In Deep

by Chloe Harris

  Once they reached the end of the stairs, they found Connor in the throes of a desperate battle. Jaidyn wanted to howl, tears of pain and despair running down her cheeks. He was trying to ward off a man who seemed bent on killing him, fighting with a determination bordering on madness.

  Neil enveloped Jaidyn in his arms. She gripped his upper arms tightly watching the scene before her, helpless to do anything but cling to her father.

  Connor grabbed the stranger’s arm, spun him around, and slammed him into the stone wall. Dust rained down on them all and it seemed the whole building shook with the impact. The stranger grunted, twisted and kicked, and pulled away with a snarl.

  Back on his feet, he spat, blood running from his nose, and charged Connor again. He hooked an arm around Connor’s waist and slammed him against the crate behind him so hard it knocked the wind out of Connor. The crate cracked, groaned, and splintered.

  Snarling, Connor punched him squarely in the face and sent him sprawling across the filthy ground. The stranger gave a low grunt, then scrambled backward. He stilled for a heartbeat as his eyes fell on something lying on the floor. Jaidyn followed his gaze. A small pistol lay abandoned near both men’s feet.

  The man gathered some of the grit and dust of the ground in his hand and threw it in Connor’s face. Blinking furiously against the dirt that blinded him momentarily, Connor froze. Meanwhile, the stranger bolted for the pistol.

  Shaking his head as if it would help him to see clearer, Connor stalked over to the stranger and towered over him. He kicked him in the stomach and the man lost his grip on the pistol.

  Connor kicked him again, this time in the ribs, then bent over him and pounded him. The stranger somehow managed to gain a little ground. But suddenly the men were in a heap on the ground, rolling in the dust. It all happened too fast for Jaidyn to see anything but a blur.

  Fists flew, punches and grunts followed.

  Jaidyn’s eyes traveled from the men on the ground to the place where the pistol–

  Sucking in her breath, she struggled against Neil’s grip. The pistol, it wasn’t there anymore. Instead, she could see it in the other man’s hand, pointing at Connor, who was trying to fight it off.

  A shot was fired and all the fighting stopped.

  Jaidyn stared at the tangled bodies of Connor and the stranger lying there, unmoving.

  Neil’s hold on her tightened as she stopped fighting him. Her knees gave out and she heard herself whimper. Nausea rose in her stomach and she thought she was going to faint.

  Connor lay there. Unmoving. The shadows were too hazy to make anything out beyond that.

  She needed to get to him. Jaidyn needed to tell him she loved him before it was too late.

  Strength came back to her in a heartbeat, something at the end of her spine sent invigorating tingles through her body. She fought Neil’s hold, fought as desperate as a greased cat until she broke free, shoved past Neil, and stumbled toward Connor.

  Tears blurred her vision as she groped Connor’s shoulders and separated him from the other man. She groaned with effort as she turned Connor on his back, dreading the thought of finding his eyes empty.

  They were closed. Jaidyn could see a dark blotch on his chest and she burst into tears. She’d seen wounds like that before.

  She knew what it meant. All her strength left her and her forehead bumped into Connor’s ribs. She’d lost him, had lost him before he knew what she felt for him, before she could tell him she loved him and she wanted to be with him, only him, no matter how, no matter where.

  “Connor,” she sobbed, knowing her heart would never recover from this. “I love you. Oh God, I love you.”

  Connor’s body twitched. Jaidyn jerked her head up and sat back on her heels. She hiccupped, wiping her face with her hands.

  Connor gave a low groan. Still not opening his eyes, he gingerly patted his ribs and winced. “Woman, I knew you were going to be the death of me.”

  “Oh God! You’re alive!” Jaidyn let out a relieved sob and threw her arms around him.

  Connor cringed and gave a pain-filled grunt. Lifting his head a little, she saw his wonderful dark blue eyes glitter with an emotion that sent warmth and elation through her.

  “Of course I am.” He smiled and Jaidyn gave another sob.

  “I thought I’d lost you.”

  Cupping her cheeks, Connor held her still, locking his gaze with hers. “I’m not that easy to get rid of.”

