Read Online Daring the Duke by Anne Mallory - Free Book Online Page B

"Tonight?"

    He nodded. "Pushed me out of the way of the initial round of gunfire."

    "lnteresting. I wonder why? Better for her to let you die."

    "That’s the rub, isn’t it? Why’d she save me when she would only gain by having me out of the way?"

    Roth leaned back. "Hmmm. And you don’t think it was a ploy to earn your trust?"

    "Could be, but I doubt it. The action was too spontaneous. But as I said, she definitely has a plan." For good or ill, it suited him just fine. Better to be good, but he couldn’t count on her. Not yet, perhaps not ever.

    He ran a manicured finger along the rim of the glass. He wanted to trust her. Needed to trust her. And that was odd. There were few people he trusted in life. And here he was, defying logic, rebelling against his own mind, wanting to trust an admitted thief. A criminal. But logic be damned.
    There was just something about her that was familiar. That made him feel he had nothing to fear from her. There was an indefinable feeling of rightness when she was by his side.

    "I know l’m playing the part of the mother hen,but for God’s sake be careful," Roth said.

    Stephen finished his drink. "We’ve been hunting Audrey Kendrick for years, albeit believing her to be a man named Hermes. Who would have thought the fleet-footed thief would be a woman?" He set the glass on the table. "Crafty, deceptive, a trickster. l We make a good match. The game must be played."

    "This isn’t a game, Stephen."

    "Sure it is. Always has been."

    "Games tend to end badly in our business."

    "So they do. But life would be quite dull if everything went according to plan."

    "According to someone else’s plan, maybe. But you have always wanted things your way. All of us do. ]ust remember that Audrey Kendrick seems to be cut from the same cloth."

    "I will. In the meantime, I need you to track down her sister. I don’t have much information on her whereabouts--she disappeared around the sametime as Audrey. Whereas Audrey reappeared a few weeks ago, no one fitting her sister’s description seems to be active in the London underground. Since they work together, it is odd. Something worth checking into."

    Roth nodded. "I will ask around tonight. Did you recognize any of the shooters tonight?"

    "Yes. Leonard Peters, as amazing as that is. Seems to have shown up to finish the job he started last year."

    "Interesting. Learn anything?"

    "Audrey knows him."

    "That makes sense; they both worked for Flanagan at one time. I’ll ask around about dear old Leonard tonight as well. With his ornery disposition and degenerate reputation, he shouldn’t be too hard to track down."

    They set a meeting time for the next day and Stephen strode back to his carriage. Roth was right. Stephen knew that even for his own nature he was behaving recklessly. He had never felt so invested in any of the others he had hunted, be they men or women. Why Audrey?

    He dismissed her beauty. He had been around too many beautiful women to have the outer surface affect him. No, it was the layers beneath that were interesting. And he had just begun to peel them away. He had just skimmed the surface, perhaps two layers deep. Quickness, humor, intelligence, and irreverence. Superficial qualities, but he had a delicious hint of what was to come.

    He couldn’t stop himself from trying to touch and expose the layers any more than he could stop himself from trying to put an end to her illegal activities. For some reason, he cared too much on both counts.

    One of his men was waiting near his carriage and handed him a note.

    Stephen scanned the note, and his mouth tightened. Was he getting his wish, or was this a sign of things to come? In any case, there would not be a peaceful ending to the night after all.

    Maddox was waiting for her. He had probably been peeking through the window. She tried to brush past him, but he blocked her way.

    "Travers expects you to meet him."

    She gave her stepfather a withering look. "I read his