Total pages in book: 80
Estimated words: 75968 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 380(@200wpm)___ 304(@250wpm)___ 253(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 75968 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 380(@200wpm)___ 304(@250wpm)___ 253(@300wpm)
He soaked up my words like a dry sponge that was suddenly damp. “There’s a lot of stuff that happens in Paris that most people don’t know about. The French Emperors have been a secret society that has existed on and off for centuries, founded by Napoleon Bonaparte before he became the first French Emperor. It was an important part of his strategy, to take hold of the country from the inside out. Over the centuries, the organization has changed, faded into the background, and then come into prominence when the Republic needed it. It’s grown to what it is now, protecting the Republic in the shadows. We have partners all over the world, and those people are the best sources of information for global terrorism and other threats to the Republic and our allies. I report what I hear to our generals.”
All I knew was the man before me, the man with a heart full of justice and kindness. It was easy to forget his position in light of that. “I had no idea.”
“I’m a descendant of Napoleon—on my mother’s side.”
“Wow.”
“We still have a couple things that once belonged to him. The Aristocrats allowed me to keep them because it’s mine by blood.”
“Allowed?” Bastien didn’t seem like a man who needed permission.
“Their intentions started pure, but they’ve become extremists through the generations. They are more like a cult these days, declaring war on anyone who doesn’t revere the French Republic. I thought Oscar was more practical than his peers, but I learned the hard way that he wasn’t.”
I shouldn’t care enough to ask this question, but a part of me would always care. “Do—do you think they’ll try to kill Adrien?”
Bastien didn’t bullshit me. He never did. “Absolutely.”
“Would they spare him if he gave them what he wanted?”
“This isn’t your problem, sweetheart. I warned him many times. He got himself into this mess, and even when he had a way out, he still didn’t take it. Your concern is misplaced.” He spoke calmly, like my interest in my ex’s well-being didn’t upset him.
“What about you?” I asked. “Will…will they try to kill you because you killed Oscar?”
He stared at me across the table, the light coming through the window and striking his face with the most beautiful glow. His eyes were like pools of clear blue water. “That’s my problem, not yours.”
“It is my problem, Bastien.”
“I’ll handle it, like I always do,” he said calmly. “Don’t waste another minute worrying about it.”
“Do you have a plan? Are you going to kill them first?”
He smirked. “That sounds like the opposite of not worrying.”
I appreciated the fact that he tried to shield me from sources of nightmares and shadows of anxiety, but he was the single most important person in my life, and the idea of losing him scared the shit out of me. “I fucking love you, so how am I not supposed to worry?” I raised my voice more than I should, but my frustration got the best of me.
His smile was brighter than the sun on a summer day. He relaxed in the chair, arms across his chest, staring me down with blue eyes that were both soft and amused at the same time.
His mood had completely changed, and I didn’t know why. “What?”
“How many times are you going to tell me you love me before you realize what you’re saying?” He cocked his head, that smile still wide on his mouth.
A tornado of anxiety burst in my chest and turned every organ and bone upside down. Fear hit me like a ton of bricks because I was scared. I’d gone to sleep one night, and then I woke up to a whole new life, a life I hadn’t wanted. But the roots I’d planted were too deep to run. My addiction to this man was so strong that a detox would kill me. It had all happened so fast, and it wasn’t until that very moment that I’d stopped to take a breath and accept this reality. It had always felt temporary, a moment in time that I should treasure before it was gone, but now, I knew this was it.
This was forever.
“I—I forgot I have a doctor’s appointment.” I grabbed my book and stuffed it into my bag, feeling his hard stare on my face. “I’ll see you later.” I left my chair and slid between our table and our neighbor’s before I passed behind him.
He didn’t order me to sit down. Didn’t force me to face the conversation like a man.
He just let me go.
I went across town to Mason Louvard to get one of their famous crookies, a chocolate chip cookie baked into a croissant, my go-to when I wanted to eat my feelings. But there weren’t enough crookies in the world to make this unease go away.