The Wrath Walker (The Wrath Series Book 1) by Matthew Newson (fun to read .txt) 📗

so convincingly to me and his entire congregation. The sight of him sickened me, and I wanted to pull the gun and hold it to his head until he confessed to everything.

“Brandon, are you okay? Are you here because you found out Scott and Elizabeth are getting married here in the church? I know that must be hard, but I hope it doesn’t deter you from coming back to church if that’s what the Lord is leading you to do.”

Although I fully expected their marriage ceremony was inevitable, it was still a one-two punch to the face any time it was brought up. I winced internally at the words. I bit my lower lip and looked at the floor as I thought about my next move. Part of me wanted to walk out of there and drive as fast as I could out of the city and let Scott be destroyed by Wrath and his brothers. But there was no way I could live with myself if I did. I needed to move on with a life that no longer included Lizzie. However, Phillip just unknowingly offered me a valid reason to be there that late in the evening.

“Yeah. That’s why I’m here. I guess you saw right through me.” I displayed all the signs of a wounded man with a completely broken heart.

“I have counseled many people over the years in the church with the same exact issue you’re having now. You’d be surprised how many people fall in love with someone in the church and get broken up with, all to have to watch the person they want to be with move on. It is a very painful and traumatic event that can make one feel like their life is over, but I can most assuredly say that life goes on and can still be a good one.”

“That’s very wise, and that’s exactly why I’m here. Do you have a few minutes for me by any chance?”

“Of course, we can talk. I am, however, kind of pressed for time, so we will have to make it brief. I’m sorry for this, Brandon. I feel a bit of tough love is what you need right now, so please don’t think of me as harsh.”

“Please, say what you need to say.”

“Very well. Look, you knew this day was going to come, and it pains me to say this to you, but you have to move on with your life. You have to accept the fact that Elizabeth doesn’t love you anymore, and no matter what you do, you cannot stop their wedding day from coming. I recommend you take a trip somewhere, so you’re not in the city when they do get married. The fact of the matter is, there are plenty of women out there who are looking for a good man—which you are one—but you need to do some major work on yourself first.”

“Is that so...” His comments only fueled my anger. “What kind of work do you think I need to do in order to be one of these so-called good men you’re talking about?”

“Okay,” Phillip said as he realized that he had come off too aggressively in his speech to me. “I’m not your enemy here, but I’m going to speak honestly to you. Again, you need to accept that it is over between you and Elizabeth, and second you need to also accept that you are no longer a detective. Find another career that is respectable and pays well, so you can better support yourself and a family. Then go and find yourself a good Christian woman who will love and appreciate you and start a new life with that person. Between you and me, there are a lot of great Godly women here that would love to be with a man like you. Now, everything I’ve told you will take some time to do, and you don’t want to rush into anything. I promise you this. There will come a day when you will be saying Elizabeth who? And in that day, you will thank me.”

“You’re right about letting Elizabeth go and moving on with my life. It’s easier said than done, though. I have struggled with that one every day since she ended it.”

“Letting go is hard, but we have all had to do that in our lives at one time or another. Even I have had my heart ripped out, but I also had to let go of things that were no longer there, pick up the pieces, and move on with my life. As painful as it was at the time, I can honestly say I made it through, and I’m still here.” He patted my shoulder with a warm and loving smile.

“You sure are, Phillip, and thank you for honesty and encouragement, but that isn’t the only reason why I’m here tonight.”

Phillip checked his watch. “I can spare a few more minutes. What else is on your mind?”

“Thank you, and I’ll be brief. It turns out I found what I was looking for in city archives.”

I expected him to be taken aback or even look the tiniest bit surprised, but all he did was smile. After living a double life for as long as he had, I expected for him to have the best poker face in the business.

“I had a feeling you would, given your past career as a detective. What did you find?”

“I found stories about the former leaders of the city being corrupt, like you told me, and how one by one they all started dying in various ways.”

“That’s good. After you left that day, I remembered more about my parents talking a lot about the of corruption and their deaths. They all had weird mysterious circumstances surrounding all of the events that ended their lives.”

“Yeah, that’s what I read about, but the most interesting thing I discovered was the front-page picture of the mayor’s funeral. Do you recall when I told you about that guy named