Which left them all in darkness, save for the light of the moon.
Hugh grinned.
He didn’t have to worry about hitting his compatriots in the dark.
He spun and rushed the man next in line after the Bull. They’d picked a nice alley, his attackers. No way out—save either end—but it did have one small advantage for Hugh: no matter how many men were against him, only two could fit abreast in the alley at a time. Any left over were simply bottled up behind the others, twiddling their thumbs.
Hugh slashed the next man and shouldered past him. Got a blow upside the head for his trouble and saw stars. Hugh shook his head and elbowed the next—hard—in the face, and kicked the third in the belly. Suddenly he could see the light at the end of the alley.
Hugh knew men who felt that gentlemen should never run from a fight. Of course many of these same gentlemen had never been in a real fight.
Besides, he had those three very good reasons.
Actually, now that he thought of it, there was a fourth reason he did not want to die tonight.
Hugh ran to the end of the alley, his bottle of fine Viennese wine cradled in the crook of his left arm, his sword in the other fist. The cobblestones were iced over and his momentum was such he slid into the lit street.
Where he found another half-dozen men bearing down on him from his left.
Bloody hell.
Four, he hadn’t had a woman in his bed in over nine months and to die in such a drought seemed a particularly unkind blow from fate, goddamn it.
Hugh nearly dropped the bloody wine as he scrambled to turn to the right. He could hear the men he’d left in the alley rallying even as he sprinted straight into the worst part of London: the stews of St Giles. They were right on his heels, a veritable army of assassins. The streets here were narrow, ill lit, and cobbled badly, if at all. If he fell because of ice or a missing cobblestone, he’d never get up again.
He turned down a smaller alley and then immediately down another.
Behind him he heard a shout. Christ, if they split up, they would corner him again.
He hadn’t enough of a lead, even if a man of his size could easily hide in a place like St Giles. Hugh glanced up as he entered a small courtyard. Overhead the moon was veiled in clouds, and it almost looked as if a boy were silhouetted, jumping from one rooftop to another…
Which…
Was insane.
Think. If he could circle and come back the way he’d entered St Giles, he could slip their noose.
A narrow passage.
Another courtyard.
Ah, Christ.
They were already here, blocking the two other exits of the courtyard.
Hugh spun, but the passage he’d just run out from was crowded with more men, perhaps a dozen in all.
Well.
He put his back to the only wall left to him and straightened.
He rather wished he’d tasted the wine. He was fond of Viennese wine.
A tall man in a ragged brown coat and a filthy red neckcloth stepped forward. Hugh half expected him to make some sort of speech. Instead he drew a knife the size of a man’s forearm, grinned, and licked the blade.
Hugh didn’t wait for whatever other disgusting preliminaries Knife Licker might feel were appropriate for the occasion. He stepped forward and smashed the bottle of very fine Viennese wine over the man’s head.
Then they were on him.
He slashed and felt the jolt to his arm as he hit flesh.
Swung and raked the sword across another’s face.
Staggered as he was slammed into by two men.
Another hit him hard in the jaw.
And then someone clubbed him behind the knees.
He fell to his knees on the icy ground, growling like a bleeding, baited bear.
Raised an arm to defend his head…
And…
Someone dropped from the sky right in front of him.
Facing his attackers.
Darting, wheeling, spinning.
Defending him so gracefully.
With a sword.
Hugh staggered upright again, blinking blood out of his eyes—when had he been cut?
And saw a boy? No, a slight man in a half mask, and floppy hat, and boots, fighting with two swords. Hugh just had time to think: insane, before the man was thrown back against him.
Hugh caught the man and had another thought, which was: tits?
And then he set the woman—most definitely a woman although in a man’s clothing—on her feet and put his back to hers and fought as if their lives depended on it.
Which they did.
There were still eight or so of the attackers left and although they weren’t trained, they were determined. Hugh slashed and punched and kicked, while his feminine savior danced an elegant dance of death with her sword. When he smashed the butt of his sword into the skull of one of the last men, the remaining two looked at each other, picked up a third, and took to their heels.
Panting, Hugh glanced around the courtyard. It was strewn with groaning men, most still very much alive, though not dangerous at the moment.
He peered at the masked woman. She was tiny, barely reaching his shoulder. How was it she’d saved him from certain, ignoble death? But she had. She surely had.
“Thank you,” he said, his voice gruff. “I—”
She grinned, a quicksilver flash, and put her left hand on the back of his neck to pull his head down to her face to kiss him.
She might be a deadly sword fighter, but her lips were soft and spicy. He groaned and pushed closer.
But she laughed—a low, husky sound that went straight to his cock—and skipped away. She disappeared down one of the tiny alleys leading off the courtyard.
And as Hugh stared after her, he had but one thought: when had the Ghost of St Giles become a woman?
Fall in Love with Forever Romance
DUKE OF SIN
By Elizabeth Hoyt
Valentine Napier, the Duke of Montgomery, is the man London whispers about in boudoirs and back alleys. A notorious rake and blackmailer, Montgomery has returned from exile, intent on seeking revenge on those who have wronged him. But what he finds in his own bedroom may lay waste to all his plans.
NACHO FIGUERAS PRESENTS: HIGH SEASON
By Jessica Whitman
World-renowned polo player and global face of Ralph Lauren, Nacho Figueras dives into the world of scandal and seduction with the first book in the Polo Season series, all set in the glamorous, treacherous world of high-stakes polo competition. It’s the perfect beach-reading for fans of Susan Elizabeth Phillips and Jill Shalvis.
HOT COWBOY NIGHTS
By Carolyn Brown
New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Carolyn Brown brings us back to the Lucky Penny Ranch for some HOT COWBOY NIGHTS. Toby Dawson never was and never will be the settling-down type. But what harm could there be in agreeing to be Lizzy Logan’s pretend boyfriend? They’ll put on a show so all of Dry Creek knows Lizzy’s over her ex, then be done. Yet the more Toby gets to know Lizzy—really know her—the harder it is for him to keep his hands off her in private.
PRIMAL INSTINCT
By Tara Wyatt
When Taylor’s record label hires a bodyguard for her, she’s less than thrilled to find it’s her one-night stand, ex-army ranger Colt, who shows up for the job. But as danger from an obsessed stalker mounts, crossing the line between business and pleasure could get them both killed. Perfect for fans of Suzanne Brockmann, Pamela Clare, and Julie Ann Walker.
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Contents
Cover
Title Page
Welcome
Epigraph
Dedication
; Acknowledgments
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Epilogue
Other Titles by Elizabeth Hoyt
Praise for Elizabeth Hoyt’s Maiden Lane Series
A Preview of Duke of Pleasure
Fall in Love with Forever Romance
Newsletters
Copyright
Copyright
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is coincidental.
Copyright © 2016 by Nancy M. Finney
Excerpt from Duke of Pleasure copyright © 2016 by Nancy M. Finney
Cover illustration by Alan Ayers
Hand lettering by Ron Zinn
Cover copyright © 2016 by Hachette Book Group, Inc.
All rights reserved. In accordance with the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976, the scanning, uploading, and electronic sharing of any part of this book without the permission of the publisher constitute unlawful piracy and theft of the author’s intellectual property. If you would like to use material from the book (other than for review purposes), prior written permission must be obtained by contacting the publisher at [email protected]. Thank you for your support of the author’s rights.
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ISBN 978-1-4555-3907-9
E3-20160324-JV-NF
Duke of Sin Page 28