Cold Comfort (A New Adventure Begins - Star Elite 5)

“Look on the bright side, this young woman might have warts or something.”

“Have you seen her twin?” Rhys burst out. “I doubt it. That woman, although dead, was undoubtably very pretty in her prime. In a way, it is easy to understand why she was chosen by the kidnappers because she fits the profile of the rest of the victims to perfection.”

“Those clothes of hers spoke of hard times, though,” Will interjected. “Her complexion was a little pock-marked, so her life wasn’t easy.”

“Maybe that is why she had to be killed? Maybe she wasn’t as healthy as they had hoped?” Rhys suggested.

“Which is why we need to find out why the victims were taken,” Harry warned.

“It is of little consequence really. We will find out in good time I am sure, but for now, what is important is capturing the Smidgley brothers. Get them behind bars where I can interrogate them. They will tell us what we need to know, but I cannot do a damned thing while they are squirrelled away in that blasted mansion of theirs. I need to lure them out. She might not know it yet, but that is where Caroline Elkins’ sister comes in, and you, Oliver. Whatever you do, do not allow anything to happen to that woman.”

Oliver dropped his forehead onto the table and slammed it down a couple of times.

“Can’t I escort the body to the coroner and stay for the examination? I would rather that than nurse a young woman through this. There is going to be wailing and weeping, the whole damned works,” Oliver groaned.

“You will survive,” Wills grinned but with little sympathy.

Oliver lifted his head and squinted spitefully at him. “I wasn’t talking about the damned woman. She can screech as much as she likes, but she is going to do what she is told when she is told whether she likes it or not. If she doesn’t, things are going to get really nasty really quickly.”

He slammed his gun onto the table and sat back to fold his arms and stare down at it.

Sir Hugo lifted his brows but knew then that the had made the right decision in selecting Oliver for nursing their charge on this particular part of their mission. Oliver was a solid man; very dependable, logical, careful, yet tough when he needed to be. He was also as averse to matrimony as anybody could be. His devout reluctance to undertake his task said more than enough. Besides, the dire warnings Oliver had just given assured Sir Hugo that Oliver wasn’t going to follow the rest of the men up the aisle anytime soon, no matter how pretty this young woman might be. Sir Hugo hoped not in any case because everyone needed to concentrate on their allotted tasks if the Star Elite had any hope of surviving this investigation. Failure was not an option.

CHAPTER THREE

“Yes?” Emmeline yanked the door open and gasped when the tall, well-dressed gentleman on her doorstep turned around to look at her.

At first, the expression on his face wasn’t friendly. There was a glint of hardness in his amber eyes that warned her he could be fierce when he wanted to be. After a moment or two, there was something else hidden in those gorgeous depths; something less harsh but wary.

He is handsome. In fact, he is incredibly handsome.

Oliver turned to look at the young woman who had just answered the door, and opened his mouth to speak only for his mind to go blank. All the things he had rehearsed on his way over to the young woman’s house suddenly flew out of his mind and left him standing on her doorstep, staring agape at her. While he knew what Caroline Elkins might have once looked like, he hadn’t truly expected just how stunning her twin sister would be. It was while he was trying to think of something to say that Oliver realised that he was staring.

“Can I help you?” Emmeline prompted when the man on her doorstep continued to stare at her as if he had expected someone else.

Oliver coughed. “Miss Elkins?”

“Yes.” Emmeline felt her stomach drop. She dragged her gaze away from his handsome good looks and raked him with a studying glance. His clothing, while expensive, was well worn and carried a faint layer of dust. She had no idea, yet, who he was and where he came from, but Emmeline knew immediately that he had ridden a long way to get to her door. What she had to find out now was what he wanted. Her stomach flipped nervously at the thought that he might want her for some reason. She swallowed and eyed him warily.

Dread flowed through Oliver with as much determination as the blood in his veins. He realised, in that instant, just how much trouble he was in. The urge to turn around, ride back to the safe house, and enlist one of the others to undertake this task was strong, even though Oliver knew he didn’t have the authority to usurp Sir Hugo’s command.

I have been tasked with this part of the mission and this part of the mission I shall do. Somehow.

“Might I come in and have a private word with you, miss?”

That’s it. I will be professional and strict; very, very strict.

Emmeline was already shaking her head, immediately refuting the idea of allowing this man into her tiny cottage, not least because he was huge. He was so tall, she had to tip her head back to look up into his deep amber eyes, which were almost hypnotically engaging, or would have been had it not been for the faint hint of displeasure she saw in them. She had no idea why he should be so displeased to see her, but he was and that rankled her. A lot. So much so, Emmeline almost coldly arched one brow at him and stood her ground.

Handsome or not, he is so large I doubt he will fit into my sitting room even if I did let him in.

Strangely, she suspected that someone of such presence would leave a lingering essence behind long after he had left. He was that much of a personable character. He positively vibrated menace, while at the same time appeared handsomely charming and he had hardly spoken. There was something about the tall, strong, silently powerful man before her that left Emmeline with the impression that he was dangerous to her personally although she had no idea why.

“Oh? What about?” Emmeline felt bold enough to ask.

“Your sister, Caroline.” Oliver’s words fell between them like stones rippling across a calm pond. In the wake of each word, which shivered through the air between them, a tension began to develop. It made Emmeline instinctively step back. Oliver eyed her carefully as he followed her into the house, but he could ascertain nothing from her face, which had almost instantly turned into an implacable mask of polite disinterest.

As her unexpected guest stepped into her home, Emmeline hastened a glance outside. She mentally groaned when she saw several curtains twitch up and down the street. She knew this man’s presence in her house was going to cause a stir, and cause many to enquire about her connection to him should she show her face in the village for the next week or so.