Hidden Virtue
Page 16
Stan picked up his phone and unlocked it with his thumbprint. Swiped the notifications down to see a text from Frank, smiling as he opened it.
You were right.
The phone blurred through his tears. He pressed it to his forehead and cried. Heaving sobs that left him trembling. He took deep breaths. Felt the rhythm in his mind. Brought it into his center where he focused on linking his imagination with reality. Making his body calm and healthy.
Easing his anxiety away.
The panic subsided. Then it was replaced with joy. If the text was real, Frank had won. He had found beauty in himself. Just like Stan knew he would.
He walked into the kitchen. Cozied up to Ronnie as she dropped into another rocking step of her dance. She moaned in pleasure. Turned to look into his face. Drew back in concern at the sight of his tears. “Baby, what’s wrong?”
Her emotions didn’t show through the scars, but Stan knew her. Saw the worry in the lines around her eyes. The tightening of the stripes of skin on her cheeks. He bent to kiss her. Felt the ridge of the grafts around her lips. The shrunken cartilage of her nose.
He pulled her against him. Poured his passion into her, finally pulling back so they could each catch their breath. He smiled at her confusion. “Nothing at all,” he whispered.
She tilted her head. “I don’t know if I believe you.”
He shrugged. “It’s true, though.”
She pointed to the noodles simmering in meat sauce. “Then are you ready to eat? It’s done.”
Stan shook his head. “I don’t think so.”
She dropped the spoon with a gasp of shock.
He took her face between his hands. “I think I’m finally full.”
What to read next
After her daughter is murdered, Mallory finds herself waging a personal war against the man who harmed her, while a vigilante out for justice himself and the police department try to stop her.
If you enjoyed Hidden Shame and want another story written in the Hidden Justice world, get No Justice: The Complete Series to read about Frank’s old colleague, Mallory Black.
Get No Justice: The Complete Series today!
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A Quick Favor
Thanks for reading Hidden Virtue.
If you enjoyed this book, please consider writing a review of it on your favorite bookselling site so other readers can enjoy it too. Just a couple of sentences would mean a lot to me.
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Nolon & Dave
About the Authors
Nolon King writes fast-paced psychological thrillers set in the glitzy world of entertainment’s power players with a bold, insightful voice. He’s not afraid to explore the darker side of human nature through stories featuring families torn apart by secrets and lies.
Nolon loves to write about big questions and moral quandaries. How far would you go to cover up an honest mistake? Would you destroy your career to protect your family? How much of your soul would you sell to get the life of your dreams? Would you cheat on your husband to keep your children safe? Would you give in to a stalker's demands to save your marriage?
David W. Wright is the co-author of edge-of-your-seat thrillers including the best-selling post-apocalyptic series Yesterday’s Gone, the paranoid sci-fi WhiteSpace series, and the vigilante series, No Justice, as well as standalone thrillers 12, and Crash which was recently optioned for a movie.
David is an accomplished, though intermittent, cartoonist who lives in [LOCATION REDACTED] with his wife and son [NAMES REDACTED.]
He is not at all paranoid.
He is “the grumpy one” on The Story Studio Podcast with fellow Sterling and Stone founders, Sean Platt and Johnny B. Truant.
You can email him at david@sterlingandstone.net
We swear, he almost never bites. Unless you feed him after midnight.