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.“So, are you ready to let me help you find the bastards who did this to you?”One thing Declan always appreciated about Jackson—he didn’t beat around the bush.When Jackson and his team had rescued him, Declan hadn’t taken much notice of the man, but now that he had, he swore the guy hadn’t aged a bit from the first time they’d met almost fifteen years before.A little over six feet tall, skin bronzed from the sun, dark brown hair with a few glints of gold, and a face that Declan had been told made women fall at his feet.“You have any ideas?” Declan asked.“Several.You’ve made a lot of enemies along the way.Assassinating evil men has a way of pissing off other evil men.”“True.Having enemies within my own agency is a little disconcerting.”“But not unexpected.The Agency doesn’t exactly hire choirboys.”“No, but we try to bring in those who are loyal, with a strong sense of patriotism.Selling out one of your own isn’t exactly the type of behavior I’d expect.”“You’ve grown soft.Takes all kinds of assholes.”Soft wasn’t the description Declan would give himself.Before his capture, he had been as jaded as any covert ops agent.And now, after what he’d been through, he had about as much faith in his fellow man as he had in the Easter Bunny.“I’m glad you found Sabrina,” Jackson went on.“Bet she was as surprised as hell.”Declan gave a noncommittal grunt but inwardly winced.He hadn’t told his friend what an ass he’d been, not relishing the idea of confessing that he’d abducted Sabrina with the intent of killing her.Not exactly his finest hour.“Never seen two people more in love than you two.”Again, Declan made no comment.At one time, there had been no doubt of his feelings.But that was then—when he’d had something still inside him.With only bitterness remaining, he had nothing left to give.What woman, especially someone as warm and caring as Sabrina, would want a hollow shell for a husband?“She had a rough time of it,” Jackson said.“Were you around when it happened?”Regret darkened his eyes.“No.I was on an op in Yemen.Didn’t hear about it until I got back a week later.I only heard it secondhand.Didn’t even know what hospital she was in.”“Hospital?”“She didn’t tell you she was hurt in the blast?”“She told me cuts and bruises.Made it sound like it wasn’t a big deal.”Jackson shrugged.“Again, this is only secondhand, but I heard she was unconscious for a few days.Severe concussion, broke some bones.”A cement-like weight settled in Declan’s gut.Why had Sabrina downplayed her injuries? Why hadn’t she told him how badly she’d been hurt? Because, asshole, you acted as if you didn’t give a damn.“I finally got to talk to her a couple of weeks later.Just a phone call, but damn…never heard her sound so lifeless.She took what was left of your body…well, the body she thought was yours, to Scotland for burial.I got the impression she wished she had died, too.”“Why do you say that?” He didn’t need to ask that question but, perhaps as self-punishment, did it anyway.“She was searching through the remains, trying to find you.” Jackson swallowed and continued, “Found an arm.Thought it was yours.Had a wedding ring just like yours.No one had any doubts that you were dead.”Unable to just sit and listen, Declan stood and wandered over to the window.Pushing aside the horror Sabrina had endured, he said, “Somebody went to a lot of trouble to make everyone believe I was.”“Yeah, they did.I worried about her…told her she needed to be careful since they tried to kill her, too.”Jackson was right.Ever since Declan had gotten back, it’d been all about him.He had wanted to find the traitor.Sabrina had kept insisting they’d both been hurt, and he had assumed it was because their relationship had been destroyed.But it was a helluva lot more than that.“I haven’t seen her since she left the Agency,” Jackson was saying.“Hell, I don’t even know who she works for.”Though LCR was a known organization, the identities of its operatives weren’t public knowledge.That, along with Sabrina’s natural reticence to share personal information, ensured that no one outside a few knew of her activities or whereabouts.The other man had paused, most likely thinking that Declan was going to reveal Sabrina’s occupation.Since that wasn’t going to happen, Declan changed the subject.“You have any issues…close calls of your own?”Jackson snorted.“I’ve always got a couple of people gunning for me, but it has more to do with pissed-off small-time criminals these days.”“So what does your security company do besides rescue wayward EDJE agents?”“Almost anything we can get our hands on.Bodyguard, security services for celebs, and high-target businessmen.I’ve got four full-time employees, two part-time.If you hire us, I’ll guarantee we’ll do everything we can to find the assholes.”“Thanks.But I don’t—”The apartment door swung open, and Sabrina walked in.The instant she saw Jackson, her eyes lit up.They met in the middle of the room and gave each other a warm hug.Seeing the delight in her eyes and the smile curving her beautiful mouth helped dissolve some of the heaviness inside Declan.There was just something about Sabrina’s smile that made life seem better.“I was thrilled when Declan told me you were coming over,” she said.“I wanted to thank you personally for what you did.If you hadn’t gotten the tip on his whereabouts and followed your instincts, he’d still be there.”“It was my pleasure.I wished I could have let you know, but I couldn’t find you.”She grimaced.“You know me.Staying in touch is not one of my strong points.”Jackson glanced over at Declan.“Guess it was a shock to see his ugly mug again.”She laughed as Jackson had intended.It didn’t surprise Declan that she didn’t tell his friend the circumstances of their reunion.That wasn’t her way.She went over to the sofa and dropped onto it.“Declan tells me you have your own security business now.I was surprised when I heard you left the Agency [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]