“What do you remember about your real life? How did you end up here? What’s your real name and where’s your family?” she asked me.“My real name is Levi Montgomery Sinclair. I was born in Seward, Alaska. I was very sick as a child and I spent a lot of time in the hospital. One day, I went home with Peter. He programmed me to believe that my parents didn’t want me because I was sick,” I said.“This half breed I just told you about…his name’s Kiran Sinclair and he lives in Seward,” she said, and my heart started beating faster.My phone rang at that moment and I looked at it. “I have to take this,” I said to her and walked to the living room.“What the hell, Jericho?” Jack said.“I know, I’m on my way,” I said as I picked my backpack up and walked back to the kitchen.“You better hurry, Lynda’s already taken her glasses off,” he said and I huffed out a laugh.“Fifteen minutes,” I said and ended the call.“Are you okay?” she asked me.“This is all insane but I have to go to work,” I said
The sun started to rise and I watched as it drove the darkness away and filtered through the blinds into the bedroom. I got up and went to the bathroom. I looked at myself in the mirror. She had acted like nothing out of the ordinary had happened. I showered and walked to the kitchen. The test was still on the counter where I had left it.“Morning,” Charlotte said as she walked into the kitchen still in her pajamas.“Go pee,” I said and she looked at me. Was she that good an actress? She still looked like nothing had happened.“Fine,” she said and took the box from the counter and headed to the bathroom. I made coffee and she was back within two minutes and sat down at the counter.“And?” I asked as she took her coffee cup.“You can go check,” she said.She’d left the test on the closed lid of the toilet and I picked it up. Shit. It was positive. Maybe if I hadn’t seen what I had last night, I might feel different, but now I felt that I didn’t really know her. She had secrets of her o
I rode back to my apartment, wondering why Nicole was trying to follow me as I lost her in the traffic. I parked the bike in the parking lot of my building. John, the guard at the reception desk, stopped me.“Mr. Cannon, a package arrived for you two days ago,” he said and gave me a book to sign for receipt of the package.“Thank you, John.” I took the package from him and headed up to my apartment.I unlocked my front door and placed my helmet on the bureau in the foyer. I pulled my phone out as I headed toward the kitchen. Charlotte would be getting ready to close the diner for the night.“Hey,” she answered and I could tell she was smiling.“Don’t be mad,” I said and she laughed.“You’re not coming home, are you?”“I got an assignment,” I said. She was quiet for a whole two minutes.“Well, I guess we’re at that point,” she said and I smiled.“Are you mad?”“No. We both knew it was going to happen sooner or later. I’d hoped for later,” she said.“I’ll try and push to get the assignm
I rode back to my apartment, wondering why Nicole was trying to follow me as I lost her in the traffic. I parked the bike in the parking lot of my building. John, the guard at the reception desk, stopped me.“Mr. Cannon, a package arrived for you two days ago,” he said and gave me a book to sign for receipt of the package.“Thank you, John.” I took the package from him and headed up to my apartment.I unlocked my front door and placed my helmet on the bureau in the foyer. I pulled my phone out as I headed toward the kitchen. Charlotte would be getting ready to close the diner for the night.“Hey,” she answered and I could tell she was smiling.“Don’t be mad,” I said and she laughed.“You’re not coming home, are you?”“I got an assignment,” I said. She was quiet for a whole two minutes.“Well, I guess we’re at that point,” she said and I smiled.“Are you mad?”“No. We both knew it was going to happen sooner or later. I’d hoped for later,” she said.“I’ll try and push to get the assignm
Charlotte had opened my eyes to a new world, a world where I didn’t have to be the old me. I could walk away from all of this and still be the person I wanted to be. It was a thought that had my breath hitch, a thought that should have numbed me.Then something else started happening. I thought more about what Bo had said about his sister. I missed work. It had already been three months and I was getting bored at home. I needed to stay busy and I missed the feel of a rifle in my hands.Charlotte had stayed in Epworth with the dogs because I would be leaving after I’d seen Lynda. I drove the bike to HQ and parked in my usual parking spot and took the elevator up to the twenty-ninth floor. The feelings inside me were new and I wasn’t sure if they were good feelings.The central offices were busy as usual and people greeted me like I hadn’t been gone for three months. I preferred it this way. I hate it when stuff becomes a big deal like surprise parties.I was a planner and I preferred t
