Free After the Fall (Broken Angel #2) by L.G. Castillo Page A

back, but will she come back to me ? Can she forgive me?”
    “Naomi loves you, and I have faith in her.”
    Lash shook his head. He wanted to believe in her love. He wanted to so badly. He just couldn’t shake off that look.
    He felt Raphael’s hand pat his back. “Think of it this way: she’ll have time to think this through, and I know she will understand that you meant no harm.”
    “I don’t know if I can do it, wait so long without going crazy.” Even though time went faster in Heaven than Earth, each second seemed like hours to him.
    “How did you do it, Raphael? How do you make it through all that time without seeing Rebecca? The thought of being away from Naomi for even a day leaves me breathless.”
    Raphael swallowed thickly. “It is...difficult.”
    Lash looked up at Raphael and wondered if he should tell him about seeing Rebecca. Would it hurt him more if he did?
    Crap! I can’t tell him. Only Jeremy knew about them going down to Earth.
    “Son, you’ll be with her again soon,” he continued. “Mark my words. And once you are, she will need you to be there for her. Just as you were tested, she too will be tested in her faith and loyalty to her Heavenly family.”
    “Naomi is strong.”
    “That may be, but I fear that Naomi and Jeremy’s assignment will test her limits. And she has been here for such a short time.”
    “She gets along with everybody. I don’t think she’ll have a hard time with it. Who’s her assignment?”
    “You and I know her well. You may know her just a bit more so than I.”
    Lash’s brow furrowed. “What do you mean?”
    “You have carnal knowledge of this person.”
    “Who?” he squeaked.
    “Megan. Megan Dalene.”

8
    J ane Sutherland tapped a pen against the desk as she read her tenth newspaper that morning. She scribbled on her yellow note pad furiously as she read the opinion page. Each paper she went through bashed her position on environmental policies. Most of them even dared to claim that she didn’t care for families or the community and instead sided with big business. Being a senator, she’d thought she would get used to being questioned about her voting record. She even accepted the fact that she’d be scrutinized because she was a close friend with Luke Prescott. Regardless, it still stung to read what people thought of her and her closest confidant.
    If only people could know the Luke she’d known almost all her life—kind, protective, sometimes overly protective. But saying she didn’t care about the people in her own home state of Texas—that was going too far.
    “Jane, dear, how many times have I told you reading the papers will make you old before your time?”
    She looked up from the paper to see a pair of kind gray eyes gazing at her.
    “I know; I know.” She sighed. “I’m just working on my speech.”
    “We have speech writers on staff for that. Use them.” Luke sat on the sofa across from her desk and placed a cup and saucer on the coffee table. “They’re the best in the field.”
    “I’m sure they are. Announcing that I’m running for the presidency is very important to me. I want to get it right.”
    “Even more reason to use a speech writer.”
    “This is personal for me, Luke. I’m doing this because I truly believe I can make a difference. The American Federation party can make our country better for everyone.”
    “Spoken like a true politician.” He grinned.
    She rolled her eyes. “I mean it, Luke.”
    “Then use what we have at our disposal. This is going to be a long campaign, and we’re fortunate to have plenty of financial resources.”
    “That’s the problem.” She sighed as she picked up a newspaper from the stack in the middle of her desk and waved it at him. “How can I touch the hearts of the people in this country when the media portray me to be out of touch with Middle America? I have to figure out a way to make them see that what our party is doing is good for all.”
    He tugged on the