Her Secret Weapon

by Beverly Barton

  But he already is, an inner voice taunted. No matter what you do, you can’t change the fact that Burke Lonigan is Seamus’s biological father.

  Neither of them ever have to know! For Seamus’s sake, she had to find a way to protect him from the truth.

  Burke relaxed in the back seat of the Rolls as he replaced his cellular phone in his coat pocket. The deal with Simon had been made. Jonah had been informed and the wheels set into motion. Saturday, while Burke Lonigan married Callie Severin, the SPEAR operation to capture Simon would move forward, and by the time the newlyweds arrived in Italy, the exchange would have taken place. And if everything went as planned, Simon would be snared in SPEAR’s trap.

  “Leland, I think perhaps you should stay with Enid Ludlow and young Seamus while Callie and I are in Italy. I know we’d planned to send someone else, but I’d feel better if you took this assignment yourself.”

  “Yes, sir. Have you informed Ms. Severin that a bodyguard for her cousin and son will be necessary?”

  “I’ll tell her before we leave for Italy,” Burke said. “A honeymoon, even a brief weekend at my villa, will be expected, by everyone in London as well as by Simon and his associates. Until Simon is captured or he no longer suspects me of betrayal, we must do everything possible to make this marriage appear on the up-and-up.”

  “If Simon is captured, then you and Ms. Severin should be able to end the marriage rather quickly, shouldn’t you?”

  “Not too quickly. It would look rather odd if we didn’t stay married at least six months. After several weeks, we can start a few rumors that there is trouble in paradise.”

  “What will you do about keeping Ms. Severin on as your PA?” Leland asked.

  “Hm. That poses a problem. She’s quite good at her job, but it would be impossible for us to work together afterward. I’ll arrange another position for her, something with equal pay and benefits.”

  “We’re here, sir.”

  Leland pulled the Rolls up in front of Marilyn’s, but before he stopped the car, a man rushed toward the vehicle. Leland unlocked the door, and the man jumped into the front seat.

  “We’ve got a problem,” the man said. “I had to call in backup.”

  “What sort of problem?” Leland asked.

  “What the hell’s going on, Quigley?” Burke reached over the seat and clamped his hand on the man’s shoulder. “Is Callie all right?”

  “No harm has come to Ms. Severin,” Quigley said. “MacDougal is with her. I thought it best to have someone right at her side. Seems there’s a couple of nasty fellows following her. One’s posted at the back of the boutique and the other’s just across the street. I know these two, Mr. Lonigan. They’re both common criminals who’d cut their dear old mum’s throat for fifty quid.”

  “Damn!” Burke released his tight grip on Quigley’s shoulder. “Simon hired them, no doubt. As much to warn me not to let anything go wrong as to keep tabs on Callie.” Burke slapped his right fist into the palm of his left hand. “What did you tell her when you stationed MacDougal at her side?”

  “I told her the truth.” Quigley glanced over his shoulder, his gaze locking with Burke’s. “That MacDougal and I worked for you. I showed her my identification. That silly woman who owns the boutique kept trying to eavesdrop on our conversation, so I told her that we’d been sent to help Ms. Severin with her packages.”

  “I doubt Marilyn believes you.” Burke slid across the seat, opened the door and got out, but stopped abruptly and stuck his head back into the Rolls. “Until this deal is completed, I want full protection not only for Callie, but for Enid Ludlow, Mrs. Daisy Goodhope and most importantly, Seamus Severin. There’s no way to predict the actions of a man like Simon. He might decide to escalate his warnings into something a bit more deadly.”

  “That’ll run up quite a tab, Mr. Lonigan.” Quigley shook his head as if he’d added up the sum and was amazed by the amount. “Three shifts for four people.”

  “What the hell do I care what it costs,” Burke bellowed, then slammed the door and marched toward the entrance to Marilyn’s.

  Fury boiled inside him, threatening to explode. He’d dealt with scum like Simon more times than he cared to consider. But in the past, no one else had been involved. No good friends. No special woman. And certainly never a child. Callie’s child. God help Simon if he did anything to harm Callie, her child or anyone she cared about.

