The rising sun shone behind her over the horizon,brightening up the space with an orange hue. Theclear glass floor-to-ceiling surround windows were one of thebuilding’s perks. Stella’s lips curved into a smile. She wasmissing the space already.She buttoned up her purple inner sweater beneath theleather jacket. The central air often felt too cold. Theyusually set them to about 55 degrees throughout the yearregardless of the season.As they drew closer, she saw the doorway slightly parted.Sharon didn’t need a key to open it after all. Somethingbuzzed around Stella’s ear. She swatted it off with one handas she halted inches from the door. Another followed—fast—hovering over her face.Bees. Specifically, a swarm of them darkened the doorway’s top hinge. If she pushed the door wider, she’d split theforming nest open. She hadn’t entered that room in monthssince she kept her regular tools on the testing area’s table.How and when had they gotten there and remained longenough to form a nest?She, Sharon, and Terra typically stayed at her main officeat the suite’s other side. Both girls only waited at the lab
Uncommon Ground-Pleasant Hearts Series- Book 113when they arrived before her, like today when she had todrop off mail first then take the train in to work. In addition,Stella preferred to be armed with a cup of coffee before shefaced the day, unlike her sister, Erica. No wonder Erica tookto a career in the skies as an air hostess. Her bubbly personality could not be denied.But not for Stella. Nor for April, who loved coffee asmuch as Stella did. Although Stella thought the urgency ofher job as a crime-scene specialist partly accounted forApril’s love for coffee, it didn’t explain her lack of acceptablesocial skills. April’s bluntness could kill the buzz in any socialsituation. Summer, her youngest sister, was simply Summer—gentle, unassuming, and tucked far away in Wyoming.Put it succinctly, Stella wasn’t a morning person. And shepreferred solid ground to air travel. So when Terra reachedthe office half an hour before her in the morning, sheprepared the lab. Stella liked working late, whereas nineteen-year-old Terra got antsy once the clock struck six or thesun went down—whichever happened first. Stella shrugged.A youth itching to get outside, but instead was stuck workingafter dark with a boss almost twice her age definitely couldn’tbe her idea of fun.But why didn’t Terra or Sharon spot the nest? Why didn’tshe either? How did these bees get inside the building?Slowly, Stella raised her forefinger and spun circles in theair, signaling for Sharon to back up. Without turning, sheheard Sharon’s shoes sliding backward. Halfway back into
14JOY OHAGWUthe lab, she found her voice again. “We need to call pestcontrol ASAP—”Something boomed outside. Her eyes trailed the soundout the glass window. A quake in the ground shook her feet,tearing her gaze from the window to the floor under her.
2Stella shot her eyes upward when something beganto block the orange glow of the rising sunlight fromher peripheral vision while the ground still quakedbeneath her. She spread her feet to stabilize her stance, buther eyes pinned to a place ahead, outside the glass windows.Something was wrong. It wasn’t just a feeling in her gutanymore. She stared right at it out the window and felt thequake inside her bones.Stella gasped as the black-tarred, double-yellow-lineddemarcated strip of road leading to the parking lot flutteredlike a hoisted flag flapping against whooshing strong wind. Itrose high—about twenty feet—and cascaded downward like
16JOY OHAGWUan angry wave, disappearing into the ground and out ofsight.When the road had lifted, the orange sky met the blacktarred ground, and there was no more difference as theymerged. Stella shot a bewildered glance to Sharon, whoseeyes rounded wide as golf balls. Judging from them and hergaping mouth, she’d seen what Stella saw too. A shudder ranthrough Stella as the nest dropped to the ground and thebees, now well agitated, scattered into the tool room. If sheand Sharon had succeeded in entering the tool room just aminute ago Stella shuddered and stumbled forward. “Go!” She ledthe way and reached an arm behind for Sharon’s whichlocked in with hers in a moment. Her most precious possession safely in hand, she hurtled toward the lab door. Stellapaused. “Terra?”Sharon’s breathing came in heaves behind her. “Gone. Isaw her get in the elevator.” The one ten feet
Instead of an answer, the sealed curtain—Sharon’s face—propped with the curve of a coming smile. A pasted smile shielded the barrier she never let slip. The question barely escaped her lips before Sharon’s brows arched high as Uncommon Ground-Pleasant Hearts Series- Book 1 3. she feigned ignorance with inched shoulders. She was going with her typical nonresponse, leaving Stella to get .
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Alex Rider had made his own choices. He should have been at school, but instead, for whatever reason, he had allowed the Special Operations Division of MI6 to recruit him. From schoolboy to spy. It was certainly unusual – but the truth was, he had been remarkably successful. Beginner’s luck, maybe, but he had brought an end to an operation that had been several years in the planning. He .
