Sainted

by Slade, Heather

  “I suppose so, yes.” While I was prone to interrupting Harper more often than not, something told me to hear her out. “My uncle has insisted I marry.”

  “Has he chosen your future wife? Is that why your ex is coming back to London?”

  “Not at all.” Was it? No, Nigel wouldn’t have proposed the arrangement for me to take ownership of Fox Run if that was the plan. Although, there was the possibility he’d announced his idea in front of Harper rather than with me alone with the hope she would end things with me and return to America.

  “Saint?”

  “You asked if Nigel had chosen my future wife. I don’t believe so. He did suggest a certain type, though.”

  “I see.” Harper frowned and gulped her drink.

  “I don’t think you do.”

  “Saint, please. Just get to the point.” I hated the annoyance in her voice, especially given I knew this was the end for us.

  I took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “His exact words were, ‘Not one of those trollops you so often parade about with. Find yourself a nice young lady.’ The day he showed up at Buckingham Palace and gave you the third degree, I feared he thought I heeded his advice.”

  She took off her glasses and rubbed her eyes. This was it, I could feel her rejection coming, and I had no idea what to do to change her mind.

  “Harper?”

  “Yes?”

  “You know that isn’t the case, right?”

  “I’m not a nice young lady?”

  “You are the nicest young lady I’ve known in my life. What I meant was, I didn’t seek you out because of it.” I could swear I saw the hint of her dimples.

  “You mean you didn’t know a woman who had just been jilted at the altar and wanted to be a minister had an open seat next to her on that plane?” she smiled, and so did I.

  “Do I dare hope you’re not breaking things off with me, then?”

  “Why would I do that?”

  “If you thought I was using you.”

  She leaned closer, and I put my arm around her shoulders. When I did, she rested her head on my chest. “I would never think that.”

  “Thank God.”

  She leaned up and kissed my cheek. “I know you better than that, Saint.”

  I rubbed my chest where her head had been. The relief I felt was palpable. That Harper believed me, more, had never doubted me, almost brought me to tears. This woman was truly a gift from God. “You soothe me, Harper. Way down deep in my soul. Your unwavering belief in me is humbling.”

  I didn’t disturb Harper’s sleep the next morning when I woke. It had been an emotional night followed by my endless need to have my mouth, hands, or cock ravishing some part of her body.

  As I drank the tea Miss Bardwell made for me, I thought about how soon we’d be able to return to Alfriston—a place that remained special to me regardless of my uncle’s attempt to tarnish it. I wondered if Harper would want to visit London Seminary either today or tomorrow. From there, I hoped she chose to apply either to it or the University of Sussex rather than return to school in the US.

  Left unsettled was the status of Fox Run. My uncle rightfully owned it. While last night I’d questioned whether I even wanted to buy it, by light of day, it meant far more to me than just having been in our family for four hundred years. It was the place where Harper and I had first made love. More, the first time she’d ever made love. To me, it made Fox Run sacred.

  If my uncle still intended to sell, I didn’t see a legal way for him to prevent me from making an offer. If mine wasn’t the highest, I could increase it.

  While that was all well and good, if he retained ownership, it left the question of where Harper and I would stay when in Alfriston, which we would have to do if she was to be of any assistance to the vicar. It would be impossible to commute back and forth from London, given it was two hours each way.

  If anyone would know of something available for rent, I was sure it would be Barbara, the neighbor and property agent who was handling the sale of the cottage.

  I called and left a message, letting her know I was in the market for a rental property for now, and perhaps something to purchase in the future.

  She called back a few minutes later. “Does this mean you’re no longer interested in the cottage?”

  “I wasn’t certain if my uncle took it off the market.”

  “I’ve heard nothing about that. The last I know, he wanted to further negotiate directly with you.”

  As he had done and failed. “I have reason to believe he may change his mind about selling.”

  “I suppose now is as good a time as any for me to bring something to your attention. I hope I’m not overstepping by doing so.”

  “Go ahead.”

  “I was reviewing the title history, and there is a stipulation that a sale cannot take place without prior approval from all other heirs. That would include a sale to you.”

  “Meaning what exactly?”

  “Obtaining approval would be part of the escrow process. What I’m uncertain of is if he can even sell it to you or any other heir.”

  “Are you saying he would have to give it to another heir?”

  “That’s my understanding, but you might want to have a solicitor look into it.”

  “Thank you for this information.”

  I rang off, stunned by this information. There were two heirs other than my uncle—Eliza and me. As I’d already discussed the matter with her, I knew she didn’t want the cottage. However, if what Barbara said was correct, that it would have to be deeded rather than sold to an heir might make her change her mind.

  I sent two text messages. The first asking my cousin to contact me at her earliest convenience. The second was to Decker Ashford, hoping we could meet today. If so, I’d be adding another item to the agenda. If anyone could find out the exact stipulations of a possible sale, it would be him.

  23

  Harper

  “I blame myself,” said Eliza shortly after she’d arrived at the flat and Saint excused himself to take a call.

  “Why?”

  “I know my father. If I’d been there last night, he wouldn’t have pulled the stunt he did.”

