Paradox - Progeny Of Innocence (bk2) (Paradox series) by Patti Roberts Page B

gates' with smiles on their faces. Is that what you are telling me? Or are you more of a ‘bright shining light’ kind of guy?" Wade spat sarcastically. He looked at the empty bourbon bottle on the floor and wished he had another. He wiped his hand across his cheeks, the prickles of his unshaven face rough against his hands.
    "I’m the kind of guy that is asking you for your help. I’m the kind of guy whose little girl is about to be told that her father is dead. Whose wife is not going to cope with finding out that her husband has just died. I’m asking you to help them . Will you do that, will you help them? Or do you want to sit on that bed feeling sorry for yourself, and splatter your brains out all over the wall? Tell me, who is that going to help?"
    Wade lowered his head and stared silently at the picture in his hands.
    "Do you think this is what your wife would have wanted you to do? Blow your brains out?"
    Wade shook his head. "Without them I have nothing. I am nothing! They were my life. Do you get that?" Wade pleaded. "My whole reason for living, and in a blink, they're gone. They were coming to pick me up at the airport. It’s raining and there’s this dog. It ran out on the road and she swerved to miss the god-dammed thing. She drove straight into the path of an oncoming truck. They never stood a chance." He put the pistol down and buried his head in his hands. "It’s my fault. I should have caught a cab... but she insisted." He shook his head, trying to free himself from the unyielding guilt.
    "The worst thing is - when Natalie wasn’t there, at the airport, I called her on her mobile. The thing went straight to message bank. So I left a message, and said, if she knew she was going to be late, the least she could do was call me, not leave me just standing around. I was so angry with her." He shook his head and wiped his hand across his nose. "When I hung up there was a missed call." Wade lowered his head. "It was Nat, she was apologizing. She said there had been an accident; she said the paramedics were there. She wouldn’t stop apologizing. I could hear sirens, voices, Natalie screaming. Then this guy gets on the phone, leaves a number for me to call, and hangs up." He raked his fingers through his hair. "God, why…?" he screamed. "I was angry at my wife, and all the time she was dying. Do you know how hard it is to live with that memory every day? Not having the chance to take it back, say sorry. Tell her I loved her. And my kids, they were too young to die. They hadn't even begun to live, for Christ’s sake."
    "I understand." the man said. "I understand that if you have never suffered a broken heart, then you have never really known what it is truly to be alive. And I understand that at that precise moment, when your heart breaks open, that all you want to do is lie down and die, because you know that is the only way the pain is ever going to stop." He turned his back for a moment and walked away, refocusing his mind, then returned to Wade. "And this is why I’m asking you to help my family. Because I know you understand."
    "Why can’t you help them?" Wade asked. "You messed up with the wrong kind of people?"
    "Something like that."
    Wade thought for a moment. "What do you want me to do, do you need money?"
    "You have to let me step inside you, take your body."
    Wade heaved himself up off the bed. "What? You want to step… What the hell are you talking about, step inside... me?"
    Brian grabbed Wade’s arm, calming him. "Listen, listen. Just listen. Calm down and I’ll tell you everything."
    Wade struggled for a moment then slowly began to relax. He listened to Brian’s voice, Brian's story as it began to infuse itself into his very being. Into his mind, his body, and his soul.
    "So, you’re telling me you’re… dead? You’re just this soul now and you want me to let you… step inside my body? You want to be me? That is how you want me to help you?" Wade asked incredulously. "I’d rather