Total pages in book: 155
Estimated words: 146417 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 732(@200wpm)___ 586(@250wpm)___ 488(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 146417 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 732(@200wpm)___ 586(@250wpm)___ 488(@300wpm)
She breezed past them, not even giving them a chance to ask. She didn’t want to pretend today.
Her uncle’s questions were making her restless. Seven years before she’d decided to live in the now, to let the future take care of itself.
How long could she do that? It had been easy when Roman was a baby. She’d spent the first few years of his life doing nothing more than taking care of him, hiding away from the tumult of the world outside. When the world had started to heal, she’d stayed here, playing with her son and making him the center of the world.
That was fine for her, but Roman would want more.
He would want to see more of the world than this tiny island, and she wasn’t sure how he would do it. She couldn’t go with him unless she truly believed they weren’t at risk. Was she safe now that Levi was marrying into a powerful family?
McKay-Taggart could help with that. They could talk about ways to neutralize her as a threat to Levi and maybe work out a deal where she could come out of hiding and give her son a more free life.
But then she would have to admit that her son existed, and she would finally know what Beck thought.
She moved past the unmarked guva that had served for years as Fort Saint Angelo’s prison. It looked like nothing more than an ancient manhole, and likely most tourists thought it was access to some kind of system, but she knew it for what it was. It was an oubliette. The prisoner would be thrown down the narrow entrance into the bulblike bottom of the prison. It was impossible to get out without help because the walls were curved and couldn’t be climbed.
That was where she was. Stuck. She could see the light, but she couldn’t reach it. She would never get out of that prison without someone throwing her a line and lifting her out. If she stayed, she would spend the rest of her life hoping someone threw her scraps.
And Roman would be there with her.
She practically jogged down the steep embankment, moving past the tourists on their way up to the battlement. She barely saw the boats in the marina or the happy visitors sitting outside and eating their brunch al fresco. It was a stunning day, but she didn’t feel the sun the way she normally did. Her uncle’s questions were ringing in her ears.
They were still there a few moments later when she got to the front of her shop. The door was open, along with the big windows that allowed the breeze from the bay in.
Anna was at the cash register, handing over a small bag that likely held something other than books from the shape of it. Most likely one of the snow globes featuring the knights.
Was this the life she wanted for her son? Selling cheap souvenirs to tourists? There wasn’t anything wrong with the life, but she didn’t want Roman limited by his mother’s mistakes.
“Hello.” Anna greeted her as she walked toward the backrooms. “I put the box from Germany on your desk.”
“Thanks.” She liked Anna, but she needed some alone time. The last few days had been hard with Roman and Ezra being sick. That was why she was so restless. It wasn’t thinking of Beck. It wasn’t the dreams she’d been having lately, the ones where he held her in his arms and took charge. Where he saved her, and she didn’t have to worry about the future because they would face it all together. “Let me know if you need anything.”
She was relieved when she closed the door to her office. It wasn’t much. She’d certainly had much bigger offices in her time, but this place had become a calm space for her. While the fort was large and the gardens plentiful, the actual residence wasn’t huge, and there were four of them living there. This was the place she could come to when she needed to be alone.
She really needed to be alone today.
There was a box of books on her desk. Work was good.
She carefully opened the box from Germany and settled in.
Hours later she was satisfied the small leather-bound tome was the real thing, and her uncle would be thrilled to add its knowledge to the order’s library. He would pay her handsomely for finding it and then she could buy more books.
It might be time to think about renovating one of the apartments above.
Or maybe it was time to talk to a lawyer the way her uncle had suggested. One who could be trusted.
She glanced up at the clock and realized it was far later than she’d imagined. She’d worked on authenticating her latest purchase and had only stopped to briefly eat a sandwich. She’d taken over the cash register so Anna could have lunch. The day had flown by and soon she had to make the walk back home to face her uncle and Ezra.