Total pages in book: 136
Estimated words: 125037 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 625(@200wpm)___ 500(@250wpm)___ 417(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 125037 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 625(@200wpm)___ 500(@250wpm)___ 417(@300wpm)
That produced another fresh round of laughter. What am I, you goof?
Rubin burst out laughing. Ezekiel and Mordichai both looked at him expectantly. Rubin flashed a grin. “Can’t help it. Leila just called Diego a goof. What could be more appropriate?”
“I’m so glad you’re getting a kick out of our conversation,” Diego groused.
“There are far worse things for a woman to be calling a man,” Mordichai said very solemnly. “I ought to know.”
“Women call you names?” Rubin asked.
“Does that shock you?” Ezekiel asked. “He’s still writing his ridiculous profile for a dating app he saw. He’s been working on it for a year, and he has three lines.”
“You can’t hurry these things,” Mordichai said to Diego. “That poor woman of yours most likely feels you knocked her over the head with a club like in the old days.”
“It’s called sweeping her off her feet,” Diego corrected.
“Actually,” Rubin corrected helpfully, “she was shot and couldn’t go anywhere. He had a captive audience and pretended to be a white knight.”
“You took advantage of that woman,” Mordichai said. “That’s not right. You should have spent time courting her.”
“I did spend time courting her,” Diego defended. “I just didn’t wait a year writing poetry on paper and never sending it.”
Mordichai shook his head mournfully. “If you want a woman to stay, Diego, you’re going to have to do more than dazzle her while she’s bedridden.”
“Since when are you the leading expert on courting women, Mordichai?” Ezekiel asked.
“I read books. You can learn a lot from books.”
“I caught him reading romances,” Gino Mazza announced as he entered the kitchen carrying canvas totes filled with more food. He put the bags on the counter and in the sink since there was little room left. “He has an entire library of romances.”
Ezekiel raised an eyebrow. “That true, Mordichai?”
“Absolutely. And keep it up, Gino. I’ll kick your ass.”
“Just letting the others know you are the leading authority for a reason. Not sure if it’s a good reason, but you still have one when the rest of us don’t.”
That man might have a few brains, Leila said. Who is he?
Gino is difficult to explain. Hard as nails. Only looks at one woman, his wife, Zara Hightower. He’s an elite tracker, a hell of a doctor and impossible to spot when he doesn’t want to be seen.
You admire him.
Diego hadn’t thought much about admiring Gino, but “respect” was a good word to characterize how he felt about Gino. Gino was the man he would most like to have with him if they were facing a large number of enemies in difficult terrain. He was that good and that dependable.
You think he’s the most like you out of all the men in your unit, Leila observed.
Diego frowned. Did he think he was like Gino? Gino didn’t bother to hide his dark side from them. Before joining the military and the GhostWalker program, he had worked for Joe Spagnola’s father, a man with a history of violent criminal activity. Joe was their commanding officer and leader of their team. He had helped save Gino’s life when his family had been murdered. His family had taken Gino in, and from that moment, Gino looked after Joe in the same way Diego looked after Rubin.
To the outside world, Diego appeared to be the easygoing Campos brother. He took care of talking with others, whereas Rubin was more reserved. He had developed that persona, one that seemed outgoing and calm. One that did the necessary paperwork. He faded into the background easily, yet took center stage to divert attention from his brother. He wasn’t any of those things. He was as dark as Gino. As willing to be violent as Gino. Now that Leila had pointed it out to him, he was much more like Gino than any of the others.
Maybe Ezekiel, Rubin said. He has that same power in him that I feel in you and Gino. You persist in believing it’s a bad thing. The three of you have done more good with your abilities than all the rest of us.
That was definitely not true, but it was nice that his brother thought that. Diego felt he was learning quite a bit about himself and relationships. He just had to take it in. Accept that the things he’d believed about himself weren’t necessarily true. Or at least try to view them in a different light.
“Are you really reading romance books?” Ezekiel asked his brother.
“Bellisia and Zara told me it was the best way to learn about women,” Mordichai stated in between bites of stew. “So, Zeke, you want to make fun of me, I’ll just let your wife know how you feel about her giving me advice.”
Leila’s laughter moved through Diego’s mind. Your friends are a little insane.
They’ll go on like this for hours.