Stopping a murder that happened forty years earlier may be the only way to heal a tortured mind ...<br><br>Six months after Jesse Madding is brutally tortured by Marcus Brooker, he is still experiencing flashbacks, panic attacks, and jumping at his own shadow. His lovers, Gideon Keel and Emma Coolidge, would do anything to help him, but Jesse refuses to be hospitalized for treatment, or even visit a therapist. Desperate for a change, Gideon and Emma suggest a radical solution.<br><br> Jesse wants to fix his life. More than anything, he wants to be normal again. He doesn't want to live in fear. He doesn't want to be ashamed of his scarred and mutilated body. He doesn't want to shy away from Gideon's touch. Certain that the holding pattern will kill him, he agrees to Gideon and Emma's proposed solution: travel to an alternative dimension and save Marcus Brooker from witnessing Mary's grisly murder ... in order to save Brooker's soul.

Chaos and Communion

“Come hell or high water,” she affirmed. Her plush body pressed to his, but it was her luminous eyes lifting to search his that Jess took the most comfort in. “So there is an us? Gideon’s all right, too?”


Jesse kissed her brow, the skin under her eye, the corner of her mouth. “There is an us. Gideon is fine.” His mouth went to her jaw. “He’s at Hal’s apartment.” He brushed his lips against her neck. “But we’re not quite ready to go home.” He finally lifted his head. “I want to go home, desperately. But we’re still not quite done here.” Jesse sat on the nearest pew and pulled her into his lap. His arms went around her. “Let me see if I can get you caught up on everything.”


She listened patiently while he recounted the events of the past week, though her gaze kept drifting to the scratches along his jaw and neck. Beneath the relief and sweet warmth emanating from her, there was a thread of worry, thickening with each detail he shared.


Chapter 84