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)
“Everything will be all right,” Alec said eventually. “We’ll find Holly. I’m sure Major will find a way.”
But was Holly really Major’s top priority? FEA came first and Abel’s Army was the enemy. He wouldn’t negotiate with them even if it meant saving Holly.
“Maybe I could talk to Stevens?” I said quietly. “Maybe if he sees what he’s done and how much I miss Holly, he’ll feel pity.”
But could someone who’d betrayed FEA, who worked for a known murderer like Abel even feel pity? He probably would laugh right in my face. But I had to try.
Alec shook his head. “Stevens is scared of Major. If that didn’t loosen his tongue, nothing will.” But he hadn’t looked scared when I’d last seen him. “And Stevens will be transported to FEA prison today. He’ll be placed in a high security holding cell and neither you nor I will be allowed to visit him there.”
I stiffened in Alec’s embrace. “When?” I asked. I pulled back and stared at him. “When will he leave?”
Alec glanced at the clock. “Any minute now.”
I freed myself from his hold and stumbled to my feet, determination coursing through me.
“What are you doing, Tess?” Alec looked alarmed.
“It’s worth a try. I need to see him.” I staggered toward the door, Alec only a few steps behind me.
“Don’t,” he protested. “You’ll only get hurt.”
I walked faster and faster until I was sprinting through the corridors. “I have to.”
A wall of cold hit me when I stormed out of the front door and hurried toward the heliport. I could hear the sound of rotating blades roaring over the wind. My lungs constricted as I sped up even more and rounded the building until I had a clear view of the helipad.
A man I didn’t recognize sat in the pilot seat and Major sat beside him in the front, with Stevens riding in the back. The moment I reached the helicopter, I pulled open the back door. My hair lashed against my face and my eyes watered from the blasting blades. Stevens’s eyes widened when he spotted me. Blood crusted his lips and chin, and his nose was askew. I couldn’t remember if Stevens had had the injuries before the interrogation.
“They won’t give up. Not until they have the one they really want,” he said. He let out a scratchy laugh.
From the corner of my eye, I could see Major opening his door to get out and remove me from the helicopter. I didn’t have much time.
I gripped Stevens by the collar and he winced, eyes growing wide. He couldn’t defend himself since his hands were cuffed behind his back. “Where is Holly? What will they do to her?”
He smirked. It made him look even more like a hawk. “Who knows? Abel wants you, not her.”
I knew it. “Where is she?”
His eyes stared at something behind me. I shook him and didn’t even stop when someone gripped my shoulder.
“Tell me,” I hissed.
The grip on my shoulder turned painful.
Stevens looked into my eyes and suddenly he leaned very close, his breath wet against my ear. I had to stop myself from shuddering. “You have his eyes, you know? It’s so obvious. Too bad you’re blinded by their lies.”
Major pulled me away forcefully and I stumbled backward and would have fallen if Alec hadn’t grabbed my arm.
“Whose eyes?” I shouted.
Major closed the door but I couldn’t stop staring at Stevens through the window.
His lips twisted in triumph before he mouthed something. I wasn’t the best lip-reader, but I didn’t need to be to know what he’d said.
Abel’s eyes.
Major glared at me from the passenger seat as the helicopter lifted off the ground. I knew my actions would have consequences, but I couldn’t bring myself to care. The stench of aviation fuel streamed into my nose.
You have his eyes. Abel’s eyes. That’s what Stevens had said. Why had he said that? An awful inkling blossomed in my mind.
Alec touched my shoulder. My clothes were soaked from the mist, which I hadn’t even noticed before. “I told you it was useless,” he said, his eyes still following the black dot in the distance. His hand was scorching my skin. In the last few hours I’d felt so cold; when would that stop? “Stevens doesn’t know anything.”
“He said I have Abel’s eyes,” I whispered.
“What?” Alec exclaimed, his widened gray eyes flashing down to mine. There wasn’t surprise in his voice. Instead, he sounded angry.
I tried to force my body to stop trembling and to really focus on Alec’s expression. “Stevens said I have Abel’s eyes.”
For a moment, the howling of the wind was the only sound between us. It filled my head. Then Alec let out a laugh. “That’s ridiculous. Don’t let the traitor mess with your mind.”
But something about the way he said it was off. I gripped his arm. “Why did he say that?”