She and Duncan had reached some kind of accord the last few days. Mandy didn’t know what had inspired it, but she was glad. She was sick of fighting with him, and with herself for still holding out hope he’d change. The kiss they’d shared so many months ago had obviously been an aberration, and their lovely Christmas day together a one-off. If they could at least be civil business partners, then Mandy would be thrilled.
“Yup,” Duncan replied. “She’s probably been paid off, or threatened. I bet they’re hoping that with her gone, they can recover all their clients.”
Mandy smiled smugly. “Well, since we’ve poached so many of them, I doubt that’ll happen.”
“Thanks to you.” Duncan grinned at her.
Mandy raised a brow. “I thought you’d make some crack about not wanting the rich clients,” Mandy said in surprise. She took a last bite of her food as she waited for his response.
Duncan shrugged. “The satisfaction of stealing from Beaton overrides my natural aversion to rich people,” he told her.
Mandy narrowed her eyes. “What is it with you and rich people?”
Duncan swivelled his chair away, not looking at her. “I’ve met enough rich people to know most of them aren’t worth my time.”
“Hmmm,” hummed Mandy. That sounded personal. She didn’t ask whether he thought of her as a waste of time. She was rather afraid of the answer. “Well, I should be heading home.” To her cold, empty house.
She stood and gathered the empty food containers, then padded towards his bin on stockinged feet. When she went to drop the boxes in, she froze, her gaze catching on a partially visible page sticking up from the bin. Slowly, she bent down and tugged it free, then dropped her containers in after it.
She scanned the page, her eyes widening with every word.
“What the hell is this?” she muttered, fury and fear coating her words.
Duncan’s head snapped around. When he saw what she held, he ripped it from her grasp. “Nothing.”
“Nothing? A violent threat against my life is nothing?”
“Mandy—” He reached out a hand for her. She knocked it away.
“Were you planning to tell me, or would you be happy to see me dead so you can carry on this business alone like you’ve always wanted to?”
“Don’t be ridiculous,” he growled.
“I’m being ridiculous?” she asked, hysteria bubbling within her. “When did you get this letter? How long have you been keeping this from me?”
“Only a few days—” Duncan began.
“Days?” she practically screeched.
“It’s just a threat,” Duncan said. He stood, towering over her. “I won’t let them hurt you.”
His voice was hard, sending a shiver down her spine. In that moment, Mandy had no doubt he meant it. But why hadn’t he told her someone had threatened her?
“Duncan, why didn’t you tell me?” she asked, more softly now. Just his presence, strong and sure, was enough to banish the worst of her fear.
“I didn’t want to worry you. I’ll protect you, I promise.”
“Who is it?” she whispered, inching forward towards his strength.
“Beaton,” he sighed reluctantly. “They know we were behind Erica’s downfall. And they want revenge. They think if they come after you, it’ll force me to play by their rules.”
She shivered, and Duncan wrapped his arms around her, pressing her into his strong chest.
“Will you?” she whispered.
“No,” he said firmly. “I’m going to change the game. They have to learn if they come after you, I won’t rest until I destroy every last one of them.”
The end
To be continued in the final Soldiering On novel,
coming soon
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For more adventures of the Soldiering On crew, click below:
Soldiering On Series
Soldiering On (Soldiering On #0.5) – See where it all began
Station Alpha (Soldiering On #1) – Paul and Christine’s story
Guarding Sierra (Soldiering On #2) – Blake and Sierra’s story
Dangerous Victor (Soldiering On #3) – Zack and Radha’s story
Christmas Tango: (Soldiering On #3.5) – A Duncan and Mandy Novella
Author Bio
Aislinn is a life-long reader and writer. English was always her favourite subject, and she went to University to focus on that passion. She completed a Bachelor of Arts in English and History, which she loved, and then went on to do a Masters in an unrelated field. She now largely pretends that last degree never happened.
She is the author of the ‘Soldiering On’ books, a Romantic Suspense series. She enjoys reading, writing, travelling, watching action movies (particularly if they have a romance!) and fantasising about her future cottage in a forest. Now that she’s published, her next life dream is to own a dog.
Visit her at https://aislinnkearns.com/
Follow on Facebook at: www.facebook.com/aislinn.kearns.writer
Twitter: www.twitter.com/ardentaislinn
And Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/15428911.Aislinn_Kearns
Hotel Hideaway: (Soldiering On #4) Page 18
