“Maybe this isn’t someone from the island,” he said.
“And that’s possible.” She pondered the idea, then shook her head. “I still don’t see why though.”
“Maybe we’re not supposed to know the why of everything,” he said, “but there’s been a definite change in the atmosphere.”
“I’ve felt it.” She sighed. “And I was looking for a way to change it back.”
“That won’t happen,” he said. “Whatever’s happening in the outside world has arrived here.”
“But is it because of you or because of me?” she asked.
“It could be both,” he said, with a shrug. “One of the difficulties in any of our missions is finding out what truly is going on behind something like this.”
Missions? She looked at him, her mouth open in surprise. “You’ve remembered?”
He gave her a gentle smile. “I’ve remembered a lot of it, yes.”
Squaring her shoulders, she took a deep breath, exhaling slowly. “So, is it good or bad?”
“It’s both,” he said.
“When are you leaving?” she asked, taking another deep breath.
“I’m not sure, but it needs to be soon.”
“Why?”
“Because I can’t be sure that whoever blew my plane out of the air won’t come here after you.”
“Why me?” she asked.
“Because you’ve been looking after me,” he said. “The men I hunt in this world are ugly, and they won’t rest until they know for sure I’m gone.”
“And if you’re not gone?”
“They’ll do their best to make sure I am,” he said.
“Great. So violence is on the way to my sanctuary, huh?”
“But you already knew that,” he said.
“I suspected as much and have been waiting for that kind of a change. But I was hoping I was wrong.”
“You’re not wrong,” he said. “So the sooner I can get out of here, the better.”
“Do you want to contact your team?”
“Yes, so how will I do that from here?”
“Not easily,” she noted, “but I might get a cell phone.”
Looking at her, he said, “I know you don’t want that kind of intrusion here, but the sooner I can contact my team, the sooner I’ll be out of your hair.”
Instantly she felt a cold chill rippling down her spine. “It will be very strange,” she said, her voice smooth and even, as always.
“In what way?”
“You’ve been a big part of my life for a long time now.”
“True,” he said, “and, for that, I am very sorry.”
“I’m not,” she said, with the gentlest of smiles.
“Because you didn’t mind having somebody to look after or because it gave you a purpose?”
His insight had her staring at him. “I don’t know,” she said. “When you’re hurting, you run away and hide. But it’s hard to know when that hurt has stopped and when you’re actually okay, versus being stuck and still hiding.”
“That’s why I was asking if you saw yourself leaving.”
“Hmm,” she said. “Maybe. But I don’t know where I would go. This has been my home for many years now.”
“And it’s still a place to come back to,” he said. “It’s so beautiful, and I’ll always have great memories of it.”
“But you’re leaving, so it won’t be the same,” she said.
He looked at her, then hesitated and said, “Leia, come with me.”
She stared at him in surprise.
“Don’t tell me that you haven’t thought about it,” he said, an awkwardness evident in his voice.
She studied him for a long moment. “Depending on what you mean,” she said, “I’ve often wondered about leaving, but I always had this immediate negative response.”
Nodding, he stared out at the world around them. “Right,” he said. “I guess I was hoping for a little more than that.” He got up slowly, wincing as he did so.
“You’re not ready to leave,” she said, jumping to her feet.
“Maybe not,” he said, “but there isn’t exactly time right now.”
“Have you got all your memories back?”
“No,” he said. “I’m not sure on some things yet. That’s another reason to connect with my team, to see how many holes they can fill in.”
“Do you remember your team?”
“Some of them,” he said, frowning. “And some of it is still a blank.”
“Are you sure it’s safe to contact them?”
“I don’t know who else I’d contact,” he said. “They are men I would trust with my life.”
“Well, that’s what you’d be trusting them with,” she said gently. “If you think about it, that’s exactly what you’d be doing.”
“Only if they had something to do with that plane crash. Which I don’t even know for sure was sabotage.”
“True.” She nodded. Hopping from the rock, she grabbed her dress and went to put it over her swimsuit.
“Don’t.”
“Don’t what?”
“Don’t hide all that beauty,” he said. His gaze was intense, and she felt herself flushing hot and cold. An attraction had been growing between them, but she hadn’t thought he’d even known what it was. She’d thought he hadn’t been well enough to know, but now he was like an animal in his prime, gaining strength every day, so she wasn’t surprised that this would rear its head. She nodded with a smile and said, “I have often been without my dress.”
“I’m not sure about that,” he said. “It seems that you wear it almost as a uniform.”
She was unoffended at his directness. “It’s not so much a uniform as a defense system.”
Immediately he frowned. “Did somebody hurt you?” His voice was harsh, and he was clearly agitated.
“Well, I was definitely hurt, but, if you mean attacked or raped, the answer is no.”
“Good,” he said, calmer already. “I would want that man’s name and would make sure that he paid.”
She looked at him in surprise. “Would you do that?”
He frowned at her response. “Absolutely. I recognize the value of an angel, even if someone else doesn’t.”
Chapter 4
Bullard meant every word. The last thing he would allow in this world were people who tried to damage the angels, and abusing a woman was not something Bullard could tolerate. He may not have full recollection of his history or who he was even now, but he knew who he was on the inside. He studied Leia, knowing she had secrets that he had yet to delve into. He didn’t want to push, but, now that he felt better, her history and everything else about her was on his mind. Matter of fact, she was constantly on his mind, not to mention under his skin and in his heart. He didn’t have a clue who and what she was outside of this place, but he knew he needed to find out. “Will you ever tell me what’s going on in your world?”