Total pages in book: 69
Estimated words: 64702 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 324(@200wpm)___ 259(@250wpm)___ 216(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 64702 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 324(@200wpm)___ 259(@250wpm)___ 216(@300wpm)
But she can’t be that escape any longer. Not without the consequences of her lifebonding to a damn X2 GTECH. I tell myself to pull my arm away, to break the connection between us, so I won’t forget why we’re dangerous to her. But I don’t pull away, and neither does she. Instead, she stares up at me with those beautiful green eyes—eyes that I want to remain beautiful and green. Not black. Not spiraling into the depths of obsidian hell with me as they would be if I claimed her fully.
“I cannot imagine what it must be like to be treated like the enemy,” Addie says softly. “As hard as it was for you to be gone, to be without you, I want you to know how proud I am of you for everything you did.”
My chest tightens with her words, and I cut my gaze to the window. “If you knew what I had to become inside that place, you would not say such things.” I’d played the role of Julian’s personal bodyguard, of tyrant and terrorist, all too well. All too easily. Sometimes I’d almost forgotten I wasn’t that person. But I’d prevailed. I’d stayed on my path, reminded myself often that I did those things, walked those lines because I was capable of doing so, and so Caleb wouldn’t have to. So that Caleb could remain a leader of honor, untainted by the likes of his brother and those around him.
Someone had to be that person.
And that someone was me.
“War is brutal, Creed. We do what we must to survive.”
She thinks she understands, but she doesn’t. And I don’t want her to understand. I don’t want this world for her. I want her the hell away from all of this. Safe. Happy. And so I push, and push hard. Push to make her run. “Is that what you would have said if I had killed your father?”
She sucks in a breath, her hand jerking from my arm. “Killing him wouldn’t have solved anything. Julian would still be out there, trying to take over the world.”
“Without the lure of Red Dart to aid his efforts,” I counter.
“So, had you killed him at Groom Lake, the world would be a happy place right now?” She challenges. She holds up a hand. “Don’t answer. Just don’t.” She narrows her gaze on me. “Are you trying to upset me?”
“I’m simply trying to prepare you.”
She pales, even paler than moments before, and wets her lips. “For when you kill him?”
“For whatever the future may hold,” I say. “As you said, this is war, and I’m a soldier.”
She chokes on that. “Oh, I am fully aware that you are a soldier, Creed.” She swallows hard and shakes her head. “No, I don’t believe you’ll kill him. I know you know that isn’t the answer.”
“You know less about me than you think you do, Addie.”
Footsteps sound behind us, and Addie squeezes her eyes shut. No matter what her father has done, he was her father. She didn’t have it in her to wish him dead. Nor could she bear the idea of me killing him. It would destroy her. She would lose everything in one fatal swoop. But she didn’t say that—not now, not with Caleb joining us.
One look at Caleb’s face, and Addie backs away, giving us space to talk. “I’m going to the ladies’ room.” She rushes away down the hallway, with no idea where she’s going. But wherever it is, it will be with anger and hate in her heart for me.
And it has to stay that way.
So, I let her go and focus on Caleb and the news he delivers. On the war, not the woman.
Chapter Twenty-Six
Addie
“The Zodius have retreated for now…”
That’s all I hear Caleb say before I turn the corner, seeking a much-needed escape.
Fortunately, the bathroom is actually easy to find, and once inside the tiny one-stall room, I press my palms against the cool ceramic sink, looking skyward without seeing what is above. I don’t need to hear more of Caleb’s report. “Retreated for now” translates too easily to “more bloodshed to come.”
I’m not pissed at Creed, though I’m fairly certain that was his intent. He’s pushing me away. Maybe he can’t bear the idea of being in love with my father’s daughter. Being bound to me for the rest of his life.
But I can’t think about my personal pain over him right now.
More bloodshed to come…
The bloodshed has to end, and if I could turn back time and do a hundred things differently, I would have connected the dots about my father’s motives and taken action. But I can only go forward, however daunting it may become. Inhaling, I lower my chin, cringing at the raccoon eyes staring back at me in the mirror, the mud slashes streaking a line down my cheeks. I’m still sick—feeling pretty crappy, to be honest—but worrying about my stomach churning seems selfish when soldiers are fighting for their lives.