Bonded

Levent Kartal · 08-18-2012, 10:12 AM

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The contrast of his thoughts with the woman’s was strange to Levent, as they’d once thought along similar paths. It made him realize how much he really had changed, and when he considered his weakness compared to her, he wondered if it was all for the better. He had once been ruthless, his grins sly, his hands concealing daggers behind his back. He hadn’t necessarily killed where he did not need to, and there was little blood on his hands, but he had not flinched away when he needed to, either. Even Wilson didn’t know the extent of what he’d done in secrecy to advance toward his goal.

And here was his ultimate test. It would be simple to give up the secret of his children and their mother back in Cercatori d’Arte, and honesty would probably save his skin. He was at the woman’s mercy if he did not speak, and so it came down to one choice: him or them?

His lips twitched, a chink in his armor, a glimmer of fear as she touched the scar she’d given him. He opened his mouth, but his mind flashed again to the tiny bundles, russet and white, probably curling asleep in the crib or nursing from their mother. He might fail in his goal, but his blood would live on in his children.

“I’m sorry, Amy,” Levent said, “but yes—from you.”

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