Tom Lake Book Review Novels & Stories

I ask, wondering if I have enough to pay for them. “You forgot, didn’t you?” Tom asks, but he sounds proud. “Don’t worry about it, let’s get back to Shelley's so I can show you what I’ve got.” *** What Tom has got isn’t much to look at. A London A to Z street map, and the cardboard packaging box for a set of headphones, now sitting on Shelley’s coffee-table. “They both glow a bit when I look through the had-stone,” he tells us. “There’s a book in the box. It was with a bunch of other books on a shelf.”

Tom said and excused himself. He walked out and towards his office. Who could possibly be so important, so impatient? He pushed open the door to his office and stopped in his tracks. Standing by the window, hands clasped behind his back, was Liam. The same Liam who had become intertwined with Sophia, the man Tom had only seen from a distance, or in pictures from news headlines. “Mr Liam?” Tom called out, his voice laced with genuine surprise, a rare emotion for him. “To what do I owe this… unexpected visit?” Tom asked as he closed the door behind him, a hint of suspicion replacing his initial shock.

He dispatched the last few men with bone-snapping efficiency and then turned to Liam, hauling his battered body into Ava’s car with surprising gentleness. Ava’s breath caught in her throat when she saw Liam. His face was so swollen and bruised that he was nearly unrecognizable. One of his eyes was completely shut, his lips cracked and bloodied. Tom climbed into the passenger seat, wiping blood from the corner of his mouth, and looked at her with eyes dark and feral. “Miss Alvarez, drive,” he ordered, voice low and intense. There was something primal in him at that moment—a wild, protective force. Ava felt it ripple through the air like the presence of a returning wolf king among his scattere

My black tank top seemed to be absorbing the sweat my body was releasing in waves, I played with the top, twisting it between my fingers. "What's that?" "It's a book," I confessed, fervently, hoping I didn't sound too eager and desperate. "A small, black book. It was the only book in the box. Where is it?" Tom's face darkened. "Yeah, I remember that little book, what do you want it for?" "Where is it, please?" "It's not with me anymore," he disclosed, eyes searching my face. I legitimately almost had a heart attack as I felt my eyes pop and air circulation cut off immediately.

With a final tap, a soft hum whispered through the room—the sound of bulletproof panels sliding into place behind the bookshelves, barely seen but very much present. “Ah, the sweet serenade of carbon fiber composites,” Tom thought wryly, “Music to my ears and a real party pooper for stupid bullets.” He glanced around, noting the position of each henchman with the same ease as if he were mentally bookmarking their profiles on MafiaMatch.com. “Swipe left, swipe right—nope, not a single dateable quality unless you’re into guys who communicate in grunts.” “Are we done with this circus, Tomas?” Grossman interrupted him, trying to reclaim the stage as his voice cut through the tension.

She didn’t want to be seen as the little girl with the earthy power, but as the gutsy woman with gumption, drive, ambition, and resourcefulness. Tomas howled and moved away to look at some of the boxes Eve had packed earlier. He peeled back the cardboard flaps of one box and took out a leather-bound book, fanning through the pages, his features set in lines of deep thought. He closed the book with a little snap and placed it back on top of the others. He turned to look at Diana and howled again. Eve shook her head and whispered something. "Well, forget I said that; I don't want to intrude on someone’s private life,” Eve grumbled as she continued her chanting.

Lemonade by the pitcher. Victoria read on the couch. A stack of books from Anna's collection. She finished one a day. I wrote. The novel was almost done. The final chapters were coming together. My mother's house. The contract. The secrets. The truth. It felt like closing a door. Liam came in from outside. His shirt was soaked with sweat. "The garden is dying," he said. "It will recover." "The tomatoes are turning brown." "Then we buy tomatoes from the store." He looked at me like I had suggested something illegal.

That Shakespeare’s classic had been at her bedside table every time I’d sleep over. “Nope.” We reached the end of the bookshelf containing law references. Jace kneeled, reaching for the book at the bottom, producing The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain. “This one.” “Really?” I stood closer to Jace as he flipped to the last page of the book where a scribble was written. ‘Let’s hunt for the unicorn?’ “You gave that to her.” “Uh-huh,” Jace faced me, petting my hair, “you’re too smart for your own good, babe. That’s why I like you.”

“But the truth is, sunshine, you were perfect. I know you believe the Universe has your back and all that shit. Maybe the Universe just didn’t want you to get stuck with that asshole raising pasty-faced weakling children. The Universe wanted you to have a big, bold bright daughter who is strong and as eccentric as you are.” I eyeball him. “I’m not sure if that was a compliment.” “Hell, yeah, it’s a compliment. You did a fine job raising a child with smarts, grit, and the spirit of a warrior. So how can that be wrong?” I grin at him like an idiot. He grins back. Then my stomach growls. “Let’s ride back into town and grab some lunch before you go out to the gorge,” Tom offers. “Yeah, okay.” I

I called through the door. "I don't want to talk anymore." He called out. "Tommy I need to talk to you, so come unlock the door." "It's unlocked." Rolling my eyes and feeling like an idiot I turned the knob to find that indeed he had not locked me out. Okay, here we go. I entered the room and saw Tommy sitting on the side of his bed, facing away from me. The light was off, but he had lit several candles. That was another trait he had gotten from me, he loved to lie there and watch the candles flicker until he fell asleep. He didn't turn around as I closed the door and I slowly walked around to his side of the bed. I noticed he wasn't wearing a shirt and paused to look at his back. Tommy work