LEGACY OF TRUTH

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I'LL ALWAYS BE PROUD OF YOU

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While other Halo citizens continued their celebration and rebuilding, Thomas and Jenny climbed on the motorcycle and rode. 

A short time later, Thomas stood inside Tallie's house, staring at the shimmering hologram of Bernie, absorbing the love and pride in Bernie's eyes he had been afraid to accept as a kid. 

Finally, Thomas spoke. "I'm sorry I pushed you away all those years. I know now you were trying to make up for choking my mother. She tricked you, you know. Tricked us both." 

Thomas shoved his hands in the front pockets of his jeans. "I wish I could go back and do things differently. Since I can't, I'll follow your example and try to make things right from this point forward. I want to make you proud of me. 

"I might not always be here. Guess there are bad guys in other parts of the world too." Thomas grinned, then sobered. "But I know where home is, and I'll always come back." 

With one last look at the hologram, Thomas turned to walk away. 

"I'll always be proud of you." 

(Excerpt from Legacy of Truth, copyright Genene Valleau, writing as Genie Gabriel)

For more excerpts and more information, visit www.GenieGabriel.com

GOOD GUYS OR NOT?

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"Whoa," Thomas said as he turned the armored vehicle into the circular driveway in front of Waring House. "Cops on the porch." 

"The question is, good guys or not," Collin stated. 

"I'll sneak through the basement window and up the secret passages," Grady said. "See if there are any others inside the house." 

"Have we had any communication with Natalie recently?" 

"Come to think of it, no," Jenny answered. 

"Then my guess is these guys are not on our side," Collin said. "Johnny, you go with Grady. Get Charlie and the kid into the basement. We're going to ram the porch and throw a net over these guys. I want them alive. If they are good guys, we'll apologize. 

"Jer and Doc Shiloh, this sardine can could become a death trap. I'd suggest you slip out the back and hide where you can provide backup. Jenny, you go with them." 

"Thomas and I ride together. I can provide cover from in here if they start shooting." 

"You're sure? Because we're out of time. They're moving in this direction." 

"I'm sure." 

"Alright. Let's roll in. Nice steady pace until it's too late for them to know we're going to knock that porch out from under them." 

As Thomas started the armored vehicle toward the house, the cops stopped at the edge of the porch. They watched carefully, making an occasional comment to each other. Their wariness turned to consternation as the vehicle gained speed. When Charlie and the boy dropped from sight through the trap door, Thomas stomped the gas and rammed into the porch. 

(Excerpt from Legacy of Truth, copyright Genene Valleau, writing as Genie Gabriel)

For more excerpts and more information, visit www.GenieGabriel.com

THOMAS WATCHED HIS MOTHER DIE AGAIN...

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Thomas stared at the woman who said she was JessieBelle Jacobson, her face deeply lined with a lifetime of lies and lousy choices. Her body seemed painfully thin, probably from too much booze and drugs and not enough nourishment. 

Pity and anger churned in Thomas' belly. He hated her for what she had done, but this kind of death seemed painfully sadistic. And Thomas figured she had been a victim of her own weaknesses as much as he and Johnny had been. 

JessieBelle clutched at his leather jacket, and he forced himself not to pull away. "I'm glad you didn't die. Where's Johnny?" 

"Safe." 

Her face crinkled into a painful smile. "Still taking care of your little brother, aren't you?" 

She blinked her eyes and tried to focus. "Not...much time. The senator--Armstrong...can tell...the story. He was there...that night." 

JessieBelle's breath rattled in her throat, shallow and raspy. "Sorry...just not...motherly type." 

A wistful smile settled on her face as her eyes closed for the last time. 

Thomas tumbled back in time to the four-year-old boy hiding in a closet watching Bernie O'Shea choke his mother. But she hadn't died that night. She had been part of a cruel hoax to blackmail Bernie, with no one thinking of the consequences to a kid who might have experienced the nightmare. 

Now Thomas watched his mother die again, and all the emotions and fear of that little boy flashed through him. 

(Excerpt from Legacy of Truth, copyright Genene Valleau, writing as Genie Gabriel)

For more excerpts and more information, visit www.GenieGabriel.com

GOTTA GO!

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Using the van for cover, Thomas and three others slipped around the house toward the back bedroom where Ettie had been taken. Thomas quickly jimmied the window open and slipped inside, with Jeremiah close behind him. 

While Thomas blocked the inner door, Jeremiah approached the bed where Ettie lay curled in a fetal position. 

"Miss Ettie, it's Jeremiah O'Shea," he whispered. 

She lowered her arms fractionally and Jer briefly shone a light on his face so she could identify him. 

"We're going to get you out of here, but first I need to know where you're hurt so we don't injure you any more." 

"Everything hurts," Ettie whispered. 

"Okay, let me do a quick check to make sure we can move you safely." Jer did a rapid trauma check. "We need to get you out of here as quickly as possible. I'm going to strap you onto a backboard and then we'll go." 

Ettie nodded and closed her eyes as Jer lifted her from the bed. He and Thomas carried her to the window and gently handed her out to Jebediah and one of Kingston's people. Then he and Thomas slipped out into the darkness and quietly closed the window behind them, leaving pillows under the blankets on the bed where Ettie had been. 

As they slipped into the back of the repair van, Thomas radioed Kingston's man inside the house with Fred they were ready to go. In a couple minutes, Fred and the other man came out of the house. 

"Hey, you didn't put the washing machine back together!" The man who had let Fred inside appeared on the porch. 

"Gotta go!" Fred waved as he walked rapidly toward the van. 

As they opened the door to slide inside, a bullet pi-zinged off the roof of the van. 

(Excerpt from Legacy of Truth, copyright Genene Valleau, writing as Genie Gabriel)

For more excerpts and more information, visit www.GenieGabriel.com

WE'LL RIDE TOGETHER

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"Where are you going?" Jenny asked when Thomas whirled and stalked rapidly toward the door. 

"Out." 

"To think or to run away?" 

Thomas spun around with a scowl on his face and a sharp retort on his tongue. But Jenny merely looked at him. Damn, the woman was far too perceptive and didn't give him any slack. 

"Does it matter?" 

"It does to me." 

The tremble of vulnerability in Jenny's lower lip sucker-punched Thomas. He had brought her here. Dragged her into the mess that threatened to destroy his family--and her, if he didn't pull himself together. 

"Are you sure you don't want to go back to California? Things could get really ugly." 

"In for a penny, in for a pound, as the saying goes. I plan to stick it out. How about you?" 

She wasn't just talking about this situation, Thomas knew. With that realization, the weight of the past fell away. His future was intertwined with this woman. "When this is behind us, we'll ride together, okay?" 

(Excerpt from Legacy of Truth, copyright Genene Valleau, writing as Genie Gabriel)

For more excerpts and more information, visit www.GenieGabriel.com

THE END OF A DREAM

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A short time before they left that evening, the television news ran a story on Halo being deserted. The camera panned down the street, showing a car leaving town, then the closed sign on Beth's café. 

"The end of a dream," the reporter said, showing a clip of a sadly stoic Mayor Audrey watching the old Victorian house being boarded up. They ended the story with a camera shot of Charlie sitting alone on his porch with a shotgun across his lap, refusing to leave--as he had refused to leave the old town site when Halo exploded around him. 

(Excerpt from Legacy of Truth, copyright Genene Valleau, writing as Genie Gabriel)

For more excerpts and more information, visit www.GenieGabriel.com