AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Shiver nodded. “I read the news to him.”
His mother patted his hand. “You know how much he likes to catch up over his morning tea.”
He wasn’t sure his father had heard a word he’d read, and he’d certainly not had any tea, but as the doctors had told them, the important thing was that the family spent time with him and conversed whether the duke was able to respond or not.
“There’s more,” she murmured.
“What’s that?”
“Something is on your mind, Thornton, and whatever it is, its weight is heavy.”
Even if he wanted to discuss it with his mother, he wouldn’t know where to begin.
“It’s a woman,” she murmured.
Shiver leaned closer. “It’s nothing,” he said softly. “Let it be, Duchess.”
“For now,” she said, standing and leaning down to kiss his cheek. “I’ll check on your father.”
Shiver nodded and stood too, walking back over to the window.
It had been over a month since United Russia lifted the ten-million-dollar bounty they had on Orina “Losha” Kuznetsov’s head, and yet Shiver had no idea where she was and why she insisted on staying so far underground that no one could find her.
He’d called in every favor—and there had been many—but so far, he didn’t have a single lead as to where the bloody woman was hiding.
“You best be driving in the gate,” Shiver said when he answered his brother’s call a couple of hours later.
Wilder laughed. “At least an hour out, but before you blast me, I’ve spent the last thirty minutes listening to Sir Ranald tell me how he intends to fire you.”
Shiver laughed. “My Christmas wish come true.”
“What in the bloody hell did you do?”
Shiver pounded his fist on the desk of the office he’d been holed up in, cursing the impotence he felt as much as the walls surrounding him.
Ten minutes ago, his boss had summoned him, but Shiver wasn’t any closer to giving him the answer he sought than he had been two weeks ago when Rivet had first asked for his decision.
Sir Ranald “Rivet” Caird was a career British Intelligence officer for MI-6 who, nine years prior, had been named chief. At the time, he’d been candid about his refusal to serve beyond a ten-year term.
The first in line to succeed him had been Merrigan Shaw, who was now Merrigan Shaw-Butler, happily married to Kade “Doc” Butler, the founding partner of the private security and intelligence firm made up primarily of former CIA operatives—K19 Security Solutions. Merrigan had taken over as managing partner of the firm and had made it perfectly clear that she wouldn’t return to MI-6 regardless of the position offered.
As much as that had infuriated their boss, Rivet had seen her departure coming in the same way Shiver had, and couldn’t begrudge her the happiness she and Doc had in their lives.
With Merrigan out of the picture, Shiver had moved to the top spot to succeed Sir Caird. His lack of enthusiasm, along with his refusal to give the man an answer, incensed his boss.
“He’s pacing,” said Patsy, sticking her head in Shiver’s office. “Would you mind?”
“In a minute,” he snapped, immediately regretting his tone. Patsy was Rivet’s assistant and didn’t deserve his or anyone else’s wrath.
“I take it you haven’t heard anything.”
&n
bsp; Patsy was well aware of Shiver’s search for Orina Kuznetsov, and had done everything she could to help. While her level of security clearance was as high or higher than Shiver’s, she couldn’t do too much digging without getting in trouble with Rivet herself.
“Sorry, Pats. Not your fault or your problem.”
“Go talk to him. Get it over with so we can all start enjoying the holiday.”
