Total pages in book: 89
Estimated words: 84102 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 421(@200wpm)___ 336(@250wpm)___ 280(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 84102 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 421(@200wpm)___ 336(@250wpm)___ 280(@300wpm)
“I can explain.” Eddie was the only one who didn’t have a pistol in his hand. His palms were up as though to show the room he wasn’t a threat. He didn’t have to be. He had four other threats on his side.
“I’d like to hear it,” David said, his voice colder than she’d ever heard.
She had to make sure he survived this. He cared about her. He was the kind of man who would try to sacrifice himself for a woman he cared about. He needed to be reminded that he was the client and she was the one protecting him.
“I need for you to find the treasure.” Eddie’s hands were shaking, and his eyes went from David back to her and the gun held to her head. And back to David. “You can do it. You found the baseball card. You can find the treasure. You know my father better than anyone. You’ve read all of his work and know how he thinks. I’ll give you anything you need.”
David’s head shook. “Your men have a gun on my girlfriend. I’m not giving you anything until you let her go.”
She had to give it to him. David was steady. He was strong for a guy who’d probably never been in this kind of situation before, but he was reacting exactly like she’d thought he would. “David, I’m not your girlfriend. I’m your bodyguard, and you should fire me after this. I know for damn sure Big Tag will.”
David’s eyes widened. “I thought we weren’t going to mention that part.”
Even from here she could feel his hurt at the cold statement she’d made, but she couldn’t take it back. They needed to know they couldn’t manipulate David this way. They also needed to understand that even if they killed her, someone would come looking for David. “I’m not telling them, David. I suspect they already know I’m not who I said I was. I’m reminding you. I’m not your girlfriend. I had fun with you, but I was already planning on how to avoid you from now on. So you need to make decisions based on what’s best for you, not to try to save a woman who was planning on leaving you anyway.”
God, it hurt to say the words because now she was pretty sure they weren’t true. She was fairly certain that had she played this properly, she would have gotten him off the island and back home, and then the bargaining would have started. She would have told herself that her time with him had been cut short and they should have had at least five more days together, so it was okay to go on a date and spend the night at his place. She would have convinced herself that it was perfectly fine to go to The Club with him because she should have had those nights of play with him. Once those nights were done, she would have given herself one or two more.
And then she simply would have accepted the fact that she was his and he was hers, and it was right this time. She needed David to soften her hard edges, and he needed her to pull him back into the real world from time to time.
If she hadn’t screwed everything up and gotten them in this terrible situation.
“Hey, it’s okay, baby. You wanted to leave and I convinced you to spend one more night.” David completely ignored the men with the guns. His eyes were on her. “I know you’re feeling guilty, and you might even be feeling stupid, but you’re not. You’re the smart one, and you can yell at me when you get us out of this, but don’t try to convince me you don’t care.”
“I don’t.” He had to be harder than this or he wouldn’t survive because she didn’t see why they kept her alive.
His face fell, but his eyes stayed on her. “It doesn’t matter how you feel about me. What matters is how I feel about you, and they know that. Honestly, it wouldn’t matter if I hated you. I would still do what they want. The fact that I’m in love with you only makes it more urgent.”
Did he understand nothing? “For a man with as many degrees as you have, you’re not very smart.”
“She’s right.” There was obviously a reason Luis didn’t have a gun to his head. The “grad student” was watching David with steely eyes. “You’re not as impressive as you seem on paper. You spend all your time with a bunch of mewling kids who drag you down.”
“Mewling? I assure you Kala Taggart doesn’t mewl, though she did threaten to take me down if I didn’t stop making her repeat assignments.” David’s voice was perfectly steady, as though he knew she needed him to be. “She’s the one who scares me. I’m fairly certain she’s on a path that will lead to a prison or the Agency.”