  “Whether he would have last night or not doesn’t matter. He would have eventually.”

  “If I hadn’t been so caught up in a muy caliente Spaniard, I may have been able to talk some sense into Father.” She put her hand on my shoulder and looked into my eyes. “You’re so good for my cousin. I hate to think anything my father said would change your opinion of him.”

  “Never.”

  “My dad has always tried to control Niven, but you know as well as I do, there isn’t a man less likely to allow it.” She studied me. “He’s the most independent person I’ve known in my life, and yet, I sense his soul would be lost without you.”

  “I don’t know about that.”

  “Well, I do. I can tell by the way he looks at you.”

  “It’s me who would be lost without him.”

  “You needn’t worry about Niven. He’s invincible.”

  I raised a brow.

  “What?” she asked.

  “He’d like to be.”

  “Now I’m confused.”

  “What made you use that word?”

  Eliza shrugged. “I don’t know. I guess it’s just the way I’ve always seen him.”

  I knew better than to mention that the word she’d used was the name of the firm he hoped to work for. Instead, I changed the subject. “Tell me more about the Spaniard.”

  Eliza’s cheeks flushed like mine so often did. “He’s a god.”

  “I want to hear all about him.” I half listened as she extolled the virtues of a man she’d known a week, and then I realized how judgmental I sounded, given Saint and I hadn’t been together that long.

  When Saint came out of the bedroom at the very end of the hallway, he appeared distracted.

  “Eliza. You’re still here.”

  She looked
at me, and I shrugged.

  “Niven, you invited me.”

  “Right, right. Sorry.”

  “Shall I come back some other time?”

  “No. Now’s good.”

  Saint ran his hand through his hair, and his eyes met mine.

  “I’ll just excuse myself.”

  “No, I’d rather you hear this too. Especially after last night.”

  24

  Saint

  I’d just finished telling Eliza and Harper what I learned from the property manager when I received a text from Decker, saying he’d arrived.

  Not wanting to know whether he could hack into the building’s security, I offered to meet him in the lobby.

  “Thanks for agreeing to this,” I said, escorting him into the lift.

  “It’s as much for me as it is you.”

  “If there’s time, I have another situation I want to run past you.”

  He nodded and walked out when the doors opened into my foyer. “Harper Godfrey, I presume. I’m Decker Ashford.”

  Harper stood and walked over to him, stunning me when she embraced him. “Thank you for helping me.”

  “It’s what we do.” Our eyes met, and I realized I hadn’t properly thanked him for getting Harper’s money back.

  “My appreciation as well, Decker.”

  “Niven, if we’re finished with our discussion, I’ll say my goodbyes.” Eliza gathered her purse and sweater.

  “We are, for now. By the way, Decker, this is my cousin, Eliza. Eliza, meet Decker Ashford.”

  “I’ll say hello and farewell at the same time,” she said, shaking his hand.

  Decker nodded but didn’t say anything in response, which wasn’t like him.

  “So, Harper, will we be seeing you at the wedding?”

  She looked at me, and I nodded.

  “We’ve officially sent our response and are looking forward to it.”

  “Glad to hear it. We’ll have more time to socialize then.”

  Bright woman that she was, Harper picked up on Decker’s hint that we needed to get on with our meeting.

  “If you’ll excuse me,” she said, heading down the hallway to the bedroom.

  “She’s somethin’,” Decker said after Harper closed the door behind her.

  “She’s everything.”

  Decker smiled. “I know the feeling.”

  “How is Mila? She and the baby are here with you, are they not?”

  “They are, which means I need to make this quick.”

  “My office is this way, if you’d like to meet there,” I motioned in the direction Harper had gone.

  “I think it’s best, given what we need to discuss.”

  “Would you like to go first, or shall I?” I asked once we were seated with the door closed.

  “I will. It’s come to my attention that Dr. Benjamin has pulled a disappearing-into-Hong-Kong act for the second time. When he did this before, it was our crew who went in and pulled both him and you out.”

  I opened my mouth to speak, but Decker held up his hand.

  “You did the exact right thing on that mission, Saint. I don’t care what MI6 or anyone else says. If you hadn’t gone in after him, you would have been abandoning your assigned mission. Don’t think others haven’t taken notice of that. In my opinion, it was MI6 who was wrong, and I didn’t hesitate to let Z know that.”

  Z Alexander, the current chief of Military Intelligence Section 6, was also Decker Ashford’s adopted father.

  “I appreciate you offering your opinion on my behalf.”

  “That brings us to Lynx Edgemon.”

  I took a deep breath and let it out slowly. Lynx had been my handler when I went in after Benjamin the last time. While it was Z’s decision to sack me, I was disappointed when Lynx didn’t put up more of an argument. Lynx was a partner in Decker’s firm now, and thus, I’m sure he had a say in whom they made offers of employment to. Not that I knew that was what Decker was here to discuss. Suspecting it was, I anticipated the need for an apology.

  “I understand. Say no more.”

  He laughed. “You’re gonna want to let me finish.”

  I shook my head. “Sorry, Deck.”

