Sands of Sirocco: A Novel of WWI by Annabelle McCormack

Author:Annabelle McCormack [McCormack, Annabelle]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Fiction, Historical, General, World War I, Romance, 20th Century, Action & Adventure
ISBN: 9781736809549
Google: 56ZuEAAAQBAJ
Amazon: 1736809555
Publisher: Annabelle McCormack
Published: 2022-08-29T18:30:00+00:00

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

Ginger hadn’t expected to feel so much guilt for spending the night with Noah after they were married—but her guilt had little to do with their behavior. Or with how much she’d enjoyed the previous night. Noah had slept in her arms for a few hours, then woken her to make love again before he’d left under the cloak of darkness.

He’d likely wanted to drown out his thoughts when the alcohol had worn off.

But standing in front of Captain Harold Young at the operating table in the hospital, she understood Noah’s behavior better. Dr. Radford had pulled her into the surgery as soon as Ginger had arrived that morning. She hadn’t even had the opportunity to do her daily debrief with Peter Osborne. She hoped he wouldn’t be annoyed at having to wait.

Ginger felt sick. Captain Young’s face was disfigured, his jaw and nose broken in several places. Dr. Radford had commented that he’d been lucky his attacker hadn’t blinded him. His face, swollen and hideously puffy, didn’t reflect the story that Noah had relayed to her—that he’d tried to save Young from being killed. And no one knew Noah had taken him to the hospital either. How on earth could Noah be exonerated from participating in this?

One of Young’s arms had also been broken, and he’d suffered several cracked ribs. They’d reset the bone in his broken arm, and Dr. Radford was examining her work when he stirred from the anesthesia.

Ginger wiped the spittle from his torn lips, not wanting to see his broken teeth. How could Noah do this?

How could Noah do this and then spend the night in her arms?

She felt the taint of his crime on her skin.

This couldn’t be legal, no matter what Lord Helton had authorized him to do to find Victoria. She’d seen Noah kill before. And her brain had rationalized it because they’d been enemy soldiers, men who would kill her or him. Who were trying to kill them.

This felt different.

And yet Noah had claimed the nationalists would have killed him if he hadn’t.

Captain Young’s eyes were too swollen to open, but his lips moved.

Dr. Radford looked up sharply. “What’s that?”

Both women leaned closer to Captain Young. His words were a raspy gurgle. “Bennn … sonnn …”

Panic welled in Ginger’s throat. Young remembered.

Dr. Radford gave her a querying look. “Did you understand him?”

Lie.

She had to. She couldn’t very well tell Dr. Radford the truth. The doctor may not know who Noah was, but she could repeat his name to the authorities.

Ginger gulped down a breath, trying to think of a response. “No, it was a mumble.”

But Young wasn’t done attempting to communicate. “Bennnnsonnn …” The word sounded malformed coming from his swollen lips.

This time Dr. Radford understood. “Benthon?” She repeated the word as Young had pronounced it. Dr. Radford exchanged a look with Ginger and grabbed a notepad. She scribbled the word down. “Is this a name—no, don’t speak. Just give one nod if you can.”

Young nodded.

Fear crawled down Ginger’s back like a hundred baby spiders breaking free from the base of her neck.

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