Guardian Angel

  “Destiny,” Christina countered, completely changing the topic. “I have a feeling you’ve just met yours, Jade.”

  She didn’t have the heart to argue with her. Christina sounded so sincere. “If you say so,” she agreed.

  Christina noticed the swelling on the side of her head then. Jade explained what had happened to her. She felt guilty because she was deceiving the woman, for she was telling the same lie she’d told Caine earlier, but her motives were pure, she reminded herself. The truth would only upset her new friend.

  “You’ve had to be a warrior, haven’t you, Jade?” Christina asked, her voice filled with sympathy.

  “A what?”

  “A warrior,” Christina repeated. She was trying to braid Jade’s hair, then decided it was still too damp. She put the brush down and waited for her friend to answer.

  “You’ve been alone in this world for a long time, haven’t you?” Christina asked. “That’s why you don’t trust anyone.”

  Jade lifted her shoulders in a shrug. “Perhaps,” she whispered.

  “We should go and find our men now.”

  “Lyon is your man, but Caine isn’t mine,” Jade protested. “I’d rather just go to bed, if you please.”

  Christina shook her head. “Caine will have had his bath by now and must feel refreshed again. I know both men will want to ask you some questions before they let you rest. Men can be very stubborn, Jade. It’s better to let them have their way every now and again. They’re so much easier to manage that way. Do trust me. I know what I’m talking about.”

  Jade tightened her sash on her wrapper and followed Christina. She tried to clear her mind for the inevitable sparring ahead of her. As soon as she walked into the library, she saw Caine. He was leaning against the edge of Lyon’s desk, frowning at her. She frowned back.

  She really wished he wasn’t so handsome. He had bathed and was now dressed in clothes Lyon had given him. The fit was true, the fawn-colored britches indecently snug. A white cotton shirt covered his wide shoulders.

  Jade sat down in the center of the gold-colored settee. Christina handed her a full goblet of brandy. “Drink this,” she ordered. “It will warm your insides.”

  Jade took a few dainty sips until she became accustomed to the burning sensation, then emptied the glass.

  Christina nodded with satisfaction. Jade felt immensely better, sleepy, too. She leaned back against the cushions and closed her eyes.

  “Don’t you dare fall asleep,” Caine ordered. “I have some questions to put to you.”

  She didn’t bother to open her eyes when she answered him. “I won’t fall asleep, but when I keep my eyes closed, I don’t have to see your mean frowns, Caine. It’s much more peaceful this way. Why were you pretending to be Pagan?”

  She’d slipped in that question so smoothly, no one reacted for a full minute.

  “He was what?” Lyon finally asked.

  “He was pretending to be Pagan,” Jade repeated. “I don’t know how many other famous people he’s pretended to be in the past,” she added with a nod. “Still, it seems to me that your friend has an affliction of sorts.”

  Caine looked as if he wanted to throttle her. Christina held her smile. “Lyon? I don’t believe I’ve ever seen our friend this upset.”

  “Neither have I,” Lyon returned.

  Caine successfully glared him into quitting his comments. “This isn’t a usual circumstance,” he muttered.

  “I doubt he’s ever pretended to be Napoleon though,” Jade interjected. “He’s too tall to pull it off. Besides, everyone knows what Napoleon looks like.”

  “Enough,” Caine bellowed. He took a deep breath, then continued in a softer tone. “I’ll explain why I was pretending to be Pagan after you’ve told me everything that led up to this black night.”

  “You make it sound as though everything is my fault!” she cried out.

  He closed his eyes. “I do not fault you.”

  “Oh, yes, you do,” she argued. “You’re the most exasperating man. I’ve been through a terrible time and you’ve shown me as much compassion as a jackal.”

  Caine had to count to ten before he could trust himself not to shout at her.

  “Why don’t you just start at the beginning?” Lyon suggested.

