“Trusting?” Lyon snorted with laughter. “You can’t be serious, Jade. Caine is one of the most cynical men in England.”
“A trait I developed by running with you,” Caine drawled out.
Jade was amazed by Lyon’s comments. He sounded so certain. Sir Richards was nodding too. She turned to smile at Caine, then said, “I’m honored then that you trust me.”
“Just as much as you trust me, sweetheart,” he answered.
She frowned at him. “And just what is that supposed to mean?” she asked. “Are you being insulting?”
He grinned. Jade turned to Lyon. “Do you have any idea how maddening it is to be married to someone who’s so damned logical all the time?”
Caine answered her. “I haven’t the faintest idea.”
She decided to quit the topic. She eased her feet to the floor, grimacing over the discomfort that movement caused her backside. If she’d been all alone, she would have let out a loud, unladylike groan. “I’m not at all accustomed to riding for such long hours,” she admitted.
“You did well today,” Lyon praised. He turned to look at Caine. “When this is finished, Christina and I will give a reception for the two of you.”
“That would be fine,” Caine interjected. “You know, Lyon, Jade and Christina are really quite alike.”
“Is she a thief then?” Jade asked before she could stop herself. Her voice was filled with enthusiasm. “We got along quite well right from the start. No wonder . . .”
“Sorry to disappoint you, love, but Christina isn’t a thief,” Caine said.
She looked crestfallen. Lyon laughed. “Christina isn’t very logical either, Jade. She comes from a rather unusual family. She could teach you all sorts of things.”
“God help us,” Caine interjected, for he was very familiar with Lady Christina’s unusual background. Lyon’s wife had been raised in the wilderness of the Americas by one of the Dakota tribes.
Jade misunderstood Caine’s reaction. “I’m certain I’m a quick study, Caine. If I apply myself, I could learn everything Christina would like to teach me.”
She didn’t give him time to argue with her. “I’m going to change my clothes. We must leave soon.”
Caine, she noticed, was glaring at Lyon when she took her leave. Jade quickly changed into her black gown. She carried a cloak with her. The hood would shield her brightly colored hair in the lamplight.
They walked most of the way to the War Office. The building was across town, but they used the hired hack for only half the distance. When they reached the alley behind the building, Jade moved to Caine’s side. She took hold of his hand while she stared up at the top floor of the brick structure.
“Something’s wrong, Caine.”
“What?” Sir Richards asked from behind her back. “Your instincts, my dear, or . . .”
“There’s a light in the third window on the right,” she explained. “It shouldn’t be showing any light.”
“Perhaps the guard at the entrance . . .”
“The entrance is on the other side,” Jade interrupted. “That light comes from the inner office.”
Caine turned to Lyon. “If someone’s in there going through the files, he’ll use the back door when he leaves.”
“Let him pass when he does,” Sir Richards directed. “I’ll follow him.”
“Do you want me to go with you?” Lyon asked. “If there’s more than one . . .”
Richards shook his head. “I’ll see who the leader is and follow that bloke. You’re needed here. We’ll meet back at Caine’s, no matter what the hour.”
They moved to the shadows a fair distance from the back door, then patiently waited. Caine put his arm around Jade’s shoulders and held her close.
“You don’t want me here with you, do you, Caine?” she whispered when his grip became almost painful.
“No, I don’t want you to be here,” he answered. “Jade, if there’s trouble inside . . .”
“Lyon will take care of it,” she interjected before he could finish his thought. “If there’s any killing done, God forbid, then Lyon should be the one doing it. He’s used to it.”
Lyon heard her announcement and raised an eyebrow in reaction. He wondered if she’d read Caine’s file all the way through. It was a fact that Caine was every bit as capable as Lyon was.
Their whispers stopped as soon as the back door squeaked open. While they watched, two men scurried outside. In the moonlight, Jade could see their faces clearly. She couldn’t contain her gasp. Caine clamped his hand over her mouth.
