Alice watched for the briefest moment while the engine warbled and shuddered, then returned to its mighty rumble. She crossed herself. “And may God have mercy on your soul, Signore Romano.”
She slumped as she turned away. The tiredness from the healing of the gunshot had seeped into her bones. She could feel the need for sleep creeping up on her.
Geri stood with both hands clamped over her mouth, eyes wide. When Alice staggered toward her, she rushed forward to catch her.
“You are all safe, now,” Alice mumbled into her ear. “Let us get the girls and leave this place.”
* * * * *
That night, Alice slipped into Rafferty’s hospital room to find him awake and off the ventilator. He smiled weakly as he saw her come through the door.
“Hey...” he said, “Look who’s come to dinner.”
“You are looking much better than the last time I saw you, Constable.”
“Not out of the woods, yet, they tell me.”
“Never you mind.” Alice smiled and held up two vials of blood. “Alice will have you on your feet again in no time.”
Rafferty gazed at the vials. “The doctor did say he was astounded at how quickly I came out of it.”
“Quite so.”
He watched in silence as she injected first one and then the other into the IV injection port and her blood cleared the tube into the vein in his arm.
“Mike was by, before,” he said.
“Is that right?”
He met and held her gaze. “He’s become very fond of you, Alice.”
She fidgeted, putting the syringe and test tubes into her handbag. “He seems to think that entitles him to--”
“Common courtesy?” Rafferty chimed in.
Alice dropped her gaze to the blankets. “I am not very practiced at these sorts of...arrangements.”
Rafferty shrugged. “None of us are.”
“I have avoided them over the years. The beginnings are enormously enjoyable, while the endings are too painful. And too plentiful.”
Again, he shrugged. “Can’t have one without the other.”
Alice smiled grimly. “Quite so.”
* * * * *
Alice knocked lightly on the door and waited. She hoped he was actually home.
After a few moments, she knocked again. Her heart was in her throat. Given all she had faced in her long life, she found it curious that this, of all things, would make her nervous.
She was on the verge of walking back to her car when the door clicked quietly open.
Michael stood there. Their eyes met.
“Michael,” she said.
“Jacs.”
She said, “Can we talk?”
At the same time, he said, “Wasn’t sure you’d come.”
For an awkward moment, they watched each other. Then he stepped back and motioned her inside. She stepped in and turned to face him as he shut the door. Their eyes met again.
Alice rushed toward him, wrapped her arms around him and buried her face against his chest. When his arms came down around her, she smiled to herself and sighed contentedly.
An hour later, they lay together in bed, Alice’s head nestled on Mike’s shoulder.
All is right with the world, she thought as she drifted off to sleep.
THE END
____________
The next story in the Nun with a Gun series:
The man who ordered her death lands in her lap...
The Cardinal Secretary of State, Giovanni Buscaglia, arrives in Philadelphia, his four henchmen by his side. Sister Jacobine shows up at his hotel to put an end to his attempted grab for power within the church. She never imagined that the consequences of her actions would rip her heart in two.
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About the Author
Mark Posey is a thriller writer born, raised and living in Edmonton, Canada with his wife, author Tracy Cooper-Posey. He is a retired professional wrestler and father of four – Terry, Matthew, Katherine, and Ashley. He likes cooking, woodworking, and watching hockey when he’s not scrolling through social media or taking an afternoon nap with his three cats – Pippin, Merry, and Strider.
Other books by Mark Posey
For reviews, excerpts, and more about each title, click here.
Thomas Billings Thrillers
Saving Grace
Fall From Grace (Coming soon!)
Coup de Grace (Coming soon!)
A Nun With A Gun
Feet of Clay
A Port in the Storm
Excommunication
Requiem Mass
Den of Lions
The Narrow Gate
Copyright Information
Published by Stories Rule Press Inc.
Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.
Registered offices:
1100-10020 101A Avenue NW
Edmonton AB T5J 3G2
This is an original work by Mark Posey
Copyright © 2020
FIRST EDITION: September 2020
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales, is entirely coincidental. The publisher does not have any control over and does not assume any responsibility for third-party websites or their content.
A Stories Rule Press publication
All rights reserved
No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any printed or electronic form without permission. Please do not participate in or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of the author’s rights. Purchase only authorized editions.
Posey, Mark
Excommunication/Mark Posey—1st Ed.
Crime Thriller—Fiction
