To Have A Heart (A New Adventure Begins - Star Elite 7)

“Down!” Oliver bellowed.

Callum yanked Mallory back down again and hid her in a small hollow in the ground to the side of the path leading out of the trees.

“Who was that?” she demanded once Callum joined her.

“My boss.”

“That wasn’t Sir Hugo.”

“No.”

Callum peered around the bush and spotted the rider, who wasn’t sitting upright but was draped over the saddle with his hands tied behind his back. From their position beside the path it was difficult to see the rider’s face. All Callum could do was hope that it wasn’t one of his colleagues from the Star Elite, or Sir Hugo.

“Is he dead?” Mallory whispered as she watched the horse amble past.

Callum shook his head. He had no idea. The only reason Melrose would send in someone draped over a saddle like that would be to warn the Star Elite that they were in danger and could be killed whenever Melrose chose to kill them.

/> “What was Sir Hugo wearing?” he asked somewhat absently.

“I cannot remember. It was too dark to see him,” Mallory replied.

“They are trying to get us out of the bushes. Stay still. We aren’t going to be scared out of here,” Callum breathed.

Mallory had no intention of going anywhere. Not now. Maybe not ever.

It was a little disconcerting that Callum seemed to be in his element. They had spent the better part of an hour rolling around on a forest floor being shot at and all Callum could do was grin and try to get into a better position so that he could join in with the gun battle.

“Men,” she grumbled.

Callum’s grin widened. He made no apology for what he did or had to do to keep them alive. In a way, he wanted her to see the brutality of his life. It wasn’t romantic, or chivalrous. It was dangerous, dark, sickening. It was difficult to forget, and impossible to escape from seeing as his life was his work. Mallory needed to know that.

Maybe seeing the stark truth of what I do will stop her looking at me with those calf eyes.

Mallory edged closer to Callum’s reassuring strength. It wasn’t until he felt his hand slide into hers that Callum realised what he had done when he had felt Mallory edge closer. He looked down at their now clasped hands. It had been an instinctive move to touch her and had nothing to do with the unconscious rider. This was personal.

Mallory cannot be personal. We hadn’t met before a couple of hours ago. She is a victim we are in the process of recovering, nothing more than that.

But deep inside, Callum heard the small voice that warned him that he was lying to himself. He wasn’t usually the kind of man who shied away from things, but the thought of Mallory mattering to him was something he instinctively wanted to distance himself from. He didn’t want to care about another human being. He didn’t want to care about a woman. Women wanted more than he could give. Women wanted a relationship, a home, family, a man who would be there to help them run a house. He wanted a life with the Star Elite. It was who he was, not just what he did. He had gotten used to spending his life outside, in the shadows, watching and catching criminals. The last thing he wanted was to have to swap it for evenings before the fire with a wife by his side.

Now why should I look at her and think about marriage, hearth, and home?

Callum shook his head in disgust. Despite his reluctance to get involved with her romantically, when he knew he should release her hand Callum continued to hold it because he wanted to keep her next to him. He knew it was the best place for her to be.

“Come on.”

“Where are we going?” Mallory hesitated.

They were safe where they were, yet Callum wanted to keep moving.

“Out of here.”

When they tried to move again, though, they were immediately trapped by another hail of bullets, this time more ferocious than any that had been aimed at them before. All Callum and Mallory could do was huddle together and wait for it to stop again and hope they would still be alive when it did.

“This is bloody impossible,” Callum growled several minutes later when the bullets still hadn’t eased. He studied the small gap beneath the thorn bush they were hiding behind and sighed.

“Stay here.”

“You cannot leave me,” Mallory protested.