Page 33 of Resurrect Me

“How did you fake your death?”

“I was on the edge of death. Barely breathing. But I had a friend, and truly my own savior, who had followed the men and pulled me out of the water and saved my life.”

“Who?”

“Reggie.”

“Your administrative assistant?” I say and spit out a sip of water.

“Yes, him. He’s a bad ass. And I’m so grateful he was there. After he pulled me out, he took me to a warehouse in Harbor Towne. I met a group of men, soldiers, who were forming a militia. Reggie was one of them. They explained that everything I had learned about The Org they had already known for months. And they’d been planning a rebellion. I had no other choice but to join them,and we hatched a plan to let the world think I was dead. It would be easy enough to let The Org go on thinking they’d completed the job.”

“You fooled everyone. Including your wife. The love of your life. Your best friend,” I list off all the things I was to him…am to him?

He pulls me close to him again, and I lay my head on his chest. I hear his heart beating, and I breathe in this moment. My world went from a Wes Craven nightmare to a floaty dream in just a few hours.

“I am sorry, Tacy,” he says and looks into the eyes. “Please forgive me.”

I squeeze him tighter and murmur, “don’t ever play possum again. Or I’ll kill you myself.”

Chapter 19

Tacy

My resurrected husband slept beside me last night. I still can’t shake the idea that maybe this isn’t real. That’ll I’ll wake up from this dream and he’ll still be dead. In the ground over at Bantree Cemetery. That I’m alone and will have to fight off the men who tried to kill me a few days ago. But I stretch, sit up, and pinch myself. I’m not dreaming. And Sol…or Aris…is just opening his eyes. Sunlight pours into the room, lighting up the dark corners and casting a glow on his tan face. In the light, I can see even more scars than before. I met him when he was a fighter, so he already had quite a few…but now…

He reaches up and touches my cheek. “You’re so beautiful. It killed me not being able to touch you. Talk to you. Wake up beside you every day. My body has been put through a lot, but that was the worst pain I’ve ever felt in my entire life. Like a fucking knife right to the heart, a twisting, searing pain I had to relive every damn day.”

I smile at him as I climb out of bed. “Well, I hate to say you deserve it. But…you sort of deserve it.”

“All right,” he sighs. “You’re probably right, Doll.”

It’s Saturday and even though the kids typically sleep in, I’m just realizing their supposedly deceased father is in bed with me and I don’t know what I’m going to tell them.Hey, kids. Remember Daddy? Well, he’s not dead after all. Surprise!

“Thank you for acknowledging it. But you can’t be here. You know that, right?”

“The kids…”

“Yeah, the kids. They’re already confused as it is. They’ll probably need therapy for the rest of their lives after this.”

“I’ll leave. Let me get my stuff together, and I’m gone,” he says and pulls himself out of bed. “Like a thief in the night.”

“I don’t even want to think about thieves. Speaking of…was it you who came in and took your birth and death certificates?”

Aris is lacing up his black work boots but pauses and looks at me. “No, it wasn’t me. Was that what they took the first time?”

“Yes, that was all they took. I was really hoping it was you.”

“Unfortunately, it wasn’t,” he says and zips up his jacket.

I bend over and grab the JFK mask that had fallen behind the headboard. Aris smacks my ass as I’m standing up. I hand it to him, laughing. “Here you go, President.”

“Thank you.” He stuffs the mask in his hoodie pocket. “That’s Mister President to you.”

Aris turns towards the door, but I lunge towards him and throw my arms around him. “I know you have to go, but I don’t want you to. I don’t want this to end. I thought I’d lost you, and now that I have you back, I’m fucking terrified you’re going to walk out that door and I’ll lose you forever. You’re playing dangerous games, Aris. Maybe we should just back out of all this entirely. For our own sakes…for the kids. I’ve put myself at risk and the kids just by asking about this medication. Just by mentioning it to…”

“Declan?”

I nod.

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