Those were times when he felt he could conquer the world.
"What was her name?"
"Her name was Susannah."
A small tug pulled at his heart. It didn't hurt anymore, but he still felt it whenever her name was mentioned.
"Was she pretty?"
"She was very pretty."
"Did you ever...?"
Amy's question pulled him back. He tried to remember that he was Amy's pastor and her guide. "Are you asking if I was tempted?"
Amy stood up quickly. Her cheeks flushed bright red. Her eyes turned away from his, and her body followed. "Oh, I need to go." The words tumbled from her lips much too fast. "It's really none of my business. I'm so sorry!"
James stood and called after her, "Wait! Please. It's fine. You came to me asking for guidance. I will tell you yes, I was tempted. Temptation is out there, Amy. We all have to face it. All we can do is ask God to help us find our way."
She stopped and looked at him, her shoulders still turned away and her feet pointing to the door. "So you asked God to help you?"
"Yes. And I asked Susannah to marry me."
Amy turned back to him.
"And she said no," he answered the question in Amy's eyes, "She wasn't ready. I respected her for that, just as Rick should respect you when you say you aren't ready. Amy, you should stick with your beliefs. Don't let Rick or any man tempt you into changing your heart."
"I'm trying not to," she said. "But I'm worried about him."
James fought the urge to lift his hands to her arms.
"I tell you what," he said. "You head on back to work. I'll stop in and speak to Rick today—make sure he's okay. I'll let him know you're not comfortable with what he's asking for and ask him to ease up, okay?"
The relief on Amy's face was evident. She leaned forward and took his hand. "Thank you, James. I don't know what I'd do without you sometimes."
He couldn't help noticing how she had used his first name, instead of his title.
* * *
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The Codex
An Action-Packed Christian Fiction Thriller
About the Author
Daniel Patterson is the bestselling author of The Devil's Game, a Christian fiction suspense thriller. Before turning his attention to writing, Daniel spent his days working as an executive in the Internet industry. A San Francisco native, Daniel currently resides in Southern California where he is busy working on the next book in the Armour of God series.
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Acknowledgments
Without the dedication and hard work of a talented team of editors, proofreaders, designers, friends and family members, this book never would have made it into your hands. I am honored to have the opportunity to thank them here.
To my mom, dad, sister, family and friends, thank you for your love, support, and continued words of encouragement.
To fellow author Shawn Wells, I am eternally grateful, without your help Zack and Sydney's story never would have been told.
To my always amazing and brilliant developmental editor Linda Hull, your feedback, comments, and additions were an invaluable part of making this project a success.
To the newest members of my team, Talea and Lynette, thank you for helping to give Zack and Sydney's story a voice.
To Meeghn for always being there and helping to making Sydney and little more lovable.
To Sue for listening to me babble endless about Zack and Sydney's adventures as we walked up and down eight hundred forty stadium stairs.
To Dina for being there since the beginning. Your support and encouragement means the world to me.
To Samara for helping me find my one hundred and fifty words.
To Allan, David, Ziad, Galen, Crystal, Jake, Corey, Lee, Naomi, and Peter for your continued support and friendship.
To The Codex Beta 10; Sylvia B., Christene G., Pam G., Stacie M., Kevin S., JR, Liss M. Heather H., Bruce I., and Christine B thank you for your last minute feedback, suggestions, and corrections.
To all my wonderful readers, thank you for all your support, I am truly blessed to have you.
Most importantly, I want to thank God for always being there when I needed Him.
This book is a work of fiction. All names, characters, locations and incidents are products of the author's imagination, or have been used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead, locales or events is entirely coincidental.
The Codex: An Action-Packed Christian Fiction Thriller
Copyright © 2014 Daniel Patterson.
Visit the author's website at www.danielpattersonbooks.com
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including information storage and retrieval systems—except in the case of a brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews—without the written permission of the author.
The Devil's Game excerpt copyright © 2014 Daniel Patterson.
Scripture quotations are from the Holy Bible, New International Version. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan.
Scripture quotations are from the New King James Version of the Bible. Copyright © 1979, 1980, 1982 by Thomas Nelson Inc., publishers. Used by permission.
Cover and internal design by Kenneth Gorden
eBook edition published—December 2014
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Table of Contents
Dedication
PART I
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
PART II
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One
Chapter Twenty-Two
Chapter Twenty-Three
Chapter Twenty-Four
Chapter Twenty-Five
Chapter Twenty-Six
Chapter Twenty-Seven
PART III
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Chapter Thirty
Chapter Thirty-One
Chapter Thirty-Two
Chapter Thirty-Three
Chapter Thirty-Four
Chapter Thirty-Five
Chapter Thirty-Six
Chapter Thirty-Seven<
br />
Chapter Thirty-Eight
Chapter Thirty-Nine
Chapter Forty
Chapter Forty-One
Chapter Forty-Two
Chapter Forty-Three
PART IV
Chapter Forty-Four
Chapter Forty-Five
Chapter Forty-Six
Chapter Forty-Seven
Chapter Forty-Eight
Chapter Forty-Nine
Chapter Fifty
Chapter Fifty-One
Chapter Fifty-Two
Chapter Fifty-Three
Chapter Fifty-Four
Chapter Fifty-Five
Chapter Fifty-Six
Chapter Fifty-Seven
Chapter Fifty-Eight
Chapter Fifty-Nine
Chapter Sixty
Chapter Sixty-One
Chapter Sixty-Two
Chapter Sixty-Three
Chapter Sixty-Four
Chapter Sixty-Five
Chapter Sixty-Six
EPILOGUE
One
Bonus Excerpt: The Devil's Game
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Also by Daniel Patterson
About the Author
Follow Me
Acknowledgments
Copyright Information
The Codex (An Armour of God Thriller Book 2) Page 20
