To Love and Protect (56 page)

“All right Blackburn, what’s so damned important that it could not wait until morning?” Hawkescliffe demanded as he strode into the room.
 
Derek had been unaware of the passage of time while he watched her and contemplated the various scenarios.
 
The doctor had not yet arrived, so surely not much time had passed.
 
Derek shushed Hawkescliffe when the woman winced.
 
“Did you just ‘shush’ me?” he asked incredulously.

“As my friend, shut the hell up,” Derek whispered.
 
“Follow me,” he led Gabe to the fireplace.

“Well, what is it?
 
What is so important that I had to leave my conference with the Prime Minister?”

“This woman is not a traitor,” Derek spoke with conviction.

“What makes you so certain?
 
Tell me you have not let an attractive woman turn your head.
 
You are a better man than that.
 
This woman had incriminating evidence on her person.
 
Of course she is a traitor.”

“I swear to you she’s not.”

“Have you questioned her?
 
Did she give you reason to believe that she isn’t?”

“No, I have not had the opportunity to question her.”

“Then give me one good reason why she is not, and,” he cut him off before he spoke, “I assure you it had better be one bloody good reason.”

“Because she’s my wife, dammit!”

To purchase
A Traitorous Heart
, click
here
.

A Thin Line

The Reluctant Lords, Book 2

“Oh how dare he?” Kala questioned the empty room.
 
Her voice sounded raspy even to her own ears.
 
Most would think she had a cold or the ague, but no, this was her new voice courtesy of the villain who had been after her sister-in-law, Tessa.
 
Who knows?
she thought wryly.
 
Perhaps I will start a new trend among the
ton
.

Back to the matter at hand.
 
She had found Gabriel Hawke, the Duke of Hawkescliffe to be a traitor in the true sense of the word.
 
She had argued with herself for over a month that she had misunderstood what the voices on the other side of the door had been saying the night of Derek, her brother, and Tessa’s ball.
 
As many times as she tried to deny it, she could not deny overhearing him speak of troop movement, nor could she come up with a plausible answer for his actions.
 

The man had given away government secrets to a French whore.
 
What made the treason so much worse remained the fact that he was Derek’s best friend.
 
Her brother's best friend and a traitor to King and Country.
 
And to make matters worse, at one time she thought herself madly in love with him.
 
He had definitely ruined that possibility for both of them.
 
No way she could even stomach the idea of being married to him now.
 
She could barely look at him.
 
And to think, he had once stood alongside Admiral Nelson at Trafalgar.

She pushed herself out of the big bed, paced to the window and threw back the curtains.
 
The moonlight streamed into the room but did nothing to calm her.
 
The rare cloudless and fogless night in London showed off the true beauty of the city, but she failed to see it.
 
She had too many thoughts wrestling about in her mind for superiority.

“How could he?” she muttered helplessly, pressing her forehead against the cool pane of glass.
 
He had witnessed the heartache Derek had gone through when he believed his wife to be a traitor.
 
Thank goodness all that had turned out to be false.
 
So how could he, Derek’s best friend, do something like this?
 
The man must have lost all the good sense he had been born with.
 
Perhaps the stress of being one of the highest peers of the realm finally affected him.
 

She shook her head sadly replaying that awful night in her mind.
 
So many things had happened that night.
 
Tessa had been kidnapped for one.
 
But first she had heard Gabe giving information on troop landings to that exotically beautiful woman.
 
She had a French accent, claiming to be an émigré to all other members of the
ton
.
 
And there lie the real crux of the matter.
 
Not only did he divulge information to the enemy, but the enemy had been beautiful and seemed to have him firmly in her clutches, if the way the woman had been adjusting her dress been any indication.
 
She thumped her hands on the windowsill and let out a little growl of frustration.
 
She had to decide what to do about this matter and soon.
 

One thing had made itself abundantly clear though.
 
“She can have him.
 
I’m done with him.”

“Done with whom?”

Kala whirled around and clutched at her throat with one hand.
 
“Dru, you startled me.
 
I hope I didn’t wake you.”

“I couldn’t sleep.
 
Indigestion,” Kala’s aunt explained as an aside as she patted her swelling tummy.
 
“Now what has you in such an uproar?”

“Oh, I’m just excited over all the events of the last few weeks,” Kala stuck as close to the truth as possible.

“It has been quite an adventure, hasn’t it?”

“Yes.
 
Derek and Tessa will be leaving for the country once more.
 
Then we will all gather there for Christmas in a few months.”

“Now what are you so worked up about?”

“I can’t tell you, Dru,” Kala said, her shoulders drooping.

“What?
 
You used to tell me everything.
 
I am your favorite aunt, you know,” she waggled her brows for effect.

Kala giggled but shook her head adamantly.
 
“No.
 
This is something I must figure out and address on my own.”

“If you insist,” she reached into the pocket of her dressing robe and took out a deck of playing cards.
 
“What do you say we pass the time with a few games?”

“Yes, but no bets this time.
 
Derek yelled at me for an hour for losing my quarterly pin money to you,” she shook her head sadly.
 
“I had three queens and two tens.
 
I still don’t understand how you beat me,” she lamented.

“Derek is a spoilsport.”

“Derek is right,” a deep voice drawled from Kala’s doorway.

“Richard, I hope you didn’t miss me.”

“Of course I did, my love.”
 
He dropped a kiss on her lips and then covered her stomach with one of his large hands.
 
“Is she keeping you awake?”

“Yes.”
 
Kala watched the byplay unashamedly and with a great deal of envy.
 
She had been raised in a household like this one, with parents that adored one another and touched and kissed.
 
