“I missed you too.”
Whisper made a low, chuffing sound, then swatted away my embrace to fling himself at Rook.
Rook laughed as the giant cat went to spring, but I grabbed his tail and kept him grounded. “Gently.”
She gave me a grateful look and dropped to her knees, hiding her wince as pieces of her continued to break just like they broke in me.
“Hey, little kitty cat.”
Whisper whimpered, licking her hair like she was his cub.
Rook’s giggle hurt my heart. My chest ached with loss.
Fuck, I can’t lose her.
Even though Dillon had managed to enlist the Sovereign Retrieval team...how much time did we have before this became a funeral procession instead of a recovery mission?
Staggering to my feet, I went to Rook’s bodyguard and held out my hand. “Thank you, Dil. For everything.”
He snorted and eyed up my hand. “Are you going to set me on fire?”
I smirked. “One day perhaps, but not today.”
He clasped my hand, squeezing roughly. “I’m glad she has you. Truly.”
“And I’m glad she has you.” My mind went to dark places, envisioning a future where I wasn’t there. Where Rook stayed alive without me. Where only one of us made it. And despite the agony at the thought of leaving her—despite the possessiveness of another man watching over her, loving her....I was glad she had Dillon. No matter what happened.
Whisper nudged Rook to her feet then pushed her toward me, pressing her against me as if he knew we did so much better when touching. He studied us, sensing our pain—knowing better than anyone just how close we were to the end.
I held his glowing golden gaze while my arm snaked around Rook’s waist.I love you, you stupid beast.
He snorted as if he heard me.
More men appeared from the convoy of black 4WDs—masked and faceless—all wearing the tactical uniform of Sovereign Retrieval.
“You can stand down,” I commanded. “We’ve already dealt with those who were holding us hostage. We just require transportation to Iceland.” A memory came back as I said the samewords as last time. “For three. Two adults and a full-grown male panther.”
Dillon cleared his throat.
“Sorry,threeadults and a panther.”
“I’m sorry, Mr. Ashfall,” the leader—who’d given me the bulletproof vest before he’d escorted us out of the bed and breakfast—narrowed his eyes. “On this particular job, we don’t take orders from you.”
“Then who—?”
“Her.” Dillon pointed at Rook. “I used her account code. And now that we’ve found her, she’s the one in charge.”
Rook and her bodyguard shared a look before she shifted her attention to the leader and said, like a true heiress, “I’d like to go to Vatnajökull Glacier. As fast as humanly possible.”
“The route has already been set. Mr. Brooks mentioned that would be your final destination.” The leader shared a quick glance with Dillon. “The plane is waiting. Shall we go?”
“Yep.” Dillon clapped his hands, assuming command which...I wasn’t exactly opposed to, seeing as every breath grew harder. “Let’s move out. The sooner we get you to Frank, the sooner we can find a cure.”
“Wait. You told Frank about this?” Rook stiffened. “But what if he’s not to be trusted? I’d planned on testing him first. Finding out if—”
“Can you honestly say you have time to mess around?” Dillon snapped, the depth of his fear showing. “Whatever happens, it’s a risk we have to take. Besides, Frank is the only one—apart from your parents—who knows if there are any secrets or hidden data based on the immortality subjects.” A dangerous smile tightened his lips. “And don’t worry, if he turns out to be a betrayer, I’ll do whatever is necessary to keep you safe.” His eyes flickered to mine. “Keepbothof you safe.”
Pride reared its ugly head to remind him I didn’t need protecting, but...my vision wobbled and it took all my strength to stay standing.