The second man out turned and locked the door. How had he secured the keys? Jade wondered. She held her silence until the men had turned the corner. Sir Richards left to follow them.
Then she turned to Caine. “The security is deplorable,” she whispered.
“Yes,” he agreed. “You recognized them, didn’t you?”
She nodded. “They are two of the three men who waylaid Nathan’s carriage. The bigger of the two is the one who hit me on the head.”
The look on his face frightened her. She thought he might very well go after the two men then and there. “Caine, you must be logical now, please. You can’t chase after them.”
He looked exasperated with her. “I’ll wait,” he said. “But when this is over . . .”
He didn’t finish that statement, but took hold of her hand and led her over to the door. With the special tool Harry had given her for her tenth birthday, she was able to get the lock undone in quick time. The second latch took only a few minutes longer.
Lyon went inside first. Jade followed, with Caine taking up the rear. She nudged Lyon out of the way and took the lead. They went up to the third floor by way of the back steps. Jade remembered the squeak in the fourth rail on the second staircase, motioned for both men to avoid it, then felt Lyon’s arms on her waist. He lifted her over the step and put her down. She turned to smile her appreciation before continuing on.
The guard wasn’t sleeping at his post behind the desk in the outer office. He was dead. Jade saw the handle of the knife protruding from his shoulders. She took a quick step back. Caine’s hand immediately covered her mouth again. He must have thought she was going to cry out.
Through the glass window of the door, they could see two shadows. Caine pulled Jade over into the corner, motioned for her to stay there, and then followed Lyon into the inner office. She was impressed by their silence. The two of them would make proper thieves, she decided.
They were taking too long, though. She stood there with her back pressed against the cold wall, wringing her hands together while she waited. If anything happened to Caine, she didn’t know what she would do. Until she had to leave him, of course, she qualified in her mind . . . God help her, she needed him.
She didn’t realize her eyes were squeezed shut until she felt Caine’s hand on her shoulder. “Come on, we’re alone now.”
“What about the men inside?” she whispered. “And for heaven’s sake, lower your voice. We’re at work now.”
He didn’t answer her. Jade followed Caine inside the sanctuary, tossed her cloak on the nearest desk while Lyon added another candle to the lights.
She noticed the two men on the floor in the corner then. She couldn’t contain her gasp. “Are they dead?” she asked.
She couldn’t quit staring at the bodies sprawled atop each other. Caine moved to block her view. “No,” he said.
Her relief was obvious. “Jade, didn’t any of your men ever have to . . .”
“They most certainly did not,” she interrupted. “I would have had their hides. Killing wasn’t allowed. Now quit talking so much, Caine. You must hurry. If they wake up, they’ll shout an alarm.”
“They won’t wake up for a long while,” Caine said. He pulled out a chair, gently pushed her down into it. “You rest. This is going to take some time.”
“Rest while I’m at work? Never.” She sounded appalled by his suggestion.
“Terrance’s file is missing,” L
yon announced, drawing their attention. He was bent over the file drawer, smiling broadly. “Interesting, wouldn’t you say?”
“The lamplighters probably think it’s very interesting, too,” Jade snapped. “Do keep your voice down, Lyon.”
“Yes, it is interesting,” Caine said quietly in answer to Lyon’s remark.
“Then we can leave now?” Jade asked, glancing over at the two men on the floor once again.
“Jade, why are you so nervous?” Caine asked. “You’ve been in and out of this room several times before,” he reminded her.
“I was working with professionals then,” she announced.
Lyon and Caine shared a smile. “She’s worried about us,” Lyon said.
“No,” Caine countered. “That would be insulting if she . . .”
She couldn’t believe he was daring to tease her now. “Of course, I’m worried. You two aren’t even proper apprentices. Even an imbecile would know that now isn’t the time for idle chitchat. Do get on with it.”
“She is insulting us,” Lyon drawled out. He started to laugh, but her glare changed his mind.
