Total pages in book: 153
Estimated words: 140965 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 705(@200wpm)___ 564(@250wpm)___ 470(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 140965 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 705(@200wpm)___ 564(@250wpm)___ 470(@300wpm)
He’d been dead. Well, he would have been dead had she not given him CPR, yet he had come out of it fully cognizant. Completely aware.
He turned his head back toward her and those dark, navy-colored eyes bore down into hers. She stayed very still, trying to keep her body relaxed. If she didn’t tense up, it was possible he would relax his grip and she’d be able to break free. She wasn’t certain that would do much good; she’d seen him run and he was the fastest she’d ever seen.
“Did you give me CPR?” It was a demand.
She tried to nod. His lashes swept down for a brief moment, and she saw despair etched deeply into his face. Her heart ceased to beat and then began to pound as sudden knowledge filled her. She knew he was infected. She didn’t know how, but it was that look on his face. The way his hold on her throat gentled. He shook his head and moved back away from her.
“We have to get out of here.” His voice was a mere whisper of sound.
“You’ve been exposed to the virus, haven’t you?” Now her heart was wild. Out of control. She was terrified. She’d seen the horrific way the men and women had died. She knew, but she still needed his confirmation.
He caught her hand and rose, pulling her with him. Her arms and legs suddenly felt like spaghetti. There was a strange roaring in her head. Chaos reigned in her brain. She began to hyperventilate. The virus. He was infected with the virus and she’d put her mouth over his and breathed into his lungs. Her fingers had wiped at the blood on his temple. She had his blood on her at that very moment.
His fingers tightened around her upper arm. “We have to move. Right now.”
The urgency in his voice caught at her. She was an elite, highly trained soldier. It didn’t matter if the worst had happened; she would deal with it later. She straightened her spine, looked into those eyes of his and nodded.
Her reward was instant. His expression softened, and he gave her a quick nod of approval and then began to jog, still holding her arm, forcing her to go with him down the embankment.
What are you doing? They’re going to be on the river in boats. Without thinking she went to telepathy because the women she’d trained with all could speak mind to mind.
They’ll be expecting us on this side. We’re going back in and crossing to the other side. There was a place where the forest came right down to the edge of the water. We’ll cross there so they won’t be able to track us.
She hadn’t expected the intimacy of his voice in her head. It had a smoothness to it that gave way now and then to gravel. The way he moved in her mind stole something from her. She liked that little nod of approval he’d given her as if she were his equal just because she hadn’t given into the hysteria welling up.
She didn’t object, and he didn’t slow down, his fingers never leaving her arm, so she didn’t slow either. She was worried about his injury. It had to hurt even though he was the smoothest runner she’d ever met.
I’m Shylah Cosmos. Well, Shylah is the name my sisters gave me. I dislike my real name with a passion. Peony. Who is named Peony?
Draden Freeman. I believe I know your sisters. Bellisia and Zara? Did Whitney send you here? And there’s nothing wrong with Peony.
She almost stopped jogging she was so shocked. He knew Bellisia and Zara? Are they alive? They left separately on missions and we never heard from them again. And there is something wrong with being named Peony, so never call me that.
Whitney knows they’re alive. He came after them even after he said he’d let them go.
Dr. Peter Whitney had found her in an orphanage. Zara and Bellisia had been found the same way. Whitney had chosen them because he had a talent for recognizing others with undeveloped psychic abilities. He brought the infants to one of his many secret military facilities to experiment on them. He considered them throwaways. In his quest to find the perfect supersoldier, he experimented on the girls and when he thought he’d perfected what he was looking for, he psychically and genetically enhanced the soldiers in his GhostWalker program.
Are they okay?
They were both sent to China. Bellisia and Zara thought you had been too. But yes, they’re alive and well.
They were nearing the last of the shore before the embankment began to rise. She could barely make out the rising bank. The rain had gone from light to a steady downpour, making it very difficult to see. There was no moon. Even with her enhanced vision, the rain hammered at her face, making her blink so much she couldn’t focus on what was ahead. Draden didn’t seem to have the same problem. He kept moving forward, heading straight for that last little bit of shore.