Ace gave that some thought before he nodded. “Well, you know I made Lucian a promise. I’m going to look after you no matter what. I’ll be checking in from time to time, but that doesn’t mean you have to wait to hear from me. If you ever need anything, night or day, I want to know about it.”
I dipped my head and nodded. “Thank you, Ace. That means a lot to me.”
We were quiet for a minute, and I was sure he felt like he needed to go drink a beer or do something manly after that conversation, but I wanted to ask him one other thing. “You know the project I’ve been working on?”
He nodded.
“Do you think Lucian would hate it if I published it?”
Ace considered it for a minute before he answered in a way that put me at ease like nothing else really could have. “I think he would hate it if you didn’t publish it after spending all that time and dedication working on it. What have you got to lose at this point?”
“Thanks, Ace,” I said again. “I can see why Lucian liked you so much.”
After calling Kate with the news that I wanted to go ahead with the book, she was elated to tell me that she’d already been secretly working on it with Kal, just in case. Everything happened at lightning speed after that, and I was amazed at the efficiency of it all.
“Things go much faster with small publishers,” she told me. “Kal only takes on a few books a year, but he gives them his all. You won’t regret it.”
I looked over the cover we’d decided on, my fingers brushing over the glossy paper. It was a simple design—a white background with red and black font that displayed the title and tag line next to it. Kal explained that it was current with industry standards, and even though I initially wanted a photo of Lucian on the front, he would never be narcissistic enough to want that. He was a simple man, and this simple cover suited him perfectly.
“LUCIAN,” I read the big block letters. “The man behind the mask.”
Kal eagerly pointed out that there was also a picture of Lucian inside the cover.
“I can’t believe I’m holding it in my hands.” I turned it over and examined it. “It seems so surreal.”
“It’s just a proof,” Kal explained. “But we’ll host a local event the week before release, and the preorders will be ready. We’ve already started marketing, and the response has been incredible so far.”
“What do I need to do?” I asked.
“Well, there really isn’t much at this point,” he said. “My publicity team has your social media up and running now, so that’s all taken care of. Other than that, we’ll just need you ready with a speech for the event, of course.”
I was nervous about the prospect of showing my face in public where there would be photos printed in the media. It was a complete one eighty from the way I used to live my life, and even though I’d published under the name Gypsy West, there was always a chance something from my past could come back to haunt me. It was a risk, but in this case, I wanted to believe the reward outweighed that.
“I’ll be there.” I smiled. “Rain or shine.”
“HI.”
“Hi, Nolan.” I edged open the door. “Would you like to come in?”
He glanced inside the house before shaking his head quickly. “I can’t, I’m sorry. I’m running late already, but I just wanted to stop by to make sure you were all right.”
The concern in his voice caught me off guard. “Is everything okay?”
“I saw a flyer for your book.” His expression was grim, and my stomach soured at the thought of what he might say.
“Oh?”
“It just made me think about the hate mail Lucian used to get,” he said. “I thought it might be a good idea to warn you that it could get messy.”
My throat tightened, and my voice was barely audible when I responded. “Why?”
“So many strong emotions were involved in his cases,” Nolan pointed out. “He received threats on a regular basis. I just worry about you and the baby.”
What he was saying made sense, if I stopped to consider it, but I really hadn’t. “I don’t think it will be an issue. The book is mostly just about how he lived his life. The kind of work he did and his beliefs. There are only small highlights about the cases themselves.”
“Still,” Nolan said wearily. “I just want you to be aware of what this book might bring about if you go through with it. I’d hate to see you caught off guard.”
I laid a hand over my belly protectively. “I understand, and I appreciate that. But I can’t cancel the book deal because everything’s already signed. Even if it weren’t, I think it’s important for people to know who Lucian really was.”