by E H Jennings
-RSOL
There was a string of numbers at the bottom and Carson had memorized those too. They were coordinates; he had already put them into Google Maps and knew exactly where they led.
Justice. Vengeance.
RSOL was right. There was a difference.
Vengeance had destroyed Carson’s life. His father, Alyssa, and a great many others were dead because of his selfish attempts at retribution. His desire to get even, to return violence with even greater violence, had caused him to lose everything. It was a tool used by men like Warren McManus to manipulate men like Carson. It was the very reason he was standing in this graveyard, frozen all the way to his soul.
But justice was another thing altogether.
The letter wasn’t really a letter at all, Carson knew. It was an invitation. He recognized that the moment he realized who had written it.
RSOL—Rachel Sampson, Olivia Lazarus.
Now all Carson had to do was decide whether to accept or decline. It was a choice that would define the rest of his life.
EPILOGUE
Yukon Territory
The outboard motor whined as the small hull cut through white-capped waves. The boat was twelve feet long, the motor a fifty-horse, both dramatically inept for such an environment.
Snow fell sideways from a charcoal sky and winds pounded at the surf, making the water choppy and uninviting. The wind chill was somewhere south of minus thirty.
Carson worked the throttle manually while he held on with his other hand. More than once he had nearly capsized, which in these conditions was a fate worse than death.
It was almost dawn, the first emanations of orange appearing against the gray-slabbed sky beyond the mountains. He had been traveling for over a week; he had eaten little and slept even less. His body had thinned considerably since Alyssa’s death and his hair and beard had grown out. The hair on his head was still dark, but there were streaks of gray creeping into the thick beard, evidence of the considerable weight he carried inside.
The sun had just crested the peaks when he first saw it: a thin ribbon of smoke rising in the distance.
It had been days since Carson had seen another person; this part of the world redefined isolated. The terrain was rugged and dangerous, and bitterly cold. It was a beautiful and barren land, magnificently inhospitable, full of life but almost completely devoid of human activity.
Almost.
Carson was ten yards from the shore when the cabin came into view. It was large but well concealed, tucked into the immensity of the Yukon forest. The front door opened and a man stepped out as Carson was pulling the boat onto shore. The man trudged through knee-deep snow toward the lake.
Carson knew who he was. There was no doubt. But he wasn’t looking at him; he was looking beyond him, at the woman standing in the doorway. He couldn’t be sure from this distance, but it looked like she was smiling.
The two men shook hands.
“Nice trip?” Zeke asked.
“Not really,” said Carson.
They walked back to the cabin together.
When they got close enough for Carson to see that Olivia was definitely smiling, Zeke nudged him with his elbow and said, “Welcome to Requiem.”
END OF BOOK ONE
Stay tuned for Book Two in The King Brothers Series, Requiem for a King, coming soon.