  Burke hated the feeling of helplessness that consumed him. He could handle the danger involved with being a SPEAR agent. In truth, there had been a time when he’d thrived on it. But things were different now. He’d screwed up royally by not expecting the unexpected from Simon. Why had he assumed the mysterious, notorious Simon wouldn’t pay him a late-night visit at his office? Because no one in their right mind would do something so stupid. Or so arrogant? That was what Burke hadn’t counted on. That the man would be arrogant enough to think that no one could outsmart him and thus capture him.

  As he entered the boutique, Burke saw MacDougal, a tall, lanky Scotsman in a dark suit, who held two boxes in one hand and kept his other hand at his side. His gun hand, Burke surmised. Callie stood next to him, a couple of small bags draped over her arm. The moment she saw Burke, she lifted her hand and waved. No smile. Just a wide-eyed questioning stare. He deliberately forced himself to slow his pace, not to race to her side and frighten her more than she was quite obviously already frightened. Marilyn Farris hurried along behind, a curious look in her eyes.

  “Afternoon, sir,” MacDougal said.

  “Take Ms. Severin’s packages out to the Rolls and report in to Quigley,” Burke ordered the bodyguard, then focused his attention on Callie. “Are you all right, my darling?”

  “Yes, I’m fine.” Callie smiled weakly.

  “Burke, love.” Marilyn Farris kissed the air on each side of Burke’s cheeks. “She chose her wedding suit and a few other small items, but she must return tomorrow and make decisions on the rest of her trousseau.”

  “That can be arranged,” Burke said. “Thank you, Marilyn. And if Callie and I host a reception after our honeymoon, your name will head the list of guests.”

  Marilyn beamed, her large, red mouth spreading to form an ear-to-ear smile. “Of course, you must have a reception. It will partially make up for denying everyone the joy of attending a huge wedding.”

  “Are you ready to go?” Burke asked Callie.

  Callie nodded, then endured Marilyn’s kissing-the-air ritual before she clasped Burke’s arm. “I want to go home and check on Seamus.”

  “Your son is all right,” Burke assured her, as he led her toward the boutique entrance. “There’s a man guarding your house and within the hour Seamus and Mrs. Goodhope will have bodyguards, as will Enid…if we can find her.”

  “Oh, Burke.”

  “Shh.” He led her out of the boutique and into the bright sunlit street. “As soon as this deal with Simon goes through—”

  “How can you be involved in something so terrible, with people capable of murder… What kind of man are you, Burke Lonigan?”

  Not the kind of man you think I am, he wanted to say. I’m one of the good guys, my darling. For nearly a century and a half, good men had dedicated their lives to an organization that got the job done when all else had failed. With tentacles that reached into domestic and foreign affairs as well as private business, SPEAR tried to safeguard the world from evil.

  “Get in the car,” Burke ordered. “This isn’t a discussion I want to have in the middle of Regent Street.”

  Leland opened the door for Callie, who obediently slid inside, her actions robotic. Burke turned to MacDougal and Quigley, who stood beside the Rolls. “Follow us.”

  Once inside the car, Burke spread his arm across the seat behind Callie. She scooted away from him, as far as she could get on the other side of the Rolls. Slumping her shoulders, crossing her arms and holding her knees tightly together, Callie knotted herself into an agitated ball of rage.

&nbs
p; “Don’t make this any harder than it already is,” Burke said. He also wanted to kiss her until she was breathless and begging him to make love to her. But more than anything he wanted to be able to tell her that he wasn’t a ruthless international criminal.

  “I really don’t think I can eat a bite,” she told him. “I’d prefer skipping lunch and going straight home.”

  “Your son is safe,” he reiterated, then took a deep breath. “And you have to eat. We have reservations at Bracewells. We’re a newly engaged couple and it’s essential that we be seen having a celebration lunch. After all, I want to show off my bride-to-be and she wants to show off her ring, doesn’t she?”

  Burke grabbed Callie’s wrist, which she tried to snatch away from him. But he held fast and forced her to open her fist so that he could examine her ring. She glowered at him. He smiled at her.

