Redemption: Alchemy Series Book #4 Read Online Free PDF Page B

into a blank canvas as I stood there, waiting for him to speak. Every time he showed, I expected the worst. Even now, after months of periodic visits with no ill effect.
    "Care to take a stroll?" he asked.
    "Sure." I shrugged and stepped forward, acting much less agitatedly than I felt. If I could get him to leave peacefully, I'd take the stroll, no matter how distasteful I found his presence. The first visit had been the most disconcerting.
    I walked the distance to him and kept walking. He fell into step beside me as we strolled down the strip together.
    "Still no Cormac?" He asked a question he already knew the answer to. I didn't know if he was looking for a reaction or trying to rub in the betrayal.
    I knew he had spies in the casino. After Cormac left, I hadn't bothered wasting resources and energy on finding out who they were. Sometimes information leaking wasn't such a bad thing, and yes, maybe we didn't have a steady supply of food and resources, but we weren't sitting ducks either , with our increased numbers, and I wanted him to know. I'd also been juggling so many different issues since that I hadn't cared.
    I didn't bother responding to his question in a petty attempt to thwart whatever it was he looked to gain.
    "I have to say, in spite of myself, I feel impressed. Knowing your mother, I never thought you would be capable of taking charge of that many people."
    "I'm not sure if I should be insulted or say thanks." I was surprised at his mention of her. We'd both avoided the topic in the past. These conversations always felt surreal , and not in a good way. I just wanted him to get to the point, sooner rather than later.
    "If you had known your mother, you would understand. She was a feckless creature." He flipped a long blond lock away from his face.
    He spoke as if I wouldn't have a reason to be annoyed by him discussing her like this. A year ago, I probably wouldn't have been. These days, I had a lot more compassion and understanding for the choices people made. The big ones weren't usually easy. So it galled me but I held my tongue and refrained from getting into a tit for tat insult session.
    "Are you here for a reason or did you just feel like strolling in the snow with me?" I asked, hoping to speed things up a bit. I wasn't sure how long he'd been alive, but he had the nonchalance of someone who hadn't watched a clock for decades. I was only newly immortal and a bit more time sensitive.
    "We've reached an impasse of sorts and I thought a clearing of the air was in order." He spoke like a scholar and oozed arrogance.
    I remembered the first time he'd shown up, just a few weeks after Cormac had left. I'd been petrified of what he'd wanted. We'd spoken a few meaningless words that I couldn't even remember , now. He'd left and I'd collapsed in relief, not telling anyone of his appearance.
    A week later, he'd shown up again. I still wasn't clear on why , but he never made any demands or threats. We'd fallen into an awkward pattern of occasional visits. Him showing up and me agreeing to go along with it. I did it to keep myself apprised of the current level of aggression and I started to imagine he was doing it for the same purpose. I viewed it as an awkward truce of sorts, sort of like two divorcées living in different wings of a house and playing polite so the other didn't torch the lawn.
    But in all this time, we'd never "cleared the air" and I wasn't sure how much clearing he was looking to do.
    "Was there anything in particular you wanted to share?"
    "It's not in my best interest to kill you. Likewise, killing me might have some of the same inherent risks."
    He tilted his head toward me with his last words, still acting nonchalantly, as if there were nothing amiss about discussing our mutual destruction.
    But , more importantly, he confirmed what Burrom had thought. Whether it was true or not, there were now two different voices expressing a concern over possible repercussions if I were to be killed. I