Book 5 - Page 102 (1/2)

I take a deep breath. I hadn’t realized how badly I’d needed to hear him say that. “Thank you.”

He s.h.i.+fts, turning to face me. “And you’re married. Congratulations.”

“You should come to the penthouse with me and meet my wife.” I’m anxious. I don’t want him to say no. There are so many things I want to say to him and we never have time. Only a few minutes here and there, s.n.a.t.c.hes of conversation that can only scratch the surface. And with Eva there, I would have the courage to say what I needed to. “You’ll love her. She’s amazing.”

My dad grins. “Beautiful, too. I’d like a grandson. And a granddaughter.”

“Whoa.” I laugh. “Let’s not move too fast.”

“Life moves fast, son. Before you know it, it’s over. Don’t waste it.”

I swallow past a hard lump in my throat. “You could’ve had more time.”

That’s not what I want to say. I want to ask him why he gave up, why he checked out. But I’m afraid of the answer.

“All the time in the world wouldn’t have seen me build something like this.” He looks back up at the Crossfire. From the ground, it seems to reach to infinity, an optical illusion created by the pyramid at the top. “It’ll be a lot of work, keeping this standing. Same with a marriage. Eventually, you’ll have to put one before the other.”

I think about that. Is it true? I shake my head. “We’ll keep it standing together.”

He slaps a hand on my shoulder and the ground reverberates beneath my feet. It starts out faintly, then builds, until gla.s.s begins to rain down around us. Horrified, I watch as the distant spire at the top explodes outward, then radiates down, windows bursting under the pressure.

I woke with a gasp, breathing hard, pus.h.i.+ng at the weight on my chest and feeling warm fur. Blinking, I found Lucky climbing over me, low whimpers rumbling in his chest.

“Jesus.” I sat up and shoved my hair back.

Eva slept beside me, curled in a ball with her hands tucked beneath her chin. Through the windows beyond her, I saw the sun was fading fast. A quick glance at the clock told me it was just past five in the evening. My alarm had been set for quarter past the hour, so I reached for my smartphone to turn it off.

Lucky shoved his head beneath my forearm. Picking him up, I held him at eye level. “You did it again.”

He’d woken me from a nightmare. Who the f.u.c.k knew if he was doing it consciously or not? I was grateful either way. I gave him a brisk rubdown and slid out of bed.

“Are you getting up?” Eva asked.

“I have to go to Dr. Petersen’s.”