by Misty Evans
Miles banged on the counter. “Thanks, anyway,” he said and took off down the corridor at a run.
Hunter led him down the stairs to the first floor, past the entrance and to a separate wing of the hospital.
“What’s she doing in PT already?” Miles asked, not expecting Hunter to know. “She had major surgery two days ago.”
“I don’t know.” He pushed through a double door that had Physical Therapy spelled out over it. “But that’s where I saw her when I was wandering.”
Sure enough, as Miles came to a standstill looking out over the open PT area, he spotted Charlotte sitting on a table talking to a therapist.
Arguing might be more like it. Charlotte was talking, but the gal in white listening had her arms crossed and was shaking her head.
Charlotte’s left leg was in a partial cast, her right ankle wrapped. A padded and bandaged arm stuck out from under her hospital gown sleeve. Her hair was up and he could see the stitches at the base of her skull. She looked like she’d gone three rounds with a bear.
To him, she’d never looked better.
Miles skirted through some elderly patients lifting small hand weights and others pedaling bikes.
“But I have to,” Charlotte was saying to the therapist. “It’s the most important day of my life.”
The woman’s ponytail bobbed from side to side as she shook her head. “I’m all for starting as soon as you can, but this is ridiculous. The doctor hasn’t okayed it. You can barely sit upright. You still have a cast on.”
Miles chuckled to himself. Nothing and no one could stop Charlotte once she put her mind to something. “I wouldn’t waste your breath arguing with her,” Miles said, approaching the table. “Besides, she’s a glutton for punishment.”
Charlotte’s eyes swung to Miles, widening in surprise. “You’re back!”
She hoisted herself off the table, nearly toppling into the therapist as her casted leg refused to bend while the good leg did. For half a second, she was suspended in mid-fall before Miles caught her.
The book crashed to the floor once more.
Several patients nearby stopped what they were doing to watch. Charlotte threw her arms around his neck and hugged him. “I got your message.”
He’d painstakingly gone through the first chapter and circled the letters to spell out I-l-o-v-e-y-o-u-w-i-l-l-y-o-u-m-a-r-r-y-m-e? “I got yours too.”
Three little letters. She’d found all three on the title page, not even bothering to string them out so he had to actually look for them.
Y.
E.
S.
“You’re not mad?” he asked.
“About what?”
“The fact I never told you my team was helping MI6 look for you?”
“Hmm.” She played with his collar for a moment. “You can make it up to me on our honeymoon.”
Miles laughed. “I think that’s fair.”
“So…when?” She was practically bopping up and down in his arms.
“When what?”
“When are we getting married?”
The therapist covered her smile with a grin. Miles glanced around. Hunter had a bunch of old ladies gathered around him and they were all watching the show. “When do you want to?”
“Today?” Charlotte laughed, the sound vibrating through his chest where she leaned into him. “Seriously, as soon as I can get this damn cast off. The doctor said it’s temporary. The bone wasn’t broken, just nicked. Three or four days and I should be good.”
Three or four days. “I like the sound of today better.”
“I’m not coming down the aisle in a wheelchair.”
Miles heart expanded as he looked down into her chocolate brown eyes. Eyes he loved, just like the rest of her. “You’re right. We should wait a little while, make some plans. I’m sure your dad and brother would like to be there when we tie the knot. If you want a Gypsy wedding, that’s fine too. Maybe even in Romania so Renalda can be there.”
Her eyes suddenly shone with tears. “You would do that? Go back there for me?”
“I would do anything for you, Charlotte. Don’t you know that?”
She rose up on her good foot and brushed her lips across his. “Magic does exist.”
“What?”
“Magic, like in Harry Potter. It does exist because we make it happen. The mind is a powerful thing. All Gypsies know that.”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about” he said, sweeping her up into his arms, “but I like you anyway.”
She laughed. Carefree. Happy.
The best sound he’d ever heard.
“I have a better idea than holding the wedding in Romania,” she said. “I need to get Renalda here for treatments. I’ll bribe her.”
“That’s the spirit.”
“Madeena can be our flower girl. I’d like to adopt her if we can get through all the red tape.”
A wife and a child all in one shot. Miles’ mind reeled. “Think she’ll like California?”
“What’s not to like?”
“So you’re not going back to MI6?”
“Gosh, no. I may check in with the CIA, though. See what they can offer me.”
“That a girl.” He hefted her a little higher and kissed the end of her nose. “I know a couple of old Gypsy remedies to heel that leg. A certain MI6 agent taught them to me. Let’s get you back upstairs so I can get to work on making you feel better.”
