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

For several moments, the Star Elite men froze. Everyone looked at each other. When they resumed their allotted tasks, this time they did so with a grim determination that warned Angus neither the Lawrences or Horvat stood a chance.

If there was one thing the men of the Star Elite wouldn’t allow to go unpunished it was one of their lov

ed ones being injured because of their work. Retaliation was the name of the day. Nobody would rest now until the gunman who had shot Angus’s beloved was put behind bars for good.

Angus, who was still struggling with his disbelief over what had happened, tightened his arms around a now unconscious Charity when Sir Hugo tried to take her off him.

“Get on,” Sir Hugo ordered gently.

Reluctantly, Angus released his hold on Charity, but swiftly mounted and held his arms out in readiness. Once Charity was back in his arms, Angus carefully wheeled Sir Hugo’s horse around and set off for the Star Elite’s base.

It was a blessing in disguise that Charity had fainted because she was unable to feel the jostling she received while being cantered through the empty streets. For Angus, it was also a blessing that she wasn’t awake to see the tears he shed, which blurred his vision and melted into the rainwater that fell all about them.

He just wished it was going to be so easy to wash away the memory of just how close he had come to losing his entire life: Charity.

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

Charity awoke to face a darkened room that was cosy and warm. She blinked sleepily at the roaring fire only a few feet away and sighed with contentment. Life didn’t get any better than this, she was sure of it. She was warm, comfortable, and more importantly, with Angus.

Wait a minute. Angus is here?

Charity’s eyes popped wide. She went hot, then cold, then hot again. Cautiously, she looked down at the arm draped across her waist. Suddenly, the bed moved. When Charity turned her head to look over her shoulder, her eyes met the troubled gaze of the man she now knew she loved.

“How do you feel?” Angus murmured gently.

Charity rolled onto her back and looked at him. Apart from a dull haze she suspected came from the medication the doctor had given her, she felt fine.

“My shoulder is a little sore,” she whispered. Unable to believe he was there beside her, she slowly cupped his cheek. “You really are here.”

Angus lips turned up in a ghost of a smile. “Did you think you were dreaming?”

“I thought I had just had a nightmare,” she murmured ruefully. “It took me a moment to realise it has all really happened.”

“You nearly died.” Angus clenched his back teeth and swallowed harshly. “Do you have any idea how close you came to being killed?”

“I am sorry,” Charity whispered. “I was shopping in town and saw the man I thought was Mr Lawrence. I couldn’t believe it was him so followed him. The next thing I know is he shot me.”

“It wasn’t him,” Angus corrected. “It was his son who was inside the house. He must have realised you were following his father.”

Charity frowned at him. “I didn’t realise Mr Lawrence had a son.”

“He doesn’t. The old Mr Lawrence had no children. The man you followed was his cousin, Phillip Lawrence, who is only five years younger than the man you knew to be old Mr Lawrence,” Angus informed her.

“Who was the younger cousin we kept seeing, the one who was middle aged?” Charity asked.

“Phillip Lawrence’s son, Phillip junior. We think they murdered Mr Lawrence and used his house as a base while they kidnapped women who lived in the area. We also think Horvat, their neighbour, moved in to help them. The food you mentioned he kept buying, far more than one man could eat, also fed the Lawrence men. They couldn’t go out any more than once a week for fear of alerting the locals that Phillip was not the real Mr Lawrence,” Angus murmured.

“It seems like a lot of trouble to go to, doesn’t it?” Charity whispered. “They either must be desperate to kill people or have some specific purpose for the women they kidnap.”

Angus nodded.

Charity lifted her brows when he seemed reluctant to tell her. “What?”

“We think they are being either used as slaves or are being sold into the sex trade.” Angus sighed because it was the last thing he wanted to discuss right now. The distress in Charity’s eyes was enough to make him wish he had kept his mouth shut now, but she had been curious, and he had wanted to keep her talking if only to reassure himself that she really was going to be all right.

“We will find him,” Angus assured her.

“Have you not caught him?” Charity felt sick at the thought that they might re-appear one day.