Total pages in book: 29
Estimated words: 26999 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 135(@200wpm)___ 108(@250wpm)___ 90(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 26999 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 135(@200wpm)___ 108(@250wpm)___ 90(@300wpm)
I catch his hand. “Creed—”
“Don’t let West touch you again. I won’t be able to control my reaction. You need to understand that. It’s not a choice. It’s the mark. It’s nature.”
“I don’t even know what that means.”
“And I hope you never do. There’s a lot I don’t want you to understand, but you will. I can’t stop it from happening anymore.”
“What does that mean?” I repeat, but it’s too late for answers.
He pushes off the door, forcing me to scramble as it starts to open. A second later, Creed has disappeared.
Chapter Ten
A little old lady appears at the entrance to the bathroom, scoffing at my obvious disarray. I back away, offering her space, running a self-conscious hand down my flared black skirt, thankful the silky material doesn’t easily wrinkle. The woman disappears inside a stall, but not before a glance at my buttons on the floor and then me. Jolted by her silent observation, I slide out of my now buttonless jacket and slip it over my arm. The elderly woman is out of sight at this point, and I step to the sink to inspect my image in the mirror. My hair is a mess, and there is a glob of smudged lipstick on my jaw and chin. I fix the mess and lean in for one last inspection…and I frown at what I find, my heart suddenly racing as my eyes dilate and change, fading from green to black and back again. I gasp, panic threatening to overtake me. I lean in closer, as if this angle will somehow change the reality of what I’m seeing. But it doesn’t. My eyes are one hundred percent no longer green. They are black—so black that against my pale skin with my blonde hair pulled neatly back at my nape, they all but consume my face.
I press my hand to my forehead. This can’t be happening. I’ve read all the lifebond research Ava left at Area 51, and, per her work, I can't fully convert without a blood exchange with Creed. We are not fully linked until that happens. My mind races with the possibility that the lifebond process has evolved, that Creed might know it too, and that he might be using our bond to get to Red Dart and my father.
No, I think, rejecting this idea. I don’t want to believe that of Creed. And I don’t believe he’s betraying Caleb, even if he’s lied to me. He had reasons—personal reasons—that mean nothing when it comes to the serious way he’s always taken his job as a protector of his country. But either way, this thing, whatever it is, is happening to me. I’m changing.
I grab the sink again with both hands, my knees wobbling. “What have you done to me, Creed?” I whisper.
Chapter Eleven
Creed
Only minutes after leaving Addie in the hotel restroom, I appear on the roof, damn thankful that Caleb has not arrived yet, pacing off my raging energy. I’m coming out of my skin, reveling in the memory of holding Addie, tortured by how I want to claim her fully, aware of how wrong that would be of me.
I’m not like the other GTECHs. I have no idea what her bond with me will do to her over time. Hell, I don’t know if staying away from her will save her, but it has so far.
I run a hand over my face, tension rippling through every muscle of my body. I told myself I’m still a man of control, a man who, despite my close proximity to Julian, managed to hold a line of right versus wrong. I never went too far on the wrong side of that line. Yet when I’d seen Brock West touch Addie, I’d felt the lust rolling off of that bastard, and I’d been ready to kill. Had Addie not come to me when she did…Well, I don’t know what would have happened.
The wind shifts ever so slightly, and Caleb materializes, quickly assessing my edginess. “How’d it go with Addie?”
I force myself to stop pacing, one hand on my jean-clad hip. “She’s agreed to copy the hard drive.”
Caleb narrowed his gaze. “Did you tell her you are no longer undercover inside Zodius?”
“Not directly, but I think she assumed. She’s concerned that she’s a weapon that can be used against us all.”
“And you said?"
“Not enough. I didn’t want to scare her when we can’t pull her out of here, not yet.”
He studies me a moment and says, “I’m sorry, man. I know you don’t want her involved in this. If I could turn back time and—”
“You didn’t do this, Caleb,” I say, cutting him off. “Her father did. He’s the reason that she is back on Julian’s radar. Why the hell did he bring her back here from Germany? I should have killed that SOB when I had the blade to his throat.”