Total pages in book: 92
Estimated words: 84544 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 423(@200wpm)___ 338(@250wpm)___ 282(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 84544 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 423(@200wpm)___ 338(@250wpm)___ 282(@300wpm)
“Sure. Why would you lie about something like that?”
His companion stared at him for a bit before finally shaking his head and chuckling. “I have never met anyone like you.”
“I’m not sure if that’s a good thing or a bad thing.” But regardless of the answer, he was still smiling because the sound of Kairo’s laughter made him happy.
With a soft sigh, Kairo leaned his head back against the wall and tilted it to the side so that he lightly bumped into Isidore’s, resting there. “A good thing. I’ve met a lot of not-great people and a hell of a lot of bad people in this line of work. You’re nothing like them, and it’s really…really fucking nice.”
Isidore could feel himself blushing and glowing and grinning like an idiot, but he didn’t care a single drop. Kairo liked him. Thought he was different in a good way. He probably wasn’t attracted to him. He wasn’t entirely sure if Kairo might be gay or bi or what because he hadn’t given any hints. But if he couldn’t have Kairo interested in him in that way, he could settle for Kairo viewing him as a friend or that adorable little brother who was adept at finding trouble.
“My friends and I parted with the CIA a few years ago,” Kairo continued, pulling Isidore from his idle daydreams of Kairo falling for him. “We decided to go into business for ourselves since we had this unique set of skills and a love of travel.”
“I’m so happy this job could offer you this stunning view of Meteora. It’s a view only a tiny number of people in the entire world have seen.” Isidore waved his hands out in front of them, motioning to the small, white-walled room that was their prison.
To his delight, Kairo chuckled as he’d hoped. “It is a side of Greece that I was never expecting to see.” The mercenary sat up, sliding to the edge of the bed as if he were planning to return to his spot at the desk to resume his work.
“If you want,” Isidore quickly began in hopes of stopping him from moving away, “after all this is over, I can take you on a tour of Greece. Anywhere you want to go. The Oracle of Delphi. The site of the first Olympics. Or maybe we go out to the islands. Each one is so beautiful with their own culture and customs. I know so much of our history. I could tell you all the stories about our past.”
Kairo seemed to flinch, and his smile slipped, becoming thin and brittle as if he were struggling to keep it on his lips.
Isidore’s heart became a lead weight in his chest, crushing down on his other organs. “Oh. Right. You probably want to get away from Greece as quickly as possible after this is all over.”
Kairo immediately twisted around to face Isidore while his hand tightly gripped his knee. “No! That’s not it at all,” he argued, kickstarting Isidore’s heart. “Sightseeing across Greece would be great. Even better with a knowledgeable local taking me to all the best places. It’s just that my mom is an archeologist. I’m Egyptian on my father’s side. I’ve spent way too much of my life hearing about ancient history, artifacts, and ruins.”
“Santorini has amazing beaches,” Isidore countered, his voice trembling slightly. He could barely drag his brain away from the heat seeping through his slacks from Kairo’s hand. He just had to keep talking so Kairo wouldn’t stop touching him. “We have a house on the island. I could take you to all the best beaches on Santorini. And then we can take a boat out into the sea, check out some more islands. No ruins or history. Just relaxing and fun. I promise.”
A wide smile spread across Kairo’s lips and his hand squeezed his knee, fingertips digging into his thigh. High brain function was shutting down as blood flowed south to a needier part of his body.
“That sounds amazing,” Kairo murmured in a low voice. “But are you sure? I thought you’d be happy to get rid of me and all memory of what’s happened to you and your sister?”
His tongue became tied in his mouth. Why in God’s name would he ever want to forget about this? Meeting Kairo was one of the best moments of his life. Luckily, some working part of his brain quickly reminded him that he was also being held prisoner along with his sister and their lives were in grave danger. Yeah. That.
He was trying to find the words to explain that his mind didn’t associate any of his bad experiences with Kairo. If anything, the man was the one bright spot in this mess. But gunshots echoed through the house from the lower floors and words never came out.