No Angel by Helena Newbury

Author:Helena Newbury [Newbury, Helena]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Foster & Black
Published: 2022-09-27T18:30:00+00:00

18

GABRIEL

As we descended into the valley, my eyes never left Olivia for a second. This was the last time I’d be close to her. The last time I’d see her lips twitch into a smile, the last time I’d stare at all that tightly pulled back dark hair and dream of freeing it, the last time I’d run my eyes over those gorgeous curves. I tried to burn her into my memory: the shape of her jaw, the color of her eyes.

It wasn’t like I could kid myself that this wasn’t goodbye, that maybe we’d run into each other again someday. Running off with the gold would put me on a Most Wanted list for life. There were plenty of countries where I could enjoy my riches, but the one place I’d never be able to go back to was the United States. Olivia would be lost to me forever.

Earlier that day, I’d been watching her as she gazed around at the jungle in wonder. I loved that she still had that sense of innocent amazement. When you’ve spent enough time in combat, you lose that: you start to see the places you go in terms of ambush points and sniper positions. But once I’d seen how Olivia reacted to the jungle, I looked around again with fresh eyes, taking in the purple and pink butterflies and the tiny blue frogs clinging to leaves, and you know what? It was amazing.

She was good for me.

About a hundred feet from the bottom of the valley, the path we were following turned to loose gravel and small stones. We had to go slow, testing each foot as we put it down, or we’d wind up tumbling head-over-feet all the way down. When Olivia slipped a little, I lunged and grabbed her hand to stop her falling. The instant I touched her, I felt something inside me lift: it was like I could breathe again. It felt right.

She steadied herself, then nodded at me gratefully and waited for me to release her.

I couldn’t let go. I knew that once I did, I’d most likely never hold her hand again. God, what’s wrong with me? But it was how I felt. I stared into those frozen-forest eyes, my chest aching…

And let her go.

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