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“Correct, Mr. Knight. However, you did agree to find Mia—and here she is.”
“Mia?” Matthew looked at the woman he loved. She was pale. What a shock for her, to find Hamilton here. “Mia,” he said softly, holding out his hand, “come to me, baby.”
“She’s quite happy where she is, Mr. Knight. Aren’t you, darling? Ah. Well, she won’t answer. She’s asked me to handle this. Understandable, when you think of how cozy she’s made you feel.”
“Mia,” Matthew said sharply. “Step away from him. Now.”
“I don’t like hearing you give orders to my fiancée, Mr. Knight.”
“She isn’t your fiancée.”
“Is that what she told you?” The colonel shook his head. “Mia, Mia, why must you play these games?”
“Douglas.” Mia’s voice shook. “Douglas, please—”
“Hamilton,” Matthew said sharply. “Let go of her. Now.”
The colonel raised his eyebrows. “Really, Mr. Knight—”
“Now,” Matthew barked.
Hamilton shrugged. One last nudge of the gun and he stepped away from Mia.
“Certainly, if that’s what you prefer. But I’m afraid it won’t change anything. Mia understands the situation. Don’t you, dear girl?”
Mia nodded. Yes. She understood. Hamilton’s hand was in his pocket, clamped around the grip of his gun. Somewhere in the blackness beyond the deck, two men who killed as much for pleasure as for purpose had their weapons trained on the man she loved.
The man whose life she could only save by breaking her heart, and his.
“Mia,” Matthew said, his eyes locked to hers. “Come to me. I’ll protect you.”
“There’s nothing to protect me from,” she said carefully. “I’m fine, Matthew. I know that’s hard for you to believe but really, I’m all right.”
His eyes narrowed. She knew he was telling himself she was lying, maybe even coming up with the actual reason for it. She couldn’t let him do that. Maybe he had a chance against Douglas, but the men beyond the deck would shoot him in an instant.
Mia took a deep breath, stepped closer to the colonel and forced herself to slide her arm through his.
“Mia.” Matthew’s voice was rough. “What the hell are you doing?”
“I—I—” The look on his face was tearing her apart. “Matthew, I—”
“It’s all right, dear girl,” the colonel said. “I’ll handle this for you. You see, Knight, I’d hoped we could meet alone. Two men of the world, discussing a problem, without Mia’s presence to complicate things.”
“Fine. Let’s do that,” Matthew said, his eyes never leaving Mia. “Get off my property and phone for an appointment.”
“I have. Several times.” Hamilton smiled again, this time with a feral show of teeth. “You don’t seem to have been monitoring your messages. But I understand. Miss Palmieri can be a great diversion. I suppose that’s the reason you’re showing me such hostility. That’s no way for a government operative to act.”
Mia gasped. “What?”
“He’s lying. I used to work for them but I don’t, not anymore. Goddammit, Hamilton, what’s going on here?”
“He’s right. He doesn’t work for them anymore.” Hamilton chuckled. “He does freelance work now, for the highest bidder. You know. Checks out difficult situations. Finds ways to get the goods on those the people who hire him don’t trust.” A short pause, and then his voice turned hard. “People like you, Mia.”
“He’s lying, damn it! He asked me to find you! I don’t have a damned thing to do with the government. Mia? Damn it, talk to me!”
“Let me explain for you, dear girl. You see, Mr. Knight, Mia came to Cartagena as my P.A. but she was much more than that. We’d fallen in love, in Washington, and wanted to be together.”
“Mia?” Matthew said, and she knew she’d remember the despair in his voice as long as she lived.
