Nick stood behind his imposing desk in the equally imposing library of Kinglas. He continued to glower at Kade, seated opposite him in one of the leather club chairs.
“Was it really necessary for you to sleep with a Russian spy in order to complete your mission?” his brother demanded. “Good God, lad. What were you thinking to put yourself in harm’s way like that?”
Lad.
Though Kade was twenty-seven and had been touring the Continent by himself for years, to Nick and the rest of the Kendricks he would always be the baby of the family who needed more protection than the rest.
He pretended to ponder the question. “Hmm, let me see. Oh, right. I was thinking that I needed to get close to Marina to complete the mission mandated by the British Crown.”
Royal, lounging in the chair next to him, smirked. “Veryclose, apparently.”
Kade flashed his other brother a dirty look. Royal had been holding in laughter as Kade patiently explained to Nick the reasons for his sudden return home this morning. Hehadbeen hoping for at least one day of rest, but Nick had immediately marched him off to the library for the requisite interrogation and resulting lecture.
The Kendrick brothers were used to lectures from Nick, all having required course corrections over the years. All but Kade. He’d never been called onto the proverbial carpet in front of Nick’s desk or had to escape out a window to avoid a thundering scold. He’d always been the perfect Kendrick, the one who never raised a ruckus.
“I thought you were on my side,” Kade said to Royal.
“I’m always on your side, even when you do something stupid, which is admittedly very rare in your case.” Royal placed a hand on his chest and looked soulful. “Oh, how times have changed. Now our wee lad is seducing opera singers and Russian spies.”
“The opera singer was also the Russian spy,” Kade retorted. “Besides, this was for king and country, and it was a necessary part of my job.”
“And look how well it turned out,” Nick sardonically said. “As for this spy business, which none of us even knew about until a few days ago, we will discuss that in a minute. What I want to know is how you could decide to take on such a dangerous mission without help from us? What if you’d been seriously injured, or even—”
Killed.
Nick clamped his lips shut, clearly distressed. That had Kade squirming with guilt. Life had been good for the Kendrick men for many years. Grand marriages to lovely lasses, lots of bairns, and thriving businesses to keep them all busy. True, there was the occasional kidnapping or smuggling ring to deal with, but for the most part they’d all been blessed.
But further back in the past, their lives had often been tragic and hard, leaving emotional wounds on all of them, but especially on Nick. Yet Kade hadn’t been thinking of any of that when he’d agreed two years ago to take on the occasional intelligence mission for the Crown. He’d seen it only as an exciting diversion from the intensity of his life as a musician and concert pianist.
A wave of weariness suddenly swamped him. The last few weeks had been taxing. His mission had ended with a narrow escape from Paris, a grim dash to the coast, a rough crossing to Edinburgh, and then a long carriage ride to Kinglas.
He grimaced in apology to Nick. “I’m sorry I worried you. It’s nothing more than a scratch, I promise.”
Kade wasn’t about to admit that it was only by the greatest of luck that he’d been able to roll out of the way quickly enough to avoid a knife penetrating in between the ribs. As it was, the blade had skittered down his back, saving him from a devastating injury.
While seducing Marina had not been the soundest of plans, he’d been convinced that her notebook was hidden in the bedroom of her lavish hotel suite. That notebook contained the names of some very important men she was blackmailing on Russia’s behalf, including two high-ranking British officials. Acquiring it had been a high priority.
Meeting Marina hadn’t been a problem, since both she and Kade were performing at the Paris Opera. The enchanting soprano had seemed eager to spend time with him, but somewhere along the way she’d deduced his plan. So while he was busy convincing himself that his seduction was progressing well—not to mention pleasurably—Marina had been planning his demise.
“It was more than a scratch, according to Aden,” Nick replied. “And his letter clearly stated that you were lucky to escape without additional injury.”
Aden St. George was Chief of Intelligence at the Home Office. He was also half brother to Nick’s wife, which made him family and thus less likely to withhold details when writing to Nick.
Kade shifted in his chair to ease the pressure on his still-healing wound. “It really wasn’t that bad. Fortunately, Marina was unable to pursue me, because she was . . .”
“Naked?” Royal sardonically finished for him.
Kade sighed. “I had only taken off my shirt, so good for me. I easily made my escape.”
He had no intention of revealing that Marina had also pulled a pistol from her nightstand and got off a shot as he pelted out of the room, boots and shirt in hand. He could only hope Aden had left that detail out of his letter.
Nick finally sank down into his chair. “Good God, what a bloody mess.”
“Yes, the blood quite ruined my best shirt,” Kade joked, trying to lighten the mood.
Nick scowled at him, while Royal simply shook his head with disapproval.
“Look,” Kade protested, “the mission was vital. Besides, Marina is a talented and well-regarded soprano. I thought she was simply passing along useful information to her government. How was I to know she would leap on me like a deranged assassin?”