  “As I was saying, Lynx came to us after the extraction and the subsequent interrogation on the Operation Whistleblower mission. He suggested bringing you on board as a permanent part of the team.”

  I was stunned and said so.

  “The rest of the partners had to vote, but we all knew it would be unanimous.” He handed me an envelope. “This is your partnership offer.”

  “Did you say partnership?” I’d expected to be offered a role in an upcoming mission, but as a contractor, not an employee. I never would’ve considered a buy-in as a remote possibility.

  “I did, and I’ll leave this with you. Take a look at our offer and run it by your attorney. Hell, you could even have Z take a look at it on your behalf. Although if you do that, he’ll probably up the offer I know MI6 is about to extend. So maybe don’t go to him for advice.” Decker winked. “The bottom line is we want you on our team, Saint. We’d be proud to have you join us.”

  “I don’t know what to say. I truly did not see this coming.”

  “Yeah, you’re all humble and shit. You’re gonna have to let that go if you’re plannin’ on bein’ an Invincible.” Decker shook his head. “I always hated that name. Fuckin’ Rile.”

  It was widely known that Rile DeLéon had come up with the Invincible Intelligence and Security Group moniker and was intransigent about calling it anything else. Given he’d been the one to approach the other founding partners about starting the firm, he saw it as his decision.

  “Our next agenda item is Dr. Benjamin. We’re prepared to go in and get him whether you sign on the bottom line or not. We owe him that much after the help he gave us with the whistleblower. Now, if it were up to me, I would’ve made you sign on the dotted line first.”

  “Listen, Deck, to be honest with you, I’ve wanted to be part of the Invincibles’ team since I first heard you gentlemen were in business.” I held up the envelope. “I don’t need to read this to give you my answer. I want in.”

  Decker reached out, and we shook hands. “Damn glad to hear it, and welcome. When you do get around to lookin’ at the contract you’re gonna need to sign, you’ll see your compensation package is generous. Okay, now that that’s out of the way, let’s talk about Benjamin.”

  What I learned was that the doctor had seemingly disappeared into thin air. There was no intel on his whereabouts, and even Decker’s facial recognition technologies hadn’t turned up anything.

  That could very well mean Benjamin had been taken in by Chinese authorities like he and I both had been hours after arriving in Hong Kong the last time we were there. But if that were the case, we would’ve heard he’d been detained. The US and UK spy networks in both Hong Kong and on the mainland were vast.

  “I’m not sure you’ll be able to find out any more about his whereabouts than I have, but let me know if you do. In the meantime, we need to assemble the extraction team. And by we, I mean you, Saint.”

  I had no idea where to begin. While I knew all the partners and some of the contractors, I had no way of knowing who might be available.

  “Where’s your laptop?” Deck asked.

  “Here.” I stood and took it out of my desk drawer.

  “Your security clearances and access to the Invincibles website was set up before the last mission. If you let me borrow that for a minute, I’ll set up your access to the rest. Mainly, the list of who is available and their twenty.”

  “Appreciate it.”

  “I see deployment happening almost immediately after getting a read on where he is. There’s one guy I’d like to recommend to you as a second, Rip Kailor.”

  “I’ve worked with Rip.”

  “He’s a good man, excellent with technology. I’m groomin’ him to take on more of what I do now that Huck’s arrived. I want to spend more time
bein’ a dad.”

  “Understood. Shall I make contact?”

  “Your mission, Saint. Do as you see fit.”

  “Roger that. If there’s nothing else on Dr. Benjamin at this time, there’s something else I’d like to talk to you about.”

  “As you said.”

  After I explained what I’d learned from Barbara about Fox Run Cottage, Decker promised to look into it.

  “See you Saturday, if not before.”

  “Looking forward to it.”

  “It’ll be the perfect time to introduce you as the newest partner, so sign the damned contract.”

  “I will do, and thank you again, Decker.”

  I walked him out and was about to go into the bedroom in search of Harper when I realized I had a dilemma, one I hadn’t been faced with at any other time in my career. I couldn’t confide any of the impending mission’s details in Harper, both for her safety and mine. Benjamin’s too, really. Since I’d never had cause to share details with anyone outside of an assignment before, I had no idea how to handle it.

  Everything I’d told her about when the doctor and I had been detained and then extracted, had been post-op. I may have overshared some of the details, but nothing that would’ve put anyone in danger.

  “Is everything okay?” she asked when I opened the bedroom door and found her reading in a chair by the window.

  “I’m a bit out of my element.”

  She set her book down and leaned forward. “What do you mean?”

  “I’m not at liberty to share with you some of the things discussed in our meeting.”

  “It makes sense there would be.”

  “But I’ve never struggled with it before. It’s been a nonissue.”

  Harper smiled, catching me off guard.

  “What?”

  “It’s okay that you can’t tell me.”

  “I admit I am often daft, but why does it make you happy?”

  “Because you want to.”

  I smiled too. “This will not be easy for me to navigate. I may muck it up from time to time, but never because of you.”

  “If I become a minister, there will be things I can’t tell you, either.”