Total pages in book: 94
Estimated words: 88119 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 441(@200wpm)___ 352(@250wpm)___ 294(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 88119 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 441(@200wpm)___ 352(@250wpm)___ 294(@300wpm)
“I don’t really know,” I said in a small voice. “There was a note in the file. Major thought they’d been in contact after I joined the FEA.” But the fact remained that in nearly all the years I’d been alive Abel hadn’t given a shit about me. He’d left my mother and me, because he had no use for us. And now that he’d seen how useful my talent was, he wanted it for himself.
The FEA didn’t even know where Abel’s Army had their headquarters. Hopelessness washed over me. How was I ever going to find Holly?
Devon grabbed my hand, tearing me out of my thoughts. “Do you miss her?”
“My mother?” I wanted to snort, but then I paused. “I don’t miss the mother I remember. I miss the mother from the photo, the young, happy mother who held me on her lap with a smile, the mother who loved me. The mother who still had hope. Sometimes I’m not sure if that mother ever existed.” My voice caught in my throat. “Maybe I’ll just have to accept that I’m unloveable.”
“Don’t say that,” Devon whispered. “Nothing could be further from the truth.”
His grip on my hand tightened. I squeezed right back. The thought of our kiss flashed through my mind and warmth crept up my neck. Devon’s closeness felt good. Was it so bad to move on? To find someone else to love? What difference did it make how much time had passed? I already cared deeply about Devon, and Alec was definitely a thing of the past. Still, part of me knew this was too fast.
“Sorry. Thinking about my parents makes me depressed. I’ll just have to deal with it.” I turned the radio on and let the music carry away my thoughts.
We spent the next few hours without talking, but shortly after we crossed the border to Nevada, Devon’s voice broke the silence. “Maybe we should stop for a while. I think we both could use the rest. And I’m starving.”
I bit my lip. We were getting so close, and we’d wasted so much time already.
“And if we keep driving, we’ll arrive at the bar around lunch time. I doubt they’ll be open that early.”
He had a point. As we approached the next exit, I pulled off the highway and into the next rest stop. Once I was out of the car and able to stretch my legs and gulp down some fresh—albeit gas-tainted—air, I felt much better. We bought sandwiches, a few bags of chips, and several chocolate bars before we returned to our truck.
“I’d thought it would be warmer in the desert,” I said as I sat down on the end of the truck bed, legs dangling down.
“Not at night,” Devon said as he ripped open a foil bag and practically inhaled a handful of chips.
Reno was only a few miles away. “Holly’s parents live near Reno,” I said.
Devon froze mid-chew. “Do you want to visit them?”
“Maybe. I don’t know,” I said hesitantly. “They’d think it was weird if I was visiting without her. I don’t think they know about her yet. And maybe they’ll never have to find out. If we can manage to save Holly, then everything will be fine.”
Doubt crossed Devon’s face. Of course, it was ludicrous to think we could free Holly that easily. I unwrapped my chocolate bar and took a huge bite. The sweetness soothed my stomach.
“Maybe we should take a quick nap,” he said. “So we have enough energy when we arrive in Vegas.”
We crawled into our sleeping bags and stretched out on the bed. Devon moved closer to me until our faces were inches apart. His eyes searched mine. “You need more time, right?” he whispered. “Because of what happened with Alec.”
I nodded. Not just because of Alec. That was part of it, of course. Everything was still too raw and I hadn’t let go yet. I could feel it deep down. But I also needed time to figure out what I was feeling and why I was feeling that way. Was I just latching on to the next person who was kind to me? Was I looking for someone—anyone—who might love me? That wasn’t healthy, and it wouldn’t be fair to Devon.
“Tell me about the first time you healed someone,” I murmured, resting my head on his chest.
“I was maybe seven, and I was playing in the garden,” he said. I could hear the smile in his voice and it filled me with comforting warmth. “Our cat had caught a bird. When I finally wrangled it away from her, it was dead. I was so sad when I saw this ball of feathers in my palms. And then my fingers began to prickle and became hot, and the bird stirred. I was so stunned, I actually dropped it, but by then it was okay. It took another minute to collect itself, then flew up into the forest.”