A Terrible Misunderstanding (A New Adventure Begins - Star Elite 6)

Inside the small room, Niall eased Clara to her feet and moved over to the door.

“When you are ready, we have to get out of here. We cannot run the risk that Smidgley might circle around and come back for weapons or something. It isn’t safe to stay,” he urged gently.

Clara awkwardly pushed to her feet. The room swirled a little, but she was able to stand on legs which shook alarmingly. Still, she stumbled over to him, not least because she felt safer standing as close to Niall as she could get. Before she could ease past him, he touched her chin with gentle fingers.

“Are you sure you are not hurt?”

“I am going to be all right once I get home,” she assured him.

Without saying another word, Niall hauled her into his arms and held her once more. He rested his head against hers and savoured this precious moment of unity. He had to make sure she truly was all right. Secretly, he needed to be close to her once more. After a moment or two, he felt the hesitant slide of her arms around his waist. Together, they stood locked in each other’s arms before Niall was compelled to lift his head.

Clara looked hesitantly at him, dreading the moment he would tell her they had to leave.

Without saying a word, Niall lowered his head to hers. Words weren’t necessary. The kiss was a silent request for reassurance and was answered by loving tenderness neither of them could withhold.

“Come on, let’s go,” Niall whispered several moments later.

He caught her hand in his and tugged her gently toward the door. Their progress was slow on account of her slightly uneven walk. When Niall realised that she was struggling, he lifted her into his arms and carried her out of the house.

“There you are,” Oliver murmured when he saw them. He lifted his brows at Clara. “I take it you are unharmed. I apologise that you were snatched.”

“At least you found me,” Clara replied.

Niall reported to Oliver where he had found her and what he now believed Smidgley had done with the missing women. His news made all the men from the Star Elite stop what they were doing and turn to listen.

“It explains why nobody can find them,” Phillip growled.

“We can interrogate Smidgley’s contacts and find out if any of them know where the victims were delivered. One of them will talk. All we need to do is find one of the wealthy to talk to us,” Oliver suggested.

Niall met his gaze. Oliver nodded, because he knew they were both thinking about Sir Hugo.

“Until we hear from him, we have to assume that he is on the hunt already. For now, let’s get Miss Potter home. I understand that your father is heading back to Serpentine and is due there any day now, Miss Potter,” Oliver murmured. “Best get home quickly.”

His pointed warning to Niall was received with a brisk nod. With more professionalism than he truly felt, Niall led Clara over to a carriage his colleagues had prepared and slid her inside. It wasn’t the carriage she had arrived in. Instead, it was one the local Star Elite men used. It was lavishly furnished, with thick shades at the window that protected them from prying eyes. Thankfully, Callum was driving, which gave Niall the ability to climb into the carriage after Clara and settle beside her.

“It is going to take us several hours to get back, I am afraid,” he informed her. “For now, try to settle down and get some sleep.”

Clara studied the distance between them and wished he would smile at her or do something that would give her the confidence to narrow the gap and lean against him as she yearned to do. Instead, he lowered the shutter and stared moodily outside while Callum steered the carriage around in a large circle.

“What do you plan to do next?” she asked after several hours of silence.

“When you have been handed over to your father, we are going to join the men following Smidgley. Now we know where to look for the victims, we can set about visiting the homes of everyone he has connections with. Hopefully you are right, and they are going to be fairly easy to find now. If not, then it is up the boss to decide what to do. I merely follow orders and do whatever I need to do to stay alive. My work, my life, is with the Star Elite. I will go where the job takes me.”

That tells me that this is going no further.

Clara couldn’t pretend that it didn’t hurt. She had to wonder why he had chosen to kiss her again if he didn’t care about her. It was on the tip of her tongue to ask, but pride wouldn’t allow her to beg. If he didn’t want to be a part of her life, there was nothing she could do to make him change his mind. She didn’t want to be the one to force him to be with her because the first chance he got to leave he would take it and she would lose him anyway.

A heavy silence settled between them. As the miles swept by, Clara felt her eyelids droop, but she forced herself to wake up, not least because she didn’t want to miss a moment of being alone with Niall. It was foolish, really, to do anything more than dismiss him as someone who didn’t seem to know what he wanted.

Niall forced himself to stop talking before he did or said anything that would upset Clara even more than she already looked. He had no idea what to do with a weeping female. Because he couldn’t offer her false hope, Niall was left struggling to find a way to placate her.

“Don’t you ever get tired of running around in the dark? Of watching other people live their lives while you suspend yours?”

“I am not suspending my life,” Niall replied heavily.

“Really? Because watching someone else isn’t living your own life, is it?”

“I am keeping people safe,” Niall gro