She had hoped that she and Gabriel could have had something like this, and perhaps they could have if he had never become the Duke of Hawkescliffe.
 
He had changed drastically in so many ways after receiving the title, a title he never should have had to don.
 
A large part of her mourned that fact.
 
Another part of her knew she must get on with the job of living.
 

“Richard, please stay and keep an eye on Dru.
 
I think she cheats,” she whispered loudly.

“Kala, I’ll let you in on a little secret,” Richard replied.

“What?”

“I
know
she cheats.”
 
The three stayed up until early morning playing, laughing, and talking.

***

The next morning, Kala quickly dressed in a plain, serviceable dress and scampered downstairs before anyone else arose.
 
She asked a footman to call for a carriage.
 
He performed the task reluctantly, seeing a dressing down in his future for letting her leave the house unescorted.
 
Miss Kala would be the death of them all in his lowly opinion.
 

The carriage arrived and Kala embarked on a journey across town to the Horse Guards.
 
She left the conveyance and paid the driver.
 
She paced back and forth in front of the building, chewing on her thumb as she tended to do when nervous.
 
She had let her sable hair fall in loose waves down her back, not wanting to waste any time in getting here.
 
Her thick, black lashes fluttered, hiding the mercurial changes of her hazel eyes.
 

She needed to speak to Director McKenzie as soon as possible and silently cursed the man for choosing this morning to not arrive before everyone else to the War Office, the central headquarters where plans were made to defeat Napoleon, and as she so recently found out where her brother and Gabe worked as well.
 
So caught up in practicing her speech, she did not hear the brisk footfalls until they were upon her.

“What do you think you are doing here?”

“Director McKenzie, the Duke of Hawkescliffe is a traitor,” she said as she turned around to look at the man.
 
Her mouth fell open in horror as she realized she had just told the information to the suspected traitor himself.

“Now that you know, what am I going to do to keep you silent, Pest?” Gabriel Hawke, the Duke of Hawkescliffe snarled as he pulled her close, the scar that slashed down his cheek made him appear piratical.
 
Kala did the only thing she knew to do, she raised her knee and in his moment of agony, she tore free of his hold and ran for her life.

To purchase
A Thin Line
, click
here
.

Taming the Wicked Wulfe

The Rogue Agents Trilogy, Book 1

“When are the other men showing up?” Liam asked in his thick Scottish brogue.

“Any time.
 
Are you certain you are ready for this?” Thorn volleyed back.

“I have no choice now, do I?” the larger man chuckled.

“Baptism by fire,” Thorn muttered.

“What was that?”

“Nothing.”

“These men want to become partners in our business?”

“Yes.”

“When will they be here?”

“Bloody hell, Liam, do you never shut up?”

“If a man is to find out things, he needs to ask questions,” Liam pulled out a pocket watch.
 
“Half past nine,” he muttered.

“Should be any minute.
 
Nice watch.”

“Thanks.”

“Someone special give it to you?”

“She used to be.
 
I’ll be lucky if she ever talks to me again.”
 

The men heard approaching footsteps at the same time.
 
They were at the end of the alley, not a great position to take up when fighting an enemy, but they had scouted it the night before and knew the lay of the land.
 
A puff of smoke heralded the entrance of William Thomas, Earl of Glandingham and two of his burly footmen.
 
This man believed himself to be much more important than he was.
 

“Gentlemen, I’m so glad you could keep the meeting.”

“Nothing would keep us from it,” Thorn said.
 
“Your missive said you wanted to buy into
Lady Luck
.
 
I’m not certain we are looking for another partner at the moment.”

“It would behoove you to reconsider my offer, Wulfe.”

“Just what are you offering?”

“Fifty thousand pounds and I am your only partner.”

“What the hell?” Liam interjected.

“Shut up, you skirt wearing bastard!
 
Know when you are in the presence of your betters.”
 

“I won’t take that from the likes of you, Sassenach!” Liam argued.

Glandingham nodded at the two men on either side of him and they moved on Liam.
 
Although the man outweighed each of them by a stone, they cornered him, landing punches on his face and ribs.
 
They dropped him to the trash-littered ground of the alley.
 
The men kicked him in his back, legs, and head.

“Enough!” Thorn yelled, causing the men to fall back.
 

“We can finish him off for you, Wulfe,” Glandingham needled.

“No.”
 
Thorn Wulfe withdrew a pistol hidden beneath his coat and walked over to Liam.
 
The man lay on the ground, coughing and trying to catch his breath.
 
“Fifty thousand pounds, you say?”

“Fifty thousand.”

“Wulfe?” Liam pushed up off his stomach and looked at Thorn.

“Sorry, old man, it has been a good run, but we must part paths now,” he said, cocking the pistol.

“No!” Liam yelled as Thorn pulled back on the trigger, the loudness ricocheted off of the walls of the buildings surrounding them.
 
The Scotsman fell face down on the ground, dark liquid pooled around him like a lake.
 
Wulfe replaced his pistol and stepped over the body of his ex-partner.
 

“Glandingham, shall we go to the
Lady Luck
and finalize the terms of our agreement over a nice brandy?”

“Indeed, and we are going to be partners, call me William.”

“Shall we?” He held out his hand for the earl to go ahead of him, not offering the same amount of friendliness that Glandingham had.
 
He left the alley, never once looking back at the man whose life he just took.

***

Dawn broke over the city of London when Thorn finally retired to his rooms.
 
He dropped heavily in the chair behind his desk, a bottle of Scottish whisky next to him.
 
A knock sounded on the door just as Thorn removed the stopper from the bottle.
 
“Come in,” exhaustion tinged his voice.