“What time are you leaving for Chicago?” Charlotte asked me as we lay in bed.“Probably at around five. My appointment is at eight thirty,” I said.She moved closer to me as I lay on my back and she put one leg over mine. “Don’t wake me.”I chuckled and turned my head to look at her. “Someone needs to make me coffee.” She smiled and slapped me on my arm.“What did you do before you had me?” she asked and rested her head on my chest.“That was different. I didn’t know your coffee was better than mine,” I said.We were quiet for a bit and I closed my eyes. I listened to the silence all around me, the peaceful darkness, the dogs that now slept in their baskets in our room. I felt content, something that would’ve scared me a few months earlier, but now made me incredibly happy.“Blake.” I turned my head again and my eyes were now open. Her voice had a serious tone to it.“That was a very serious Blake,” I said and she smiled nervously.“We’ve never talked about kids,” she said.“Are you p
Charlotte and June sat under the shade of a big tree a few feet away from everybody. She felt relaxed, happy and she knew that Blake was her endgame. There was no doubt in her mind anymore, no more lies, except her own dark secret.“I’ve never seen him like this before,” June remarked.“What do you mean?” Charlotte asked.“He’s so relaxed and he’s smiling. You’re going to have to stick around,” June said and Charlotte smiled.“I’m glad. He still has his moments but he’s slowly turning human,” Charlotte said and June laughed.I walked toward them and June put her hand in front of her mouth to hide her laugh. Charlotte’s eyes were sparkling and I forgot all about the misconceptions of the previous night.“No, please, by all means, continue discussing me,” I said and they both started to laugh again as I sat down next to Charlotte.“I like this new you, Jericho. She’s a keeper, marry her before she realizes how weird you are and runs away,” June said and stood up when one of the kids sta
The next morning, I sent Jack a text as we got into the truck and headed to DeKalb. Charlotte put her hand on my thigh and looked at me as we drove in silence. I wasn’t sure what to say or do, my mind was a mess.“Are you okay? You’re very quiet and you look troubled,” she said. I smiled as I took her hand.“I’m fine,” I said. I had spent most of the night going through every conversation we had ever had, trying to figure out what exactly it was that I had seen her do last night.“Okay, so June is your brother’s wife and they have two kids. Does she know about you guys?”“She knows everything. Jack’s not all messed up like me. Plus, he doesn’t kill people for a living,” I said.“You’re not messed up,” she said and squeezed my hand.We drove for a little while with the radio on for background noise. This was me compromising even though I preferred silence and solitude, Charlotte was more important than my own comfort.“How do you remember what you tell someone? It’s actually scary how
The minutes ticked by in silence. I couldn’t turn around to look at her. I knew what I’d see. Hate, fear, disgust. I didn’t want to see that in her eyes, I preferred her anger over fear.“Blake,” she said softly but I still couldn’t turn around and face her.“That Sunday, Jack called me and told me that I was a target after my last assignment. I extracted from the farm and came to Chicago. I hunted them all down before they could come after me,” I said. I still had my back to her. “That’s how I got shot.”“Please look at me,” she said and I felt her right behind me. I turned around and looked into her eyes.“What happened to you?” she asked me as the first tear spilled over her lids.“It doesn’t matter. You get what you get in life,” I said.Charlotte took my hand and led me back to the couch. I sat down next to her and everything felt surreal. Why wasn’t she running away from me?“Was your last job at that party with your friend? Is whatever happened there the reason you were so diff