  Jaidyn’s lips trembled, the corners curling into a hesitant smile. Oh God, she was so beautiful. And she’d said it–had said that she loved him. His heart did a complete somersault and he wanted to tell her he loved her too, but suddenly the harsh reality crashed down upon him and he caught his breath, blocking the words so that they didn’t spill from his lips.

  Connor released Jaidyn from his grasp and sat up slowly. She scrambled back to give him room. A sharp pain pierced his chest and for a moment he was dizzy, but somehow he managed to stand.

  Jaidyn’s probing hands brushed down his arms and chest as if to make sure he wasn’t injured. With another sob, she wrapped her arms around him and buried her nose in the hollow where his shoulders met his throat.

  “Jaidyn …” Connor struggled to find the right words. He couldn’t be so selfish and do that to her. He couldn’t accept her love, not now when she’d just found a home. Theirs would be a life on the run, because he’d just piled murder on top of the ugly crimes he’d been charged with in the first place. “I … must leave at once and never come back–ever.”

  “So? I’ll come with you.” He could hear the smile in her words.

  “You can’t. You must stay here.”

  “What?” Jaidyn stepped back, narrowing her eyes at him.

  “I can’t stay here. But you … There’s no way we can be together.”

  Connor could see Jaidyn’s nostrils flare. “You’re not only stubborn, you’re a coward as well.”

  “Is it cowardice to not want to be hanged?” Connor growled.

  Before Jaidyn could reply to that, she was cut off by someone stomping down the stairs. Turning his head, Connor saw Kier coming to a halt, his gaze shocked and unblinking as he took everything in. Connor realized Neil was there also, his chin quivering as he pressed his lips into a fine line. What was he doing here?

  “About time you showed up,” Connor grumbled in Kier’s direction, shaking and flexing his scraped hands.

  More footsteps could be heard above, moving toward the trapdoor.

  “Stay there.” Connor heard the bellowed order before the man who had issued it came down the stairs. Dread enveloped Connor in a frosty grip. The man was wearing an officer’s uniform.

  What a coincidence. An officer following on Kieran’s heels, seeing the two soldiers on the ground and the constable shot as well, and Connor was the only man left standing. It would take a dimwit about two seconds to figure out what had happened here.

  The officer squatted between the soldiers, looking at one, then at the other who lay facedown. He placed his hand on the man’s shoulder. “Sullivan?” Without waiting for a reply, he barked up the stairs, “He’s wounded. Quickly, get him out of here.”

  “Colonel,” the soldier on the ground croaked. “Talbot played us false.”

  The officer looked up, then squinted at Talbot’s body on the ground. His gaze wandered to Connor standing there with Talbot’s blood all over him. Connor could see the man’s mind working behind keen eyes. The officer then looked at Kier and harrumphed.

  Straightening, he righted his uniform and took a step forward, inclining his head in a half-bow to Connor. “Colonel Frederick Banbury, sir. Your brother sent for us. I say the evidence speaks for itself. Please report for a statement later.”

  With that, the colonel turned and waited until the soldiers finished getting their two comrades out of the basement.

  Connor was dumbfounded. “Kier, what’s going on?”

  His brother shrugged. “A pang of conscience seeme
d to have finally changed the Baroness Wickfield’s mind. She confessed that Talbot produced false evidence against you.”

  “See,” Jaidyn hissed. “So why exactly do you have to”–she spoke in a deep growl to imitate his words earlier–“leave at once and never come back ever? I tell you I love you and I want to be with you, and you are frightened like a maiden on her wedding night?” She gave a derisive snort.

  “Jaidyn.” Connor fought to sound calm. “Be reasonable about this. We can’t be together.”

  She crossed her arms before her chest and took one more step back. “Why not?”

  Why … wasn’t it obvious? “Because you’re married!”

  “So?” Her chin inched higher. “I’ll get an annulment. The marriage has never been consummated.”

  “Um …” Kier stepped forward, his face a self-conscious grimace. “There might be a bit of a problem there.”

  Jaidyn didn’t grace him with more than a brief glance. “Keep out of this.”

  Taking a deep breath, Connor was certain, so she could rain another tirade on him, she stopped short, blinking back at Kier. “Oh … Connor? You never told me your brother was actually your twin.”