The men turned serious then. They labored over certain files for two long hours. Jade didn’t interrupt. She didn’t dare rest, either, for she was determined to keep on her guard in case of intruders.
“All right, we’re finished,” Caine said as he slammed the last file shut.
Jade stood up and walked over to the drawer. She took the folder from Caine, turned, and put it back in its proper place. Her back was to the men and it didn’t take her any time at all to remove both Caine’s and Lyon’s fat files.
She turned around, determined to have it out with them then and there if they offered one word of protest. Luck was on her side, however, for the men had already moved to the outer office.
“Aren’t you going to go through their pockets?” she called out. She pointed to the sleeping men.
“We already did,” Caine answered.
Jade wrapped the files in her cloak. She blew out the candles and followed the men downstairs. Since they were all alone inside the building, she guessed they didn’t need to be quiet. Each was taking a turn muttering expletives. Caine’s, she noticed, were every bit as colorful as Lyon’s were.
“I am never taking either one of you on another raid again,” she muttered. “I wouldn’t be surprised if the authorities were waiting for us outside.”
Neither Caine nor Lyon paid any attention to her ramblings. She soon became too weary to lecture them anyway.
Sir Richards was waiting for them in the alley. “There’s a hack waiting four blocks over,” he announced before he turned and took the lead.
Jade stumbled when they rounded the corner. Lyon grabbed her, lifted her into his arms. She thought he might have felt the folders when he transferred her into Caine’s arms, then decided he hadn’t noticed after all when he grinned down at her and turned to take up the rear guard.
She fell asleep in the vehicle with the cloak clutched to her breasts. It was such a comfort to realize she didn’t have to worry. As long as Caine was nearby, she felt safe, protected. For the first time in a good long while, she didn’t have to remember McKindry. Caine would keep his guard up for both of them. He’d never make a proper thief, of course, but he certainly wouldn’t let the evil McKindrys of the world sneak up behind them, either.
She found herself in Caine’s bed when she woke up. He was trying to pry her cloak away from her. “Are they waiting for you downstairs?” she asked in a sleepy whisper.
“Yes, they are. Sweetheart, let me help you . . .”
“I can undress myself,” she said. “Do you need me . . .”
She was going to ask him if he needed her to go downstairs with him, but he interrupted her. “I’ll always need you, Jade. I love you.”
He leaned down and kissed her. “Go to sleep, sweetheart. I’ll join you as soon as we’ve finished.”
“I don’t want to need you.”
She blurted out that confession in a voice filled with panic. Caine’s smile was almost sympathetic. “I know, love, but you do need me. Now go to sleep.”
She didn’t understand why, yet found she was comforted by his contradiction. He was so sure of himself, so confident. It was a trait she couldn’t help but admire.
Jade let out a loud sigh. She was simply too tired to think about the future now. She hid the files, took her clothes off, and fell back into bed. She thought she very well might have the horrid nightmare again, then realized she wasn’t dreading it as much as before.
She fell asleep hugging the promise Caine had given her. She would never have to go near the ocean again.
Caine didn’t come to bed until after seven in the morning. Jade opened her eyes just long enough to watch him pull back the covers and stretch out beside her. He hauled her up against his side, his arm wrapped tightly around her waist, and was snoring like a drunk before she got settled again.
She went downstairs around noon, introduced herself to Caine’s London staff, and then went into the dining room to have breakfast.
Caine suddenly appeared at the doorway, dressed only in a pair of light-colored britches. He looked exhausted, angry, too, and when he crooked his finger at her she decided not to argue.
“Come here, Jade.”
“Did you get up on the wrong side of the bed, Caine?” she asked as she walked over to face him. “Or are you always this surly when you first wake up?”
“I thought you’d left.”
Her eyes widened over that confession, but she wasn’t given time to think about it too much. Caine lifted her into his arms and carried her back upstairs. She realized just how furious he was when she noticed the muscle in the side of his jaw was flexing. “Caine, I didn’t leave you,” she whispered, stating the obvious. She reached up to caress his cheek, smiling over the stubble there. “You need a shave, husband.”
