Quebec
Mac waited in the lobby, reading the local paper.
He watched Shepherd and the woman he assumed to be Diana enter.
He made eye contact with Shepherd and then rose from his chair.
He went into the Green Street Tavern, which was at the front of the lobby, near the door to exit the hotel, and took a seat at the bar.
He knew Shepherd saw where he went. He also knew that Shepherd would join him as soon as he checked into his room, and more than likely got his wife settled behind the locked room door.
***
Dr. Diana Palmer-Shepherd sat on the sofa facing the glowing gas fireplace that radiated much-needed warmth.
The day was blustery, a typical late fall day in northwest Illinois.
She’d caught a chill when they’d entered the hotel.
They were booked into a junior suite, one of fifty-five guest rooms at the historic DeSoto House Hotel in Galena, Illinois.
The room was decorated beautifully in a Victorian style, which she loved.
Their bags sat on the king bed across the room.
As they’d only be there for the weekend, she wouldn’t unpack.
She had, however, hung up the beautiful gold dress she’d wear for the charity masquerade ball that evening, which was the reason for their visit.
She’d received the last-minute invitation from an acquaintance to stand in for her and her husband because of an illness.
She had even given Diana the dress she’d planned to wear.
It took little convincing on Diana’s part to get her husband to agree to attend as she’d been begging him for months to plan a weekend away.
At least, it was the reason they were there until they checked in, when the sight of one person changed everything.
Diana’s life was something out of a fairy tale, a dark fairy tale at times, but a wonderful and happy life the majority of the time.
It was just over a year since she’d married a man that she’d met only five months prior.
He’d been one of her patients. Yes, that was something she briefly struggled with, falling in love with a patient.
And to marry him after only knowing him for such a short time, impulsive? Maybe.
But she knew everything she needed to know about Colonel Sam Shepherd and the agency he ran when she said, ‘I do’.
He’d saved her life when twice she was threatened by a man who thought she’d seen something that would link him to a murder he’d committed.
Sam gave her a safe place to recover from the trauma, loved her, and supported her unconditionally.
He was a good man, a strong man, an honest man, a man dedicated to doing the right thing, a man who defended those who could not defend themselves, a leader by example.
He was a West Point graduate and had spent his entire life in the special warfare and intelligence community.
And now, his private organization took on missions no one else could, or would.
It was his organization, Shepherd Security, and the danger that came with it that colored her world as dark at times. But the job was who Sam was, not what he did.
When they got behind the closed hotel room door, Sam told her that he had seen an intelligence contact, Seth ‘Mac’ Makris, loitering in the lobby of the hotel and that he had to make contact with him.
He also said that the man was there for a reason, a reason that either involved Shepherd Security or one that Sam could help with.
Then he admitted to her that Mac had called him a few days before to ask for a favor and that the last-minute gift of the tickets for this sold-out affair was cover for a mission Mac needed his help with. He promised to tell her everything when he returned to his room after he spoke with Mac.
Shepherd found Mac seated at the far end of the bar in the Green Street Tavern. Shepherd sat on the barstool beside him. “Well, we’re here,” Shepherd whispered. “I do not like to keep things from my wife, but I didn’t tell her as you requested.”
Mac’s lips tipped into a smile. “I’m sorry she couldn’t know. It’s important.” His voice still had a slight hint of a Greek accent.
“It better be,” Shepherd said. “We get away infrequently. She’s going to be pissed if this interferes with our weekend.”
“Surely she’s used to your work interfering,” Mac said.
“It’s the norm. This weekend was to be the exception.”
“Sorry,” Mac said. “Congratulations on your wedding, by the way. I don’t think I voiced that sentiment when I saw you a few months ago. Let me buy you a drink while I tell you what I need, now that you’re here.”
Shepherd heard him out. Then he retrieved his phone from his pocket and dialed Cooper. Cooper answered on the second ring. “Coop, I need you and Miller here.”
“We’ll be on the road in less than an hour.” He didn’t ask why. Shepherd had given him the heads-up before he and Diana left to drive to Galena.
