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

“Not at the cost to our personal lives and families, we don’t,” Oliver bit out.

Once again, the tension within the room increased tenfold. Sir Hugo straightened and stepped away from the door.

“Am I to take it that I have dissention in the ranks?” he mused as he moved into the room and looked at each of his men.

“We work morning, noon and night for you. We sacrifice so much of our lives for the bloody investigations, and for what?” Callum demanded. “For another idiot to resurface that we have to chase over hill and yonder. They get to go about their lives while we are the fools who have to spend our nights completely sleepless, and our days doing things none of us would choose to do, all the while sacrificing the ability to be with our wives and families – if we had any.”

“While we do the job because we enjoy what we do, there have to be limits,” Oliver warned. He waved a hand at Aaron but glared at Sir Hugo. “It is hardly right that he has missed such an important event, is it? I mean, the man has been friends with Thomas all his life.”

“I had no idea what that letter contained,” Sir Hugo repeated, his voice rife with frustration.

“It was marked urgent,” Callum all but shouted.

“Don’t you think you should have gotten it to him just in case it was important and contained dire news? I mean, most of us have homes where our correspondence is sent. For the man to have any correspondence sent here by his housekeeper should have warned you that the contents were important, don’t you think?” Niall challenged.

Aaron listened to what his friends were saying. It was quite telling that they were all echoing what he himself had said to Sir Hugo earlier, and proved to Aaron that he was doing the right thing.

“I would be extremely disgusted if you have blatantly dismissed a letter from home marked urgent purely because it didn’t have any relevance to one of your investigations,” Callum growled.

The men all studied Sir Hugo for signs of guilt.

Sir Hugo sighed. “Look, we have all been up to our necks with the investigations we have ongoing. It was my mistake, Aaron. I apologise for it.”

“That is cold comfort, I am sure,” Callum grumbled.

Sir Hugo looked about the room. “Am I to take it that you all feel the same? You all intend to leave?”

The men nodded.

“I will be gone for as long as I need to be away,” Aaron warned Sir Hugo coldly. “If that means I am no longer considered a member of the Star Elite, then you can take my failure to return as my resignation, and gladly so if the strictures of this group are such that there is no allowance for significant family matters like the death of someone who was, essentially, family to me.”

“Here, here,” Oliver added.

Aaron sensed an argument was brewing given the discontent that hovered over everyone. Even Sir Hugo looked annoyed now, but that didn’t stop Aaron from slamming out of the house without a backward look. As far as he was concerned, the Star Elite had already cost him, and Elspeth, so much that he wasn’t prepared to sacrifice another moment for an organisation who didn’t give a damn about the people who worked for it.

“I can only hope you are still at the house, Elspeth,” Aaron whispered quietly.

“Want some company?” Callum asked when he appeared at Aaron’s elbow.

Aaron lifted his brows and watched Niall mount his horse in one swift motion.

“Have you quit as well” Aaron asked cautiously. “You were serious then?”

Jasper grinned at him as he came to join them. “Looks like it.”

They both turned to watch Oliver step out of the house, together with Phillip.

Aaron turned in his saddle to look at his friends.

“All of you?” he asked in surprise.

“Come on then,” Callum called as he trotted past. “Time is pressing.”

“We have a lady to rescue,” Phillip added as he nudged his horse into a fast trot and set out after Callum.

Deeply touched by

their comradeship, Aaron watched them go, but only for a few seconds. When Oliver passed his horse, he slapped it mightily on the rump and grinned.