Total pages in book: 136
Estimated words: 125037 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 625(@200wpm)___ 500(@250wpm)___ 417(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 125037 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 625(@200wpm)___ 500(@250wpm)___ 417(@300wpm)
Everything in her settled. Leila knew herself very well. She was the type of woman who needed and wanted certain things in her life. In her man. Everything was right here. In this place with this man. She nodded toward Nonny, but her attention was centered on Diego.
I am falling in love with you, she admitted. She turned her head to look up at him. The look on his face sent a million butterfly wings brushing along the walls of her stomach.
Grateful you’re finally catching up, Warrior Woman. He smiled, that slow, sweet, real smile that transformed him if only briefly, but the warmth remained. I fell like a ton of bricks before I ever got near you. Watching you defend your sister and Luther did it for me. I could barely take my eyes off you long enough to back you up.
She knew it was true because when they spoke with a telepathic intimate connection between them, he couldn’t hide any emotion from her. He certainly couldn’t hide a lie. He actually had felt that way about her when she had a gun in her hand. Many men wouldn’t.
My feelings for you have grown stronger every single day, even when I didn’t believe they could get deeper, he continued. But seeing you in every capacity, as a woman, as a mother, it’s impossible not to love you more.
He could melt any woman’s heart. She was grateful it was hers he was after. I didn’t know I could trust a man the way I trust you. I didn’t think it was possible. And I never believed I would ever want to give a man the chance to prove himself.
Again, his fingers stroked through her hair, and he leaned down to kiss the top of her head. It was those little touches that made her feel so much a part of him. Other women might not like their men to connect physically when others were around, but she realized that was a huge part of the attraction to Diego.
“I haven’t been the most trusting woman in the world, Nonny,” Leila revealed. “Diego changed that for me. He makes me feel like the most important person in his world. It really is all him. Just the fact that he finds my atrocious sense of humor funny shows you he’s meant for me.”
“She’s never going to keep a straight face when little Gracie acts up,” Nonny informed Diego. “Berengere could never keep a straight face at our boys’ antics. I had to learn to do that, although the ridiculous things my grandsons got up to were so hysterical I’d have to go into my room and smother my laughter with a pillow.”
Leila could picture Nonny doing just that. She seemed so at peace with herself. She had a pipe in one hand and a shotgun leaning against the wall close to her other hand. She appeared serene and perfectly content. Being close to someone who gave off those low waves of energy, so low it was soothing…she wanted that not just for her daughter but for her sister.
“Did your grandson tell you about my sister, Bridget?” she asked. Her voice sounded strangled.
It was difficult to know she was in such a good, safe place while Bridget could be enduring the worst of Whitney. The man was a sadist as far as she was concerned. She had to get to her sister as soon as possible. They had to settle Grace in a safe place before they went after Bridget. The planning was already in motion. Ezekiel and Joe would be holding a meeting as soon as they worked out the mission. In the meantime, Diego was ensuring Leila and Grace felt safe as he introduced them to what would be their new home.
“Yes, he did. Ezekiel told me most of it, including that you had a good woman lookin’ after Grace for you.”
“Marcy Chariot. She looked after me before I ever had Grace. When Gracie came, she acted like a grandmother. I’m sure she’s missing her.”
Nonny turned those all-seeing eyes on her. “And you, Leila. She must be missing you and wondering if you’re all right.”
Leila smiled at the thought. Marcy had been in her life since she was ten and terrified out of her mind. Her parents had died, and they took her sister away from her. There was only Marcy to comfort her. It was Marcy who, despite shifts at a hospital, would see to her every need. If she could have, Leila knew Marcy would have taken her into her home.
In all honesty, Leila missed Marcy and wanted to check in with her. She understood why she needed to wait to contact her, especially since they were going to launch an attack against the elusive Whitney. He seemed to escape unscathed each time anyone hunted him. This time, the GhostWalkers weren’t involving anyone higher up. They weren’t about to reveal their plans to anyone, although Luther guessed and wanted to go along. Someone always tipped Whitney off, and he would leave before he could be captured or killed.