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Chapter 1

We do e have to do—we track these people down by whatever means necessary

The words weren’taround and around, chased by echoes of pain and heartbreak as I stood on the footpath and stared up at thein Southbank

I’d never been inside but I’d driven past it many a time And,a lingering kiss, reluctant to let e’d experienced the night before come to an end

I’d been so in love Stupidly, foolishly in love And it had all been a lie Not on my part, but his

Jak Talbott—the olf I thought I’d spend the rest of ood story And he’d got that,lies with reality so deftly it was hard to pick them apart Mom had sued both him and the paper over the story, but in the end had settled out of court rather than have her nas while the court case was ongoing But mud tends to stick, even if it isn’t true, and she lost several lucrative TV spots because of it Not that that had particularly worried her She’d been more concerned about the effect of Jak’s actions on me

And my reaction had been fairly intense Even noo years later, I avoided anything rese the fun but emotionally sterile liaison with my Aedh lover, Lucian

Meeting Jak Talbott again was the last thing I ever wanted to do

I crossed htly The midday sun held plenty of warmth, but it didn’t chase the chill away from my flesh

We do e have to do—we track these people down by whatever means necessary

Fine words, but did I have the courage to actually follow the for the last five minutes, I wasn’t so sure that I did

I glanced at oing to run, I’d better do it now…

Awareness tingled across ’s entrance—straight into the intense black gaze of Jak Talbott

I can’t do this, I thought, as all the old pain and hurt rose, threatening to drown ain I just can’t

But even as that thought crossed my mind, the inherently stubborn part of htened my spine Clenched my fists I could do this I needed to do this Not only for the sake of ht have, but also because saving the world froht well depend on what happened here with Jak