Read Online Imitation by Heather Hildenbrand - Free Book Online

attacker’s throat, removing them only when another member
of my security team pried them off, all the while someone in the
background insisting that once the victim’s face turns purple, the
need for pressure is moot.
    “ I … I was trying to …” I
stop and start only to stop again. I cannot tell him the full
truth—that I meant to run away from a life that doesn’t belong to
me in the first place. “I wanted to get away, I guess.”
    He makes a sound that is a cross
between a snort and a growl and throws up his hands. He doesn’t
argue and I have the sense that he has accepted my recklessness as
par for the course. I don’t like the idea that he thinks I’ve given
up on surviving.
    I wait for him to look at me. When he
does, I hold steady even though I want to look away. “I don’t want
to die,” I say with conviction.
    He regards me for a long moment and
then gives a slow nod. “All right. Then stop lying and making
stupid decisions. You’re lucky I found you in time. Next time, I
might not.”
    I nod to show I agree to his
terms.
    “ You have to let me do my
job. Stay where I can see you, where I can reach you if something
happens. At all times.”
    I hesitate. Agreeing to this means I
will not attempt escape again. At least not on his watch. He has no
idea what I’m giving up when I say, “Deal.”
    We fall into silence again but this
time it is comfortable, almost friendly. I’m not sure how we came
to be alone but I don’t ask just yet. I’m sure Gus and his men will
arrive soon enough.
    I tip my head back against the bricks
and close my eyes against the pounding that has receded to a dull
thud against my temples. A breeze blows strands of hair across my
face and all at once I am struck by a need to be upright, to fully
soak in the wild freedom of standing in such an open
space.
    I struggle to my feet slowly, ignoring
Linc’s offered hand because I don’t want to feel the sting of him
letting go again, and stare out at the twinkling lights of the
city.
    The man who attacked me is nowhere in
sight. I am tempted to ask what Linc has done with him, or how long
I was unconscious, but I don’t want to break the spell of the view
that makes me feel closer to freedom than I have in my entire
existence.
    The air on the rooftop is cold and
crisp as it blows across my cheeks. It is the best cure for my
swirling thoughts. I love the wildness of being surrounded by so
much sky. I breathe it in and pretend there is only this. No vodka
in coat closets, no dinner parties, no murder attempts. Only open
air and night sky forever.
    “ You okay?” Linc
asks.
    Instead of breaking the spell, Linc’s
voice only amplifies it. I force my eyes open and look over at him.
“I am now,” I assure him. I don’t add that it’s just as much for
standing here as it is for him saving me.
    The lines along his forehead diminish.
“That one was a little close,” he says. His tone is off-hand but I
can hear the tension underneath. I cannot help the image that
replays itself in my mind. It is clearer now—Linc fighting, killing
that man. The deadened expression he wore while doing
it.
    “ Why did they choose you
to protect me?” I ask.
    He grimaces and stares straight ahead.
“Because I’m the best.”
    “ You say that like it’s a
bad thing.”
    He is quiet for a long time before he
says, “It’s not about good or bad. It means I’m not afraid to
die.”
    “ Then I’m all wrong for
this.” The words are out before I can stop them. As if to stem the
flow, I clap my hand over my mouth and stare at him.
    “ What are you talking
about?” he asks. The expression he wore that first day is back. Now
I understand it: distrust. He already knows something. I have no
idea how much, but I try to smooth it over.
    “ I mean life … in the
spotlight, the death threats. They scare me.”
    “ Huh,” he grunts and I
know he doesn’t believe me, but he doesn’t press it.
    We go back to staring out over the
rooftops. We