Page 47

“Unfortunately.Scolopendra Gigantea, also known as the Amazonian giant centipede. It grows up to twelve inches and lives in moist, dark places like leaf litter.”
“Right. Remind me again why you wanted to be here.”
“For my research.”
“Research into what?”
I sucked my lips into my mouth. When Hunter had been in hospital, he’d shared his emotions with me. To see a man fight pain, was to see a man broken to his core.
“That’s right. It’s top secret.” Disappointment laced his tone.
I hated myself all over again.
And my heavy heart ached as much as my wounds.
CHAPTER 10
HUNTER
Layla’s kissawakened nerves that had been burned to a crisp when my body became a fucking mess. My scars were hideous, and I was not the man I used to be. No woman would want me, especially a woman like Layla. She was too good for me.
But what hurt me more than anything was her inability to trust me. After everything we’d been through, she wouldn’t share her research.Top secret. What a load of bullshit. Nothing was worth her risking her life.
“I’m sorry, Hunter.” She seemed to crumble in my arms.
“Yeah. Forget it.”
“No. I want to explain.”
“You don’t need to explain anything.”
“I do,” she said in a rush. “I signed contracts that force me to keep the details of my research a secret.”
“Fine.” I growled, pissed off that I was so angry over her reluctance to open up. “I don’t care.”
“I care, Hunter. I do. But you must know what it’s like to have orders that require you to keep something confidential.”
“Yes. Military secrets. But I knew what I’d signed up for. Did you know these secret contracts would put your life in jeopardy?”
“No, of course not.”
“Then nothing could be worth this?”
“It’s a burns ointment, okay?” she snapped.
“What’s a burns ointment?”
She slumped even further in my arms. “I was working on a natural remedy to help heal burns victims.”
“Christ, Layla. Is that all? You nearly died because—”
She lurched forward. “Is that all? Are you kidding? I saw what you went through. The pain! The scars! It’s brutal.”
“Believe me, I know.” I shook my head, trying to force down those months of pure hell that I would rather forget.
“I’m doing this for you and my sist—” She stopped.
“Your sister? What happened to your sister?”