Fast Forward by Heather Long
Author:Heather Long [Long, Heather]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2020-09-21T22:00:00+00:00
Chapter 10
âThreats are the weapons of those who are threatened.â - Giovanni Boccaccio
VALDA
We couldnât stay at the manor house. The two days theyâd waited for us there had been dangerous enough, according to the reports from Campbell and his men. When I asked Campbell why he didnât tell me about the escape, all he said was, âUntil I had confirmation, I wouldnât risk you. That meant not telling you. Captainâs orders.â
Dirk had nodded and clasped the man on the shoulder. The two had hugged like brothers. In fact, all of Dirkâs men had looked relieved and pleased to see him. There had been no small amount of ferocity in their eyes at his appearance. His and Hatchâs both.
Theyâd been tortured. Abused. But they were in good spirits, and any time their gazes snagged on me, those expressions softened. I hadnât left Hatchâs lap for the entirety of Ozâs debrief.
Oz.
He hadnât left me.
Well, he had. Heâd lied to me. And from the look in Andreasâ eyes, heâd known about the lie. I could be angry about it all, I supposed. Ozâs words and logic, coupled with his cool delivery, had all been carefully designed to make me believe him. To encourage me to let him know.
Severing our connection had been more about making sure I stayed behind than about leaving me. Iâd have to reconcile that with the hurt heâd left in his wake. It might take time, but I could certainly do it. Despite the wound to my heart and my prideâyes, I could admit to the lastâIâd never fault his choice. Iâd taken years from them all with my actions.
If he truly had wanted to move on, I had accepted that idea. I couldnât ask him for more. Yet, heâd done the opposite. Heâd run into danger to get Dirk and Hatch back. Now, he kept his distance from me, his worried eyes tracking to me when he thought I wasnât looking.
It took Campbell a couple of hours to arrange transport, during which, Oz debriefed us on what heâd managed to learn during his time with the Blossom Foundry. The most troubling aspect seemed to be that they wanted me back in the memoriam. The why, however, had remained classified. At least, as far as Oz had been concerned.
We made a meal of protein packs, and then we were back in vehicles. Oz and Andreas rode in the vehicle behind ours, but Dirk wanted me with him. Even wounded and beaten, his opinions on my safety hadnât changed. There was room enough in our vehicle for all five of us, but Oz had just diverted to a second car and Andreas followed him after giving me a soft kiss.
Things with Andreas were better than theyâd ever been, while Oz and I seemed to be disintegrating before my eyes.
Dressed much like his men now in casual clothing, it did nothing to hide the weapons Dirk had secured on his person. We had no intentions of stopping before we reached the ferry crossing at Dover.
Download
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.
Sita - Warrior of Mithila (Book 2 of the Ram Chandra Series) by Amish(53758)
The Crystal Crypt by Dick Philip K(36390)
Cat's cradle by Kurt Vonnegut(14723)
Always and Forever, Lara Jean by Jenny Han(14438)
Ready Player One by Cline Ernest(13930)
The Last by Hanna Jameson(9775)
Year One by Nora Roberts(9274)
Persepolis Rising by James S. A. Corey(8923)
The remains of the day by Kazuo Ishiguro(8350)
Never let me go by Kazuo Ishiguro(8265)
Red Rising by Pierce Brown(8219)
Dark Space: The Second Trilogy (Books 4-6) (Dark Space Trilogies Book 2) by Jasper T. Scott(7885)
The handmaid's tale by Margaret Atwood(7416)
The Circle by Dave Eggers(6816)
Frank Herbert's Dune Saga Collection: Books 1 - 6 by Frank Herbert(6671)
The Testaments by Margaret Atwood(6455)
Legacy by Ellery Kane(6371)
Pandemic (The Extinction Files Book 1) by A.G. Riddle(6158)
Six Wakes by Mur Lafferty(5791)
