Total pages in book: 156
Estimated words: 160192 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 801(@200wpm)___ 641(@250wpm)___ 534(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 160192 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 801(@200wpm)___ 641(@250wpm)___ 534(@300wpm)
“When I turned eighteen I moved to South America. I traveled around a lot. And no, I’ve never had much of an accent. Sometimes we keep in touch.”
Huh.
How did he manage to say stuff without really saying anything?
That was definitely a skill.
“Here, baby girl. Leave North alone and eat some more food.”
“Sorry, Northie,” she said, feeling bad.
North just shrugged and finished eating.
She ate the rest of her sandwich then Jared held the iced coffee up for her to sip from. The ice had melted but it was still amazing.
“Why didn’t you tell me that you knew who had killed Rex?” she asked.
That part kind of hurt.
She’d have thought that they might have confided in her.
“We didn’t want you worried about this,” Jared said. “It’s our job to shield you. From everything.”
She shook her head in disagreement. “I know you think it is. But I’m an adult, even though I’m also a Little. I can cope with knowing the bad stuff as well as the good. And shouldn’t I know if there’s a threat?”
“I thought a severed head would certainly be a clue that there was a threat,” North said.
Well. North wasn’t wrong.
“We just want to keep you as shielded and as happy as possible.” Jared cupped the side of her face. He grabbed a napkin and started cleaning her up.
She frowned.
“But perhaps we should have warned you in this instance and then you wouldn’t have run off,” Jared said. He raised an eyebrow.
Sheesh.
“You’re not going to let that go, are you?” she grumbled.
“Not for a long time. Now, it’s time for a little girl to have a nap.”
“I’m not tired.” She pouted.
Then she yawned.
Well. That sucked. It was like her body was trying to betray her.
Rude.
“I would say that you do.” North drew the curtains while Jared dimmed the lights and put her bed down so she was lying flat.
Then he sat beside her and gently massaged her scalp.
“I really don’t think I can sleep, Daddy,” she complained. “This is pointless.”
“Hmm, what about if Daddy sings you a lullaby?”
She eyed him suspiciously. “Do you know any of those?”
“Do I know any of those?” Jared gave her an offended look. “Of course I do.”
He started singing in a surprisingly good voice. To her shock, her eyelids started to close and she snuggled in under the covers.
“That’s it, baby. Just sleep. Good girl.”
She drifted off.
59
“Do you think she’s totally out?” North asked.
“Yeah, seems to be. She’s making that small snuffling noise that she makes when she’s asleep. It’s so cute.”
“You are in deep,” North told him.
“And you’re not?” Jared asked.
“I suppose so. I still don’t really know what love is.”
“It’s when you don’t want to imagine your life without the other person in it. That it would be bleak. And not worth living.”
North nodded. “I suppose I feel that way about both of you.”
“Then I suppose you must love both of us,” Jared told him.
He guessed he must. That was strange. But not unexpected. For a while now he had felt that way. Especially about Jared.
But with Angie, things felt different too. Because she was far more delicate. Vulnerable.
Protecting her had become far more important.
“We cannot allow her to be harmed,” he said.
“She won’t be.” Jared frowned. “Did Sarah say much?”
“She apologized over and over for not telling us that Antony was missing. She was . . . happy, I think. Worried he’d return. Scared about why he wasn’t coming back. And she’s now relieved to learn of his death. I didn’t tell her that we had just learned that he abused her. That we’d intended to take care of him ourselves.”
Jared nodded. “Yeah, probably a good idea. We don’t really want that getting out to the rest of the family.”
“She didn’t want the body. Didn’t care about a funeral. All she wants is to take her kids and leave.”
“We owe her that. Make it happen.”
“Already set things in motion,” North replied. “Tell me what happened with the Fox.”
Jared relayed everything. North frowned. “I’ve got men everywhere through the hospital, but I still don’t like it. We need to get her home where we can take care of her. And then I need to go hunting for Beltran.”
“And I don’t like that. I don’t want you putting yourself at risk.”
“I can do this. And if I don’t go after him, then he will just keep coming for you. Or the person he’s hired will.”
Jared stared at him for a long moment. “You’re not expendable, North. You matter. To her and to me. I don’t want you at risk.”
“And I don’t want either of you at risk. I can do this, Jared. Nothing will happen to me.”
Taking out Beltran would remove that threat and then the only one left was The Collective.
North was growing worried about why his handler wasn’t replying to him. Why wasn’t he messaging him about his mission?