Page 30 of Loving Harper

“That’s not important right now. But the bottom line is I planned to rescue you. And, in a way, I did.”

She got angrier and angrier the longer he told the story. She wondered if Harper knew this. He had never told her. Thinking maybe he’d just lose energy, she allowed him to continue.

“Okubo showed up right on time. You and I had been doing something out in the garden as was planned. Then the slaughter began. You were so afraid. I told you I could get us out, but then he appeared, and before I could stop him, he shot you in the chest, demanding I join him. My men picked you up and cared for you until I could return. I thought the general had murdered you.”

In a twist, Lydia realized that Harper had indeed killed the right man. She couldn’t wait to tell him.

But the rest of his story was too much. She began to stand up.

“Georgie, if you value the life of your husband, you’ll sit back down. We had a deal.”

Lydia knew she’d regret her decision. She began to shake. “I don’t believe it. None of this is true. You participated and helped plan the raid.”

“True,” he said matter-of-factly. “But I always planned on taking you with me, safely. You were quite shaken, and you clung to my arms like I was your only lifeline to this world, and I was, you see. You begged me to save you. You also begged me to save one of the pretty nurses. Maybe it was Georgie.”

Lydia felt cold as ice. There was a tiny flicker of flame inside, in danger of igniting the whole room.

He was still trying to convince her. “I lifted you in my arms and ran across the campground, into the back of the truck, and off we went. There was a field hospital, very well equipped, used by several of the militia leaders, a secret place with a good doctor there.”

But a voice tickled in her ear. Something she remembered Harper said.

“Don’t react. No matter what he says. Don’t give him the pleasure of reacting. You’re stronger than he is. Remember that, Lydia.”

Just listen and get on with it.It was the hardest thing in the world she could do, but she heard him out. This time, though, she wouldn’t look at his face. He tried everything in the world to get her attention, moving his head around and looking at her from the side and clicking his fingers, whistling. She refused.

“That’s quite a story,” she said to the table. “And what is your request?”

His reaction told her she’d surprised him.

“Did you hear me? I saved your life.”

“I heard you. It’s impossible for me to believe that. I just can’t. Such a horrible story. Such a waste of human life. You’re responsible for it. And for this, you think you should be rewarded with your freedom? Are you crazy? How did you think I’d react?”

“But the wound in your chest, you should not have survived. It went straight through the left side of your heart. It pierced your lungs. You would’ve been dead in thirty minutes if I hadn’t taken you to that emergency facility. We got you patched up enough to transport you to the coast, like I had planned. You were unconscious, you were bleeding, you were turning chalky white, and your lips were turning blue. I thought mine would be the last face you would ever see. But you were strong. With my help, you made it. You’re alive and well because of me.”

He was nervous. She stared back at him with as much steel as she could muster.

He didn’t deserve to live. She was being asked to reward him for being a despicable human being. She should be aiding in his demise, not the other way around. But she remembered she had to protect Harper, Sally, Venom, and the others. This crazed man, this demonic being would never stop unless they could get him into a trap and contain him once and for all. There was no real negotiating with him.

“Why should I do this for you? Beg for mercy for you?” she finally asked him to shut him up.

“Because I spared your life once. Now if you can help me, you can spare mine. I won’t last long in this prison. They will kill me. They will find a way. I will give you the couple, whatever else you want, and I’ll call off the dogs. But I want my freedom. You tell them that. I want to be turned over to the Italians, like what has been proposed.”

“So why did I have to come all this way for you to tell me this?”

“I wanted to tell you, in person, that you owe me your life. For the love of the man you married, I am granting you that one wish, that you be able to spend the rest of your life with him. I give you that, if you give me my freedom.”

She rose, not looking back at him, but she vowed that, if given the chance, she would end him. She was suddenly grateful she didn’t have her memories back and hoped she never would.

Chapter 13

Lydia left theinterview room, feeling suddenly dizzy and sick to her stomach. She figured she’d stood up too quickly, yet vowed to be steady to the door and through the doorway into the hallway beyond. When she heard the clanging of the keys behind her, she relaxed. She wasn’t going to give Lipori the satisfaction of knowing he’d upset her.

She still felt dizzy and shaken as she wandered down the hallway toward the lobby area. At one point, the guard grabbed her by the arm and held her steady. She’d been lilting toward the wall, brushing her fingers over the white and gray paint, trying to keep herself righted. Her stomach was still doing flip-flops.

“Are you okay, ma’am?” he asked her.

“I’m fine. I just—I just got up too quickly. I was sitting there for a long time. How long?”

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