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)
“That’s all true,” Leila agreed. She sank into the rocking chair and was a little surprised at how comfortable it was. Just like the chairs in his home, these were hand carved. “But you aren’t looking at the entire picture, Diego. If the world knew that Whitney had introduced animal and reptilian DNA into you, the backlash would be horrendous. People don’t like anything different. The prejudice against you would skyrocket. Those of you with various types of genetic differences would face unimaginable discrimination. Your kind wouldn’t be tolerated.”
“We’re aware.” Diego didn’t look at her. In fact, he stepped back, his hand dropping away from hers, his mind abruptly retreating from hers.
Leila looked up at him. As with most occasions, his features were expressionless, but there was something in his eyes—disappointment? Hurt? What had she said that triggered that kind of reaction in him? He had to know what she said was the truth. He had to have been aware of the reaction people would have to them. He said he was aware, so why the withdrawal?
“Diego, what’s going on?”
He turned back to her, his eyes hard. “ ‘Your kind wouldn’t be tolerated’?” His voice was low, sounding like the lash of a whip.
Instantly, she heard what he’d heard. “I’m so sorry for wording it that way,” she apologized. “I’m the same as you when it comes to genetic engineering. I sometimes, when I’m trying to understand other points of view, put myself in their place to try to get out of my own head. I don’t like forming arguments until I’ve listened and actually heard what the other person is saying to me. In this case, I was trying to make a case from someone else’s point of view. But you have to know if there is a ‘your kind,’ I’m part of that with you.”
As apologies went, it wasn’t the best explanation. She had a bad habit of stepping outside herself when she was discussing anything controversial. It had always been important to her to hear the other side of something, even if it ended up making no sense to her.
“You just saw one of my flaws, Diego. I have a lot of them.”
He paced away from her and came back, the restless movements of a caged tiger. She recognized that he had far too many predatory traits to be able to stay indoors long. She had no idea how he’d managed to stay with her in the little den he’d set up for her before he could bring her to the cabin. She admired him all the more for that.
Diego crossed the porch twice and then returned to stand in front of her. “There is a faction already looking to wipe us out. They’ve sent soldiers after our women and children. Joe was nearly killed. I can’t tell you how many times they tried to kill Pepper and the children just because they’re different.”
“I worry for Grace. I know that I’ve passed some of my traits to her. I can see them in her already. But I never meant to imply that I felt any different from you. I identify with you and your GhostWalkers. Truthfully, a good percentage of the soldiers under Chariot’s command are good men. Part of the reason I detest that we might go to war with them is because, like your friends, they didn’t do anything wrong. They joined the program with the best of intentions. They honestly aren’t any different from you or me.”
Diego crouched down in front of her, his palms shaping her knees. Looking into his eyes immediately flooded her with warmth. He was always focused when he looked at her, as if she were the only woman in the universe. She shouldn’t have trusted an attraction that hit so hard, so fast, and maybe she didn’t, but she didn’t want to lose him. The thought of not being with Diego was extremely upsetting.
She didn’t need a man. She never had. She didn’t want to be taken care of. She wasn’t that kind of woman. Still. She looked at Diego’s very masculine features. She couldn’t conceive of leaving him behind, even if she knew it was the right thing to do to avoid a war.
“Sweetheart, I know you do your best to hear whoever is talking to you, and I should have taken that into consideration before I reacted like a hothead.”
She didn’t think he reacted like a hothead. He hadn’t yelled at her or even condemned her. He’d withdrawn. She was going to have to remember that was his first reaction. She even understood. No matter what his mother had said or done to him, he had never reacted. He withdrew, internalized everything. It was a habit that would be difficult to break.
“I want you to hear me now. I know you’re probably thinking we barely know each other. I’m absolutely certain Whitney couldn’t have paired us, and even if he had, I would be grateful that he got you to notice me. I believe you are the one woman for me. I want to take that chance with you. Whatever is happening around us, whatever the GhostWalkers or Chariot’s men choose to do, doesn’t negate the fact that I believe we should be together.”