Mission: Marriage. Karen Whiddon

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СКАЧАТЬ Auggie nodded. “He’s already on his way.”

      Sean leaned his head back against the wall. He must have passed out, because the next thing he knew, he heard the sound of bells tinkling.

      Natalie and the giant were standing close together, talking in voices too low for Sean to hear.

      “Someone’s here,” Sean muttered. “Maybe the doctor.”

      “Or a customer. Just one moment,” Auggie said, disappearing into the front of the shop.

      When he returned a moment later, a tall, elegantly handsome blond man followed him. Something about him looked familiar, though Sean knew he hadn’t met the man before.

      When the doctor saw Natalie, his aristocratic features lit up. “Nat!”

      “Dennie!” Natalie ran to him and hugged him. An intimate body hug with full frontal contact, Sean noticed, his irritation mounting.

      For his part, Dennie didn’t seem in any hurry to push her away.

      “Ahem.” Sean cleared his throat. “Over here.”

      Immediately, Natalie stepped away from the doctor. “Dennie,” she said. “This is Sean. Can you take a look at his foot?”

      “Of course.” Kneeling beside Sean, Dennie held out his hand. “Dennie Pachla.”

      Sean shook it with as much heartiness as he could muster. “Sean McGregor.”

      Both of Dennie’s blond eyebrows rose. “The Sean McGregor?”

      Sean gave a weary nod.

      Obviously surprised, Dennie glanced at Natalie. “But that would mean—”

      “We were married.” Natalie sounded grim. “Once.”

      “I was going to say that would mean you’re not dead. But I guess ‘we were married’ works.” Dennie continued. “You’re not still?”

      “Yes,” Sean said.

      “No,” Natalie replied at the same time.

      “We were never divorced.” He glared at her.

      “I’d think your death would have dissolved the marriage, don’t you?” She glared back.

      “Whoa.” Dennie held up his hands. “Time out. I’ll just be taking a look at this foot, and then I’ll be on my way.”

      Auggie went up to Natalie and put his arm around her shoulders. “Why dinna you tell me he was back?”

      She shrugged. “I just found out. You know I would have called you.”

      Sean winced. Though he’d always secretly harbored the fear their marriage wouldn’t have survived his secret, watching her prove she’d made it without him hurt more than it should.

      “We’ll need an X-ray,” Dennie said after a brief exam.

      “No time,” Sean responded.

      A quick look at Sean’s face showed Dennie he meant business.

      “I’m thinking your fifth metatarsal might be broken. Depending on how bad the break is, surgery is sometimes necessary.”

      “Not an option.”

      “A cast?” Dennie offered.

      Sean shook his head no.

      “Very well. I’ll run back to my surgery and fetch a walking cast. It’s a heavy boot,” Dennie said as Sean started to protest. “You have to leave it on for six to eight weeks.”

      “Perfect.” Sean held out his hand. “Thanks.”

      After a brief shake, Dennie rose and headed toward the door. Auggie followed. Only Natalie remained.

      “What are you going to do?” she asked quietly. “After he puts that boot on your foot?”

      “I came to protect you,” he drawled. “So I’m thinking I’ll accompany you back to London.”

      “London?” Though she never raised her voice, her anger simmered in her eyes. “I’m not going to London.”

      “That’s the plan.”

      “According to whom?”

      “Corbett. No doubt he’s been talking to your father.”

      Briefly she closed her eyes. When she opened them, he saw determination and resignation in their depths. “I’m not going to London.”

      He sighed. “Fine. Then tell me, what are your plans?”

      “You never answered.” She crossed her arms and stared at him. Daring him to contradict her. “You first.”

      “I said I was going to protect you,” Sean growled. “I’m going after him.”

      “Him?”

      Though she shouldn’t have had to ask, in a perverse way he was glad she had. He wanted to say the name of his enemy out loud. “The Hungarian.”

      “The crime lord?” She looked wary. “Why? Don’t tell me Corbett’s already given you a mission.”

      Sean had to remind himself that he had deliberately protected her from the truth about the Hungarian and the evil he could do. She believed his entire family had died in the same fiery crash that had supposedly killed him. In reality, they’d been slaughtered by the Hungarian’s henchmen.

      The man known as the Hungarian had completely destroyed both of their lives. The crime lord’s vendetta was the reason Sean had pretended to die, so that Natalie’s life might be spared.

      And she knew none of this.

      “No,” he said slowly. “No mission. I’m not working for Corbett at the moment.”

      “Then why?”

      “Because the Hungarian is after you.”

      He could see the stubborn light in her eyes. “The code I was working on before all this started was believed to be his, but what does that have to do with you?”

      “That code may be part of the reason your team is dead, but he’s after you because you’re mine.”

      When she started to argue, he shushed her with a finger to her lips, oddly gratified when she didn’t immediately jerk her head away.

      “Natalie, I need to explain—”

      “No.” Violently shaking her head, she pushed herself away from him. “I’m not interested in your explanations. The past is over with. What’s done is done. Save your story for someone who cares.”

      He СКАЧАТЬ