It Takes a Spy...: A Secrets and Seduction book

by Jeane, Sheridan

  She clutched Devin’s arm. “You have to save them.”

  He steeled his face. “I have an idea. Stay here.” He darted forward and put his hand over the handle of the case Evangeline held. “I’ll draw him away,” he told her.

  Evangeline didn’t say a word but simply let go of the handle. Devin spun on his heel and ran pell-mell down the street, pushing people to the side as he made a path through the pedestrians, carts, and horses that blocked his way.

  Kenning spit out an angry curse and took off after him.

  Cecilia was frozen with indecision as she glanced at LeCompte, bleeding on the ground, and then at Devin, running down the street. Should she stay and help LeCompte, or assist Devin?

  Evangeline pulled LeCompte’s neckcloth off and began winding it around his shoulder to stanch the bleeding. Her obvious competence made Cecilia’s decision easy.

  Cecilia glanced back up just as Devin rounded the corner and disappeared from her sight. Kenning tore after him, with only a few yards separating them. She caught the frenzied glint in Kenning’s eye as he rounded the same corner, and her stomach clenched in panic.

  Kenning looked like a madman.

  She took a stumbling step forward but then stopped. How could she possibly catch up with them? She couldn’t very well run while wearing a corset. With the way it constricted her lungs, she’d be close to fainting from lack of air by the time she made it to the corner.

  Cecilia frantically scanned her surroundings for a solution, and her gaze landed on the street urchin holding the reins of Kenning’s horse. There it was. Her solution. All she’d needed to do was look at things differently.

  She rushed toward the stupefied child. “Don’t just stand there,” she shouted to him, “fetch the police!”

  The boy stared at her, mouth agape.

  “Now!” She reached out and snatched the reins from his hand. “Go on,” she shouted. “Now.”

  The boy closed his mouth with snap as his bewildered gaze cleared. Now he looked much more intelligent than she’d first thought him to be. The boy glanced at LeCompte and Evangeline and then gave Cecilia a firm nod. “Yes, miss. You can count on me,” he said, and then raced down the street.

  Cecilia led the horse over to a small box, set one foot on it, and clambered onto Kenning’s saddle. Her skirts rode up her legs, leaving them bare from the knees down for everyone on the street to see, but she ignored the impropriety.

  Devin’s life was in danger.

  11 - In the Nick of Time

  Devin, with Kenning at his heels, wove through the narrow streets. Each time he pulled ahead, some object or person blocked his path and slowed him, allowing Kenning to close the distance again. He didn’t know this part of London well, but it would seem that Kenning did.

  Now that it was eight in the morning, plenty of people were on the street. