Page 35 of No Going Back

CHAPTER TWELVE

Three weeks into his new role for Spectrum Security, and Guy felt as if he’d been doing it all his life. Working out of temporary offices he could do without, although to be fair, his role had taken him to London for a fair proportion of that time.

The temporary offices were a short-term solution to the problem of the company’s explosive expansion. Connected by both their work and their membership of Aegis, he and his colleagues weren’t so much a team as an extended family. Far from keeping his personal, professional and private lives as separate as possible, Guy found all aspects of his life were now blending together almost seamlessly, apart from one thing.

That one thing was Maddie, and the not-insignificant detail that she didn’t exist.

Not until a few years ago, at any rate. Going back, using the details he’d gleaned from their conversations, he’d found an unnervingly perfect reflection of that information in the sources to which he had access. He could have lived with it, though, except for the fact that a little over eight years ago, the trail stopped. There was nothing, not even a whisper of a clue. To say it made him uneasy would be a massive understatement, particularly given the amount of effort it had taken to find out that much.

As if that weren’t enough, there was another issue he’d been avoiding ever since it had come to his attention. He wanted to believe it was nothing, but years, decades of training and experience argued otherwise.

Maddie had left her glasses sitting on a newspaper on her sofa. So they wouldn’t fall victim to accidental damage, he’d moved them. As he did so, he’d been puzzled by the lack of distortion of the text on which they’d been resting. He’d told himself it was because she needed only a slight correction to her eyesight. The devil on his shoulder had him pocketing the rather plain frames, so he could have the lenses analysed by a contact who worked in optics.

The verdict had been unequivocal—plain glass, with no corrective qualities whatsoever. His contact had handed them back with a laugh and a telling comment about stage props.

A woman who didn’t exist, using glasses with no prescription. Instincts honed over the years screamed at him that something was very wrong, but standing in the way of that was what he felt for her. He didn’t want to believe there was anything nefarious in what he’d found out, but his head put forward an all-too-convincing counterargument.

Guy closed his laptop. His working week was done, and he was supposed to be going straight over to Remington Grange to spend the weekend with Maddie. At least, he hoped it would be for the weekend. He hadn’t discussed it with her, but had intended to surprise her.

If only the information in those reports didn’t exist. If only he hadn’t moved those damn glasses. If only his curiosity and experience hadn’t got the better of him. Before this, he’d had tentative plans to explore Maddie’s inclination towards submission, but now there was an elephant in the room he couldn’t ignore.

Or maybe he could, just for the weekend.

Maybe they could have two more days together, before he ruined everything.

Maybe, in that time, he could even find out something that would explain away everything he’d discovered, and prove she was who she said she was after all.

>>><<<

As he made his way through the hotel, Guy nodded to the members of staff who recognised him and greeted him with open, friendly smiles. Though he tried not to allow his recent findings to colour his thoughts, he couldn’t help but wonder about Maddie in the context of the people around her. Did they know more about her than he’d been able to uncover? Doubtful, but if they did, precisely what did they know?

There were any number of possible reasons, but what Guy couldn’t shake was the possibility that her current life and identity had been created by the Protected Persons Service. Any one of a multitude of scenarios could have led to her requiring official protection. All Guy knew was that if that was the basis for the secrecy, he’d stand by her side to face the threat, whatever it might be.

And if it wasn’t? He’d worry about that if it happened.

“You’re early. Come on in. I haven’t had a chance to change yet.”

Maddie’s smile warmed him even more than the sensation of her arms around him. He returned the hug and held her to him as if he’d never let her go. He didn’t want to let her go, not ever.

Right now, he just wanted her.

“I know we’re supposed to be going out to dinner tonight, but would you mind if we ate here?”

She lifted her head from his chest. “Rough week?”

How could those incredible eyes, shining with happiness, possibly conceal dark secrets? “You could say that.” Weary to his soul, Guy kissed her forehead. The chill in him lifted with her contented sigh. “What am I going to do with you, Maddie mine?”

“That depends. If it’s a rhetorical question, I can’t answer that. If you’re wondering about doing something with me tonight, we could always delay dinner.”

“And why would we do that?” In spite of his gloomy thoughts, he gave in to the smile pulling at the corners of his mouth.

“Because I haven’t been able to get you out of my mind all day, I desperately need you to take me to bed. Is that a good enough reason?”

The smile turned into a soft chuckle. “Now there’s an appetiser I can get my teeth into.”

Picking up the bag he’d dropped as soon as he’d entered the room, Guy took Maddie’s hand in his and led her to the bedroom. The first time he’d been invited into her sanctuary, he’d been impressed by how accurate a reflection it was of the woman who’d captivated him. The room was feminine without being fussy, delicate but lacking an avalanche of lace, and while the colours were muted, they hinted at a strong, quiet presence.

“How long can you stay?”