“What if I refuse?”
“I won’t accept it.”
“Why not?”
“Because I love you. Why did you make the same promise to me?”
“Because I love you.”
“Our son said his first word today. He said ‘Dada.’”
“I heard him, and my heart nearly broke.”
“You cannot leave us. You can’t. We’re a family, Shiver. Let us be a family.”
My shoulders fell forward, and Losha put her arms around me.
“Losha, how can you forgive me? How can I forgive myself?”
“By being the best parents we can be to Kazmir, by loving each other no matter what, for the rest of our lives.”
“Will that be enough?”
She put her palms on each side of my face. “That is everything. There is nothing more than love, Shiver.”
I held her tight to me, praying she was right, praying that she’d find a way to forgive me for not keeping her and our son safe. And more, praying I could forgive myself.
“There’s one more thing I need from you, although it won’t change the promise I just made to you.”
“What’s that?”
“I need you to forgive your mother.”
“Losha—”
“Hear me out.”
I nodded.
“If you don’t forgive her, then we can’t raise our son, or any other children we have, at Whittaker Abbey.”
“I never dreamed you’d want to.”
“I do.”
“Why?”
“I want our children to grow up surrounded by people who love them. I want them to learn all about the place that has been handed down through your family for generations. I want them to know Wellie and Darrow and Wilder and Pinch, and even your mother. Someday, I want them to know where I came from too.”
“The duchess…”
“Deserves the same forgiveness the rest of us do.”
“You don’t know—”
“I do.”
“How can you forgive her, then?”
“Isn’t Kazmir worth forgiving everything, Shiver?”
“I have one request of you.”
“Anything.”
I smiled.
“Well? What?” she asked when I reached around her and hit the lift’s button to take us back to the top floor.
“Come with me,” I said, pulling her back to the flat. I knocked and then entered without waiting for either the duchess or Rivet to answer the door.
“Thornton?” said my mother, still seated where she’d been when we walked out.
“I need to speak with Rivet.”
“I’m here,” he said, coming around the corner.
“I need you to pull some strings for me, and I want you to do it now.”
“What’s that?”
“Losha needs asylum, and I want you to put a rush on her citizenship papers.”
Rivet turned to Losha, who nodded.
“Excuse me,” he said, walking back in the direction from where he’d come. A few minutes later, he returned wearing a coat. “Ready?”
“Where are we going?”
“To Number 10. The prime minister is expecting us.”
Epilogue
Shiver
“No second thoughts?”
“None.”
“We’ll be away three entire weeks, Losha.”
“I made the reservations, Shiver.”
“It’s a long while.”
“Darrow is perfectly capable of caring for Kazmir while we’re away. She’ll have help not only from the nanny, but from Wilder, Pinch, Wellie, and even the duchess. Our son will have no shortage of love in our absence.”
“Let’s board, then.”
I led my wife onto the private plane that would carry us to the States for her best friend’s wedding, after which we intended to go on a past-due honeymoon of our own.
“The last time we were on this plane, I dreamed of us,” I told her.
“What about us?”
“Come with me, and we’ll make it come true.”
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The Lord and the Spy
Wilder Whittaker stood, perhaps waiting for me to do the same, but I wanted to see what he’d do if I didn’t. He didn’t disappoint.
The swoon-worthy, handsome agent leaned all six feet three inches of his powerful body on the hand he placed on his desk almost close enough to touch my bottom. He moved so I could see his eyes, which looked almost black from a distance, were really brown with flakes of gold and green. His wavy dark-brown hair had strands of blond and maybe even some gray mixed in. But mostly, his scent—a mix of sandalwood, citrus, and something else that smelled almost of aristocracy—filled my nostrils with an undeniable want.
Without needing to reach, I could slide my hand inside the folds of his jacket and run it over what I knew were the rock-hard pectoral muscles in his chest, then to his powerful shoulders, and up to cup his cheek and run my finger over the smirk on his lips.
“I’ll see you at eight, Miss Harlow,” he breathed, moving closer to me still. “In the meantime, think long and hard about how you want this to play out.”
“Meaning?”
“Just because they call me Wild doesn’t mean I don’t know how to be subdued, controlled, even civilized. Although, I’d far prefer it if you chose adventurous, entertaining—even titillating.”
“It’s just dinner, Mr. Whittaker.”
“It stopped being ‘just dinner’ the minute you walked into my office. You know it as well as I do.”
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Also by Heather Slade
BUTLER RANCH
Kade’s Worth
Brodie
Maddox
Naughton
Mercer
Kade
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THE WICKED WINEMAKERS’ BALL
Coming Soon!
The Wicked Bachelors' Auction: Brix
* * *
K19 SECURITY SOLUTIONS
Razor
Gunner
Mistletoe
Mantis
Dutch
Striker
Monk
Halo
Tackle
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Onyx
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THE ROYAL AGENTS OF MI6
The Duke and the Assassin
Coming Soon!
The Lord and the Spy
The Commoner and the Correspondent
The Rancher and the Lady
* * *
THE INVINCIBLES
Decked
Undercover Agent (written in Cocky Hero Club World)
Edged
Grinded
Riled
Handled (written in KB Worlds Everyday Heroes)
Smoked
Bucked
Irished
Coming Soon!
Sainted
Hammered
* * *
COWBOYS OF CRESTED BUTTE
Fall for Me
Dance with Me
Kiss Me Cowboy
Stay with Me
Win Me Over
e.
The Duke and the Assassin Page 19