Page 39 of Explosive Vengeance

Marcus paused beside his dog on the pathway when he saw her, his dark gaze meeting hers. An attractive man even with his facial scars. Somewhere in his forties, if she had to guess, with dark brown hair and a strong build that spoke of hard work. “Sorry to disturb,” he said in his distinct Yorkshire accent, and started to turn around, aided by his cane.

“No, it’s fine,” she answered. It was his house, after all.

He stopped, and she continued, finding she was eager to talk with him. “Were you in town?” The old Cotswold market town of Stow-on-the-Wold was only a couple miles away up the hill. She hadn’t been there yet, but wanted to go soon to explore it. Once she was up to being around strangers again.

“No, Karas and I were just out checking the fence in the far northwest pasture.” He reached his free hand down to rub the piebald Anatolian Shepherd’s head. The dog was like his shadow, following him everywhere. “We’ll leave you in peace.” He started to turn away again.

“No, please,” she blurted, not wanting him to leave. He made her feel…safe. He’d watched over her from afar while she’d recovered, never said much. She wanted to thank him for all he’d done for her.

He paused to look back at her, his expression uncertain.

“I’d…like the company.” He had a quiet, calm but watchful manner, and she was curious about him. At first, she’d been uncomfortable staying here in a house full of strangers without paying anything in return. Over the past few weeks, however, she’d begun to like it, and the strangers had become trusted friends. But as nice as the others here had been to her, she was lonely. She’d been lonely for most of her life, and that was doubly ironic given what sort of Valkyrie she was.

“You’re sure?” His deep brown gaze measured hers.

“Yes.”

He walked toward her with his uneven gait, his bearing proud and his loyal rescue dog at his side.

Though she saw him almost every day, Marcus Laidlaw remained an enigma. She’d been living in his house for weeks and yet barely knew anything about him, except that he’d served in the Royal Marines and then the SAS for most of his military career.

During a combat mission in Syria a few years ago he’d been seriously wounded and taken prisoner. Megan had helped him escape, but he still bore the marks of his ordeal. His left leg caused him a lot of pain, and the scars on the left side of his face and neck—and probably lower—were consistent with burns from an explosion. But whatever physical agony he’d endured, Kiyomi bet his mental wounds were even worse.

Invisible wounds were always the most painful.

Keeping the full length of the bench between them, he lowered himself onto the far end and stretched his left leg out while Karas sat facing them and accepted a pat on the head from Kiyomi. She was a friendly enough dog, but mostly aloof except with Marcus.

“Came out for a breath of air?” he asked, his clean, masculine scent reaching her. Dark and woodsy, like evergreens. It suited him and smelled fantastic.

She was glad he hadn’t witnessed her frantic kickboxing session. “Yes. Feels good to be outside.”

The scars near his left eye wrinkled with the hint of a smile. “Bit crowded in there, isn’t it?” he said, nodding at the manor house.

She couldn’t help but smile at his dry tone. “Yes. And I’ll admit to feeling like a fifth wheel sometimes.” All the Valkyries staying here were paired up with their boyfriends or husbands. While Kiyomi was happy that her new friends had found happiness, it also made her feel more alone and more of an outsider.

Seeing what they had only served as a reminder that she never would. Women like her didn’t fall in love or find love in return, and she’d accepted that long ago. Men wanted her. Some had become obsessed with her. But none of them had ever loved her and no one ever would. She was…damaged by all the things she’d done. Tainted by what Rahman had done.

Then what about Trinity?

She couldn’t ignore the whisper at the back of her mind. Trinity had been the same as Kiyomi was, gotten out, and now wore a beautiful engagement ring. Against all odds, she’d survived all her ops and had found a man who loved her enough to pledge himself to her for the rest of their lives. How had she done it? How had she overcome everything that had been programmed into her, and done the impossible?

“Aye, I know what you mean,” Marcus said, interrupting her thoughts. He’d left as much space as possible between them, making sure he didn’t invade her personal space.

An unwelcome twinge of embarrassment hit her. Marcus had been here to welcome them the day that Amber and Jesse had brought her to the manor. Kiyomi had been delirious from a combination of pain, fever and medication when they’d taken her upstairs and settled her onto the soft bed in the Blue Room.

But Marcus had seen what had been done to her, and had no doubt filled in enough details on his own to figure out the rest. He’d been standing at her bedside as Megan and Amber had checked the lacerations on her back, and while Kiyomi had hated an outsider seeing her that way, she couldn’t deny that something about Marcus soothed her deep inside.

As an intimate operative, her observational skills were honed to a razor’s edge. She’d spent a lot of time watching Marcus these past weeks, trying to get a read on him. He was a creature of habit, and liked routine. He was also a loner, preferring to spend most of his time alone except for the company of his dog, Karas.

Intuitively she felt safe around him. Partly because he was quiet and respectful, and partly because he was friends with Megan, but it was more than that. He wasn’t a creep who wanted anything from her or looked at her like an object. That was a welcome change.

“So, Megan says there’s another development in the Valkyrie hunt,” he mused, staring out at the garden and the tidy stable beyond the rear lawn.

“Yes. An acquaintance of mine, possibly.”

He turned his head toward her, those dark, fathomless eyes locking with hers. “Is it, now. Is that a good thing?”

“If it’s true, yes. Now we just have to find her to verify it.”

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