Total pages in book: 71
Estimated words: 69330 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 347(@200wpm)___ 277(@250wpm)___ 231(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 69330 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 347(@200wpm)___ 277(@250wpm)___ 231(@300wpm)
Bono stared at the man with hatred as the soldiers grabbed his arms and jerked back his head. The blade came closer, the point aimed at the retina of his eye.
Sky gasped. She couldn’t watch. She turned away. Bono didn’t scream, but she felt the pain, the white-hot burn that penetrated flesh and bone.
All went quiet again except for the lonely cry of the eagle. Shivering, she looked back. He was lying on his back on the ground, his blood soaked up by the sand and his left eye socket empty. She reached for him, wanting to make it better. No, wanting to take it away.
Her name being spoken pulled her back to the present. Bono was holding her in his arms, his face a mask of worry.
“Come back, Sky.” He rubbed her arms. “Speak to me.”
“I’m here.”
He blew out a breath. “You’re shaking like a leaf.”
“Bono.” She cupped his face. “I’m so sorry.”
This made him still. “What did you see?”
“Everything. Lydia, the soldiers, and the man who took your eye.”
“I promised her I’d get her away.”
“It wasn’t your fault.” She brushed her thumb over his cheek, feeling the smoothness under the day-old stubble. “She was going to die a much crueler death if you hadn’t acted. You did what you believed was right.”
“It doesn’t matter.” A muscle twitched in his jaw. “I’m responsible.”
“No. That man was responsible.”
“You don’t know half of it.” He took her hand and gently moved it away. “I killed him. I was supposed to fly his plane to Paris the next day. After what he did to me, he hired another pilot. Only, he never even made it to the hangar. I poisoned their food. I watched them die—all of them—slow, painful deaths, and I enjoyed it.”
“Then the world is a better place.”
“Is it? I’m no different than him.”
“Yes, you are. We’ll go to incredible lengths and do terrible things for the people we love.”
“Nobody understands that better than me. I loved her. That’s true.” He interlaced their fingers. “Now there’s you.”
His admittance ignited a bitter-sweet feeling. “Don’t fall for me. It won’t do you any good.”
“It’s too late, beautiful. I fell the first moment I laid eyes on you.”
The words filled her chest with warmth and something else, something that had the power to free her heart from its cage, but she quickly squashed it. Hope was too cruel. Reality always hurt.
“Is it because of Lydia, because of our similar situations?” she asked. “You think not everything would’ve been in vain if you can save me?”
“This—us—has nothing to do with Lydia and everything with you.”
“You’re going to take out Doumar’s operation.”
“Yes.”
“Good. When you kill him, make it slow.”
A cold determination invaded his gaze. “You can count on that.”
“Promise me you’ll remember good things about me, no matter what.”
“I’m not leaving you behind, beautiful. You’re mine. Where I go, you go.”
It was better not to reply. He’d know the truth soon enough, but not now. Now, there were only them and this moment.
“Thank you for showing me love and kindness.”
“Sky,” he said with a reprimanding tone. “This isn’t the end. It’s only the beginning.”
“Yes, it is.” For him. And Niels. “Why haven’t you had your eye fixed? There are prostheses. With modern technology, it will look very real.”
“I need it as a reminder, but enough talk of that. Come here. Let me love you more before the night is over.”
She straddled him, intertwining their fingers. “Yes. Love me again. Love me like this is the beginning.”
She gasped as he lifted her hips and took her with one, powerful thrust while crushing their mouths together.
Sky woke to the smell of bacon and eggs. The bed was empty. She sniffed. The odor wafted through the open door. Picking Bono’s shirt up from the floor, she pulled it on and went to the door. Bono stood in front of the garden table with a spatula in his hand. A pan filled with two eggs and strips of bacon was balanced on a portable gas stove. Shirtless, with the tight jeans hugging his ass, he was a mouthwatering sight.
He flipped the eggs and looked up with a smile. “Breakfast is ready.”
“Where did that come from?” she asked, meaning the food and the stove.
“I did some shopping at the twenty-four-hour store.”
“You should’ve woken me.”
“It was early. You needed the rest.” His gaze moved over her. “That looks just about right.”
“What?”
“You in my clothes.”
He turned off the gas, dropped the spatula on the table, and walked to her with long strides. With her standing on the step, they were on eye level. He slipped his hands under the shirt and cupped her ass.
“You’re fucking gorgeous. I can’t get enough of you.” He brushed his palms over her hips and thighs. “I wish we had more time.”
“You have to go?”
“After breakfast. At what time is Doumar expecting you at the club?”