  “I’ve already apologized to you, Callie. I’ve told you how much I regret that you inadvertently became a part of the darker side of my life. But what’s done is done. Neither of us can change what happened. What we’re doing now is considered damage control.”

  “How long will we have to live this charade?” She stared at her manacled wrist.

  He released her immediately. “Six months, at most.”

  “Six months!”

  “I have a reputation to uphold,” he told her. “After the danger from Simon has passed, I’d prefer we didn’t end the marriage immediately. What would people think if Burke Lonigan couldn’t hold on to his bride for more than a few weeks?”

  “You could tell people that I was at fault, that I didn’t live up to your expectations.” Callie looked at him pleadingly. “Now that I know what kind of man you are, I couldn’t bear being your wife, even in name only, for longer than necessary.”

  “I see.” Burke’s halfhearted smile disappeared, replaced by a sullen frown. “All right then. Let’s follow through with the marriage and afterward, we’ll take it one day at a time. Will that suit you?”

  “Yes,” she said. “It will have to suit me since it’s the best you can offer.”

  “I don’t suppose it would do any good to ask you to have a little faith in me, would it?”

  Callie scanned Burke’s face as if she were searching for the truth. “I’d very much like to have a little faith in you, Burke, but I’m afraid you’ve done nothing to warrant it.”

  “Quite right. Best that we leave things the way they are.”

  Callie really couldn’t bear it. She simply couldn’t! Enduring her fittings at Marilyn’s had been difficult enough without anything being added to the embarrassment of putting on a show for the city’s most notorious gossip-monger. And having other diners at Bracewells staring at them and whispering behind their backs had been dreadful.

  But nothing could compare to the surprise party given by the staff of Lonigan’s Imports and Exports.

  The moment Burke and Callie stepped out of the lift onto the twentieth floor, the well-wishers surrounded them. Juliette Davenport led the pack of smiling faces. Champagne corks popped. Classical music droned loudly from the corner where a string quartet played. Three waiters in white coats served canapés of lobster, foie gras and caviar.

  “Smile, my darling.” Burke clutched her arm tightly and dragged her to his side. “These people think you’re a happy bride-to-be.”

  Callie wanted to scream and run as fast as she could. Her dreams about Burke Lonigan had turned into a nightmare. One from which she couldn’t escape. She was trapped.

  God, give me strength, she prayed silently. I have to do this. For Seamus’s sake. I have to go through with this marriage. But as soon as Burke releases me from our arrangement, I’ll take Seamus and leave the country. I’ll go to America. I can never allow a man like Burke to become a permanent part of Seamus’s life.

  Juliette grabbed Callie’s hand. “I just knew there was something going on between the two of you. You could have given a girl a clue, you know, instead of denying that you fancied Mr. Lonigan.” Juliette lifted Callie’s left hand, and her eyes bugged at the sight of the ring. “Give us a look at that. Good God!”

  “Why did you two keep your romance a secret?” Herbert Garvey, Lonigan’s accountant, asked.

  “It—” Callie cleared her throat. “It all happened so suddenly.”

  “I swept her off her feet.” Burke proceeded to demonstrate by scooping Callie into his arms.

  Loud guffaws and tinkling giggles spread through the crowd. Several of the women sighed and swooned just a bit.

  Smiling ever so sweetly, Callie spoke under her breath. “Put me down. Now!”

  Burke eased her onto her feet but kept a tight hold about her waist. “Don’t try to escape, my darling. People wouldn’t understand why you would want to run away from the man you love.”

  “When’s the big day?” Juliette asked.

  “Saturday,” Burke replied.

  “Not this Saturday,” several voices protested.

  “I’m not taking any chances that Callie will change her mind,” Burke said. “If she hears too many stories about my sordid life, she may think she’s made a bad deal and—”

  “Nonsense,” Juliette said and all the ladies nodded. “You know the old saying, a man wants to be a woman’s first love and a woman wants to be a man’s last love.”

  “Am I your first true love?” Burke asked teasingly, but Callie noted the tension in his voice and the threatening look in those crystal blue eyes.

  “Yes, you are,” she said softly.

