CHAPTER 29
MIA
The reportto Mank at SOE took nearly an hour to encrypt and send.
Consciousness transfer experiments. Trafficking pipeline. End goal immortality and robot armies. Paragon might be synthetic—possibly the first successful prototype. Kapoor discovered connection, subsequently disappeared. Recommend escalation to highest priority.
That was a day ago. I’ve heard nothing back.
Now, I’m standing at my hotel window, watching the November sky turn violet, and trying to remember who I was before I knew what I know while simultaneously trying not to lose my mind.
My phone buzzes.
Tonight. 7 p.m. Wear something warm, and make sure your shoes are strapped on. I’m taking you somewhere special.
My stomach does double somersaults at the name.Nate.
The smart play is to pull back, wait for London’s instructions, stop tangling my personal feelings with an operation that’s grown far more dangerous than anyone anticipated. This is nolonger about Vanguard being a weapon—no, it’s about weapons. Plural.
But of course, I have missed him like crazy, despite all of that, so my thumbs type:What do you mean about my shoes? Where are we going?
Just no flip flops. It’s a surprise. Trust me.
Trust. The word sits heavy in my stomach.
I know things about his world that would absolutely break him, or so I assume. I know his superhero partner isn’t human at all. I know the company he serves is trafficking people, murdering them in laboratories where they test them like rats. I know they’re building an army of synthetic soldiers for the United States government and who knows who else, and that the rich and powerful may one day live forever.
And I know if London decides he’s too dangerous, too compromised, too valuable to leave in Global Dynamix’s hands, then I…then they…
I close my eyes, force the thought down. I don’t want to think about that right now. I don’t want to think about anything beyond tonight.
I’ll be ready,I send the text.
Then, I start to get dressed for a date with a man I might have to destroy.
Seems my kisses still might end in death after all.
I find Nate on my hotel balcony when I step out of the washroom.
The sight of him hits me hard, nearly knocking me off my feet. He’s in civilian clothes—dark wash leather jacket, navy Henley, black jeans—and he looks exhausted. His eyes are weary, his shoulders look tense, and there’s something brittle in his smile. But still, he’s the most gorgeous being in the world.
“Hey, darlin’.”
I cross the room as he slides open the door, and when he pulls me into his arms, I let myself have it. I feel everything, just for a moment, just this once.
“I missed you,” he says against my hair, the cold air from outside snaking around us.
And I’ve been lying to you since the day we met.
“I missed you too,” I say, breathing his scent deep into my lungs, hoping to store it there for eternity.
He pulls back to look at my face, and his eyes search mine with an intensity that makes my skin prickle. He’s looking for something. Reassurance, maybe. Or checking to see if I’ve changed the way he seems to have changed.
I’m sure I have. I think we’ve both been through the ringer.
“You okay?” I ask.
“Better now.” But the shadow doesn’t lift from his expression. “It’s been a rough few days.”
