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“Why should I be? I was forced to marry him. Forced to have his daughter, although that has turned out well. All so my father could ensure that he would be tied to him. I do not want anything to do with him. I have my doctorate in music now. I’ll go somewhere else and teach, keeping my daughter away from him.”
“Your name isn’t exactly common.”
“I’ll get it changed,” she said quietly, then thoughtfully looked up at him. “Can I do that?”
“Why don’t we go somewhere that we can sit down and discuss this? I think it’s a much bigger conversation.”
“I have to pick up my daughter from the daycare first. It’s on campus, so we can walk and go to the coffee shop next door.”
The men nodded, insisting on carrying the cello for her. They were both shocked at how heavy it was, considering how very tiny the woman was. As they waited outside the daycare, they smiled when she returned with a one-year-old bundle of dark hair that stuck up everywhere and the cutest round face they’d ever seen. One of the men shoved the cello toward the other.
“Oh, man. You take this. I’m gonna hold this little cutie.” Hae-Won smiled at the obvious paternal instinct taking hold in the man.
“You like children?” she asked.
“I hope so. I have triplets. So does my brother,” he laughed.
“Oh. That’s very unusual.”
“Not where we come from. What can we get you?”
“Just green tea, please.”
“What’s her name?” asked the brother left behind.
“Jennifer. I wanted her to have an American name so that she could blend in, be unseen.”
“Is that what you’re trying to do? Blend in and be unseen?” Hae-Won stared at the man, realizing that she’d willingly walked with the two men without asking any questions. They definitely weren’t Korean, but they could have been hired assassins.
“It’s occurred to me that I don’t know who you are or what you want but that you know a great deal about me, or at least my child’s father.”
“My name is Patrick Jordan, and this is my twin, Christopher. Your father tried to kill a friend of ours.” She stiffened in her seat, closing her eyes for a moment. “Your husband…”
“Child’s father,” she said quickly.
“My apologies. Your child’s father is a United States Navy SEAL. We believe he’s betrayed his country and his team.”
“I see,” she said, her eyes looking down at the table. “My father convinced him to help him. He’s very good at that. He uses people, things, anything he wants to use to get what he wants. Gordon was rather easy to manipulate with the right amount of money and expensive objects.”
“What does he want? Your father. What does he want?” asked Christopher.
“War. War with the United States and her allies.”
CHAPTER THREE
It was nearly three a.m. by the time Moose made it back to Belle Fleur. He’d never been so excited to see a bunch of small cottages in his life. AJ stuck his head out of the office doors, waving at him.
“Saw you come through the gates,” he smiled. “Welcome home, brother.”
“Thanks, man. I’m damn happy to be home.” Before he could say anything else, Moose was practically jogging toward his cottage.
Staring at it a moment, he wondered if there had been any changes made since he’d left. He’d have to get rid of anything of Ece’s, but he was more than happy to do so. Pissed at first, then hurt, he was now pissed again. It was his M.O. Trust a woman, get hurt by a woman, be pissed at the woman, forgive the woman, move on. He was done. Done with being hurt, done with trusting women. Famous last words.
Using his key and handprint, he opened the door and smelled something different. At first, he thought it was the lingering scent of Ece’s perfume. But he didn’t remember this scent. It was cleaner, fresher, different somehow. Her fragrance had always been too much for him. It was a mix of something spicey, but it wasn’t appealing to him. This was different. He enjoyed this scent.
He set his bags on the floor and opened the refrigerator, grabbing a bottle of water. It appeared to be full of food, but Mama Irene most likely prepared that for him, knowing he was coming home. When he turned, Beast was standing behind him, his cold nose touching his hand.
“Whoa. Hey, boy, what are you doing in here?” he asked, frowning at the dog.
