Total pages in book: 73
Estimated words: 69025 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 345(@200wpm)___ 276(@250wpm)___ 230(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 69025 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 345(@200wpm)___ 276(@250wpm)___ 230(@300wpm)
“Ha! Looks like you forgot something about me. I always have a gun strapped inside my pants.” He laughed wildly. “You’re not taking her away from me, motherfucker!” There was no doubt about it, all vestiges of Rodney’s sanity was gone.
He pulled the trigger and to Mason’s horror, Brandi lunged at him. “I can’t lose you again, Damon,” she said as she jumped in front of him.
“No!” Both men cried out as Brandi fell to the floor.
No! No! No! This wasn’t supposed to happen! Not to Brandi!
Rodney looked at him with loathing. “That bullet was meant for you!” he screamed. “You’re going to pay for this!”
Mason rushed forward, not caring whether he lived or died anymore. Rodney pointed the gun again and attempted to fire.
Nothing.
Mason tackled him to the ground and they wrestled for the gun. He punched Rodney’s mouth and was sure that he’d cracked a few teeth, and his knuckles in the process. Mason grabbed Rodney’s wrist and slammed it continuously on the floor until he released the gun, which went flying across the room. When Mason made an attempt to get it, Rodney gave him an uppercut that sent him backwards. Rodney took advantage of his stunned state and straddled him. He grabbed a handful of his hair.
“I’m going to enjoy killing you…again,” he said, slamming Mason’s head into the floor. He then seized Mason’s throat and began to squeeze.
Mason gasped for air as he began to lose consciousness. No, he couldn’t let Rodney get away with what he’d done. He reached for Rodney’s throat.
“Oh, no, you don’t,” Rodney hissed, smacking his head back to the ground.
No, God, no. Not again. He failed Brandi, and now she was dead. His head swam and he could barely think. It felt as though his body was shutting down as the hands tightened around his neck.
“Rodney!”
Mason opened his eyes in surprise.
Rodney loosened his grip.
Brandi stood over them with the gun. She looked weak. “I won’t let you hurt him,” she yelled at Rodney.
“This is all for you! Haven’t I proved my devotion to you? You still don’t get it, do you? No one loves you like I do.” Rodney’s eyes filled with tears.
Brandi lifted the gun higher. “Let him go.”
A savage expression crossed Rodney’s face and he squeezed Mason’s throat even harder.
“No! I’ll kill him and you’ll be mine again. He doesn’t love you like I do—no one does!”
“Thank God for that,” she whispered and pulled the trigger.
The recoil thrust her backward. Rodney looked stunned before his body fell on top of Mason.
Mason could barely move, his head was swimming, he ached, and he was losing the battle to the darkness.
Just as he passed out, he saw Brandi slump to the floor.
Mason found himself standing in the dark, a bright light stood off to the side and he knew he was standing in the gateway. Was it all over? Should he have left well enough alone? If he had, would Brandi still be alive?
Paul appeared behind him. “She’s not dead.”
“Thank the Lord. Will she make it?”
“Yes. The bullet didn’t hit any vital organs. As long as she gets to the hospital on time, she’ll be fine.”
“And Rodney….”
“Is finally gone. He won’t be bothering her again. Brandi and the children are safe.”
“How will she be found? No one knew where she was.”
“A passerby heard the commotion and called the police. Your bodies will be found.”
Mason was almost afraid to ask, but he had to know. “What about me, Paul? I failed, didn’t I?”
“Peter isn’t happy. You weren’t supposed to tell her who you were.”
“I know and I didn’t. I told Rodney.”
“You’re splitting hairs again.”
Mason sighed. “Purgatory?”
Paul was silent and Mason feared the worse. Did he foul things up so badly that he had to go to the other place? The thought sent chills coursing through him.
“You’re one lucky son of a gun, because they’re going to let you stay.”
“What? Are you serious? That’s fantastic!”
“What you did for the people in Mason Collins’s life make up for your indiscretion.”
“Even if I didn’t work things out with Karen.”
“You tried, but that’s not to say that when you go back you stop trying. You have to keep on trying.”
“I understand.”
“There is one other thing,” Paul began hesitantly.
Mason didn’t like the sound of his friend’s voice. “What?”
“Brandi won’t remember that you were Damon. She’ll only ever know you as Mason Collins. Her feelings, of course, won’t change for you.”
“I can live with that,” Mason shrugged.
“You won’t remember your life as Damon, either, and you won’t remember your time in heaven…or me.”
“What! Do you mean that I’m going to stop loving her, and I won’t remember my kids? I won’t remember you?”
“You won’t forget how much you love her. You’ll remember everything from the time you returned to earth, and, as before, you’ll retain enough memory to function as Mason Collins.”