Turner knew he was in trouble the moment he entered Bridget’s apartment, and not because he was so perceptive.

Right there on the coffee table, his pill containers were lined up in a straight row like a jury who’d already found him guilty and was just waiting to hear the judge’s sentence.

The judge sat on the couch with her arms crossed over her chest and her blue eyes blazing with fury.

“When were you planning to tell me?”

“I was trying to summon the courage, but it seems I’m more cowardly than I thought.” He put his laptop bag on the kitchen counter and walked over to sit next to Bridget on the couch. “Let me explain.”

She dropped one of her arms to wave him on. “Please do.” The arm went back across her chest.

“I couldn’t function while taking these drugs. They made my brain foggy, they slowed my reflexes, and they killed my sex drive. I had to stop, or I would’ve gone insane.”

“You’re aware that you have no chance of going through the transition while you’re sick, right? Even if you’re a Dormant, it won’t start until you get healthy.”

As she turned to look at him, her eyes were no longer full of fury, just sad. Which was much worse. “You know Roni’s transition was delayed because he was sick. He only transitioned once he was healthy enough to endure it. You’re a rational man, Victor. I can’t understand why you expect irrational results.”

“There must be another way. I can’t deal with the chemo.”

“Can’t or won’t?”

“I can’t. Foggy brain means mistakes, and I can’t afford to make them. Lives are at stake. Besides, if I kept taking the pills, I would be dead now. I would have died in that alley Arturo Junior was dragging me into. My reflexes and agility would’ve been impaired, and I couldn’t have overpowered him.”

As he’d expected, that gave Bridget pause.

She nodded. “Then I’m glad you stopped taking them. But you need to resume the treatment. Finish all your current jobs, and don’t take on any new ones even if they are from old clients you don't want to lose. Tell them you're booked or something. Stay in bed if you need to, but get healthy. I need you to live.” Her voice quivered, and the tears that had misted her eyes started spilling down her cheeks.

Wrapping his arms around her, he pulled her into his chest. “I really don’t want to, but I’ll do it for you. I’ll wait until my schedule is clear, send Alice on a much needed paid vacation, and have you take care of me while the chemo sucks the life out of me.”

She sniffled. “You make it sound so terrible.”

“Because it is.”

“I wish there was another way.” She wiped the tears off her cheeks.

“There might be. Let me try an induction before I restart the chemo. You said it yourself. Every case is different, and no two Dormants transition the same way. It might work for me despite the cancer. It’s worth the try. If it works, it will save me unnecessary hardship, and if it doesn't, I’ll at least know that I have no choice and have to suffer through it.”

Bridget looked him in the eyes. “I don’t want you to ever again hide things from me, or lie to me. Is that clear?”

“Crystal.”

“If you ever do that again, I’m going to kick you out and never let you back in again.”

“Understood.”

With a sigh, Bridget untangled herself from his arms, then took both of his hands in hers. “In the spirit of full disclosure, there are no guarantees the chemo will work, but you didn’t stick with it long enough to evaluate if it has done you any good.”

That was his main fear.

What if all it had been in vain?

What if his brilliant plan to escape the Grim Reaper had been flawed from the start because he hadn’t known transition was not possible while the body was sick?

What if the treatment he dreaded wasn’t even an option?

Unforeseen factors had the potential to derail every good plan, and regrettably, he couldn’t control and manipulate nature or fate’s design for him.

The thing was, Turner refused to accept that his fate was to die just when he’d found happiness for the first time in his life. He wasn’t a saint, but he wasn’t a bad man either.

Fate couldn’t be so cruel.

Or could it?

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