Total pages in book: 36
Estimated words: 33658 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 168(@200wpm)___ 135(@250wpm)___ 112(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 33658 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 168(@200wpm)___ 135(@250wpm)___ 112(@300wpm)
My hands fly up. “I told you—”
“I know you don’t want to talk about this, but I do. I’d been hacking illegally. I was cocky enough to think I could hack the government and get away with it. And I did, but they tracked me down. I was given an option. Prison, or enlist and my grandmother would be cared for. It was all rapid fire, and I wasn’t given time to consider my options.”
“Oh. I see. You—”
“Broke the law. I was desperate to care for my grandmother. And far from mature enough to understand that desperate is a bad place to operate from. I was looking forward to our date. I even wanted to ask them to give me that one night, but that wasn’t going to be an option. And then later, when I thought I’d come see you, I didn’t know how to tell you I was breaking the law; therefore, I was basically on military arrest.”
“But you are now?”
“It seems more important that you know that I didn’t dismiss you or forget you than it does hiding what I can’t change. It happened. It’s who I was then. It’s not who I am now.”
I consider him a long moment, and my heart squeezes over the way he cared for his grandmother and the way he’s described wanting to stay to see me again. “I think it is, but Jensen, I think that’s a good thing.”
“I’m not sure what that means, Layla.”
“You’re here, fourteen years later, risking your life for your country, just like you risked everything for your grandmother. I know you could have gotten out if you’d wanted to, but you stayed, and you’re here now fighting to save me and the world. That makes you a good man, Jensen. And I’m honestly lucky to have the chance to fight by your side, in my own way.”
Abruptly, the door to the apartment opens, and my heart lurches.
Jensen tenses and holds up a hand. “Stay where you are,” he orders softly, already on his feet and facing the door in confrontation of the two soldiers dressed in desert fatigues who’ve just entered the quarters.
“What do you want?” he demands, his shoulders tense, squared for battle, while I’m on my feet just as ready, expecting the worst.
And that’s what I get. “We’re to escort the woman to the lab,” one of them states.
“All right,” Jensen agrees calmly, his gaze unwaveringly locked on the other man. “We’ll go to the lab.”
“Not you,” the other soldier corrects and jerks his head to me. “Just you.”
My heart explodes in my chest. Without Jensen, I’ll face Tad on my own, and that man terrifies me.
“Where she goes, I go,” Jensen declares. “That’s non-negotiable.”
Both soldiers move in unison, their hands settling on their weapons in their hip holsters. “We have orders,” one of them states. “She comes alone.”
The idea that Jensen ends up bloody again, and maybe dead this time, is too much for me to handle. “I’ll go,” I state, and when Jensen’s gaze jerks to mine, I add, “I’ll be fine. I really do need a lab to do my work.”
“Forget it,” he states. He’s hardheaded, I’m learning quickly.
I round the table and step to his side, glancing up at him. “I have to do this. I’ll be okay.”
The two soldiers raise their weapons and point them at Jensen, while one of them states, “She’ll be okay, but you might not be.”
“I’m going,” I say softly, and take a step forward.
Jensen captures my arm, and I rotate to face him, my palms landing on his chest, his own heart thundering beneath my touch. “I will be okay,” I vow. “I need you to be, too. Then you can take me on that date you still owe me.”
His eyes soften, a mix of anger and fear, but there is tenderness in the depths of his stare, meant for me and me alone. “I would like that very much.”
The idea that I may never see him again is too much. I can’t take it, and I dare to push to my toes and kiss him. He cups my head, his mouth slanting over mine, a deep lick of his tongue before he whispers, “Don’t cross Tad or Julian.”
“Let’s go!” One of the soldiers commands.
Jensen’s hands fall away from me, the warmth of his touch transforming into a chill I feel inside and out. I back away from him, from the torment in his eyes that must mimic what is in mine as well, and I rotate and allow the guards to guide me out of the room and into the hallway.
Chapter fourteen
Jensen
I’m sitting at the table, looking through the documents that were delivered for Layla, and I toss one of the folders down. It’s all I can do to not pace, not shout out Julian’s name, and demand to see him. But I know Julian all too well. If I make Layla seem too important to me, he’ll use her as a weapon against me. But an hour into suffering in her absence, worried over what might be happening with and to Layla right now, holy fuck. The man is not a fool. He knows I was with Layla when they kidnapped her. They know I all but died to try and save her from this place. At the very least, he knows I want her to aid the Renegades. So why am I fucking hiding from the truth.