Total pages in book: 118
Estimated words: 112001 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 560(@200wpm)___ 448(@250wpm)___ 373(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 112001 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 560(@200wpm)___ 448(@250wpm)___ 373(@300wpm)
Xhex’s first impulse was to argue with the male—but come on. Look at how that had gone so far.
“Thank you,” she said in a small voice. “I just… don’t really know what to do here.”
He reached out with his free hand, the one that wasn’t locked on his silver cane. Squeezing her shoulder, he said, “That’s why you let people help.”
As her mind started to spin out with all kinds of crazy things, John Matthew tugged at her arm. When she turned toward him, he took her face in both his palms. With his blue eyes boring into her own, he didn’t mouth any words or make any with his hands, but he communicated loud and clear:
I love you. And I am not leaving you.
“What the hell did I do to deserve you,” she said.
He kissed her quick. And then it was time to go.
“Follow me,” Rehv said. “I’ll make sure you get there safely.”
Glancing over her shoulder, she got a last eyeful of those closed double doors… and wondered if she would ever see any of the males in that room again.
Or any of the people she had grown to love as her family.
Somehow, she felt like this was the end of the road for her. And she knew, if that was true, she was going to have to let John Matthew go, too.
Even though that was going to kill her.
TWENTY-THREE
BACK AT THE Phalen estate, Lydia followed Daniel to a part of the house she hadn’t been anywhere near before. And when he checked in at a camera, there was a longer than usual wait… in front of a vault door that belonged in a bank.
Why were they going into C.P.’s safe room, she wondered.
“So you did see Gus?” she said as she leaned back against the wall and covered a yawn.
Daniel nodded. “When I went down to the lab, I thought you might be there.”
“Instead, you caught me napping.”
“You make it sound like a sin.” With a gentle brush of his hand, he moved a strand of hair back from her face. “It’s midnight. Most people are sleeping now. Besides, it’s been a lot—I should have let you rest.”
“No, I’d rather be up.” She turned her face to his palm and nuzzled him. “As for Gus, he’s doing really well, don’t you think? Physically, at least.”
As Daniel lowered his hand, his face tensed up. “You really should rest now, when you can—”
“What aren’t you telling me?” Lydia cut in. Then she shrugged. “Look, keeping me in the dark is not protecting me. You’re making things more dangerous.”
He closed his eyes like he hated where they all were.
“Talk to me. I’m your partner, not another problem you have to take care of.”
After a long pause, Daniel nodded and looked at her. “Gus was abducted for a reason, and it wasn’t to kill him. If death was the object, they would have just shot him and left the body in the condo. He was tortured for information, and it doesn’t take a genius to figure out it was about someone trying to get into the lab—and there was no way Gus didn’t give up what he knew. At some point, everybody breaks. Even the professionals trained to withstand that kind of thing.”
Lydia’s eyes flooded with tears. Wiping them away, she crossed her arms over her chest. “Oh… God.”
Even though she had guessed, having Daniel spell it out in such bald terms was shocking. But come on. Reality was what it was, even if the details weren’t spoken.
“I don’t think we have long,” Daniel said gruffly. “We need to get ready for an attack—it’s coming. I can feel it in my bones, and I’m never wrong about these things.”
“How much time do you think we have?” she said softly.
“It’s safest to assume it could come at any moment. And I’m not going to tell you what to do, but I really think you should go to the mountain.”
“I’m not leaving you.” She took the hand that had touched her so tenderly. “And I’m not leaving Gus or C.P.”
Daniel took a deep breath. “That’s what the guards are for.”
“Then they can guard all of us together.”
A hint of a smile teased his lips. “I had a feeling that’s what you were going to say.”
“Guess you know me well, huh?”
“Yup, and I’m not going to argue with you. In the words of Forrest Gump, ‘I’m not a smart man, but—’ ”
Abruptly, there was a metal-on-metal shifting sound, and they both turned to the vault entrance, reaching out at the same time for the latching system.
“I’ve got it,” Daniel said.
And he did. He grabbed on to the handle, and then sank into his lower body, using his weight more than strength to open what was clearly a heavy load.
On the other side was… an octagonal room paneled in what appeared to be stainless steel. A lighting system was mounted in cages in the ceiling, and the too-bright light reflected off of every angle in the space, creating a high-tech aura.