Read Online A Lady's Secret Weapon by Tracey Devlyn - Free Book Online

agent of the Nexus you’ve become.”
    Somerton did not dole out praise often, so hearing his mentor’s thoughts now made his chest swell and his back straighten. “Thank you,” Ethan said, swallowing back his emotion. “I am honored to be part of such a worthy cause.”
    “Now that I’ve assumed my new duties as Under Superintendent of the Alien Office, Superintendent Reeves has asked for a recommendation for the chief’s position.”
    Ethan’s breaths were coming harder, and he found it difficult to maintain his calm mask. “Of course.”
    “The candidate I’m considering is someone I’ve known for many years and someone whose career I helped mold.”
    “Someone you trust.”
    “Implicitly. His integrity is above reproach, and he has the intelligence and strength to coordinate an international operation.”
    “Who have you chosen, sir?”
    “Helsford.”
    Ethan’s vision blurred. An image of his best friend hovered between them, blocking thought, arresting sight, and stealing every snatch of sound. He shook his head to clear the confusion. “Helsford?”
    “Yes. I had considered your sister, Cora, but after all that’s happened in the last few months, I don’t believe she’s ready to take on such an onerous position.”
    Blood pumped through Ethan’s veins like thick, black sludge. It oozed from one extremity to the other, slow and deliberate. He closed his eyes as the meaning behind Somerton’s announcement struck him full force in the chest.
    He wouldn’t be chief, after all. He’d lost his one true goal in life.
    Somerton had chosen Cora and Guy over him. Two people who had joined the group for reasons other than a belief in the Nexus’s core mission—to stop Napoleon. Cora had learned what she could from Somerton in order to track down the French assassin responsible for their parents’ murders. And Guy had joined only to watch over Cora. Both were noble reasons, but neither had devoted their life to the advancement of the Nexus’s cause.
    Ethan had. Every decision he’d ever made had been in support of this organization. An organization that was now kicking up its nose at over a decade’s worth of dedicated service. Anger like nothing he had ever experienced slashed against the thin thread of his control.
    He would not give Somerton reason to believe he’d made the right decision. Through his nose, he forced his breathing into an even rhythm. He focused his entire concentration on the smooth, slow glide of air. In, out. In, out. Over and over until the anger building in his heart tempered into something manageable. In a low voice, he asked, “Has Helsford accepted?”
    Somerton’s gaze sharpened. “I haven’t approached him yet. Before I did, I wanted to hear your opinion on my decision.”
    “Why?”
    Somerton paused, studying him. “Because you know Helsford better than anyone. Do you think his concern over Cora will distract him too badly from doing his duties as chief?”
    A dozen answers swirled around Ethan’s mind, each one confirming Somerton’s fears about Helsford’s inability to lead the Nexus. All he had to do was voice one—just one—and he knew Somerton would bypass his best friend and move on to the next candidate. But who would that be? Him? Somehow Ethan didn’t think so.
    He thought back to the mission before last, when he had gone off on his own in search of his sister’s abuser. He had wanted to remove the threat against her. Kill Valère before the French bastard had an opportunity to settle on English soil. But someone had known what he was about and had him attacked and left him to rot. What followed after had caused his family great distress when no one knew whether he was alive or dead. That incident had secured him the epithet King of Rogues , and not because of his prowess in bed.
    No, he had earned that ignominious title by ignoring protocol. One mistake. That’s all it took to lose the one thing that mattered to him most. He lifted his gaze to