Total pages in book: 39
Estimated words: 36597 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 183(@200wpm)___ 146(@250wpm)___ 122(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 36597 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 183(@200wpm)___ 146(@250wpm)___ 122(@300wpm)
She sat up and pulled her socks off, putting them in the tops of her boots so she didn’t have to look for them later. “Not a good idea,” she mumbled. “Will slow me down if we have to leave in a hurry.”
“Don’t you worry ’bout that none,” he said, his American Southern accent prominent. She loved the sound of it. So smooth and welcoming. His voice was deep, and the timbre settled into her body and lulled her. She wanted to wrap herself up in his warmth and soothing appearance and just sleep for a week. But that was a dream. He was too close to her sister for her to start anything with him. As evidenced by Venus’s reaction to them sleeping together. Even if all they’d done was sleep. “I’ll take care of any of that.”
“Was that Giovanni earlier?”
“That last call? Yeah. Said from what he was able to pick up, this was the first meet before your sister was turned over. They’re supposed to leave this morning and return in two days. Apparently, they live ten hours out.”
“They didn’t fly?”
“Nah. Didn’t want to log a flight plan, and this place is remote enough they’d have to land in a larger city. Guessin’ it’d be easier to drive the girl out than to try to fly her. To say nothing of the paper trail.”
“So we need to go for her tonight.”
“Yes. Which means we need rest. How long has it been since you slept?”
She snorted. “Since Venus bit my head off.”
He chuckled. “Yeah. I hear ya. Before that.”
“Two? Days?”
“About what I thought. Sleep, sugar. I got your back.”
Surprisingly, she did. She pulled the sleeping bag up to her chin, tucked her chin to her chest, then let blackness take her.
Chapter Five
When Millie woke up, Shadow was wrapped around her, her head pillowed on his big bicep. She was warm and comfortable, other than an urgent need to relieve her bladder. The very last thing in the whole fucking world she wanted to do was move.
Shadow nuzzled her neck, and she stretched automatically, allowing him better access. “Need the bushes?”
She barked out a startled laugh. “Yeah. Guess I do. What time is it?”
“Still early afternoon. One.”
“We need to get up?”
“Nah. Still got at least eight hours. We both need to sleep while we can. Especially you. You’re the one taking all the risks.”
“Only doing what’s necessary. Besides, she’s my sister. My responsibility.”
“She’s a scared young girl. Which makes her someone we all want to help.” He nuzzled her neck again. “You know, Giovanni said Merrily found the communication with Venus’s contact in the FSK. She was very informative and level-headed. Giovanni found her by using the information she passed on. We all are looking forward to meeting her. We all want to help her.”
“I didn’t mean to imply no one wanted to help her, Shadow.”
“You didn’t. Just realize you don’t have to do it alone. Venus should be here with you, yes. But you two need to put to rest this bad blood between you. You were both young when you escaped. As much as you wanted to save Katya, she wanted to save you both. She had you. There was no guarantee she could get Katya out without all three of you getting killed. Venus had to make a hard choice, and she chose to save the sister she had her hands on.”
“I never thought of it that way.”
“Yeah? You’ve got several hours to think about it now.”
Millie brushed at her eyes where moisture had gathered. “I suppose I do.” Taking a breath, she sat up. “I’ll be right back. Need those bushes now.”
More than the bushes, Millie needed to think. About Venus. About Shadow. While she knew she and her sister could mend their problems, she had no idea what to do with Shadow, or, more importantly, her reactions to him. He was… larger than life to her. There was a calming vibe that seemed to radiate from him, but also a hidden streak of violence underneath she sensed was just waiting to explode.
When she returned to the Humvee, she found Shadow leaning against the truck looking all casual. Millie knew in reality he was anything but.
“You waiting out here for me?”
“Just thought I’d get a little fresh air myself,” he said, but Millie could see the way he relaxed the moment she was in sight. “Did a quick check.” He raised his phone. “Everything’s good.”
“With your phone?”
“Uh, yeah.” He opened the hatch on the Humvee. “Giovanni installed an app. Lets me monitor everything same as he does.”
“He still watching, too?”
“Oh, yeah. But I’m not keen on leaving our protection to others. At least not all of it.” He held out his hand for her and Millie took it. He helped her inside, climbing in behind her and closing the door. “We should be good for another few hours.” Shadow lay back on the floor of the Humvee, once again putting his hands behind his head and crossing his legs. With a sigh he closed his eyes.