Read Online A Kiss In The Dark by Kimberly Logan - Free Book Online

up and scooted back on the pallet she’d been sleeping on, her heart thumping wildly as memories from the evening before seeped back into her consciousness. She slowly calmed, however, as she realized that the eyes belonged to a cherub-faced little boy with blond curls and a shy smile.
    “Are you an angel?” he asked, his expression hopeful.
    Emily didn’t know what to say. Drawing the threadbare blanket up to her chin, she glanced around at her surroundings. Last night, when Quick had brought her back here after escaping from Toby and his boys, it had been too dark for her to make out much. But now, in the light that streamed in through the cracks in the boarded-up windows, she could see all too well.
    The room was large and drafty, with moldering walls and rickety furniture that had seen better days. The floor was lined with pallets like the one she’d been sleeping on, and at the other end of the chamber a group of young boys huddled around a small fire burning in a crumbling hearth.
    As she watched, one of them, a lad of about twelve, turned and looked over his shoulder. Seeing that she was awake, he sent a glare at the little boy standing next to her and started toward them.
    “Bloody ’ell, Benji! Peter said to leave ’er alone and not to wake ’er! Boy, you’re in for it now!”
    Benji’s lower lip stuck out mutinously. “Didn’t wake ’er. I was only watching ’er. She woke up on ’er own.”
    The older boy glanced at Emily, his face reddening. “Sorry, miss.”
    Emily attempted a smile, though she wasn’t certain how successful it was. “That’s all right. He really wasn’t bothering me. I was just startled, that’s all.” She gave the room another cursory inspection. “Where am I?”
    “In the ’ideout of the Rag-Tag Bunch.”
    “The Rag-Tag Bunch? But where is that?”
    “Why, Tot’ill Fields, of course.”
    Emily was stunned. Tothill Fields? Good heavens! She’d heard horror stories about the Fields.
    Turning back to the lad next to her, she looked up at him quizzically. “Where are your parents? Will they be angry with your brother for letting me stay here?”
    He snorted and rocked back on his heels. “Peter ain’t me brother. And we ain’t got any parents.”
    “No parents?” Emily gaped. “Who looks after you?”
    The little boy named Benji plopped down on the pallet next to her and began to bounce up and down. “Peter does.”
    “Peter?”
    “Quick, miss,” the older boy informed her. “The one who brought you back ’ere. I’m Nat. And you’ve met Benji.”
    Ah. So Quick’s first name was Peter. She glanced around her once again, searching for some sign of him.
    As if reading her thoughts, Nat spoke up. “’E ain’t ’ere now, miss. ’E went out to see if ’e could find out which way the wind is blowing. But ’e’ll be back soon enough.”
    At that moment, the sound of a door opening behind them drew their attention, and Emily turned in time to see a stocky, dark-haired boy of about her age step into the room from outside, a bag slung over one shoulder.
    Nat frowned at the newcomer. “Where ’ave you been?”
    “None of your business, brat.”
    “Peter’s been looking for you.”
    “So?” The young man shut the door and lowered his pack to the ground, scowling at Nat. “I told you before. Peter ain’t me boss, even if the rest of you let ’im tell you what to do and ’ow to do it.”
    Suddenly, he swung his gaze in Emily’s direction, and she felt the breath leave her body in a rush as she found herself pinned in place by a pair of frosty gray eyes that studied her with a calculating interest. His thin, cruel-looking mouth curved into a chilling smile that sent a shiver up her spine. “What ’ave we ’ere?”
    He stalked toward her. Coming to a halt only inches away, he began to circle her in a predatory fashion, his gaze surveying her from head to toe. “Since when did we start letting girls in the gang?”
    “Leave ’er alone, Jack,”