Total pages in book: 34
Estimated words: 32155 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 161(@200wpm)___ 129(@250wpm)___ 107(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 32155 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 161(@200wpm)___ 129(@250wpm)___ 107(@300wpm)
I keep to the perimeter, making our way toward the back door by the restrooms. We run for the car and are on our way before the guy realizes he missed her.
“What the fuck?” I say, banging my hand against the steering wheel. “How do they keep finding us?”
I glance at her just as she lifts a hand, rubbing the locket around her neck, a nervous gesture she makes a habit out of doing when she is upset. “I’ve scanned that thing,” I mutter.
“What?”
“The locket. I’ve scanned it three times now. I hate to say it, but you’re going to have to toss the necklace.” I slow and pull over to the side of the dark road. “Out the window. Do it now.” I hit the electric button, and her window goes down.
“What? No! It belonged to my mother!” She rubs the heart possessively, her long fingers touching the gold piece. “I can’t give it up.” She places a hand on her own button, and the window slides closed.
Frustration wars with a heavy dose of sympathy, made even more relevant because of the conversation we had and her admission about how much she misses her mom. Unfortunately, it is compassion I can’t afford if I am going to do my job.
“Talia, if somehow they tagged the necklace, we have to unload it to keep you safe.”
Tears form in her eyes as she hangs on to the precious piece. “It’s the one thing I have of my mother’s. You can’t possibly expect me to throw it away.”
I groan, rubbing a hand over my face. I hate putting her in this position, but I can’t see an alternative. “If it was morning, I’d put it in a safe deposit box at a bank or open a post office box and leave it there, but it’s after business hours. I don’t know of any other way to drop the tail.”
The only shot she has of keeping the jewelry is if whoever is after her never had the opportunity to get their hands on it. I meet her gaze. “Do you ever take it off?” I ask.
She blinks, answering without thinking it through. “Of course I do. I leave it on my dresser when I shower.”
I doubt anyone was in while she was there. “Do you always wear it to work?”
Meeting my gaze, she shakes her head.
“So they could have gotten into your apartment and tagged it without you knowing.”
A tear drips from her eyes as she nods.
Then, she takes me by surprise, lifting her hands to the back of her neck and unhooking the clasp. “Dad gave this to me after Mom died. He said she’d want me to have it…to remember her by.”
She draws a deep breath. “But I don’t need a thing to keep my memories alive.” She curls her hands around the chain, the locket dangling from her hand, and she presses her lips to the heart. “I have her in here.” She touches her chest.
My own heart aches watching her.
Then she opens the window and tosses the heart out, turning away. “Let’s go.” She closes the window, squeezing her eyes shut tight.
“Talia,” I say gruffly. “I’m sorry.”
She doesn’t reply.
I put the car in drive and pull back onto the road.
Chapter Six
Talia
My heart hurts. Although I lost my mother a long time ago, being forced to throw away my last tangible link is unexpected. And painful. I haven’t let myself feel much of anything since running from the lab, but now I’m not just sad, I am also angry.
I turn to Shane as he puts the car in park in the lot of a hotel an hour away from the one we originally planned on staying in.
I haven’t spoken to him since he told me to ditch my necklace because I needed time to think. “I don’t blame you,” I say. “I’m upset at the circumstances that forced me to have to throw away something that meant a lot to me.”
I lost my mom, and I have plenty of good memories of my mother to warm my heart, but I always felt that the locket connected me to my mom. I am going to have to make do with what I remember and hold those memories close.
Shane faces me, his expression somber. “I know. And I’m sorry.”
I believe him. I sense he understands how difficult that act was for me. I don’t think he made the demand to throw it away lightly. And despite what just happened, and the time that passed since leaving the restaurant, I don’t want to lose the momentum of desire that played out between us earlier.
I don’t break eye contact, wanting to convey the fact that I’m not holding on to my sadness or anger, at least not for tonight. Not with him. And the longer our gazes hold, the more that warm, heated feeling begins to return.