Total pages in book: 109
Estimated words: 103719 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 519(@200wpm)___ 415(@250wpm)___ 346(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 103719 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 519(@200wpm)___ 415(@250wpm)___ 346(@300wpm)
“Who else knows you’re doing this?” he asked as he looked up at her.
“No one. And no one can know. I need to be anonymous, or the corporations I’m negotiating with will see this as the biggest conflict of interest since Pharma Bro.”
Gus stared at the screen for a little longer. Then he logged off and stood up, too.
“You need to have someone in charge of your business affairs. If something goes wrong with you, I’m going to lose everything I’ve worked for—and hell, that may happen anyway with whatever terms you’re negotiating.”
She thought of all those stock options that were part of his employment contract. And then there was Vita, herself, the culmination of his life’s work.
For all she didn’t want to die, she hadn’t really considered the practical implications of having no will. No clear heirs. No successor for her business.
C.P. focused on Gus. “I’ll take care of it.”
* * *
Back up at the trailhead on the mountain’s summit, Xhex palmed her gun and trained it just past the front fender of the blacked-out SUV. Narrowing her eyes, she searched the dark contours of the pine trees and the boulders—but she saw nothing.
Just as she was thinking about making some kind of threatening announcement, Lydia, the wolven, had the brass balls to simply walk forward.
As Daniel went to get up from the tailgate, Xhex shook her head. “I’ve got her.”
She expected an argument. And respected the fuck out of the guy that he didn’t waste his time or hers. He just nodded and stayed where he was.
Xhex jogged a little to catch up to the female, but then she remained in the rear. There was something about the way the wolven scanned the landscape—it was different, like there were other senses being called into service, other instincts being relied upon. Meanwhile, on Xhex’s side, she was scenting everything she could and getting a big fat zero. Nothing moving, nothing that tipped her off—
“Stop,” Xhex said.
The wolven instantly froze.
Xhex looked down to the ground and pointed. “Here. They were standing right here.”
She dropped to her haunches and took out her cell phone, triggering the beam. The footprints were obvious but not distinctive, big enough to be a male’s yet nothing of particular note when it came to treads or a heel. Running the little light up the closest trunk, she saw no disturbance in the pine tree’s bark pattern or its branches.
Just as she was about to suggest they go back, Lydia lowered her whole body to the ground. Planting her arms on either side of the prints, she leaned down and put her nose close to the markings.
“What is it,” Xhex said as the female straightened and sat back on her heels.
The wolven looked over. “It smells… like you.”
“I’m sorry?”
“The scent. It’s like yours.”
Xhex glanced around. The Brotherhood, she thought. Of course they’d followed her here—after what had happened to John Matthew last night, everyone was still jumpy. But they were clearly going to be discreet about it.
“I know who it is,” she said as she stood back up. “Who followed me, who’s checking up on me, I mean.”
“Is there a problem?”
“No, just backup I didn’t ask for.” Xhex wondered where they were hiding out. “But I appreciate them looking after me.”
“It’s good to have friends.” The wolven got to her feet as well. “You’re lucky.”
Xhex focused on the female. “What’s your name?”
“Lydia.” A hand was extended. “Lydia Susi. It’s nice to meet you, Alex.”
“That’s not my real name.” She shook what was offered. “Xhex. That’s who I am.”
A true smile came back at her, the kind that lit up those eyes. “Nice to meet you.”
Don’t do it, Xhex told herself.
Except… of course she read the female’s grid.
“Oh, shit,” she murmured.
“What? Are you all right?”
How do I explain, Xhex wondered.
“Ah, sorry. Nothing—I just… I know your man’s sick. And that’s got to be fucking awful.”
“It is… a living nightmare. I’m just muddling through, really—I worry about him, he worries about me. It’s a circle of madness that spins faster and faster as time gets tighter and tighter. I get these flares of hope and then we grate against each other and then… we find a connection. There’s no consistency to anything other than the terminal diagnosis.”
If only it were Rehv stalking around in the shadows, Xhex thought. He could tell them all why in the hell he—
All at once, an image of the entity Xhex had run into on the trail from before crossed her mind… sure as if it had been implanted into her skull.
“I think I know why we’re all here,” she said with a kind of defeat.
Blade, that bastard, had told her to come here, not Rehv. Rehv might have been the conduit… but what her brother had set her up for was the destiny. Was this her journey? Just to pass along what she had seen of that glowing entity? If so, being a messenger wasn’t a tough job—except what the fuck did it have to do with the nightmares from the past that had haunted her for so long?