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“Angus,” she gasped in amazement. “Is it really you?” Tears burst forth as she threw her arms around the stiff, motionless figure. Then, leaning back and holding his hands, she realized that his eyes were devoid of expression. “Angus.” She shook him anxiously. “Angus, it’s me, Flo. Say something, please.” She shook him again gently. Then another thought occurred. Gavin. Where was Gavin? She glanced around, as though expecting to see him among the group of men smoking and playing cards. Then she squeezed Angus’s hand once more.
“Angus, you’re all right now. You’re with me.” His eyes flickered and her heart leapt. “Oh, Angus, darling, please. Please come back. Please tell me where Gavin is,” she whispered, almost to herself.
“Dead.” The voice was flat.
She stared at him, then shook her head. “No. It can’t be. No.” She shook her head again, her hands gripping his sleeve savagely. “Not Gavin.” She began shaking, then laughed hysterically. “People like Gavin don’t get killed. They’re immortal.”
“It should have been me,” he whispered.
“A thrilling drama of passion and revenge, brilliantly set against the epic backdrop of the twentieth century.”
—Carla Neggers, bestselling author of The Carriage House
Also available from MIRA Books and
FIONA HOOD-STEWART
THE JOURNEY HOME
The Stolen Years
Fiona Hood-Stewart
As always, for my boys,
Sergio and Diego.
For Daddy,
in loving memory.
This book is dedicated to all the men and women
who gave their youth, their hopes and dreams
and all too often their lives in the name of freedom.
May we honor them by preserving their legacy.
F.H.S.
My deep gratification to David d’Albis for his untiring dedication in helping me research this manuscript.
To Jean d’Albis, of Limoges, France, for recounting events as they took place and for the documents he furnished me with.
Many thanks to Laure Kovats, Fran Garfunkel, Frances Lynch, Carter Parsley, Bonnie Skop,
Miranda Stecyk and Donald Maas, my agent, for all the help along the way.
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