Warriors (54 page)
Authors: Ted Bell
Tags: #Fiction, #Thrillers, #General, #Espionage, #Action & Adventure
“I’d be delighted.”
He sat down beside her, unsure of what to say. The silence stretched out, and he picked up his drink and took a sip.
“Missed you, Lord Hawke,” she said quietly.
“Missed you as well, Miss Nell.”
“This house is cold. Are you cold?”
“No. You?”
“Hot is more like it.”
“That’s my girl.”
“I meant the fire. I was so terribly sorry to hear about poor Sabrina. That ghastly woman. Lorelei Li. I knew her once, you know.”
“We still haven’t found her.”
“So I’ve gathered. She can’t hide forever. Not with Ambrose Congreve hot on her trail.”
“He’s got the bone in his teeth, all right,” Hawke said.
“Aren’t you going to ask me what I’m doing here?”
“What are you doing here, Nell?”
“I’ve moved back to England, for starters.”
“Really? What about the job in Washington? The British embassy?”
“Left it.”
“What about the handsome young diplomat you married?”
“Never did get around to marrying him. Left him, too.”
“Why did you do that? You were so in love.”
“I’ve learned a lot about love.”
“I’m hopeless on the subject.”
“Falling in love is a certain madness, Alex. It’s volcanic when it erupts, then, eventually, it cools. When it does, you have to make a decision. Two people have to decide whether their roots are to become so inextricably entwined that the merest thought of parting is inconceivable. That’s what real love is. Not breathless desire or lying awake all night longing for someone’s touch. But true love, the kind that endures.”
“I’m afraid I don’t understand, Nell.”
“Love itself is what is left over, Alex, when being in love has burned away. Doesn’t sound terribly exciting, I know. But it is!”
“It broke my heart when you left.”
“Mine, too. It’s why I came back to England. I’ll try to unbreak both of our hearts if you’ll let me.”
“What are you saying, Nell?”
“I want to come back to you, Alex. If you’ll have me.”
THEY STOOD FOR A LONG
time out on the balcony, entwined, oblivious to the blowing snow swirling around them. Hawke kissed her neck, her hair, her lips, startled beyond measure at the depths of his loneliness now revealed. And how ravenous he was for her.
He held her even closer and stared down into her eyes.
“Is this love, Nell?” he whispered.
“No, darling,” she said. “This is just the beginning.”
I would like to acknowledge the help of three people without whom this book could never have been written: Lucinda Watson, Peter Lampack, and David Highfill. I thank you one and all.
TED BELL
is the former chairman of the board and worldwide creative director of Young & Rubicam, one of the world’s largest advertising agencies. He is the
New York Times
bestselling author of
Phantom, Warlord, Hawke, Assassin, Pirate, Spy,
and
Tsar,
as well as two YA adventure novels. Bell writes on an island off the coast of Maine.
You can follow Ted Bell on Facebook and at TedBellBooks.com
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F
ICTION
Tsar
Spy
Pirate
Assassin
Hawke
Y
OUNG
A
DULT
B
OOKS
The Time Pirate
Nick of Time
Jacket design by Richard L. Aquan
Jacket photography © by Stephen Mulcahey/Arcangel Images
Author photograph by Hugo Tillman
This book is a work of fiction. References to real people, events, establishments, organizations, or locales are intended only to provide a sense of authenticity and are used fictitiously. All other characters, and all incidents and dialogue, are drawn from the author’s imagination and are not to be construed as real.
WARRIORS
. Copyright © 2014 by Theodore A. Bell. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the nonexclusive, nontransferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse-engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.
FIRST EDITION
ISBN 978-0-06-227938-5 (hardcover)
ISBN 978-0-06-234450-2 (international edition)
EPUB Edition April 2014 ISBN 9780062279408
14 15 16 17 18
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RRD
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
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