  Kier was daring enough to take one step closer to her; Connor himself kept a safe distance. Jaidyn was deep in a fit of pique, and it was a fine line between courage and stupidity.

  “So,” Kieran drawled, rubbing his chin to hide an oddly broad grin. “You are the real Jaidyn Donnelly.”

  “Yes.” Jaidyn’s glare zeroed in on Kier. “Well … never mind. Pleased to meet you, Mr.…?”

  “Kieran. Kieran O’Connor.”

  Jaidyn’s mouth went slack. Even her arms seemed to lose all strength and fell limply to her side. She only stood there, gawking at Kieran, blinking every once in a while.

  “She’s speechless?” Connor would have never thought he’d see her like this. He turned to his brother. “Why?”

  Neil spoke up, his words drenched with offense. “I say an annulment is out of the question.”

  “Neil?” Connor felt his forehead wrinkle. “What do you . .” He gasped. “Are you her husband?”

  “No.” He sniffed like he was slighted by the question. “I’m her father.”

  “But why–” Clearly, Connor was missing something. Could perhaps somebody explain to him why Kieran was amused, Neil snubbed, and Jaidyn perplexed?

  Jaidyn was the first to break the heavy silence. “You,” she huffed, glaring at Connor. It was difficult for him not to squirm under her stare, which was more perilous than Connor had ever seen. “You. Are. Ronan O’Connor.”

  “How do you know my real name?” Priceless, wasn’t it? The mystery kept on becoming more and more obscure. It seemed everyone knew what was going on but Connor.

  “Er …” Kier spoke up once more. Both Connor’s and Jaidyn’s withering glares settled on him, and he duly cringed but stood his ground. “She knows your real name because you both signed the document. But as opposed to you, she apparently read it carefully.”

  “What document?”

  “The proxy.”

  “What proxy?”

  Kier sighed. “Circumstances called for desperate measures, and since you never read anything I give you to sign, I thought it was best this way. So … without knowing it … you were married … to her.” Kier breathed deeply. “Felicitations, brother.”

  Connor had signed a proxy? “What?” He heard his own voice rise in pitch.

  “You lied to me,” Jaidyn growled.

  “No, I didn’t. I didn’t even know–”

  Jaidyn stepped up to him. “You lied to me!”

  “Pah!” Connor leaned down until his nose almost brushed the tip of hers. “You lied much more!”

  “No-no-no-no-no.” Jaidyn shook her head, prodding at his shoulder with each syllable. “All this time I had a bad conscience because of this–and then it turns out you’re not such an open book after all!”

  What was this about now? “I just went under a different name.”

  “See?” Those elegant ginger eyebrows wandered up and she gave him a superior look. “I didn’t. I didn’t lie about who I really was.”

  Goodness, she was sexy when she was that worked up. “Of course, Miss Donnelly.”

  “Lying, deceiving bastard!”

  Her fists pounded his shoulders, but the punches didn’t have the intended effect. Instead of backing down, he felt himself grow hard.

  “Watch your mouth, wife.” God, it felt good to say that. “Or I’ll stuff it.”

  “Hah! Anything you put in my mouth you’ll lose!”

  “Oh yes?”

  His mind was roaring, his body tense. Her lips beckoned seductively, the fire in her eyes adding to the allure. Connor dipped his head and closed the distance to her mouth, his tongue stroking deep between her lips. His arms whipped up and wrapped around her, pressing her body into his. There was nothing gentle about his kiss; Connor devoured her, staked his claim on her.

  With a moan, Jaidyn melted into him, tilting her head and kissing him back, matching his hunger stroke for teasing silken stroke with her tongue as it swirled around his.

  Feeling her melt in his arms, Connor let one hand slide down to her waist. Jaidyn whimpered in pleasure, her hands fisting in his hair. She drew herself closer to him, rubbing her feminine softness against his engorged rod.

  Their greedy kiss went from desperate hunger to sweet, slow enjoyment, and when it finally ended, both Connor and Jaidyn were panting against each other’s lips.

  “We’re married,” Connor whispered.

  Jaidyn nodded and smiled. “We are.”

