"Jeanie London - Retrieval (2)" - читать интересную книгу автора (London Jeanie)

"They ganged up on John."
"You could have gone inside and told Sister Gemma."
"They were hurting him." Roman had no other explanation, no second choice.
Father Leo's gaze seemed to burn through him, making it hard for Roman to
breathe as those dark eyes sought, found.
"Then you did what you had to do," Father Leo finally said. "You stood up for
your classmate and helped him when he needed your help."
"Greater love than this no man has, that a man lays down his life for his
friend."
Standing between his parents' caskets in the funeral home. People filing
through in a bizarre conga line to offer condolences, their voices blurring
together into a drone he only caught fragments of.
"Such a tragic acddent"
"Far too young."

"At least they were together."
"What will you do now, Roman? Will you change your plans for college?"
He didn't know. College was still five months away and he couldn't even answer
the questions the funeral director had been throwing at him ever since this
whole nightmare began.
How the hell was he supposed to know how thick his parents wanted the concrete
vault around their caskets? If they'd had a choice that really mattered, they
wouldn't be dead right now.
"You're not alone, never alone. Don't give into despair."
Roman's surprise at the springy give to his target's skin beneath the pistol.
The feel of the trigger under his finger. The blind recognition in the man's
eyes at facing death, at facing Roman. If he pulled the trigger, he would be
death. There would be no turning back. Never any turning back. Not for his
target, or for himself.
There were so many other careers that didn't involve killing.
Yes, there were, but. . . .
"With power comes great responsibility. Don't let power harden your heart."
Then came death, and the battle for his soul. Evil tried to sink vicious
talons deep, to rob his salvation, to claim his eternity, but for the choices
already made. . .
Enough good choices and Roman earned a trip straight into heaven. Too many bad
choices and he'd get the fast track to hell for an eternity of fire, pain, and
suffering.
Then there was the other choice: to repent. But not everyone's eternity was so
simple, so clear cut. . .
Roman hadn't given much thought to what would
4

JEANIE LONDON

happen after he died, despite a deep respect that death honored no man's
timetable, only its own.
Light so radiant it blinded, not comforting but glaring, ruthless. Light and
shadow collided in striking violence, an otherworldly ferocity that pitted a
blast furnace of evil against the flashing brilliance.