“That’s right, I am your husband,” he grated out. He tossed her onto the bed, took his pants off, and stretched out beside her, facedown, with his arm anchored around her waist. She was fully clothed; he was stark naked.
She would have laughed over the absurdity of her circumstances if the fullness of what he’d just implied hadn’t settled in her mind. How dare he not trust her? She was furious. She would have given him a good piece of her mind, too, if he hadn’t looked so damned peaceful. She didn’t have the heart to wake him up.
The lecture would have to wait until later. She closed her eyes, selected a book from her memory, and reread it in her mind while she patiently waited for Caine to get the rest he needed.
He didn’t move until almost two that afternoon. He was in a much better frame of mind, too. He smiled at her. She glared at him.
“Why don’t you trust me?” she demanded.
Caine rolled onto his back, stacked his hands behind his head, and let out a loud yawn. “Take your clothes off, sweetheart,” he whispered. “Then we’ll discuss this.”
Her gaze moved down his body to his obvious arousal. She blushed in reaction. “I think we should discuss it now, Caine,” she stammered out.
He pulled her on top of him, kissed her passionately, and then ordered her to take her clothes off again. Odd, but she didn’t mind obeying his command now. He was such a persuasive man. Demanding, too. She climaxed twice before he finally filled her with his seed.
She could barely move when he finally moved away from her. “Now what was it you wanted to discuss?”
She couldn’t remember. It took them another hour to get dressed, for they kept stopping to kiss each other. It wasn’t until they were on their way downstairs that Jade remembered what it was she wanted to lecture him about.
“Haven’t I proven myself to you?” she asked. “You should trust me with all your heart.”
“You don’t trust me,” he countered. “It works both ways, Jade, or not at all. You’ve made it clear you’ll leave me at the first opportunity. Isn’t that right, love?”
; He paused on the bottom step and turned around to look at her. They were eye to eye now. Hers, he noticed, were cloudy with tears.
“I don’t wish to talk about this now,” she announced, struggling to maintain her composure. “I’m hungry and I. . .”
“It gives you the edge, doesn’t it, wife?”
“I don’t understand what you mean,” she returned. Her voice shook. “What edge?”
“In the back of that illogical mind of yours lurks the possibility that I’ll eventually leave you,” he explained. “Just like Nathan and Harry did. You’re still afraid.”
“I’m afraid?” she stammered out.
He nodded. “You’re afraid of me.”
He thought she’d argue over that statement of fact. She surprised him by nodding. “Yes, you make me very afraid,” she admitted. And I can tell you, sir, I don’t like that feeling one little bit. It makes me . . .”
“Vulnerable?”
She nodded again. He let out a patient sigh. “All right, then. How long do you suppose it’s going to take you to become unafraid?” His voice was so gentle, his expression so serious.
“How long before you get tired of me?” she asked, her fear apparent.
“Are you deliberately misunderstanding?”
“No.”
“Then in answer to your absurd question, I will never get tired of you. Now tell me how long it will take you before you trust me?” he ordered again. His voice wasn’t at all gentle now. It was as hard, as determined as his expression.
“I told you I loved you,” she whispered.
“Yes, you did.”
“I repeated the vows before you and God.” Her voice had risen an octave. He could also see her panic, her insecurity.
“Well? What more do you want from me?”
She was shouting now, wringing her hands together. Caine decided she still wasn’t ready to surrender wholeheartedly.
He felt like an ogre for upsetting her. “Jade . . .”
“Caine, I don’t want to leave you,” she blurted out. “I do trust you. Yes, I do. I know you’ll keep me safe. I know you love me, but there’s a part of me that still . . .” She stopped her explanation and lowered her gaze. Her shoulders slumped in dejection. “Sometimes the feelings locked inside me since I was a little girl do get in the way of being logical,” she admitted a long minute later. “I suppose you’re right. I’m not at all logical about this, am I?”