Total pages in book: 24
Estimated words: 22821 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 114(@200wpm)___ 91(@250wpm)___ 76(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 22821 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 114(@200wpm)___ 91(@250wpm)___ 76(@300wpm)
The decision had made him feel like a hero for a few seconds, but now that the rest of his days loomed before him, and with zero chances of seeing the outside world again—-
It is stupid, Thomas.
The priest's words had him gaping at the other man. Weren't priests supposed to comfort their flock, not torment them?
But only in the eyes of men, the priest had then added with a kind smile. My words might not make sense right now, but this is where you can be truly free. Sin is what cages us, and doing what's right is what frees us. And of course, as one would expect from a man of God, the priest was absolutely right. Those words had not made sense for a long, long time...until now.
Thomas was still in a pensive mood as his three-way call with the would-be lovers came to an end, and another prisoner was quick to take his turn at the payphone as the former doctor walked back to his cell.
The road ahead for those two wasn't going to be easy. Kayra was the daughter of a powerful Greek mafia family while Drake belonged to an equally powerful group of vigilantes. Drake was a former Fed, and Kayra a former suspect, also of the Feds. Kayra was an introvert, Drake an extrovert. Kayra had recently converted to a plant-based lifestyle, while there was nothing Drake loved more than grilling steaks in his balcony.
The list could go on and on for the pair of star-crossed lovers...but even so.
They're going to make it, Thomas thought fiercely.
Those two were not like him. Drake and Kayra might have taken other people's lives like Thomas had, but that didn't make either of them evil. Those two were genuinely good people, and so they had to make it work.
They had to.
You did good, Tommy.
Thomas was lying awake in bed, and the clock outside his cell showed it was already a quarter past midnight when he heard her voice inside his mind.
And you're right about them, too, so stop worrying.
His eyes started to sting as he felt the warmth of his wife's presence wrap around him like an invisible embrace.
Do you really think so?
He knew he couldn't really be talking to his dead wife, but he would take what he could get, and if an imaginary voice was all he could have for now—-
Those two remind me of how we used to be, so yes, I do think they'll make it.
Candice was still Candice, and he would gladly talk to her, real or otherwise.
I miss you, Cands.
I miss you, too. And one day, we'll see each other again.
I hope so. God, I hope so. But the things I've done. The people I've killed. I've tried to make up for it in every way I could think of, but it never seems enough.
Oh, Tommy. You can be so silly at times. Shouldn't you know by now? It's not our good deeds that save us. Everything is because of God's grace.
I wish I can tell you I get it, Cands, but I'm a doctor, not a priest. I don't understand angel speak.
His wife laughed, and real or not real, it was still the most beautiful sound he had ever heard.
We'll see each other again, Tommy. Because that's our definition of what heaven is.
Chapter One
Kayra: I've made up my mind. I'm going to meet up with someone from Strakh, and I'm telling you this in case I turn up missing or dead.
Bailey: You're kidding, right?
Bailey: RIGHT?
Kayra: No.
Bailey: Are you for real? He's STRAKH. You're MAFIA.
Kayra: I've already spoken to him on the phone.
Bailey: OMG, Theía.
Kayra: He sounded remarkably interesting.
Bailey: Of course he sounds interesting! He's being interesting to reel you in! He's being interesting because he plans to kill you!
Bailey: Theía!
Bailey: Hello? HELLO?
I READ MY NIECE'S TEXTS one last time before dropping my phone back into my pocket.
Still not gonna text back.
I appreciate Bailey's concern, but there are times when she really does forget I'm more monster than human, and not even someone from Strakh will find it easy to kill me.
And besides...
Thomas says this man I'm about to meet is my perfect match, and since even I have no idea what a 'perfect' match for someone like me even means—-
Monitor, monitor on the wall.
Who's the freakiest guy of them all?
I knead the muscles in my neck while watching people come and go on multiple screens. Greasing a couple of hands might have given me easy access to the security room, but the job does get tedious when you've been monitoring real-time security footage for over twenty-four hours.
Where are you, Boy?
I'm starting to get bleary-eyed, but it's just the price I have to pay, to make sure I see him first.
Come out, come out, wherever you—-SHIT.
I nearly destroy the Zoom button on the control board even though I know pounding on it repeatedly won't make the surveillance cameras work any faster.