Page 129 of Enthrall Shadows
Stepping out, I breathed in the thick evening air, trying to shake off that glimmer of undeniable chemistry I saw passing between them—the way they’d stared at each other upon first sight.
They had a bond so strong it had seduced Henry into coming all the way out here.
After the dust had settled on their reunion, after they’d rejuvenated a lost friendship, what they’d once had might be ignited by a spark again and become something more.
Maybe their love could survive all those years apart.
Compared to their history, ours felt fragile. Soon, all I’d have left of Henry would be the memory of him—an indissoluble part of him that I would always cherish.
The walls of the small hut seemed to close in on me, the midday heat suffocating.
I shook my head to center myself.
TheReese Papadopoulos—or whatever name she went by now—literally stood right in front of me.
This wasn’t a dream. It was more like a nightmare—the kind you can’t wake from.
She’d put us all through hell back then, in that past I’d never acclimated to.
Here, now, her influence over me remained startling.
She’d lured me back.
Yet, at the same time, it felt good to see her again.
Damn confusing.
My shoulders relaxed as I realized I’d finally be able to get closure.
I’d once prayed for this—the moment when questions were answered and hope won out.
Glancing at the far wall, I got my bearings. A map of the area had been stuck to the wooden slats. Another beside it appeared to be of the enemy base a few klicks away.
Reese and her team were up against a goliath of a company. It made me wonder what kind of tactics they were using to stop them. Sabotage, maybe? That would make their endeavor illegal—no matter how morally justified.
Reese had stared at Lotte as she’d left us, clearly fascinated with her.
Now her attention had returned to me. “She’s lovely.”
“She is.” More than Reese would ever comprehend.
“Lilly gave you the letter over two weeks ago,” she said.
Of all the words she could have uttered, she had chosen those?
“This could have been a phone call,” I said flatly.
A familiar vision from the past was standing before me—the same, but different. The years had been fairly kind, though the sun had loved her, leaving her with a golden complexion set off by her pale blonde hair. Her beauty had not been ravaged by time.
“The T.S. Eliot quote?” I said. “In the hut?”
“I thought you’d like it,” she said. “You were always one for clues and deciphering puzzles.”
My liking for the mysterious had burned out with her.
“And the drone?”
She seemed surprised. “We spy on the developers. We’ve lost a few. They crash in the Everglades.”
