Far From Broken (9 page)
Authors: J.K. Coi
“So you did.” He smiled, but no light reached his dark eyes. “Unfortunately, I can’t grant your demand to release Lady Carlisle. The War Office is too interested in the unique abilities she would bring to the table, should her skills be required at some point.”
“Pardon?” Callie looked from one man to the other, only now becoming aware that they had obviously been discussing her without her knowledge. “Jasper, you promised.”
His tone was sharp as he kept his gaze on the other man. “I wasn’t trying to keep you in the dark about anything. The general and I simply had occasion to discuss the matter of your apparent recruitment as an agent for the War Office, and how he was going to recommend that you be discharged from that obligation.”
“I can’t have her released completely,” Black continued. “That’s not within my power. But I can limit the types of missions she will be called upon for, and I can ensure that you would be paired with her.”
“What about Patrick?” Callie interrupted. “What will happen to him after he’s fitted with artificial legs?”
“Until the doctor completes his procedure, the War Office has no official record of the boy.” He paused. “I can probably keep it that way.”
“That’s not good enough,” Jasper snarled.
“Those are the only concessions I’m willing to make in payment for my life. Live with it.” With that, the general swung them both a mocking salute and left the room.
Jasper reached for her hand. “Callie, I—”
“Shh. This means we can go home.”
He winced. “I wanted us to be home for the holidays, and instead it’s Christmas day and you’re still stuck in a hospital because of me.”
“We’re alive, Jasper. Both of us. We can build a life together once again, and spend every holiday in each other’s arms from this moment forward. It doesn’t even matter where we are.”
“No. I’ll speak to Black again. I didn’t want that kind of life for you. You shouldn’t—”
“Shouldn’t what? Use the strength I was given for something good? I want a life with you Jasper, but I also want a life that means something. You’ll teach me everything you know, and when the War Office calls, we’ll be the best damn team there ever was.” She laid a firm kiss on his lips and twined her fingers with his, iron becoming one with flesh and blood. “We are a team, right?”
He smiled into her eyes. “Always.”
JK Coi is a multi-published, award-winning author of dark and sexy paranormal romance and urban fantasy. She lives in Ontario with her amazingly supportive husband and son, and their cat, who is the undisputed ruler of the household. While she spends her days immersed in the litigious world of insurance law, she is very happy to spend her nights writing dark and sexy characters who leap off the page and into readers’ hearts. Please visit her at www.jkcoi.com, and if you’re a real glutton for punishment, see what she’s up to by following her on Twitter at www.twitter.com/jkcoi.
We wish you a Steampunk Christmas!
Four stories that combine passion, adventure and intrigue in a reality far removed from our own.
Changed forever after tragedy, a woman must draw strength from her husband’s love.
A thief steals the heart of a vengeful professor.
An American inventor finds love Down Under.
A woman with a secret tries to regain the love of a man she deceived.
Immerse yourself in a Victorian Christmas with a clockwork twist in these four Steampunk novellas. Anthology includes:
Far From Broken
by JK Coi
This Winter Heart
by PG Forte
Crime Wave in a Corset
by Stacy Gail
Wanted: One Scoundrel
by Jenny Schwartz
Stories also available for purchase separately.
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ISBN: 978-1-4268-9286-8
Copyright © 2011 by JK Coi
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All characters in this book have no existence outside the imagination of the author and have no relation whatsoever to anyone bearing the same name or names. They are not even distantly inspired by any individual known or unknown to the author, and all incidents are pure invention.
This edition published by arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A.
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