  “All right now. That’s quite enough.” Neil peeled Jaidyn off him, but she never broke eye contact with Connor.

  Out of the corner of his eyes, Connor saw Neil and Keir murmur, then Jaidyn was being dragged up the stairs and out of sight.

  With a dreamy smile on his lips, Connor stared at where he’d seen Jaidyn last.

  “She’s got a temper.” Kier was at his side now.

  “Yes.”

  “You are aware she’s going to give you hell for the rest of your life?”

  “Yes.” And he was looking forward to it.

  “God!” Kier exclaimed. “Look at you. Smiling like a halfwit.”

  “Mm-hmm.” Then suddenly it dawned on him. “Wait, where’s she going?”

  “Home. With Neil.”

  Connor jumped into motion without thinking. Kier clasped him by the elbow and held him back. “Calm yourself. You’ll see her tonight for dinner. Come on. Let’s get that statement down now and then go home.”

  With a friendly pat on Connor’s shoulder, Kier started up the stairs. “Did you ever sleep on your way here or just fornicate? You look like you could use some rest.”

  Connor grumbled under his breath as he shuffled after Kieran.

  19

  _____________________________

  Restless, Connor paced the parlor. Where the hell was she? He stopped and looked out the window from behind the curtain. Still no coach in sight. What the hell could possibly be keeping her? He paced some more, stopped to check his pocket watch. Connor frowned. Not even a minute had passed?

  This was torture, pure and simple, and Connor hung on to his sanity by a thread.

  He sighed, his eyes rolling skyward, trying to ignore the prickling feeling at his nape. Impatience sizzled through his veins and a dark hunger nagged him. Purgatory couldn’t feel much different.

  “Anxious to meet your wife, brother?” Kieran patted him on the shoulder. For the blink of an eye, Connor was tempted to wipe that smirk off his face.

  “Here, maybe that’ll calm your nerves a bit.” He held up a glass of brandy for him. Connor downed it in one gulp.

  Kier’s eyes narrowed on Connor’s necktie before he fiddled with it. Next, he righted the lapels of Connor’s coat and brushed some lint off his left shoulder. “There now. That’s better.”

  Hooking a finger into the necktie, Con
nor tried to loosen it a bit. “That’s much too tight.”

  Kier shook his head, playfully slapping his hand away. “No. You just think it’s too tight because you haven’t dressed up like this in years. Which, I might add, would have never happened if you’d stayed here instead of running away because you couldn’t stand being near me.”

  Connor felt his eyes bulge. “Is that what you think?”

  All this time he’d thought Kier couldn’t bear that on top of everything his brother was a criminal. He’d been convinced that not even Kier believed he was innocent. Fleeing from Georgetown had been one of the hardest decisions in Connor’s life. Leaving his brother had felt like his soul had been torn in two.

  Kier’s face sobered. “It doesn’t matter anymore, does it? It’s in the past.”

  His voice was almost devoid of emotion. Kier had become so cold. That Connor had stayed away so long had probably added loneliness to the bitterness. But Connor was convinced there was still a scrap of Kier’s former self left. If only he could help him find it again.

  Kier poured himself another glass and sat down on the settee facing the window that Connor had been staring out of for the last half hour at least.

  “Care to tell me how you met her? Or where?”

  Connor reluctantly wrenched himself away from the window and forced himself to sit down next to Kier, setting his empty glass on the table in front of him. “I sort of ran into her on Grenada. She needed a passage north and I told her I’d get her wherever she needed to go. That’s it.”

  “A remarkable coincidence. This sounds, dare I say it, beyond belief especially considering the fact that you normally frequent places where she wouldn’t likely be.” Kier gave a knowing chuckle.

  Connor refused to elaborate. Kier didn’t need to know all the details. After all, this was Connor’s wife they were talking about.

  His wife … It still felt surreal. Good, but it would feel even better if she were here.

  Connor had never thought he’d marry, ever, not after all that happened to his brother and to him–that is, until he met that feisty woman. She’d drawn him in immediately with her fabulous beauty and fiery hair to match her temper. Her eyes could burn with fury, but they burned even brighter with passion.