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)
“That’s a huge sacrifice for a family to make,” I observe. “Living in confinement.”
“Not really,” he says. “Julian has a way of hunting down certain talent and demanding they join him. Many of the humans with us are under threat of Zodius capture. Others we suspected would become targets, and we approached them with an offer of protection.”
“That is just plain frightening.”
“More so when you consider Julian has plenty of powerful people in high places silently in his pockets. We’ve tried to counter that with allies of our own. We can only hope it’s enough.”
We reach the end of the walkway, and I force myself to shake off the grimness of what he’s shared. I need to be positive for the women I’m about to meet, and soon, we stand at the door of a quaint little restaurant, complete with a full staff, hostess station, and cute red-and-green tablecloths. “And here I expected a giant mess hall.”
“We have one of those, too,” Creed assures me. “No military base is complete without a mess hall and a stash of rations.”
“I can’t get over how advanced all this is,” I murmur. The entire facility, a mini-world, is underground. I try not to think about how far underground. Ironically, considering the name Sunrise City, there’s no sunlight at all. No easy escape in the event of a disaster. I can see why Caleb’s worked so hard to create a façade of normalcy. There was a lot to overcome.
Creed captures my waist and ensures he has my full attention. “Are you sure you are up to this?”
I press to my toes and kiss him. “I’m fine, and you know it.” I press my hand to his jaw. He’s such a handsome man, with eyes that tug at my soul. “When you left, I questioned if this—us—was real. If you really ever loved me.”
“More than my next breath,” he declares softly, a blade edging the vow. “Addie.” My name is rough on his tongue, like a distant thunder, low and ominous. “I was Julian’s right-hand man.”
“Pretended to be.”
“Whatever those women tell you I did,” he said, “it’s true. Listen to them. Then finally, you will understand what I am capable of doing.”
“If I listen and I still love you, Creed—because I will—then what will you do? Will you find another reason to push me away?”
“Listen to what they say,” he says. “Then we will talk.” He catches my hand in his and pulls me into the alcove next to the building, out of public view. He then drags me hard against his body, his mouth closing over mine, his tongue licking long and deep.
But I’m having none of the message in that kiss. I shove at his chest, tear my mouth from his, grab his fatigue jacket with one hand, and point at him with the other. “Don’t you dare kiss me like you are saying goodbye. Do you understand me?”
“Addie—”
“Maybe I’m wrong to hold onto you. I mean, damn it, Creed. If you can’t love me enough to trust me with everything that you are, then you don’t love me enough for me to be with you.” I push out of his arms and rush away, and I’m crushed when he doesn’t even try to stop me. “Damn you, Creed,” I whisper, and I have to force my shoulders back before I enter the restaurant.
Chapter Forty-One
Creed
I enter the administrative wing of the hospital, intent on seeing Katie and asking her what the fuck she was thinking sending Addie to that meeting. Leaving Addie at that restaurant knowing what she would learn—about me and my time inside the Zodius operation—is destroying me.
Heads turn as I pass offices—the lab technicians and various scientific minds staring after me as I pass, no doubt wondering why I’m here and what menace I bring with me. It’s the dread people feel in my presence that is getting really damn old. The kind of fear Addie will find in those women she is lunching with upon the mention of my name.
With dread in my gut, I round the corner to a lab Katie favors and find her standing behind a table. Her gaze snaps upward, as if she senses my agitation.
She reacts immediately, rounding the table and motioning for me to follow her—no fear whatsoever in her, but there’s apprehension. Christ. Do I really want to know what she has to say?
Like one of Julian’s damn wolves, I follow her like an obedient pup, entering the cracker-box-sized room and standing, arms crossed in front of my chest, legs planted firmly on the floor, as I await the bad news.
“Have a seat,” Katie orders, shutting the door and then claiming the rolling chair.
I don’t even think about sitting. “Why would you send Addie to that lunch? Those women—”
“Need to be grateful you saved their lives. After Addie gets done with them, they will be. And this gives her much-needed purpose here in Sunrise City. It also gives us time to talk.” She points to the chair. “I have your bloodwork.”