Total pages in book: 144
Estimated words: 135382 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 677(@200wpm)___ 542(@250wpm)___ 451(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 135382 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 677(@200wpm)___ 542(@250wpm)___ 451(@300wpm)
“I believe you, but Stephanie, how will you teach him to love himself if you can’t do the same? Forgiving oneself is something you have to decide to do. I’m here if you want to talk, but I otherwise think you’re doing fairly well at handling things. When you find the true meaning in what happened to you, that’s the moment you’ll forgive yourself.”
Meaning. There was no meaning in what had happened. There had been only death and pain and long years of misery. Avery thought saving people in Africa made up for the horror of that night, but it wasn’t true.
It wasn’t a calling. It was penance.
Did she intend to force Nate to live in her version of Purgatory? She’d stayed away from the States because she could pretend to be someone else when she wasn’t here. She could separate Stephanie, the idiot teenage girl, from the selfless doctor, but something had changed when she’d met Brody. She’d wanted, really wanted something for herself. For the first time, she’d wanted to be free of the cage she’d put herself in.
Avery had opened the door years before. The cage was no longer locked because Avery’s kindness had busted it open.
But Steph was still inside. She might always stay inside. Could she keep Nate in there with her?
“Ah, there it is.” Kai turned the tablet her way. “Journalist. Verslaggever is Dutch for journalist or reporter. Now that’s interesting.”
It was, but her mind was somewhere else. She tried to shove all the dark thoughts back and concentrate on the problem at hand.
“Can we call Adam Miles and see if he can run a search to see if anyone’s missing a Dutch journalist?” Steph asked.
“I’m on it.” Kai smiled like this was going to be a fun afternoon.
She wasn’t sure about fun, but she’d learned a lot. Not all of it welcome. She turned to the job at hand, trying not to think about the future…or the past.
Chapter Nine
Brody nodded at Wade Rycroft as the door swung open, allowing him into Club Sanctum. The big dark-haired former cowboy was not only a bodyguard employed by McKay-Taggart, but he served as the club’s Dom-in-residence.
“Carter, good to see you.” He started walking up with his hand out but stopped as Brody walked in and he got a good look at the fact that he wasn’t alone. “Whoa. When did you have a kid, man? Or is that a new fashion accessory?”
Taggart had sent over something called a sling. Naturally, because he was a bastard, the sling was pink. “Big Tag swears by the sling. This is my son, Nathan Avery Carter.”
“Except his last name is actually Gibson because he refused to call the mother of his child back,” Tucker explained. “He’s not good with women.”
“And this is my…partner while I’m over here. He’s one of the lads from Dr. McDonald’s experiments. Apparently, we can’t lock them up forever so I had to take this one out in the field. Ignore him completely,” Brody said. “I was told I could set up in the conference room for the afternoon while Steph is working with Kai.”
Wade nodded. “Sure thing. I think I’ve got that information you wanted, too.”
“I thought you were protecting the royal couple.” Brody followed him through the lobby, hearing the locks on the front doors resetting. Anyone else coming in would need a key card, or someone with access to one. Not that he expected guests. The club had a gate around it as well. Having the first Sanctum blown up by a double agent had obviously taught Tag a thing or two about security.
“They’re not as exciting and fun as I’d expected a king and queen to be,” Wade said as he moved toward the big conference room. “They mostly watch movies or work out. Never together. They eat meals as fast as they can and then go back to doing things alone.”
“And when they think no one is looking, they stare longingly at each other,” a new voice said. “It kind of makes me sick. Shouldn’t arranged marriages be less emotional? I kind of thought that was the point.”
“Brody Carter, this is our resident romantic, Declan Burke,” Wade said with a bite of sarcasm. “He’s got day duty with me and then he’s providing security for the party tonight.”
“Because what you need when you’re hiding from royal assassins is a play party,” Burke replied. “You think if the assassins show up, Big Tag wants us to spank ’em?”
“You know he’s doing this because Kash is going stir crazy,” Wade replied.
“I think Tag is doing that thing where it looks like he’s doing one thing, but he’s actually being a gossipy matchmaker. Again, didn’t realize this job would be so touchy-feely.” The big guy’s brow rose over one eye. “Or that there would be all those babies. What’s up with all the kids? Most people leave them at daycares or something.”