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The thought made her feel slightly sick.
“On a more personal level? Are you married, Joe? Is that your real name?”
Joe sighed. “Yes, it is my real name. My name is Joseph, but everyone calls me Joe, and no, I am not foolish enough to be married.”
“You sound as though it is a fool’s game,” she murmured.
“I am not wrong,” Joe snorted.
“You don’t wish to get married?” Her disappointment grew. It was silly, really, because she hardly knew the man, but she was stunned and hugely disappointed that he saw marriage as a trap.”
“No,” he declared flatly. “My work for the Star Elite is who I am and intend to keep it thank you very much.”
“Don’t you have a wife or family?”
Joe shook his head. “No. My parents died not long before I went into the army. My father was a baker. I hated the trade, and had no interest in going into it, so I joined the army. It was perfect for me. When I returned from the war, I joined the Star Elite. It is my life and all that I know. I wouldn’t change it for the world.”
She flinched at the fervency behind his words. In a desperate attempt not to cause herself any more hurt, she quickly looked for a way to ease the situation.
“What is the Star Elite by the way? The name has been mentioned a couple of times as well as the War Office. Do you just chase men like Sayers?”
“No, we fight crime on all levels, but go further than any magistrate could. We have men who work undercover and infiltrate gangs. Our work is often dangerous, and involves long hours in the dark, in the middle of the night, chasing thugs like Sayers and his men. There are small groups of Star Elite men up and down the country who work on more rural crime. Their job is just as dangerous and considerably more complex because of the rural nature of the crimes. There is more area to cover and, strangely, more places someone can hide.”
“But who are you? I mean, where on earth did you learn all of this?”
“I have done my time in the army. All the men in the Star Elite have served at some point. That’s why we are part of the War Office. When the war ended we remained with the War Office but were seconded to domestic crime like gangs of pick-pockets, Sayers, gun smugglers, that kind of thing. The work involves long, arduous hours, and isn’t for the squeamish.”
“You enjoy it,” she whispered.
“Of course I do otherwise I wouldn’t do it,” Joe replied honestly.
He had seen that special kind of look in her eye when she had looked at him both in the workshop and just now. It warned him that she was expecting more from him than he had to give.
“I am afraid that your brief foray into one of the Star Elite’s investigations has given you a perfect understanding of just how little my life fits into a marriage. I am gone for long hours, have no idea when I would be back, and could be killed at any time. It isn’t right to expect any woman to put up with half a marriage, especially to someone so averse to it as me.”
There was
just something in his voice that was a little defensive, as though he was warning her not to expect more from him than what she saw. But she did want more. Somewhere inside that hardened warrior was a man. Someone who needed a little softness in his life, and somewhere to call home, or else what was the point in doing what he did?
Joe studied her and waited for the volley of questions he usually had from her. When she remained silent, he started to become unnerved. It wasn’t the response he had been expecting, and he now regretted the force of his words. He hadn’t meant to sound so averse to the prospect of marriage, he just didn’t want her to go about with stars in her eyes and expect more from him than was realistic. After all, this time yesterday they hadn’t even met.
But she already matters to you, a small voice warned him.
While he couldn’t deny it, he could stop that professional concern from blossoming into something more meaningful, which would eventually lead to the altar.
“I think we need to get back to the safe house and get some sleep,” Joe murmured. “I don’t know about you but I am exhausted.”
“Me too. I think that is a very good idea,” she whispered.
When he escorted her down the steps of the bandstand, there was considerably more understanding between them than ever. Unsure what that meant now, and how she could go about persuading him to remain a part of her life when all of this was over, Marguerite remained thoughtful as they left the park.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
One week later
Joe slammed the kitchen door to the safe house and heaved a frustrated sigh.
“Anything?” Marguerite asked hopefully.
