Nicholas wanted to scream until his throat bled. Or tear apart a wall of concrete with his bare hands. Anything – anything – to get the woman off his mind. The temptation she offered. The peace, the hope. They were killing him, taking away the need for revenge and replacing it with the need for her. As though she alone could collect the torn pieces of his life, stitch them back together, and help make him whole again.

He couldn’t take it, feeling again. Needing again after so many years spent in disconnect. It was too much, and if he hadn’t run from her like a total coward, he would have succumbed – lost himself inside the woman and given up to oblivion without a single ounce of remorse.

Angela B. Wade