Total pages in book: 144
Estimated words: 133531 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 668(@200wpm)___ 534(@250wpm)___ 445(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 133531 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 668(@200wpm)___ 534(@250wpm)___ 445(@300wpm)
“I was never going to give you up, Red,” he admitted. “I wanted to be that man, stepping aside for my sins and giving you what you wanted and deserved, but all along, I knew I would follow you to the ends of the earth and try to win you back. The moment I knew you were in trouble, all bets were off.”
“I couldn’t help but feel bad that Bill Morris committed suicide when they came to arrest him,” Rory said. “I know he was as guilty as the others, but he did try to stop Westlake. I knew there was one of them protesting what was going on.”
Gideon wished he was as compassionate. He did feel bad for the man’s wife. She didn’t deserve to face the backlash alone, especially as ill as she was. She wasn’t in any way to blame for what her husband had chosen to do. Deana had sent a note to Rory telling her she was sorry for what had happened to her. That had been unexpected and just made the circumstances seem even more tragic to Gideon. Rory had cried for the woman. That made Gideon even less compassionate toward Bill Morris. He hadn’t been thinking of his wife when he’d left her alone to face his crimes.
“They have evidence to convict Leo Carver, but do you think they have enough to convict Jerome Michigan?” Rory asked.
Gideon ran his palm down the back of her head over all that thick dark cherry–colored hair he loved so much. She no longer winced when he touched the back of her scalp, where the men had hit her so hard and given her a concussion.
“Red.” He kept his voice gentle, his gaze on hers. “You know it isn’t going to matter one way or the other. They’re never going to go to trial. We can’t allow that. Wilson, Larrsen and Abbott deserved to follow through with the arrests, but you’re not going to sit on a stand and relive a nightmare. Those men were dead the moment they put their hands on you. You have to know that.”
He’d given her that truth and she’d even acknowledged it. At the time, she’d still been mostly swinging in and out of consciousness.
“Gideon, are you positive this is the life you want? Do you ever consider getting out?”
He kept his expression blank, but his gut knotted. He’d promised honesty no matter the cost. He didn’t know what she was thinking. She had that faint little frown, her brows slightly drawn together, full lips turned down just enough to be a temptation for him to coax them upward. He always found her frown irresistible.
“Never. Not once,” he admitted. “Even before Whitney enhanced me, I had a darkness in me when those around me were threatened. I had already developed several of my psychic talents and continued to strengthen them in order to use them to hunt when I needed to. I have that in me, Rory, and it isn’t going to go away. As a GhostWalker, I can use those skills for my country. I can guard my team. If I were a civilian, what would I do? I’m not the kind of man to be idle.”
GhostWalkers couldn’t just walk away from the service. He would explain that later. For now, it was important to him to understand what she was thinking.
“I just want you to be happy.” Her finger traced the line of his jaw, her touch featherlight. “I don’t want to sit in a courtroom and face those men or have to think about what they did to me, but I’d rather that than have you do something that would haunt you for the rest of your days. You don’t have to look after me, Gideon. Let me be the one person in your life who looks after you.”
She might just be capable of ripping out his soul. He brushed his lips over hers, recognizing the emotion he was feeling was tenderness. He hadn’t known he was capable. “You’re looking after me, Red. Have no worries on that score.”
“Call Paul in, Gideon. I’m as ready as I’ll ever be.”
* * *
Gideon had to admit he was more nervous than he’d first thought, watching Paul perform an actual exploratory surgery on Rory. Paul had taken his time examining Rory’s lungs, looking much like one would do with an X-ray to see what Whitney had done to make it more difficult for her to breathe.
When Paul stepped back, he shook his head, looking puzzled. “The mass, which is in both lungs, appears to be calcification. It has stayed the same size, or seems to have, since she was a child. I can’t see signs of growth. I would have to biopsy it to be certain if I was treating this as a regular doctor. What that calcification originated from is anyone’s guess.”