Forbidden Stranger Read online

  She’d suspected for a while that transferring the files was a useless task, but hearing him say it outright was still surprising. “What do you mean?”

  “I mean, forget it, all of it. The puzzles you hate so much. The stupid files. Concentrate on getting better. Paint. Run. Climb those stairs. Eat,” he added with a little chuckle that twisted something inside her into knots she didn’t want to feel. “The work was just—”

  “An excuse,” she put in. “Something to keep me occupied.”

  He nodded. “It was a way to give your mind something to focus on, so you could heal and recover. But it’s so galactically boring, Nina, there’s no reason you should keep wasting your time on it.”

  “I can’t just not . . . work,” she said.

  “Why not?”

  A creak at the top of the stairs had them both turning. Aggie stood there, her gray hair wild as though she’d been outside in the wind. She gestured at them both, her gaze intense.

  “I’ve received some rather distressing news,” she said. “I’m sorry, Mr. Donahue, but I’m going to have to ask for a leave of absence.”

  * * *

  “It’s my son,” Aggie said in a low voice when Nina had left the attic office. “He was hit by a truck while riding his buzzbike. They’ve put him into a coma until they can determine more, but he’s been in and out of surgery already.”

  Aggie’s usual broad, casual accent had gotten crisper. She twisted her hands in the apron she still wore, but her entire demeanor had changed enough that there’d be no mistaking her for being only a cook and housekeeper now. She met Ewan’s eyes squarely, although her tone was apologetic.

  “It was a hit-and-run. They don’t know if he’s going to pull through.”

  “Of course you have to go. You and Jerome both. I understand completely.” Ewan also kept his voice down, although neither of them was saying anything that would give away the extent of Aggie’s true role even if Nina were listening in.

  Aggie wasn’t crying, but her gaze went fierce. “I’d never leave if it wasn’t for this, Mr. Donahue. I hope you understand. I would never abandon her. Or you.”

  “I would never think that,” Ewan told her.

  “I can arrange with the agency to have a replacement sent, but that might seem . . . confusing,” Aggie said. “And no guarantees, of course, that the new person would be as capable. But I don’t know how long I’ll be gone, and the pair of you, here alone . . . I’m sorry, Mr. Donahue.”

  “We’ll manage to feed ourselves.” It had taken Ewan a long enough time to find help with the credentials and skills he needed, paired with the domestic experience. He knew that wasn’t what Aggie was really worried about. He put a comforting hand on her shoulder. “Aggie, I promise you. We’ll be fine. I’ll ramp up the security around the island. Nobody will be able to get to us. And there haven’t been any threats, not even a rumor of anything from Katrinka Dev, and if there was anyone who wanted to try to get to us, it would be related to her.”

  Ewan’s team had been monitoring any level of threat against not only him, but also Nina, for months. Despite Katrinka’s fury with him, there’d been nothing to indicate she was doing anything other than trying to beat him to the solution in deactivating the destructive programming. The world trend had moved toward outrage in other quarters. He’d recently also put out scans for anything related to the twelve remaining enhanced soldiers. Eleven, he thought, reminding himself. Now there were only eleven.

  “And if Miss Nina has some trouble?”

  That was obviously more of a concern, one he did not intend to dismiss. “I have the tracking app installed. I’ll watch her. I’ll be careful.”

  Aggie didn’t look relieved. “There’s no way of knowing what might activate the program, Mr. Donahue. And if she does try to harm herself, well. I don’t mean to be disrespectful, but you’re not as strong as she is. You’ve no medical training. I really think you need to have someone come in.”

  He couldn’t disagree with her. “I’ll call Zulik, see if he can come out to give her a checkup. She won’t think that’s odd, and he can stay at least for a short time, until you figure things out.”

  “And if I can’t make it back for a while? Or perhaps at all?” Aggie asked, lifting her chin, her voice trembling.

  Ewan reached for her hands and squeezed them both. “We’ll worry about that when we have to worry about it.”

  Aggie nodded and swiped at her eyes before looking at him again. “I take great pride in my professionalism, Mr. Donahue. I want that to be very clear.”

  “But this is your son. You have to go. We’ll be all right.” Ewan gave her hands another squeeze before he pulled up a menu on his screen and tapped in some commands. “I’ve arranged for the airtranspo to take you to the mainland, where another transpo will be waiting to pick you up and take you to wherever you need to go. I’ve transferred some additional travel funds—”

  “No.” Aggie shook her head vehemently, sounding shocked. “You don’t have to do that.”

  Ewan shook his head. “I want to. You’ve worked for me for almost a year without taking any time off—”

  “That was the assignment,” Aggie interrupted.

  “Even so,” Ewan continued, “you’ve performed above and beyond. Let me do this for you.”

  Aggie’s eyes glinted, and she gave him a broad, if somewhat watery grin. “Thank you. I appreciate it. But I still don’t feel right, leaving the two of you behind. You hired me and Jerome to make sure Nina was taken care of, make sure she was kept safe. And I don’t mind telling you, Mr. Donahue, I’ve grown very fond of her over the past few months. If you could get the doc here sooner, I could possibly wait . . .”

  “Absolutely not. Your son is hurt, and you need to be there. I could never in good conscience ask you to stay even a minute longer than necessary. I will take care of Nina,” he added quietly. “I might not be as good of a cook as you, but I won’t let her starve. And I will keep her safe. I love her more than anything in the world, Aggie.”

  “I know you do. I’m going to pack my bag. Jerome is ready.” She hugged him hard and excused herself, but turned back to add, “She’ll remember you soon. I know she will.”

  Ewan wished he had the same confidence that she did. The conversation he’d had with Nina, the one Aggie had interrupted, weighed on him. Once again, he’d found himself keeping the truth from her, and once again, he’d convinced himself it was for her safety and well-being. Would Nina think so, though? Ewan doubted it.

  Did she . . . love you?

  She did.

  Does she still?

  I don’t think so.

  Maybe she could again, if you had the chance to make things right with her.

  “I’m doing the best I can,” Ewan said softly, aloud, but was this his best, or some half-assed attempt at doing what was right because he was too afraid of what she might do if she knew everything?

  He wanted Nina to remember, he told himself as he tapped in a message to Zulik, asking the doc to get in touch with him immediately. Ewan wanted Nina to know who she was, and who he was, and what they had been together . . . yes, even if it meant she remembered that she had every reason and right to hate him.

  He wasn’t foolish enough to believe that because she wanted to kiss him that meant anything more than a physical attraction. It had been nearly impossible to turn her down. Touching her, tasting her, all of that had been a small taste of the heaven he’d had and lost. He could not take advantage of her in that way, though. Not without hating himself forever.

  He hadn’t meant to make her think there was another woman in his life, though. Her question had surprised him into an answer that had been based in truth but layered with lies, and now he was tangled up in all of it. No way to take it back or change what he’d said.

  Ewan rubbed at his eyes until a soft knock came at the doorway. It was Nina. She looked worried.

  “Is Aggie’s son going to be all right?”

  