  Jade didn’t pay any attention to Lyon’s request. Her full attention was centered on Caine. He was still a little too controlled for her liking. “If you don’t start giving me a little sympathy and understanding, I’m going to start shouting.”

  “You’re already shouting,” he told her with a grin.

  That statement gave her pause. She took a deep breath, then decided to take a different tack. “Those terrible men ruined everything,” she announced. “My brother had just finished renovating his lovely home and they ruined it. I cannot tell you how disappointed Nathan is going to be when he finds out. Oh, quit staring at me like that, Caine. I don’t care if you believe me or not.”

  “Now, Jade . . .”

  “Don’t talk to me.”

  “You seem to have lost control of the conversation,” Lyon pointed out to Caine.

  “I was never in control,” Caine answered. “Jade, we’re going to have to talk to each other,” he announced then. “Yes,” he added when he thought she was about to interrupt. “You have been through a trying time. I’ll give you that much.”

  He thought his tone had been filled with understanding. He wanted to appease her, yet knew he’d failed when she continued to frown at him. “You’re the most galling man. Why do you have to sound so superior all the time?”

  Caine turned to Lyon. “Did I sound superior?”

  Lyon shrugged. Christina nodded. “If Jade thinks you sounded superior,” she said. “Then perhaps you did, just a little.”

  “You treat me like an imbecile,” Jade said. “Doesn’t he, Christina?”

  “Since you are my friend, I will of course agree with you,” Christina answered.

  “Thank you,” Jade replied before turning her attention back to Caine. “I’m not a child.”

  “I’ve noticed.”

  His slow grin infuriated her. She could feel herself losing ground in her bid to keep him off balance. “Do you know what the very worst of it was? They actually torched my brother’s beautiful carriage. Yes, they did,” she added with a vehement nod.

  “And that was the worst?” Caine asked.

  “Sir, I happened to be inside at the time!” she cried out.

  He shook his head. “You actually want me to believe you were inside the carriage when it caught fire?”

  “Caught fire?” She bounded out of her seat and stood there with her hands on her hips, glaring at him. “Not bloody likely. It was torched.”

  She remembered her audience and whirled around to face them. Clutching the top of her wrapper against her neck, she lowered her head and said, “Pray forgive me for losing my temper, please. I don’t usually sound like a shrew.”

  She resumed her seat then and closed her eyes. “I don’t care what he believes. I can’t talk about this tonight. I’m too distraught. Caine, you’re going to have to wait until morning to question me.”

  He gave up. The woman was certainly given to drama. She put the back of her hand up against her forehead and let out a forlorn sigh. He knew he wasn’t going to be able to reason with her now.

  Caine sat down on the settee beside her. He was still frowning when he put his arm around her shoulders and hauled her up against his side.

  “I specifically remember telling you that I cannot abide being touched,” she muttered as she snuggled up against him.

  Christina turned to her husband and let him see her smile. “Destiny,” she whispered. “I think we should leave them alone,” she added. “Jade, your bedroom is the first on the left at the top of the steps. Caine, you’re next door.”

  Christina tugged her reluctant husband to his feet. “Sweetheart,” Lyon said, “I want to know what happened to Jade. I’ll just stay down
here a few more minutes.”

  “Tomorrow will be soon enough for you to satisfy your curiosity,” Christina promised. “Dakota will be waking us in just a few more hours. You need your rest.”

  “Who is Dakota?” Jade asked, smiling over the affectionate way the happy couple looked at each other. There was such love in their expressions. A surge of raw envy rushed through her, but she quickly pushed the feeling away. It was pointless to wish for things she could never have.

  “Dakota is our son,” Lyon answered. “He’s almost six months old now. You’ll meet our little warrior in the morning.”

  The door closed softly on that promise and she and Caine were once again all alone. Jade immediately tried to move away from him. He tightened his hold.

  “Jade? I never meant to sound like I was ridiculing you,” he whispered. “I’m just trying to be logical about this situation of yours. You have to admit that tonight has been . . . difficult. I feel like I’m spinning around in circles. I’m not used to ladies asking me so sweetly if I could kill them.”

