Total pages in book: 114
Estimated words: 110757 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 554(@200wpm)___ 443(@250wpm)___ 369(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 110757 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 554(@200wpm)___ 443(@250wpm)___ 369(@300wpm)
The ground shakes hard enough to make us all scramble to keep our balance. Marcus’s face is twisted with anguish. His connection is volatile, fueled by his powerful emotions.
“Save Mae,” he begs me. “Let me do this knowing ... you’re on your way to her.”
“Can you pass for the clone?” Ellison blurts.
Everyone turns to her.
“The rest of us will take care of the kids and the shield. Pretend you’re him. Get Ingrid alone and kill her. Then order all her soldiers to return to Island Three.”
After a second, Pax says, “It could work, if they think you’re the clone.”
“And it could have worked without you killing yourself!” I say fiercely.
“I’m going after the kids,” Pax says. “Do you know where they are?”
“Stay here,” I say, a plan coming together in my mind.
Marcus is shaking, barely able to stay upright. I know the deep, thunderous cracks echoing from the other side of the island all too well—the volcano is coming to life.
I take a deep breath, calming myself. If I can get myself under control, it will help Marcus get himself centered, too.
I face him, blocking out everything but the two of us.
“Find a peaceful place inside yourself,” I tell him. “Let go of the rage. Focus, so you can convince Ingrid you’re the clone.”
Looking into his eyes, I take his hands. “You can do this, Marcus. It’s not a physical battle, it’s a mental one. You can save so many lives by controlling your mind and your feelings.”
He inhales deeply, closing his eyes. The ground stills. His shaking slows. It stops.
I put my palm on his chest and say, “Go. Get Ingrid alone and take her out. Tell her men she ordered them to release the kids and go back to their island.”
He opens his eyes, nodding.
I look at Pax. “You and Olin go to Ingrid’s boat. Stay hidden. Be ready to go after the kids if this plan doesn’t work.”
They both take off.
Marcus gives me a soft, quick kiss. I force myself not to let my emotions burst into flames again. I want to hug him and scream at him at the same time. But not now.
“I love you,” he says against my lips.
“I love you,” I say back. “Be careful.”
When he leaves, I look between Nova and Ellison. “Who wants to help me kill Stella? If Pax doesn’t get to her first, I mean.”
“Me,” Amira says, sighing with aggravation. “But I’d slow you down.”
“You’re not going anywhere,” I tell her.
“I’ll stay with her,” Ellison says. “Nova’s a better murderer than I am.”
Nova gives her a soft smile. “You’re better at cards, though, babe.”
Ellison kisses her, cupping her smooth, dark cheek. “And you’re my euchre partner, so stay safe, love.”
“Always.”
44
“Your work is critical to our mission. Stay the course. On the brothel worker who was killed, get me her killer’s name and I’ll personally see to it that he ends up in a dumpster himself.” -- Decoded message from ILF handler Hiro Tanaka to ILF undercover operative Nightingale
Marcus
I didn’t think it through. What I saw and heard fucked with my head and I acted impulsively.
Niran wanted to kill me, even if he couldn’t go through with it. And Stella, one of my trusted friends, betrayed me.
She asked me before I left for Island Three what would happen if I didn’t return. I should’ve picked up on her eagerness to be in charge back then.
I knew Briar wouldn’t want to leave, but I thought Pax would jump at the chance to get on that sub and get the hell out of here unscathed. My anger blinded me back there, and I believed sacrificing myself for the people I love—Briar, Nova, and Ellison—was noble.
But instead of burying Ingrid and her army beneath tons of rock, I’m striding through camp, my expression overly neutral, like the clone’s always was.
I have to pull this off and somehow do it while I’m dying. My head feels like a bomb that could detonate any second. Sharp pains spike through it so hard it takes my breath away.
One of Ingrid’s soldiers stops and gives me a quick, perfunctory salute. “Do you know where Commander Voss is?”
“Uh ... I think she’s in the Hub.”
He drops his brows, looking suspicious. “Are you okay? You’re sweating really heavily.”
“Well, it is a tropical island.”
I keep walking. I need to puke again. Slipping into a shadow between two buildings, I bend and heave, nothing coming out.
This has to work. I keep moving, imagining a clearing in a meadow. Briar is there, and she’s smiling at me. We’re walking hand in hand, no one else in sight.
Except ... I add Flavius to my daydream. The massive black wolf who’s put his life on the line for me many times is lying in the grass, smelling a bright-yellow flower.
“Commander Wells, Commander Voss is looking for you,” a soldier says. “She’s in there.”