  “Hey, old man, after that sort of confession, you’d best tell the lady what she wants to hear,” Herbert Garvey advised.

  Burke pivoted Callie so that they faced each other. He cupped her face with his hands and gazed into her eyes. “If I am your first true love, then, my darling, I promise that you will indeed be my last love.”

  The kiss took her unawares. His lips mated with hers in the most tender yet passionate of kisses. Of their own volition, her arms lifted to drape around his neck. When Burke pulled her closer so that their bodies aligned perfectly, she moaned with pleasure. Instantly, he deepened the kiss and in seconds the world disappeared, leaving the two of them cocooned within a sweet moment out of time.

  When Burke ended the kiss as abruptly as he’d begun it, Callie staggered slightly and opened her eyes. Everyone stood quietly, as if in hushed awe, their gazes riveted to the engaged couple. A heated blush stained Callie’s cheeks.

  “Wow!” Juliette exclaimed.

  Callie heard a collective sigh from all the ladies. She knew that they envied her and longed to be in her shoes. No woman alive could resist Burke Lonigan. He possessed an abundance of animal magnetism, bold black Irish good looks and a hypnotic charm.

  Nausea churned in Callie’s stomach, but she knew she didn’t dare excuse herself. If she was sick, everyone would assume she was pregnant. No doubt that would be the speculation regardless. Why else would Burke be marrying her in such a hurry? But she could hardly tell them the truth, could she? That some lunatic with whom Burke did his underhanded business threatened to kill her. She wanted to scream at the top of her lungs, You people have no idea what kind of man you’re working for, do you? He’s a criminal who makes millions off the suffering of others. He sells weapons to anyone for the right price. Even terrorists!

  How could she have ever thought herself in love with this man? A tormenting voice inside her replied, Because he’s the most exciting man you’ve ever known. An incredible lover. And Seamus’s father. Deny it all you’d like, but despite what you now know about Burke Lonigan, you still want him.

  No, I don’t! she cried silently. Yes, you do. Her heart wept.

  Chapter 8

  If this were a real marriage, I’d be the luckiest man in the world, Burke thought. Callie was beautiful. Her dark red hair had been piled atop her head with a band of tiny flowers circling the loose bun. She wore a simple silk suit of pale yellow, with shoes dyed to match. Her only items of jewelry, except for her
engagement ring, were a strand of pearls and small pearl ear studs, which had belonged to her mother. Or so Enid had told him.

  When he had suggested having young Seamus at the ceremony, Callie had adamantly opposed the idea.

  “I’d prefer that Seamus doesn’t become attached to you in any way, that for the duration of our marriage, you have very little contact with my son,” Callie had said. “Since we’ll be married only a brief time, I’m afraid it will confuse him if he becomes accustomed to you and then one day you’re no longer a part of our lives.”

  Since Seamus was her son, he felt it only reasonable that she be the one to set the rules that governed the child. She was right, of course. Better for the child if they didn’t become accustomed to each other.

  Poor Callie. Burke wished there was some other way to protect her, her son and the supersensitive deal with Simon. But there wasn’t. Despite her elegant attire and the bouquet of cream roses she held—courtesy of Enid— Callie looked more like a condemned woman than a blushing bride. But then she had made it abundantly clear that she considered this marriage a prison term, something to be endured. He shouldn’t care what she thought of him, but he did. Other women were fascinated by the rumors of his dark secret life and found him all the more appealing because of it. But not Callie. Knowing that he was an arms dealer had drastically altered her opinion of him. And heaven help him, he didn’t want her to think badly of him. If only he could tell her the truth. But without permission from Jonah, no operative could reveal his association with SPEAR, not even to close friends, family and loved ones.

  Is that how you think of Callie? an inner voice asked. Do you consider her a loved one? She was going to become his wife, even if the marriage was an elaborate hoax to curb Simon’s suspicions. He would have liked the two of them to continue as friends and perhaps become lovers. The physical attraction between them had been apparent to him and to her from the first day they’d met. He had naturally assumed that, sooner or later, they’d indulge in a brief affair. But considering the way Callie felt about him now, he’d be lucky if she would let him shake her hand.