  She turned to smile up at him. “Was I sweet?” she asked.

  He slowly nodded. Her mouth was so close, so appealing. Before he could stop himself, he leaned down. His mouth rubbed against hers in a gentle, undemanding kiss.

  It was over and done with before she could gather her wits and offer a protest.

  “Why did you do that?” she asked in a strained whisper.

  “I felt like it,” he answered. His grin made her smile. He pushed her back down on his shoulder so he wouldn’t give in to the urge to kiss her again, then said, “You’ve been through hell, haven’t you? We’ll wait until tomorrow to talk. When you’ve had a proper rest, we’ll work on this problem together.”

  “That is most considerate of you,” she replied. She sounded acutely relieved. “Now will you please tell me why you were pretending to be Pagan? You said earlier that you wanted to draw him out, but I don’t understand how . . .”

  “I was trying to prick his pride,” he explained. “And make him angry enough to come after me. I know that if someone was pretending to be me, I’d ... oh, hell,” he muttered. “It sounds foolish now.” His fingers were slowly threading through her soft curls in an absentminded fashion. “I tried everything else. Bounty didn’t work.”

  “But why? Did you want to meet him?”

  “I want to kill him.”

  Her indrawn breath told him he’d stunned her with his bluntness. “And if he sent someone else in his place to challenge you, would you kill that man too?”

  “I would.”

  “Is your work killing people then? Is that how you make your way in this world?”

  She was staring into the fire but he could see the tears in her eyes. “No, I don’t kill for a living.”

  “But you’ve killed before?”

  She’d turned to look at him when she asked that question, letting him see her fear. “Only when it was necessary,” he answered.

  “I’ve never killed anyone.”

  His smile was gentle. “I never thought you had.”

  “Yet you really believe it’s necessary to kill this pirate?”

  “I do.” His voice had turned hard, a deliberate choice that, for he hoped to get her to quit her questions. “I’ll kill every one of his damned followers, too, if it’s the only way I can get to him.”

  “Oh, Caine, I really wish you wouldn’t kill anyone.”

  She was on the verge of tears again. Caine leaned back against the cushions, closed his eyes, and said, “You’re a gentle lady, Jade. You can’t possibly understand.”

  “Help me understand,” she implored. “Pagan’s done so many wonderful things. It seems a sin that you . . .”

  “He has?” Caine interrupted.

  “Surely you know that the pirate gives most of his booty to the less fortunate,” she explained. “Why, our church has a new steeple, thanks to his generous donation.”

  “Donation?” Caine shook his head over her ludicrous choice of words. “The man is nothing but a common thief. He robs from the rich . . .”

  “Well, of course he robs from the rich.”

  “What’s that supposed to mean?”

  “He takes from the rich because they have so much, they won’t miss the paltry amount he steals. And it wouldn’t do him any good at all to take from the poor. They don’t have anything worth stealing.”

  “You seem to know quite a lot about this pirate.”

  “Everyone keeps up with Pagan’s adventures. He’s such a romantic figure.”

  “You sound as if you think he should be knighted.”

  “Perhaps he should,” she answered. She rubbed her cheek against his shoulder. “Some say Pagan’s never harmed anyone. It doesn’t seem right for you to hunt him down.”

  “If you believe he hasn’t ever killed anyone, why did you come looking for him? You wanted him to kill you, remember?”

  “I remember,” she answered. “If I explain my true plan, will you promise not to laugh?”

  “I promise,” he answered, wondering over her sudden shyness.

  “I was hoping . . . that is, if he didn’t want to kill me, well then, perhaps he might consider taking me away on his magical ship and keeping me safe until my brother came home.”

  “Heaven help you if you’d gotten that wish,” Caine said. “You’ve obviously been listening to too many fanciful stories. You’re wrong, too. That bastard pirate has killed before.”

