She wanted to scream.
Despite all her training, the experience she’d gained in previous fights, a nurse and her deadly companion had wrecked her.By shoving her down some stairs.That was it.Senseless and stupid.Murry was dead now because of that.Because ofher.
The only thing left to do now was to save her husband, whatever the cost.She had not fought to free him from prison just so he could succumb in a townhouse basement.
“Walk,” said Mrs.Lester.She pressed the pistol more firmly against Samantha’s back, pushing her forward.
Staying directly behind Samantha, both the man and the woman remained out of sight.Even when she tried turning her head, she managed to catch only a partial glimpse.It wasn’t enough to get a clear look at either.
Mrs.Lester directed her toward the door.
“I suggest you retreat, Mr.Croft,” said the man.“Your wife has a loaded pistol at her back.If you so much as flinch in a threatening way, we’ll blast a hole straight through her.Is that clear?”
A brief silence followed before Adrian answered.“Yes.”
“Excellent,” said the man.He swept a hand in front of Samantha, offering her a key.“Please do the honors.”
She took the object and set it into the lock.The mechanism grated as she turned it all the way to the right.And then the door opened, allowing her to meet Adrian’s frosty gaze.
He stood by the far wall, utterly still, his features like granite.
It was a moment she’d never forget, for as he took her in, something about him shifted, darkening and tensing even further.There was a lethalness to his appearance that told her he’d not let her save him.What he showed in his stance and expression were her own emotions reflected back at her.
He’d die if it meant she lived.A powerful reminder of who he was and what he was capable of.If only she’d let him.Which she wouldn’t.There was no way in hell she’d allow him to do something foolish.
She stepped forward and her gaze shifted toward a large table to which a man had been tied.Mrs.Lester nudged her forward and Adrian made a guttural sound.
“I knew I’d find Mrs.Lester here, but you’re a surprise.”
“Fooled you, did I?”
“Without a doubt, Doctor Ashburry.”
29
Samantha blinked.Doctor Ashburry was the man collaborating with Mrs.Lester?She’d expected the woman’s husband.Which begged the question, “Where’s Mr.Lester?”
“Away,” said Mrs.Lester.“I thought it best not to involve him in any of this.Not sure he’d have the stomach for it, and since I am rather fond of him, I—”
“You were having an affair with Doctor Wentworth,” Samantha blurted.
“What’s your point?”asked Mrs.Lester.When Samantha held silent, too baffled to put her thoughts in quick order, the woman chuckled.“I see.You don’t understand how I can care for one man while climbing into bed with another.”
“Well…yes.”She refrained from mentioning Wentworth’s age and appearance.He wasn’t exactly what one would describe as Lothario.
“Doctor Lester and I were childhood friends.We have the deepest respect for each other.He’s an excellent physician, but he’s no Doctor Wentworth, whose intellect surpasses that of anyone else I’ve ever met.”
“The man deserves to see his life’s work brought to fruition,” Ashburry murmured, going to check on the man who lay on the table.“He appears to be stable.”
“Who is he?”Samantha asked.
When neither Ashburry nor Mrs.Lester answered, Adrian said, “I expect he’s Doctor Islington.”
“What?”That couldn’t be true.“He fled from his practice and went into hiding.We know this to be true because…”
Oh God.Adrian had gleaned that information from Doctor Ashburry.It was what had brought them here.Deliberately.
And yet…
