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God, she’d slipped in when he hadn’t meant to let her in. Stole right past his determination to keep her out of his heart.
“Why did you wait so long to find me again, then?” She kept her head against his heart, and he wondered if she heard what was left of it break. “Why did you wait?”
He forced himself to swallow, forced himself to answer her.
“Because I was married.”
—
Zoey froze.
A chill washed through her. Where she’d been lazy and warm but a heartbeat before, she could now feel the icy fingers of fear invading her.
“Are you still married?”
“No, I’m not still married,” he assured her, his hand stroking down her shoulder. “And it takes more than a piece of paper to make a marriage, I believe.”
“Yeah, that’s what Dawg says.” Frowning, she tried to decipher the odd, dark note in his voice. “Did you divorce?”
“No. She died two years ago, the same day our daughter Katie was killed when she was struck by a car.”
That tone, it was pain. Regret. And Zoey sensed there was far more to it than the brief explanation.
“I’m very sorry, Doogan,” she whispered, pressing her lips to his chest, just over his heart. “That’s a terrible loss.”
“Yes, it was.” Something in his voice had her heart breaking for him.
He’d lost the woman he loved and their child; where did that leave her where the future was concerned? The man she loved . . .
Dammit. She was in love with him.
That sucked.
His heart belonged to another woman, a dead woman. A woman who’d had his child, and that child was taken as well.
“Sleep, baby,” he whispered, stroking her shoulder once again. “I have a meeting in an hour or so. If you wake and I’m gone, I’ll be right back.”
Lifting her head, Zoey met his gaze, the somber, dark eyes watching her intently. “Super-spy stuff?” She arched her brows playfully, aching to take just a little of that too-serious, dark regret from his gaze.
“Super?” he snorted. “Not hardly. Boring, tedious follow-up. The life of a super-spy isn’t always guns blazing and cars racing.”
No kidding.
She was actually trained for guns blazing and cars racing and still hadn’t experienced it. The bad guys didn’t often get to Somerset.
Yawning and settling against him again, she curled into his warmth and let her eyes close. “Wake me when you get back. I have things to do.”
“Sleep, baby.” His lips brushed over her forehead.
As she closed her eyes, her last thought was the painful realization that Doogan had far more secrets than she’d ever imagined.
THIRTEEN
“I have the information you requested earlier.” Eli was angry. “Do you want company?”
Doogan nodded. “Wait in the truck till I get there. I have a few things to check before we head out. Text me the information and I’ll be down when I’ve finished.”
Eli nodded. Glancing to Zoey’s door, he gave a shake of his head before turning to leave the living area.
