Total pages in book: 164
Estimated words: 156728 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 784(@200wpm)___ 627(@250wpm)___ 522(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 156728 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 784(@200wpm)___ 627(@250wpm)___ 522(@300wpm)
When she returned her gaze to his, she said, “A bad man wouldn’t do that, Jack.”
She was wrong. He was a bad man, and he did it year after year. “When I found you tonight, out in the rain, I made a decision. This is going to be the last Feast of the Fallen.”
“Why?”
“Like everything that involves man and power, corruption eventually spreads.”
“But what about all the people you’re helping?”
He looked away. “Was I helping you tonight, when Welles hurt you?”
“That wasn’t your fault—”
“All of this is my fault. I’m responsible for every tribute out there. I knew Welles was a red flag. I should have pulled him.”
She took his hand and gently traced the cut on his split knuckle. Slowly, she lifted his fingers to her lips and pressed a kiss. His breath caught as everything inside of him turned too heavy to carry.
She slid off the edge of the tub and lowered to the floor, sitting beside him. “What happened tonight was my fault. I knew he was dangerous, but I went back anyway.”
“Why did you?”
Her face pinched as she rubbed the hollow of her throat. “I lost something.”
The tributes only came with the items they were given at The Becoming. “What?”
“A locket—and before you lecture me about the rules, I knew we weren’t supposed to have personal items on us, but I didn’t care. I brought it anyway.”
“Why?”
Sadness drifted across her eyes. “It has a picture of my mum in it.”
“What does it look like?”
She laughed as color rushed to her cheek. “It’s nothing special. I bought it for eight pounds at a pawn shop—”
“What does it look like, Daisy?”
“Gold. Oval.”
He pulled out his phone and shot a text to Cole, instructing him to send whoever he could spare to find it. “Do you know when you lost it?”
“I’m not sure. I think when Hadrian grabbed me the first time.”
He pocketed his phone. “I’ll make sure it’s found.”
“Jack, it’s not—”
“If it’s important to you, it’s priceless. We’ll find it.”
Tears welled in her eyes as she looked up at him. “Thank you,” her voice was small, but laden with gratitude. Then she sighed. “I don’t…” She looked away.
“What?”
“I want to hug you, but I don’t want to upset you.”
A hug.
When was the last time he had a legitimate hug?
“Listen to me, Jackie. Be a good boy and do exactly as you’re told, understand?”
“I’m always a good boy, Mum,” he said cheekily, throwing his arms around her neck and squeezing tightly.
Jack’s throat tightened to a pinhole. “I…” His heart raced. The last hug he received turned out to be the greatest lie he was ever told.
He wanted Daisy’s hug more than his next breath, but he couldn’t find the words. And the thought of letting anyone that close to him…
“It’s okay. We don’t—”
“No.” It wasn’t okay. Hugs were how it started. Playful little lies of safety. But Daisy wasn’t trying to trick or trap him. In his heart and gut, he knew that. But his nervous system didn’t.
A cool sweat covered his shoulders under the weight of his clothes. Rising off the bathroom floor, he held out a hand and carefully pulled her up.
She looked up at him with glassy eyes, her expression unsure. “Where are we going?”
His voice abandoned him, so he faced her, wanting to get this right. Slowly, he stepped to her front, wrapping his arms around her waist until his hands met at the small of her back.
“Oh,” she said as he rested his head on her bare shoulder, her arms tentatively lifting to hold him tight.
Jack shut his eyes, letting the moment of peace wash over him.
Time stopped existing. He wasn’t sure how long they stood like that, only that it was the closest he’d ever come to experiencing bliss.
They eventually pulled apart in awkward increments, and Jack didn’t know what to say, so he simply asked, “Are you hungry?”
“Do you have anything to drink other than the brown stuff?”
He laughed. “Champagne?” When she smiled, he said, “You like champagne?”
“I think so. I only had my first sip yesterday.”
Holding her hand, he led her into the suite and stopped at the state of the room. “I, uh…” He led her to the chair by the fire. “Just need a minute.”
He made quick work of cleaning up the mess he made, righting the table, and gathering the broken dishes onto the tray. When he found the syringe and nail file from his travel kit, he turned to her in question.
A bright flush rose on her cheeks. “You had a gun. That was all I could find.”
He chuckled. “I get the file, but I’m a little confused about the Vitamin B.”
Her head sagged forward. “It’s vitamins?”
“Yes, for energy.”
She rolled her eyes. “Well, it still has a point.”
He carried the tray to the bar and retrieved a bottle of Dom from the wine fridge, along with two glasses. Setting them on the table in front of her, he caught her chin under his finger and lifted her face to look at him.