Total pages in book: 137
Estimated words: 126060 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 630(@200wpm)___ 504(@250wpm)___ 420(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 126060 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 630(@200wpm)___ 504(@250wpm)___ 420(@300wpm)
Amaranthe was not Francesca. She wasn’t Grace. She was an elite shadow rider. She went out on her own for months investigating other shadow riders, including Archambaults. He had to give her the respect she was due. He was thinking of his needs, not hers. Their relationship was going to be all about walking a fine-edged sword.
He slipped his arm around her shoulders. “Amaranthe is not only a superb shadow rider, she’s one of the fastest I’ve ever seen. She knows what she’s doing. As much as I want to put her in a safe house, that’s not our dynamic. We’re partners. We’ll come up with a plan for her extra vigilance.”
He leaned down and brushed the top of her head with his lips, forcing his heart to stay at a steady beat. “No doubt, she’s one step ahead of me and has already come up with something brilliant. I’m still back at the protecting-my-woman-by-being-a-caveman stage.”
“Right there with you, Geno,” Lucca said, his tone filled with censure. “Caveman sounds good to me. For a teeny-tiny little thing, Amara, you are one giant package of trouble. You are going to be a pain in the ass.”
Amaranthe smiled at Lucca, her entire face lighting up. “I’m so pleased you finally see the reality of the situation, my brother. Sisters are supposed to be a pain in the ass.”
Lucca covered his face with his hands. “Do you have to sound so damned happy about it? You sound just like Emmanuelle. She’s the epitome of a pain in the ass.”
“She’s much quieter than Emme,” Geno said.
Lucca pulled his hands down and glared at his brother. “Do you think that makes it any better? It doesn’t. She just sits there looking all sweet and little and delicate. That’s deceptive as hell. She’s really like some copperhead, about to strike and you won’t even see it coming until it’s too late.”
“Lucca,” Francesca objected. “You just implied she’s a snake.”
“I didn’t imply,” Lucca denied. “I full-on accused her. The woman has venom.”
Amaranthe laughed. “At least he’s beginning to understand me, Francesca.”
Thank you, Geno. I know that was very difficult for you.
That soft voice got to him, turned his heart over, told him he’d done the right thing.
You have no idea. She would never know what it cost him to stand with her in front of his family, knowing she was going to be a target for killers. The idea went against his nature. He would have to do everything in his power to make certain she was safe. She’d just have to live with that side of him.
Her palm slid along his thigh muscle in a soothing caress. “Lucca, I really hope the woman you find is going to be fierce. She’ll need to be.”
“Don’t wish that on me.”
Salvatore, I’m counting on you to help me protect her. Geno didn’t look at his brother. He was certain Salvatore had received the same training as Amaranthe had and that he sometimes worked for the International Council. Maybe not often, but he did it. Geno had seen him move. He would count on him to protect Amaranthe.
As if she could read minds, Nicoletta volunteered. “Taviano and I aren’t scheduled to work the next few days. I can go everywhere with you, Amara, and stay in the shadows. No one knows we’re here.”
“We’ve got a couple of our best scientists working on a remedy to make us immune to the poison, but they’ve just started,” Geno said. “Those people took their time developing these weapons to get through the shadows. And the compound for the poison is complex.”
“Emmanuelle and Giovanni excel in working with chemicals. Don’t you remember Emme blowing things up all the time?” Taviano asked. “The moment she managed to get a tiny bit of that poison, she called Gee, and the two of them have been locked up together breaking it down. I’m betting on them.”
“In the meantime, it’s extraordinarily dangerous. I should know,” Geno said. “I’m a big man, and it nearly killed me. Nicoletta and Amara are both small. The woman the assassin murdered on Miranda’s back porch weighed more than either of them. Had he not stabbed in her in the heart, she would have died from the poison anyway. It’s a very lethal toxin.”
“Nevertheless, Geno,” Nicoletta said, “Amaranthe is family. You’re family. We stick together no matter what.”
Taviano nodded. “That’s why Stefano stayed when he sent the rest of us home. He knew he didn’t handle things very well. What he’d learned about the past was still too raw. He stayed to make things right with you.”
“I know,” Geno agreed. “But risking Nicoletta when we have so few . . .”
“Don’t start with the woman thing,” Nicoletta interrupted. “All of us are needed on this. I’m not willing to lose you or Salvatore or Lucca, certainly not Amaranthe. Especially since she clearly can drive Lucca crazy. That’s a bonus right there.”