Total pages in book: 146
Estimated words: 136425 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 682(@200wpm)___ 546(@250wpm)___ 455(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 136425 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 682(@200wpm)___ 546(@250wpm)___ 455(@300wpm)
Was it worth the risk? Oh, he would risk his freaking soul for a chance to be with her.
Was it worth the risk for her?
He was making that decision, and it wasn’t fair.
Zach let the rain fall as he thought about a possible future.
Hope was a dangerous thing.
* * * *
Devi looked around the small town and decided this was absolutely the best kidnapping ever. Five stars. Fully recommend.
“Get yourself a drink.” Lacey chuckled as she closed the trunk of the SUV. Boot. Here it was called a boot, and it was full of feed and supplies they picked up at the store that also sold groceries. The horses had their feed, and she had scones and Welsh currant cakes and a lot of vegan stuff, but she was liking it. Lacey was teaching her some great recipes. “I’ve got some things I need to do, but it shouldn’t be long. Hopefully this rain will stop soon.”
Did it ever really stop? It rained a lot here, but she thought she might not mind if she could cuddle with someone.
With Zach.
“No problem.” She was getting used to the spy stuff. Zach seemed to be more open and would let her sit in on debriefs and talked freely around her. But Lacey was involved in things other than Zach’s mission. Probably saving cats and dogs and bunnies from testing of some kind. Or getting more hillycoos out of terrible situations.
Lacey looked her over and frowned. “Don’t get in trouble.”
Devi gave the other woman her best what me, trouble? expression. “Will do.”
“I’m serious. You have your mobile, right?”
She had the burner Zach gave her before she left with Lacey. It was connected only to him and Lacey, he explained, and only to be used in emergencies. He then told her that an emergency did not include seeing a cute outfit and calling Brianna or Daisy to gush about it.
She was going to be honest. She liked Wales, but in this part of the country there was a lot of practical clothing.
“Got it,” Devi replied, eager to walk around and see more of this teeny-tiny town. It looked a little magical. It looked like a place where she could get some inspiration. She had her tablet in her backpack, and sitting in a pub drawing out some designs sounded like a fabulous way to spend an afternoon. “Go do spy stuff.”
Lacey frowned. “You know we don’t call it that, right? Certainly not in public.”
Devi shrugged. “Go do whatever you call it. I’m going to walk around a bit and then I’ll settle in.”
Lacey seemed to think about that for a moment. “Maybe I should…”
Nope. This was the first time she’d been alone in weeks, and she was taking it. Devi simply walked away. She heard Lacey curse, but she didn’t follow.
She probably wouldn’t wander for long since it was raining, but it was nice to be here, to pretend like she was a tourist.
Was she a tourist? Sometimes she felt like one. Like she was wandering through life looking for that place where she could belong. For a moment she’d thought she found it with Zach. She had definitely realized that where she belonged wasn’t a place. It was a mindset. It was how she felt, not where she was.
Why did her “place” in the world have to come with jail time or losing him long before she was ready to?
She wandered for a while, looking into some of the shops and spending time in the tiny bookstore. She used some of the money Zach gave her to buy a book about Welsh legends and then made her way to the pub to wait for Lacey.
She was reading about the Welsh god of the dead when a man sat down beside her. She glanced up. He was older and American, from his accent. He ordered a beer. Not a pint. Definitely tourist.
“Catching up on local folklore?” the man asked.
She should have gotten a table, but no, she’d taken a place at the bar because it made her feel more like a local. If it had been some woman asking her questions, she likely would start up a conversation and have fun with it. Something about this man set off her internal siren. He was maybe six foot two with a lean build and graying hair, but it was his eyes that bothered her. They were a dark, flat brown with nothing animated about them.
They were the eyes of a predator, and suddenly she felt like prey.
“Yeah. I like to study the places I go and visit.” She gave him a friendly smile. It wasn’t like she’d never dealt with predatory men before. The key was to make them feel like you didn’t recognize them and then dash as soon as possible. Lacey should be here soon, so he wouldn’t have a ton of time to hit on her. She got the feeling Lacey would know how to shut a dude down.