The Sapphire Brooch Katherine Logan (best beach reads TXT) 📖

What made him of interest to Elliott was Captain Charles Patrick Duffy had been a lawyer. Elliott had vetted the captain’s historical record and found no connection to any member of the military commission or defense attorneys. If Charlotte wanted to attend the trial, being a member of the defense team guaranteed her admission to the courtroom and contact with Jack. Impersonating a Union captain wouldn’t be difficult, but impersonating a lawyer, even with a script to follow, might be more of a challenge.

“I promise ye, Charley, ye won’t have to say a word.” His nickname for her rolled smoothly off his tongue. “Sit there and look menacing,” he said, glaring with a tight-lipped, pinched expression.

She surprised herself by laughing out loud, but then stopped suddenly and pressed the tips of her fingers against her mouth to keep another laugh from bursting out. Jack was gone, and she had no right to be happy.

David moved her hand away from her lips and held it in his strong palm, as if it were something precious and fragile. The sudden warmth of the touch rippled the fine hairs of her forearms. Her fingers closed involuntarily on his, and his hand wrapped large and warm around hers. “It’s okay to laugh,” he said with gentleness in his face. “It doesn’t mean ye don’t love yer brother or worry over him.”

David’s intense, smoldering dark brown eyes rarely changed, but when he smiled, they took on the coziness of a cup of cocoa, and she melted in the sweet, hot chocolate. There was no tension between them, only general ease in the way he probed and she prodded. They were partners, and if Braham didn’t already have her heart, she could easily give it to this man.

The intercom buzzed, and David answered the phone on his desk. “Aye, I’ll meet ye there.” He hung up and said to her, “Elliott needs me in the stallion barn. I’ll be right back.” He pocketed his cell phone and left the room, muscles rippling beneath the fabric of shirt and trousers.

She got to her feet and stretched. From the window behind David’s desk, she observed him crossing the yard toward the closest red-roofed barn, admiring the way his body moved with such athletic ease and power.

David was a deadly force to be reckoned with. According to the historical record, the conspirators were incarcerated in the Old Arsenal Penitentiary. If anyone could rescue Jack from there, David could. She said a silent prayer, grateful he was one of the good guys, and on her side.

A description of one of the characters in Jack’s last book described David right down to the aviators he tucked into the open collar of his shirt: He possessed a quickness of mind and body, and protectiveness born of nature and honed by training. She trusted him implicitly and wanted the trust reciprocated, but if she expected him to believe in her, she had to be completely honest with him. And she was holding back, not ready to share the possibility she might be pregnant.

When she had told her story to Elliott, Meredith, and David, and reached the part about her visit to Braham’s house in Georgetown for their getaway, David had quietly left the room. She suspected he had watched it later when he reviewed the video, but by leaving he had preserved her privacy—protectiveness born of nature and honed by training.

While she was standing at the window, a reflection of his bookcase in the glass caught her attention. She wandered over to the bookshelf and pulled out a hardback book titled Knights in Black: The Adventures of the Royal Scots Dragoon Guards. The red and green tartan cover was one of three with similar book jackets. Jack had recently mentioned reading and enjoying these books by David McBain. She flipped the book over to see the author’s picture and gasped.

“I’ll be damned.” The breadth of David’s experience and knowledge had surprised her at first. Then by the second day she found herself in awe, hanging on his every word. By the third day, she had given up being surprised, but now she was back to being in awe again—or maybe thunderstruck. Was there anything the man couldn’t do?

She glanced up to find him standing in the doorway with his hands gripping the top edge of the doorjamb as he leaned into the room. The corner of his mouth curved up, and she had the grace to blush slightly at being caught snooping in his office. “Jack read your books recently and really enjoyed them.”

“After yer trip to Afghanistan, ye’re probably not interested in reading them. I wouldn’t blame ye.”

She shook her head, eyes fixed on him. “I’ll definitely read them now. I know the author.” She returned the book, placing the spine flush with the edge of the shelf to match the others.

“Come on, then.” He motioned with his chin, his smile widening. “Let’s get out of here for a while. We need a break.”

Her breath hitched at the unexpected invitation, and then she shrugged. “Sure. Why not?”

Five minutes later, they were speeding down Old Frankfort Pike in David’s Z4 with the top down, the wind blowing in her hair. The ends of David’s closely cropped hairstyle barely fluttered above his aviator sunglasses.

“Can you fly a plane?” she asked.

“If I have to.” The dark lenses hid his eyes, but the way his mouth curled, she knew they were twinkling. He was teasing her—protectiveness born of nature and honed by training. Maybe it’s what the meeting with Elliott was all about. He and Elliott needed to know if she could emotionally handle another trip back. Honestly, she didn’t know for sure, but she thought she could. They probably wanted more reassurance, though.

“I thought we’d stop at Wallace Station and have a sandwich and beer out on the back deck,” David said.

“Sounds great, but make mine water.”

He shook his head. “Part of this outing is drinking beer. Just one. It won’t hurt.” He turned