“Thank you,” Shepherd said. He turned back to Mac. “It’ll take them about three hours to arrive.”
“I’ll have covers worked out for them by the time they arrive,” Mac said. “Thank you, Shep. I appreciate the assist.”
Shepherd finished his drink and then returned to the room.
He felt bad that he’d be dropping this on Diana.
She had really been looking forward to this weekend away.
She married him knowing about the twenty-four-by-seven work the agency did, its importance, the missions, and the people he was responsible for.
She knew that agency business would always be there and take priority over their personal life.
And she always accepted it and understood.
She rose when he walked into the room.
“Did the fire help to warm you?” he asked as he wrapped his arms around her. He smiled as he gazed over her beautiful face and into her sparkling blue eyes. He ran his fingers through her soft blond locks.
“Yes, the chill is gone. So, who was the operator and what’s going to interfere with our weekend?” she asked with a knowing, small smile.
“His name is Seth Makris, Mac. If you recall, he helped us in Mykonos last year, and he came to us for help a few months ago, the Cancun Mission,” he began.
He only continued when Diana nodded. “He needs our assistance.” He told her what Mac had shared about the couple who would attend the masquerade ball that evening and what he needed from them.
“I promise the danger level should be minimal. I’d never have agreed to help with you involved if there was even a slight chance of any danger to you. ”
“Sam, I know,” she said. “So, your presence here, is that why I was given the tickets to this ball?” She watched the telltale slight tip up of one side of his lips confirm that was true.
She ran her fingers through his black hair and then caressed his cheek.
“I love you, and I will gladly share you with a mission during the ball. Are Cooper and Madison already on their way?”
Shepherd kissed her lips. He loved how she knew him well enough to anticipate his next move. “I love you too. Thank you for always understanding. And yes, they are.”
Diana glanced at the sofa she’d been sitting on. “The hotel is fully booked. That does pull out into a bed.”
“For one night only. I promise we will stay Saturday night alone and have our getaway.”
Diana kissed him again and then said, “I’m holding you to that, Colonel.”
“Have I told you lately that I am the luckiest man alive to have met and married you?”
“Not often enough,” she said with a smile.
“I thank God for you every day.” He kissed her again and held her tightly. He was lucky and grateful that she was in his life and understood the job he did. She had also healed him from what was misdiagnosed as partial paralysis and had confined him to a wheelchair for several years.
“Do you have to go confer with Mac?”
“Now, no,” he said with an amorous smile.
He drew her by the hand over to the bed.
“We have a few hours before I’ll be pulled away.
” After putting their bags onto the floor, he began stripping her clothes from her while pressing wet kisses along her jaw, down her neck, and over her collarbone.
“Now, let me warm you up properly,” he said on a breath.
He was rewarded with moans of pleasure from her.
Intense kisses, sensual caresses, and his body heat not only warmed her, but heated her to an erotic frenzy.
As his job interrupted their lovemaking often, they were used to seizing and enjoying any moments they had.
A full uninterrupted hour later, they lay tangled in each other’s limbs, their bodies still entwined, bare flesh against bare flesh, sated and relaxed in the afterglow of incredible releases fueled by both a powerful passion and a deep love.
Shepherd allowed his eyes to remain closed and let his thoughts drift.
He didn’t often have the luxury of an afternoon of lounging in bed while holding his naked wife in his arms. They were both busy people.
That was one of the things he loved about her, that she had her own career.
She ran a successful chiropractic and physical therapy clinic where she, too, put in long hours.
She was a strong , independent, and capable woman , an equal.
He’d once thought he didn’t need love, didn’t need to have a woman be a part of his life, didn’t think it could work with the demands Shepherd Security put on him.
But he’d been wrong. She was a perfect fit in his life, and he hoped that he, too, was a perfect fit in hers.
Diana pressed a kiss to his lips, knowing he wasn’t asleep. His breathing wasn’t deep enough. “We should get in the shower. You have a meeting in about a half an hour,” she whispered, even though right there in bed is where she’d prefer to stay.