Page 158 of You Only Love Twice
"Hence why she was immediately sent out of the country for several years," Malloryn muttered. "It was a glorious—very dangerous—blow to Balfour. I hear he wanted to see heads roll."
That was his girl."It seems I was transferred to the Core barely days after you defected from the Falcons. I wonder… what would it have been like if we’d met then?"
How close their paths had come to crossing for years, but it wasn't until he'd been taken to Russia to assist in furthering Balfour's plans there, he'd come across her.
"Kismet," Ingrid murmured.
"Fate," Ava added.
"Good grief," Malloryn said. "Can we focus on planning a highly intense mission into a facility full of killers?"
All three women sighed.
"I'd hoped marriage would soften you," Ingrid said.
"It's romantic," Ava protested.
"It's called pure coincidence," Malloryn replied sarcastically. "And why the hell would marriage soften me?"
"Because I've got fifty quid riding on it," Kincaid said.
Byrnes tried to surreptitiously punch him in the ribs, but the breath exploded from Kincaid and he hunched over.
"Christ. Fuckin'. Jaysus. You keep forgetting your strength these days."
"Sorry," Byrnes said, sounding anything but.
"Fifty quid?" Malloryn's tone turned dangerous as he glanced between both men. His gaze expanded to consider the rest of the room. "I thought we'd finished this nonsense when I married Miss Hamilton?"
Byrnes held his hands up in surrender. "But nobody won. Technically, the bride didn't cry off, and neither did you. Ava was the only one who said you'd get Miss Hamilton to the altar, but she didn't put money on it. So the kitty still stands."Malloryn's eyes narrowed. "Precisely what are we betting on this time?"
Seven mouths clamped suspiciously shut. Obsidian couldn’t resist a faint smile. COR was so different to what he’d known beneath Balfour. He was still growing used to their insolence, and the frustrated way Malloryn seemed to take it all in stride, but he couldn’t deny it amused him.
"If we tell you," Gemma admitted, "then it could muddy the waters of the betting pool, because we might be subtly manipulating your decision."
"Herbert?" Malloryn asked coldly.
"I haven't a clue, Your Grace. I am merely the butler."
"Ava?" Malloryn turned on the delicate blonde, as if he knew exactly whom he could break.
"She's as guilty as the rest of us this time," Kincaid said, with a grin, as he settled an arm around his lover's waist. "I'm rubbing off on her."
"Only because Ihopemy bet comes true," Ava told the duke fervently. "It would be lovely to see you happy."
Malloryn pinched the bridge of his nose. "My God. I'm not certain if Iwantto know."
Obsidian tensed, but there was no sign of any fatal eruption coming from the duke.
Merely a pained silence.
Balfour would have given an icy glare and a faint gesture that had one of his Falcons beating the unlucky supplicant who'd spoken half to death.
Ghost would have simply put a bullet in the brain of the first man who thought to jest.
That Malloryn—the duke Balfour cursed under his breath as his most dangerous opponent—merely pressed his lips tightly together in a way that said "I am unamused" left Obsidian unsettled. If there was anything that could convince him the Duke of Malloryn wasn't entirely a cold, manipulative bastard, it was the way he tolerated their banter.
Gemma's hand slipped into his, as if she sensed his unease. "You'll get used to it."