Charlotte giggled and waved goodbye to the therapist, who handed her the book. Charlotte laid her head on his shoulder as he carried her past the other patients. Clapping and hooting followed them out.
Hunter grinned and slapped Miles on the back. “I’ll get the car,” he said, shrugging off the hands of his fan club and heading for the door.
“I’ll be a minute.”
“You don’t have to take me upstairs,” Charlotte said after they’d passed through the double doors and were in the hallway. It was quieter here. A long line of glass windows looked out into a garden. Several patients were strolling amongst the benches, daffodils pushing their yellow-green heads up through the last of the snow. “The doctor actually released me an hour ago. I’d say, ‘take me home,’ but neither one of us has one. At least not here in D.C.”
Miles stopped. He’d never settled in one place long enough to call it home anyway. “Home for me is wherever you are, Charlotte. Lucky for you, I happen to be in good with the woman who owns the keys to a safe house that will blow your socks off.”
“Beatrice?”
He nodded. “We can crash there for now. What do you say?”
“I say, I love you and I want to be with you forever. Let’s go home, Miles. I’m so ready for this.”
Hugging her close, he headed for the door. “Me, too, darlin’. Me, too.”
Stepping out into the bright morning sunlight, Miles stopped on the curb to wait for Hunter. As Charlotte kissed him again, longer and deeper this time, he prepared himself for another exciting adventure.
The End
Don’t miss the next Shadow Force International adventure!
Fatal Courage
Shadow Force International, Book 3
He ruined her career…
In twenty-one missions, CIA golden girl Ruby McKellen has failed only once. Thanks to Navy SEAL Jaxon Sloan, the man who stole her heart and forced her to choose between him and her partner Elliot, she’s on probation and Elliot is in prison for national security crimes. To prove Elliot’s innocence and save her damaged career, Ruby is running an unsanctioned mission—but the only way to do get the proof she needs is to go to Jax with her tail between her legs, and begging isn’t out of the question.
She wrecked his heart…
Jaxon left the Navy after the mission with Ruby in Morocco went south, but that one hot, unbelievable night with her will haunt him forever. Working for Shadow Force International now, his new assignment has brought him full circle—the CIA operative Jax’s testimony sent to prison ha
s escaped and Jax has been ordered to hunt him down. Just like in Morocco, the one thing standing in his way is Ruby.
A second chance at love could prove fatal…
When Ruby’s life is threatened and Jax stumbles on information that might prove Elliot is innocent, guilt over putting the man in prison compels him to join her unsanctioned mission. What really happened that night six months ago? Is Elliot an honorable spy or a mastermind at manipulation? Ruby is the only one who can help Jax navigate the world of undercover lies and betrayal to find the truth.
In a battle of wills—and of hearts—Jax and Ruby must have the courage to face the truth about themselves, their past, and what it really means to betray someone you love.
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Romantic Suspense and Mysteries
by Misty Evans
The Super Agent Series
Operation Sheba
Operation Paris
Operation Proof of Life
The Blood Code
The Perfect Hostage, A Super Agent Novella
The Deadly Series
Deadly Pursuit
Deadly Deception
Deadly Force
Deadly Intent
Deadly Attraction (coming 2016)
Deadly Affair, A SCVC Taskforce novella (coming 2016)
The Justice Team Series (with Adrienne Giordano)
Stealing Justice
Cheating Justice
Holiday Justice
Exposing Justice
Undercover Justice
Protecting Justice
Shadow Force International Series
Fatal Truth
Fatal Honor
Fatal Courage (coming 2016)
The Secret Ingredient Culinary Mystery Series
The Secret Ingredient, A Culinary Romantic Mystery with Bonus Recipes
The Secret Life of Cranberry Sauce, A Secret Ingredient Holiday Novella
About the Author
USA TODAY Bestselling Author Misty Evans has published over thirty novels and writes romantic suspense, urban fantasy, and paranormal romance. She got her start writing in 4th grade when she won second place in a school writing contest with an essay about her dad.
Misty likes her coffee black, her conspiracy stories juicy, and her wicked characters dressed in couture. When not reading or writing, she enjoys music, movies, and hanging out with her husband, twin sons, and two spoiled puppies. Get your free Super Agent story and sign up for her newsletter at www.readmistyevans.com. Like her author page on Facebook or follow her on Twitter. Bloggers and reviewers, if you’d like to join Misty’s Rockin’ Readers review group, send her a message at [email protected] and she’ll hook you up!
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