Page 25 of A Memory Not Mine (Sanguis Amantium #1)

Chapter twenty-four

Baird

H e’d left Mira’s room quickly—almost too quickly.

But he had to. If he’d stayed a moment longer, he wouldn’t have been able to leave at all.

The guilt sat heavy in his chest. Mira had been so open with him, sharing pieces of herself that clearly didn’t come easily.

She was an open book tonight, and he knew that wasn’t her default setting.

Their connection was real, undeniable—and that only made the lies harder to carry.

She deserved more than half-truths and guarded silences.

But the truth he carried— it wasn’t something most people could accept, especially not from someone she was just beginning to trust. His mission was clear, if not simple: keep Mira close, earn her trust, and then, when the time was right, stop Bastien.

Everything else—what he wanted, what he felt—wasn’t relevant. Couldn’t be relevant.

There was little chance this would end well between them.

The truth would come out. Baird felt that certainty settle heavier with each passing second.

But if Mira could return to America and live out her life in peace—safe, free—then he’d take her anger.

He’d risk her hatred. That, he could live with.

Losing her before Bastien was stopped? That, he couldn’t do .

After leaving the hotel, Baird made his way to a nearby parking garage and found a lookout point that offered a clear view of the hotel’s entrance.

He stayed there through the night, silent and still, keeping watch just as he had the two nights before, perched on a rock ledge across from the inn at Lochranza.

Watching. Waiting.