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)
“I feel the same way,” she felt compelled to admit. “But it’s weird that it happened so fast. Don’t you suspect something isn’t right?”
“Or it could be exactly what it’s supposed to be. Why are two people attracted to each other? I may want you physically, but we haven’t gone there. I know we can’t right now, and I’m okay with that. I’d rather spend time with you than anyone else. Even Rubin, and that’s saying something. I’ve never felt this way for anyone else, and I doubt if I ever will again. When I make a commitment, Leila, I follow through. That’s who I am.”
“You saw what happened just now. I worded my thoughts wrong and hurt you.”
“That was my issue, not yours. We’re getting to know one another. There will be things coming up we have to work through. Any long-term relationship has its ups and downs. We’re bound to fall in and out of love, but if the commitment is there, and we only focus on each other, we’ll make it.”
“I have no idea how to have a relationship, Diego,” she warned.
“We have Nonny. She was in a very good marriage. It wasn’t always easy, but they were determined to make it work, and they did. We can go to her and ask questions if we need to.”
“You’d do that?” She was a little shocked. Diego didn’t seem the type of man to consult anyone over something so personal. She liked that he would care enough to do so.
“I think we should give ourselves every opportunity for success.” He sighed and once more stood. “I’m a predator, Leila. I may have the protective instincts of all those animals and the ones I was born with, but I also have some very unfortunate traits.”
“Do they keep you alive?”
He frowned. “Yes.”
“Do those traits help you to save lives?”
He nodded slowly, his eyes softening from that hard, scary look to something she was beginning to crave.
“And those same traits help you to guard every man on your team.” She made that a statement because she knew the truth of it.
His answering smile lit her up until she was so ridiculously happy that she could make him smile after he’d been upset. They had a long way to go to understand each other, but she felt if they could keep talking things out, they had a good chance of making it.
Diego’s smile faded, and he suddenly turned his head, lifting his face toward the breeze. “Joe’s coming this way, Leila. He’s got Luther with him.”
“Luther will be able to tell us what happened with Bridget,” she said.
“He doesn’t have her with him, so be prepared for that,” he warned.
He hesitated, and she found herself tensing up. Waiting. He had something important to say and was finding the right words. That was a bit alarming to her. She looked past him to see Luther and another man striding toward them. It was easy to see the man’s Italian heritage in his good looks. It was also very easy to see he was supremely confident. He moved with a fluid power, one that surrounded him.
Joe Spagnola wasn’t particularly tall. He didn’t have the bulk that some of the other men under his command had, but he had presence. She found a little shiver moving through her body.
“He knows things,” Diego said. “It’s one of his many gifts. When I say that, it’s nearly impossible to hide much from him. We aren’t trying to.”
“Other than the fact that you are capable of doing the same kind of psychic surgery as your brother.”
“He’ll find out. I would like to keep that from all of them, but he’s going to ask questions, and when he does, you can’t lie to him. I’m asking you not to volunteer the information, but we can’t lie to him. For one thing, he deserves our respect, and for another, he would know. He’s got some kind of built-in lie detector.”
“Is he a fair man?”
“I wouldn’t follow him if he wasn’t,” Diego confirmed.
Leila was used to being around soldiers who were enhanced genetically. But she didn’t have the experience with those who had psychic abilities. She believed most people had capabilities they hadn’t developed but sometimes felt or even acted on in a limited manner. She certainly had moments when she knew things. She’d tried very hard to develop those traits, but she had the advantage of hearing about the GhostWalkers and their extraordinary abilities.
Diego’s commanding officer approached the porch, Luther pacing easily at his side, showing that his wounds were healed, and despite his age, he could easily keep up with the younger man.
Leila tried to remain relaxed when Joe and Luther came straight up onto the porch. Luther awkwardly patted her shoulder.
“I was worried about you, girl. I didn’t make it to your sister in time. I’m sorry. Luckily, we’ll be able to track her. It was good to hear Diego had gotten to you before those men took you to a helicopter.”