Replica by Black Jenna

Author:Black, Jenna [Black, Jenna]
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Publisher: Tom Doherty Associates
Published: 2013-07-15T22:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER ELEVEN

Nadia found her courage eventually and glanced up at Nate’s face.

He wasn’t looking at her. In fact, she didn’t think he was looking at anything, his eyes clouded and distant. She’d never seen his body language look so defeated before, and if she’d thought he’d let her, she’d have risen from her seat to give him a hug.

When she couldn’t stand the silence anymore, Nadia cleared her throat. Nate’s eyes came back into focus, but he didn’t look at her, and she wasn’t sure she could blame him. She’d had good reason for doing what she’d done—and for not telling him about it—but she’d still betrayed him. How could she expect him to forgive her for something like that? Especially when she’d just brought him the most damning evidence of all that Bishop really was responsible for last night’s ambush and beating?

“Please don’t confront Mosely,” she begged quietly. “Not unless you want to see me dragged off to Riker’s Island.”

“I won’t,” Nate said in a flat, dull voice. “Maybe you’re right and I would have flown off the handle if you’d told me before you’d stuck a knife in my back. But right now I don’t care enough to bother.”

Nadia tried not to flinch.

“I’ll do my best to keep up appearances for the time being, but I don’t care what my father wants: I’m not going to marry you.”

Nadia didn’t even try to hide her flinch at that news, though it wasn’t exactly a surprise. She’d known all along that the moment she opened her mouth, everything they’d built together would crumble. She couldn’t say she’d ever truly looked forward to her future as Nate’s neglected wife, but she’d been at least marginally content with it, satisfied that she would be married to a man who could be her friend if nothing more. Without Nate, her future would very likely include a husband like Gerri’s, one whose only redeeming qualities were breeding and power. One she could never love, or even be friends with. And, while she was sure her parents and Gerri would still love her, she doubted a day would go by when she didn’t sense their disappointment in her.

Nadia’s throat ached, and she wished she hadn’t come over. She might have thought she could mitigate the damage by telling Nate the truth in person, but now that she was here, she realized that was wishful thinking. All it meant was that she had to sit and watch her future die in Nate’s eyes as their friendship turned to dust. Maybe she should have called Bishop’s bluff and let him deliver the bad news to Nate. Although why he would bother—or think Nate would listen to him—after what had happened last night, she didn’t know. In fact, the threat didn’t actually make a whole lot of sense under the circumstances.

“Wait a minute,” she said, thinking out loud. “If Bishop is so through with you that he had Angel and her friends beat you up last night, then why did he send me the note and tracker?”

Nate made a growling sound in the back of his throat.

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