A Spinster's Awakening (A New Adventure Begins - Star Elite 2)
Page 44
“Are there just the three of you?” Edwina blinked.
Oliver smiled. “No. There are a lot, but we mostly work in London. There are several smaller pockets of Star Elite men who live in various counties up and down the country with their families. Mostly, though, we are based in London.”
Oliver motioned to his colleagues. “Unfortunately, the men who usually work this area are already involved in a large investigation that they cannot leave right now. We were the only ones available to deal with this, so we were sent here to try to find out what we could.”
“What has led you to this small village?” Augusta demanded. “Nothing goes on in St Magdaline.”
“That isn’t true. While it is true to say that in most villages like this, nothing untoward usually happens, people always have their secrets. Crime can visit anywhere, when you least expect it oftentimes. There is nothing you can do, except hope the culprit is captured sooner rather than later and that nobody loses their life because of the crime spree,” Jasper said.
“Unfortunately, we have no idea if any of the girls who have been kidnapped have lost their lives. Because of the severity and strange nature of the disappearances, we have been called in. Magistrates are used to dealing with poachers, petty criminals and family disputes. Crimes like this are more the kind of thing one would hear of in the city streets of London. It is highly unusual for such crime to take place in villages like St Magdaline purely because people live closely amongst each other,” Oliver sighed.
“But someone must have pointed you in this direction,” Augusta persisted. “Why?”
“Someone noticed a man behaving oddly and reported it. It was Mr Lawrence, or so we believe. He was watching a young woman who noticed he was following her. She grew scared and alerted the magistrate. Thankfully, she was able to describe her stalker exactly. The magistrate identified Mr Lawrence.” Oliver stopped when several women shook their heads. “I know what you are going to say but you have to understand that until we can have Mr Lawrence’s mobility issues checked, we are not prepared to just accept he is too frail.”
“How do you intend to check?” Charity asked. She was starting to unwind a little now that she had Angus before her, and she could feel the deep rise and fall of his rhythmic breathing benea
th her hand. It was the connective reassurance she needed right now.
“We have to try to see him moving around inside his house. If he passes a window without even a shuffle or a bent back when he thinks he isn’t being watched it is enough for us to suspect we are right,” Jasper said. “Which is why we need to watch the house.”
“And have you seen anything untoward?” Agatha asked, clearly expecting the answer to be ‘no’.
“I am afraid we have,” Jasper whispered. “Unfortunately, Angus is the one who has been on watch in this house the most. If he has seen something without realising it, he is just as much a target in this village as the young women the kidnapper usually snatches.”
“So being here has put Angus in danger,” Charity murmured.
“Being here has put you both in danger,” Aaron replied frankly.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Angus sat bolt upright on the table with such unexpected swiftness that several of the ladies screamed. He winced when the sound ricocheted around his head. The hand he lifted to his left temple shook far more than he would have liked, but that wasn’t the sole focus of his concern.
“Charity?”
Charity stepped forward. “How do you feel?” she asked softly.
Before she could do anything more than look into his eyes, Angus emitted a low growl, slid one hard arm around her waist and hauled her bodily against him. She landed against the broad expanse of his muscled chest with a small squeak of surprise but barely managed little more than a gasp before her lips were captured by the warmth of his.
Charity moaned. The feel of his lips against hers was delightful, or would have been, if it weren’t for the dozen or so pairs of eyes riveted on their every movement.
Cheeks fiery with embarrassment, Charity pushed against him and lifted her head. Her eyes were wide as they met his.
“You have hit your head,” she said by way of explanation for his boldness in the presence of so many witnesses.
“I know who hit me, or I think I do,” Angus murmured, making no apology for his behaviour. Tenderly, he lifted a hand and cupped her cheek. “How are you? I never made it back to fetch you.”
“Do you remember?” Charity asked. “What happened?”
Angus nodded and only then realised the rest of the Star Elite were in the room.
“We know who you really work for,” Charity informed him before anybody could speak.
“The Star Elite sound very adventurous,” Augusta declared with a knowing nod.
“I don’t know about adventurous. I have been working for them for a long time now and they still haven’t taught me how to duck,” he grumbled by way of a response.
Charity wanted to smile but was too tearful to even make her lips quirk. She wouldn’t be able to relax again until she was able to speak with Angus alone and make sure he truly was going to be all right.