Heart of the wolf
"You're a man with a lot of secrets, aren't you?"
Wolf's scowl deepened. Panic surged through him. Sarah had unerringly sensed that he was hiding a great deal from her.
Well, wasn't he? Hell, he was desperately trying to hide it from himself. His voice was clipped with warning as he retorted, "You've got the curiosity of a cat."
"And that isn't going to stop me from finding out why you think so little of yourself," she answered steadily.
Wolf's gut tightened, and he tasted fear.
"If you'œ
doing it for curiosity's sake, don't try to unlock me." Wolf stared at Sarah, the challenge in his gaze backed up by the growl in his voice. "I don't play games with anyone."
Her curiosity warred with the knowledge of potential danger. Despite her head's warning, Sarah's heart demanded to know his terrible secret. "Haven't you noticed yet? I don't play games, either."
To the "Wolf Pack"—
Ardella
Hecht, Marlene Johnson, Bonnie
Birnham
, Betty James, Ruth Gent, Karen Durham,
Roni
Lee Bell, Karen J. David, Patty Thomas,
Coletta
Swalley
, Eileen "Tunney"
Lunderman
, Laura Dahl, Mary Buckner, Gary Gent, Glenn
Malee
,
Glorynn
Ross and Karen
Pietkiewicz
HEART OF THE WOLF Copyright © 1993 by Lindsay McKenna
All rights reserved. Except for use in any review, the reproduction or utilization of this work in whole or in part in any form by any electronic, mechanical or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including xerography, photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, is forbidden without the permission of the publisher, Silhouette Books, 300 E. 42nd St., New York, N.Y. 10017
ISBN: 0-373-09818-9
First Silhouette Books printing June 1993
All the characters in this book have no existence outside the imagination of the author and have no relation whatsoever to anyone bearing the same name or names. They are not even distantly inspired by any individual known or unknown to the author, and all incidents are pure invention.
®: Trademark used under license and registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office and in other countries.
CLS 10 9 8 76 5 4 3 2 1
Printed in the U.S.A.
LINDSAY
McKENNA
After the publication of Return of a Hero (SE #541), I received hundreds of letters asking what happened to the story's hero, Morgan
Trayhern
. Well, in my latest trilogy, Morgan's Mercenaries, the question is answered.
I loved returning to the characters of Morgan and his wife, Laura, and am thrilled to give you three very exciting, adventurous and intensely romantic stories about the men in Morgan
Trayhern's
employ.
Mercenaries have always fascinated me—they are loners in our world, with mysterious pasts and brooding secrets deep within their hearts. I hope you enjoy reading about Wolf, Killian and Jake as much as I did writing about them!
"Dr.
Shepherd? I'm
Morgan
Trayhern
, from
Perseus
. You've got two of my men here, Harding and Killian."
Morgan realized he was having trouble controlling his voice. He cleared his throat.
Dr. Marlene
Shepherd, a pleasant-looking woman whose face was lined with fatigue, looked up at him.
She smiled tiredly and leaned against the nurses' station. "I'm glad you could come, Mr.
Trayhern
."
"How are they?"
She straightened and gestured for him to follow her to the empty visitors' lounge. At two in the morning, the entire hospital was quiet, with only a skeleton staff on duty. "They arrived only an hour ago, Mr.
Trayhern
. Mr. Harding is in fair condition, and Mr. Killian is in good condition."
Morgan inhaled a deep, thankful breath. Restlessly he scanned the dimly lit halls, automatically hating Bethesda Naval Hospital's sterile, antiseptic smells. "Then they'll be okay?"
The doctor halted within the spacious visitors' lounge and faced him. She took off her glasses and rubbed the bridge of her nose. "I won't lie to you, Mr.
Trayhern
. Both men are malnourished, just for starters."
"Starved," he said flatly. It was a statement, not a question. Morgan wondered how much the navy doctor knew about his three-man mercenary team's stint in Peru. Studying her intently, Morgan decided from the worry and confusion on her full, square features that she didn't know much.
"Yes."
"So what's Wolf Harding's condition—specifically?" Wolf had been the team leader in Peru.
"Specifically, Mr. Harding has been, for lack of a better word, tortured extensively, Mr.
Trayhern
." The doctor's full mouth
pursed,
and she gave him an incisive look. "So has Mr. Killian—to a far lesser degree."
"You're going to need a microbiologist, a good one," Morgan said grimly. "They've been in the Peruvian jungle for nearly two years. They may be suffering from bacterial infections."
"We've already begun testing for that," Dr. Shepherd said, putting her glasses back on. "No broken bones," she offered.
Broken spirits? Morgan wondered bleakly. The entire Peru venture had been unsuccessful. As he stood listening to Dr. Shepherd continue to list his two mercenaries' lesser medical problems, Morgan forced
himself
to be patient.