Page 32 of Covert Vengeance

Before now he’d only ever seen places like this on TV or in movies.

Jesse stood in the empty downstairs hallway to wait while Amber and the others got Kiyomi settled upstairs. The manor house was at least a few hundred years old, built with old money, and must cost a fortune to keep running.

If Marcus Laidlaw was a combat-wounded former SAS, it would take a hell of a lot more than his savings and disability checks to run this place. The interior space Jesse had seen so far was done up tastefully with a mix of antiques and newer pieces. Old oil portraits and landscapes hung from the foyer and hallway walls. The floors in this part of the main house were made up of large, honey-toned flagstones, worn smooth and shiny after centuries of wear.

“Jesse?”

He turned at the feminine voice behind him. A black-haired, fair-skinned woman stood in an open doorway, a knee-length dress hugging her curvy figure, her deep blue stare penetrating.

He raised his eyebrows. “Trinity?”

Her lips quirked in amusement. “We meet at last.” She gestured for him to enter the room with a nod. “Everyone’s coming in here.” She waited in the doorway to shake his hand first, her grip firm, then led him into some sort of study that was straight out of an Edwardian-period movie.

On the far side of the spacious room stood a wide mahogany desk neatly stacked with books and papers. Tufted leather chairs and a sofa filled out the room. The left-hand wall featured a large, open fireplace with a carved stone mantel, logs laid and waiting in the grate. Every wall was covered with bookshelves stuffed with leather-bound volumes, the sweet scent of them permeating the air.

“Wow,” was all he said.

“Best room in the house. Marcus uses it as his study.” She flicked a hand at the seating area near the desk. “Sit wherever you like. The others will be here shortly.”

He chose one of the tufted leather wingback chairs over in the far corner and kept looking around. Seriously great room. He pictured himself sitting in front of that fireplace on a cold autumn night, nursing a glass of aged whisky as he stared into the flickering flames in the hearth and thought about absolutely nothing.

It would be nice to think about absolutely nothing for a while.

“Thank you for everything you’ve done, by the way.”

He looked over at Trinity, arms folded beneath her breasts as she leaned against a bookcase. “My pleasure. It’s been interesting so far.” Amber had captivated him.

She laughed softly. “I’ll bet.”

“Cordova, that you?”

Jesse’s head snapped around to face the door. He pushed to his feet, grinned when a familiar figure walked through it a moment later. “Hell, they didn’t tell meyouwere coming.”

“Didn’t want to spoil the surprise, I guess.” Miguel Bautista strode toward him, a smile on his hard face. “You look pretty good for a ghost.”

“Yeah? You too.” Jesse hadn’t seen him in years. He accepted the quick hug, unable to control the wince and slight groan that slipped out when Bautista thumped a strong hand on his sore back.

That inky-dark stare met his, missing nothing. “You get roughed up on the job, or what?”

“A little, yeah.”

“Amber made you work for it, huh?” the blonde standing behind Bautista said.

“She did.” And then some. Maybe that was partly why he was so into her.

Bautista curled an arm around the woman’s shoulders, his gaze filled with pride as he looked down at her. “My wife, Georgia.”

Still hard to believe a badass like Bautista had taken that plunge. “Nice to meet you,” Jesse said, sizing her up. A female sniper. How awesome was that?

Her pale blue eyes warmed a fraction as she smiled. “Likewise.”

“You gonna tell us the story about how you finally caught up with Amber?” Bautista asked.

“Let’s just say she led me on a merry chase,” he answered wryly.

As if on cue, Amber appeared in the study doorway. She locked eyes with him, then glanced around at everyone else as Megan, Marcus and Tyler came in behind her. “I can’t stay long. Kiyomi’s sleeping, but I don’t want her to be alone when she wakes up.”

“Fair enough. Let’s get started,” Trinity said, then made the introductions.

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