Fallen Hero (A New Adventure Begins - Star Elite 3)

“Now there is no need for any of that,” Sir Hugo replied with a swiftness that matched his alarm.

“I can assure you there is every need for it,” Aaron replied briskly. “I should have been at my friend’s funeral. If it wasn’t for that bloody fool’s errand we were sent on after Horvat, I would have been there for Thomas, and Elspeth.”

“We know,” Jasper replied. “We all understand.”

“No, you don’t,” Aaron retorted coldly. He swiftly ignored the small voice that warned him it wasn’t fair to take his anger out on his friends and threw Sir Hugo a filthy glare.

“You love her,” Oliver replied with a shrug. “Don’t you think it is about time you stopped denying it? She needs you.”

“She needed me when she found out her brother was dead,” Aaron retorted.

“Well, you weren’t there, were you? You have to accept the situation as it is now, not how it was,” Jasper grumbled. “You can’t change what has gone, but you can change the here and now.”

“Go after her, Aaron,” Oliver urged him.

“I need you back here a week on Thursday,” Sir Hugo informed them all. His alarm grew when all the men prepared to leave.

“I quit,” Aaron snapped. “I have no time in my life for any organisation that blocks something like this.”

“It hasn’t been blocked,” Sir Hugo warned. “You were in the middle of an investigation and couldn’t be contacted.”

“Why? Why couldn’t I be contacted?” Aaron demanded.

“You were watching Horvat,” Oliver said.

“Even so,” Jasper warned. “He should have been told and given the choice whether he wanted to leave and have someone take over his watch. None of us would have minded given the circumstances.”

“She isn’t his wife, though,” Sir Hugo added. He turned to Aaron. “We make allowances for kith and kin, but not friends and associates. You know that. When it arrived, the note wasn’t deemed important. I had no idea what it contained. If I had known what news it carried, I would have ensured a rider brought you that letter just as soon as it arrived.”

“But you didn’t,” Aaron replied. “Now I have missed my friend’s funeral, and his sister, who is also my good friend, is God knows where!”

“She isn’t your good friend, though, is she?” Oliver challenged.

“What?” Aaron rounded on him so swiftly that Oliver lifted his hands up, palms outward in a placating gesture that did little to soothe Aaron’s growing disgust with himself, and what he saw as his personal failures, with the Star Elite for intruding on his private life so severely, with his colleagues for, well, something, and for the world at large for being so cruel as to take someone as young as Thomas Lincoln at such an early age, and hurting Elspeth so much.

“She has already lost so much,” Aaron murmured.

“You have been in love with Elspeth Lincoln for as long as I have known you,” Oliver snorted. “We all know it. While you try your hardest to deny it, and ignore her for the most part, you refuse to encourage the affections of the myriad women who have crossed your path in recent years. They would have accepted your offer of marriage in a heartbeat. You barely gave those quite beautiful ladies a second look,” Oliver sighed.

“All because of Elspeth,” Jasper nodded. “No other woman gets noticed because of her.”

Niall agreed. “You speak of her a lot – Elspeth Lincoln, that is. She is, by far, the only woman who has held your attention for a very long time now. Just do something about it.”

Oliver pointed to Sir Hugo. “If he didn’t let you have the note because it came from home, not from a wife, make her your damned wife then the bastard doesn’t have any excuses in the future. This situation can never arise again then, can it?”

Aaron shook his head because he hated his friends knowing something he wasn’t at all sure about himself. They all spoke about his love for Elspeth Lincoln with absolute certainty. He had simply refused to stop and allow himself to contemplate how he truly felt about her. He didn’t see it as adoration. Not in any way. Unfortunately, it seemed that his feelings had been written on his sleeve for the world to see anyway, and it appeared to be love he felt for the woman who positively haunted his every waking moment.

“How long have you all known?” Aaron muttered with a worried frown.

“Like Oliver said, since we have known you,” Jasper replied honestly.

“We will help if you need us,” Oliver offered. “We can come with you and be there in case you need help finding her if she has moved.”

“You can’t go alone,” Callum warned.

Niall, Jasper and Oliver all nodded.

“Might I remind you gentlemen that we are in the middle of an investigation? You are needed to continue the search for Horvat,” Sir Hugo warned.