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)
“They weren’t my men.”
“And these men, the ones you’re traveling with, planned to kill her.”
“I’m aware.” Terry didn’t defend himself or try to explain that he would have protected Leila if he could.
“They planned to murder you.”
“I’m aware,” Terry repeated.
“You tell your commanding officer if he persists, he’s going to have a war with the GhostWalkers on his hands. Won’t be difficult to find me if he wants to pursue this.”
“They want Leila back. Is she alive?”
“You tell them to leave it alone.”
“And it’s over?”
“I’m not making any promises.” Diego left it at that. He slipped back into the forest and waited until Terry made up his mind to start back up the trail. Only then did he do cleanup, depositing the bodies with the others in the gorge.
7
Leila had never met a man like Diego Campos. If someone had told her about him, she would have laughed at them. Called them a dreamer. A believer in fairy tales. She’d been around men since she was ten and she’d never come across a single man like Diego.
How he managed to get her to his cabin, she had no idea. In a way, his strength was frightening. He had a will of iron. Having known him now for several days, she felt he was undefeatable. She knew he made a relentless, merciless enemy, but he was the sweetest, gentlest man she’d ever known.
She looked around the cabin. It was surprisingly neat—and homey.
“I hope you’re hungry,” Diego said, breaking the silence.
Leila thought that over. It wasn’t exactly silent. There was music outside the cabin, the wind blowing through the trees, the continual buzz and call of insects. She found that her ability to hear was even better than it had been—and she’d always had excellent hearing.
Night had fallen by the time they made it to the cabin. Diego had to be exhausted. He’d carried her the entire way, insisting on taking the smoothest trails so he wouldn’t jar her. He seemed to know each time she felt like she couldn’t take the pain anymore, and he’d call a halt, acting as if he were the one who needed the break.
When they reached the cabin, he’d allowed her to rest, and then he took her into the shower. He didn’t seem in the least embarrassed to strip down to his boxers while he washed every trace of blood and dirt from her. He took his time with her hair, shampooing it twice and conditioning it. She should have found the experience mortifying, but instead, she enjoyed every second of his care. She’d never had anyone treat her the way he did.
He wrapped her in towels and sat her in an extremely comfortable rocker while he dried her hair with a towel and then braided it for her. He seemed to have energy in reserve because after he found her a clean shirt from his pack, he started chopping vegetables for dinner.
Were there really men like Diego in the world? She didn’t think so, but he was living proof. Watching him work in the kitchen was actually mortifying when showering with him wasn’t. She could hunt down a target and kill them, but she had no real idea of how to cook a single thing. Just learning to heat up bottles for Grace had been challenging. She had no interest in cooking—until now. She wanted to be able to make Diego something so she’d have it ready when he got home after a long day.
Leila felt the color rising under her skin. What was she thinking? That the three of them, Gracie, Diego and her, were going to be a family? That was ludicrous. She was beginning to believe in fairy tales, and it had to stop.
At that precise moment, as if he had radar or was locked into her, Diego half turned, looking straight at her. “What is it, sweetheart?”
He did that. He called her “sweetheart.” “Honey.” Once or twice, it had been “baby” in a soft, velvety tone that kept her from telling him she was no baby. She liked it when he called her those things. She especially liked when he called her “Warrior Woman.”
She shot him a faint smile because how could she not? He was so beautiful to her, standing there in the kitchen with the single light shining on him. His hair gleamed from the quick shower he’d taken. He wore soft jeans that clung to his narrow hips and butt quite lovingly. It was the thin tee stretched over his chest and abs that caught her attention. He had more muscle than she’d realized, yet she should have known. He’d carried her all that way without breaking a sweat.
Placing the tongs he’d been using on the stove, Diego turned to face her fully. “Leila? Tell me what’s distressing you.”