  “Who has he killed?”

  He didn’t speak for a long minute but stared into the fire. When he finally answered her, there was ice in his voice. “Pagan killed my brother, Colin.”

  Chapter Four

  “Oh, Caine. I’m so sorry,” she whispered. “You must miss him terribly. Was Colin older or younger than you?”

  “Younger.”

  “Did he die very long ago?”

  “Just a few months,” Caine answered.

  “Your family must be having a difficult time of it,” she whispered. “Are both your parents still living?”

  “Yes, though of the two, my father’s having a much more difficult time accepting Colin’s death. He’s all but given up on life.”

  “I don’t understand,” she countered.

  “Father used to be very active in politics. He was known as the champion of the poor, Jade, and he was able to force through many substantial measures that eased their burdens.”

  “Such as?”

  She’d taken hold of his hand and was holding it against her waist. Caine didn’t think she was aware of her action. It was just an instinctive attempt to give him comfort, he guessed, and he found he didn’t dislike the touch or her motive.

  “You were explaining how your papa helped the poor,” she reminded him.

  “Yes,” Caine returned. “He was responsible for defeating the tax increase, for one example.”

  “But he quit these important duties?”

  “He quit everything,” Caine said. “His politics, his family, his friends, his clubs. He doesn’t even read the dailies now. He just stays locked inside his study and broods. I believe, once Pagan has been punished, that my father might . . . hell, I don’t know. He’s such a defeated man now.”

  “Are you like your father? Are you also a champion of the poor? I believe you must be a protector by nature.”

  “Why do you say that?”

  She couldn’t very well tell him she’d read his file. “Because of the way you took me under your wing,” she answered. “And I think you would have offered your help to any defenseless, poor person. Of course, I wasn’t poor when I met you.”

  “Are you going to start in about the silver coins again?”

  Because he was smiling at her, she knew he wasn’t irritated with her. “No, I’m not going to start in, whatever that’s suppose to mean. I was just reminding you. You are like your father then, aren’t you?”

  “I suppose we share that trait.”

  “Yet your fathe
r retreated from the world while you immediately went after vengeance. Your reactions were just the opposite, weren’t they?”

  “Yes.”

  “I understand why your father gave up.”

  “You do?”

  “It’s because fathers aren’t supposed to lose their sons, Caine.”

  “No,” Caine agreed. “They should die first.”

  “After a long, happy life, of course,” she added.

  She sounded so sincere, he didn’t want to argue with her. “Of course.”

  “And you’re absolutely certain it was Pagan who killed Colin?”

  “I am. I have it on high authority.”

  “How?”

  “How, what?”

  “How did Pagan kill him?”

  “For God’s sake, Jade,” he muttered. “I don’t want to talk about this. I’ve already told you more than I intended.”

  “I’m sorry if I’ve upset you,” she replied. She leaned away from him and looked into his eyes.

  The worry in her expression made him feel guilty for his biting tone. “Colin was killed at sea.”

  “Yet someone was thoughtful enough to bring him home for burial?”

  “No.”

  “No? Then how can you know if he’s really dead? He could have washed up on a deserted island, or possibly . . .”

  “Proof was sent.”

  “What proof? And who sent it?”

  He couldn’t understand her interest in this topic and determined to end the conversation. “Proof came from the War Department. Now will you quit your questions?”

  “Yes, of course,” she whispered. “Please accept my apology for intruding upon such a personal matter.”

  She let out a yawn, then begged his forgiveness for that unladylike action.

  “Caine? We can’t stay here long. I fear we would be putting your friends in danger.”

  “I agree,” he answered. “We’ll only stay one night.”

  He stared into the fire while he formulated his plans. Jade snuggled up against him and fell asleep. He told himself he was thankful for the blessed quiet. Yet he resisted the urge to go up to bed, for he liked holding the impossible woman in his arms too much to move.

  He kissed her brow just for the hell of it, then kissed her once again.