Page 69 of The Haunted Duke

“Four years ago,” Evander muttered, cutting him off.

Mr. Forks gave him a curt nod.

“We have not found the link yet,” Mr. Ridge remarked. “But we suspect he might have been a business partner of Augustus.”

Rage and vengeance tunneled through Evander’s veins, so thick and toxic that for a moment he lost his ability to breathe.

Then the rage curdled into pure dread. If Ingram was only one piece of it, then Augustus had never been the whole of it either. He had spent two years believing the worst was behind him. That the men responsible had been caught, hanged, and dealt with. But if this ring stretched wider than one ship, wider than Augustus alone, then what exactly had he survived? A branch. A single branch of a tree whose roots he had never even seen. Every scar on his body, every night spent clawing his way back from the edge of his own mind, and none of it had touched the true source at all.

It was all for nothing. Nothing is over…

His pulse roared in his ears. The room narrowed at the edges, and he pressed the heel of his hand hard against his chest.

Then his study door opened, and Helena stepped into the room. Forgetting the two men in his study, forgetting propriety, Evander pushed from the desk and stalked to his wife. Her eyes widened slightly with worry as he approached, but before she could speak, he wrapped his hand around the nape of her neck and slammed his lips down on hers in a possessive kiss. Air whooshed back into his lungs; light poured through his soul as he used that kiss as the lifeline that it was.

“Oh my,” Helena breathed, swaying slightly, her eyes still closed when he finally pulled back.

He watched with bated breath, worried he might have taken his liberties too far. Then a smile spread across her lips as her golden lashes lifted, and his rigid body relaxed as she looked lovingly up into his eyes.

“What a wonderful greeting,” she said, a beautiful pink blush blooming into her cheeks.

Evander expelled a huff of relief, and the side of his mouth lifted up into a sort of smile before he placed another quick kiss on her lips, then let her go.

“Apologies,” he offered, stepping to Helena’s side as he looked toward Mr. Ridge and Mr. Forks. “I am constantly overtaken by my wife’s presence.”

Helena’s pink blush turned crimson as she followed Evander’s gaze and saw his company.

“Oh, I was not aware you had guests,” she said, glancing apologetically from them to Evander.

“It is no trouble, Your Grace,” Mr. Forks said. He and Mr. Ridge both stood up so they could bow to Helena in respect.

“No trouble at all,” Evander agreed. “In fact, we have just concluded our business, so you have not interrupted anything.”

“We will be in touch, Your Grace,” Mr. Ridge stated, bowing his head to him. Mr. Forks bowed his head as well.

Evander gave them a curt nod as they left.

“Are you well, my love?” Helena asked once they were alone, her delicate brows furrowing in concern. “Not that I disliked your impassioned greeting, but you looked most disturbed as you walked toward me. As if you had received terrible news.”

For a moment, Evander contemplated telling her the truth. All of it, from the letters he had been receiving to the news he had just been given about Lord Ingram. Then he pictured how such news would affect Helena, and he quickly decided against it.

She does not have to suffer the way I do.

“I simply became overwhelmed by your shining presence, my darling,” he replied, bringing her hands to his lips. “All is well, I promise you.”

For a moment, Helena looked at him as if she could see through his lie, then her beautiful face softened into a smile, and she nodded.

“Well, if you are finished, I would like you to join me on the patio. Mama and Alex are here, and they want to thank you personally for all you have done for them thus far.”

Evander drew in a calming breath, taking a moment to glance at the letters still sprawled across his desk.

“I do not need such thanks,” he replied. “I am honored to be able to help them.”

Helena’s smile turned affectionate as she rose up on her toes and placed a soft kiss on his jawline.

“I know you are, but it would mean so much to my mother if she were allowed to express her gratitude to you,” she gently insisted.

Though a nagging sensation tugged at his mind to stay and study the letters again, Evander nodded. It seemed to take so little to make Helena happy, and he would not stop his efforts to keep her smiling just because some devilish person was trying to scare him.