Taming the Wicked Wulfe (The Rogue Agents) by Tammy Jo Burns Page A

Thornton Wulfe, you should listen to what I have to say, because I know more about you than you think I do, perhaps even more than you know about yourself.”
    “How do you know all that?”
    “Like I said, people travel, and people talk.   Women love to gossip, almost as much as men do.   And those women could not wait to inform me about my dastardly brother-in-law.   And now, I’m married to that man.   So tell me husband, shall we be accompanying you, or do I know too much?   Am I a liability to you?”
    “See that everything you need is packed by the end of the week.   We will be leaving then.   No more questions.   Understand?”
    “Of course,” she turned and disappeared down the hall.  
    He watched her go and ran his hands through his hair.   She knew too much.   What else did she know?
    ***
    The household lived in a state of upheaval the rest of the week.   Trying to tell the twins that they could live without this or that for a while was like pulling teeth.   Having just fought the last battle she was going to,   Rebekah stormed down the stairs in search of her errant husband.   He was not in the study, nor was he in any other room downstairs.   As she passed a window, she saw him mounting one of the horses.   Knowing he was about to escape caused her to burst into action.   She ran down the hall and out the front door to the lane that led from the stable to the road.   As she approached the drive, she threw her hands up in the air and turned.   Rebekah had not expected to see the belly of the horse, or the hooves that pawed at the air above her head.   She stood frozen.
    “Bloody hell!”   Thorn sawed back on the reins as soon as he saw the crazed woman running into the horse’s path.   He had an excellent view of the top of her head from where he sat perched precariously on the saddle.   The horse danced on its hind legs and pawed the empty air with its front hooves.   Wild grunting and neighing sounds came from the beast.   Finally, Thorn pulled on the reins until the horse spun just enough to land on all four hooves without doing damage to the crazy woman that still stood like a statue, her hands in the air.   He could hear men running towards them.   “Approach cautiously,” he called, attempting to sooth the agitated horse.
    A stable lad approached with an apple in hand.   “Here, Mercury, look what I ‘ave for ye,” the man said.   The horse sniffed the air and lowered his head to receive the treat.   The man took the opportunity to grab the bridle while Thorn slipped off the back of the horse.  
    Thorn handed the other man the reins and exchanged a few low words with him before he turned his attention on the woman who had caused all the chaos in the first place.   Her arms were once more against her sides and her face looked slightly pale.   He stomped over and grabbed her arm, spinning her towards the house.   She swayed precariously and he took a firmer grip of her upper arm, “Oh, no you don’t.   You are not getting out of this by fainting.”
    “I’m not going to faint,” she snarled back, ripping her arm out of his grip.   “I merely felt a bit light-headed but am much better now.”
    “Good,” he said, grabbing her arm once more.   “Then you won’t mind explaining to me what you were trying to do just then.   Do you have a death wish?”   He asked as he led her into the study and slammed the door shut behind them.
    “No, I don’t have a death wish,” she argued as she spun away from him and planted both fists firmly on her hips.
    “Then what would you call what just happened out there?”
    With every step he took closer to her, she found she had to crank her head back to look at him.   The top of her head came to the bottom of his chin, but still she hated that feeling of superiority his mere height gave him.   She quickly looked around the room.   In front of the bookshelves, she saw a stool and quickly grabbed it to stand on