A Spinster's Awakening (A New Adventure Begins - Star Elite 2)

“Do you have a little bundle of adventure on its way then?” Angus asked suspiciously.

Justin couldn’t withhold his grin. “Might have,” he smirked. “Might be the best damned thing to ever happen to me as well, besides the wife, of course.”

“I need to get out of here,” Angus muttered when he found himself contemplating a life like the one Justin had painted, and shockingly began to yearn for it to come into fruition. A baby with Charity? The mental image of it sprang instantly to life in the back of his mind, took root, and refused to leave.

“You can try, my friend,” Justin replied, clapping his friend on the shoulder companionably. “But it won’t do you any good. Take it from a man who has already been in your situation, and failed miserably to walk away, it is best to know when to give in and let life throw you an entirely different set of challenges. It doesn’t mean you are giving up a life of adventure. At least this new life would bring you richness. Life in the Star Elite is barren and will always have to be that way through the nature of the work we do. Remember that before you condemn yourself to an empty life full of nothing but war.”

The men fell silent as they entered the gloom beneath the shadows of the trees. They paused to listen and allow their eyes to adjust to the darkness. When they could see well enough, both men crept after the women.

“The path he has been taking is easy enough to see,” Charity whispered.

“These blackberries are delicious,” Monika mumbled around a mouthful of food.

Charity rolled her eyes. “Is that all you can think about?” she muttered.

Monika shrugged. “Well, they are.”

“I agree, but would you like to concentrate on why we are really here?” Charity left her friend to study the deliciously plump fruit in her basket and began to follow the path Mr Horvat’s nightly journey had worn into the littered forest floor.

“Well, how about that?” she murmured when she found herself staring at another narrow cart track. There was no break in the thicket on the opposite side in either direction.

“There is nothing here,” Monika muttered. “Do you want to go up or down it a bit and see if there is anything?”

“I don’t see the point, do you? Nobody can get through that bush. Look how thick it is. The woods look out over miles and miles of fields.” Charity sighed. She felt a little deflated at being thwarted so easily, especially given her determination to get some answers.

“It does point to one thing, though,” Monika murmured when they had turned around and were retracing their steps back along the path.

“What’s that?”

“He cannot be working alone.”

Charity stopped and frowned. She looked over her shoulder at her friend only to gasp when she saw a tall, dark figure standing mere feet away. Her eyes widened at just how silently he materialised out of the trees like a wraith. She hadn’t never realised just how dangerous the men from the Star Elite could be. She did now, though, and desperately tried to think of something she could say, or do, that would alleviate the sudden tension in the air.

“What is it?” Monika asked when she saw Charity’s disquiet. She gulped and slowly turned around. “Where did you come from?” she gasped. Being closer to the still and silent figure gave Monika the ability to see under the hood of the long cloak he wore. She knew instantly who it was and was therefore not as frightened as she should have been.

Charity, on the other hand, wasn’t as fortunate. Panic suffused her as she turned to face the path that would lead them home only to sense that the man behind Monika was not alone. To her dismay, she found herself staring into the cold, hard eyes of a clearly furious Angus.

“I thought you had left,” Charity murmured. A wild thrill of relief flooded through her, but it was short-lived because she sensed trouble was afoot.

Angus folded his arms. He was so mad that he didn’t trust himself to speak. He wanted to yell. He wanted to shake some sense into her. His fury was purely driven by his need to keep her safe, but she didn’t know that, especially given his struggle to find a way to tell her just how important she was to him.

When words failed him, Angus stepped off the path and silently waved the ladies down it. Together with Justin, they all began to make their way out of the woods. When the small group reached the edge of the village, Justin motioned to Monika to go back home and led her away from Angus and Charity. Charity, eager to put as much distance between her and the furious man beside her, hurried toward home.

Once they were inside, Angus slammed the back door closed. He was so coldly furious that even his voice shook beneath the force of his temper.

“Do you want to tell me what the Hell you are doing?” he demanded.

“I was picking blackberries with Monika,” Charity replied defiantly. “Why do you think I have to explain myself to you?”

“Because you keep sticking your nose into our bloody investigation, that’s why,” Angus snapped.

“

I was picking blackberries,” Charity argued, her voice rising.

“You were following the path Horvat takes every night and you and I both know it,” Angus retorted, pointing one long finger at her. “Don’t lie to me.”

“I am not lying,” Charity snapped, affronted at the notion, even though she knew she wasn’t being entirely honest.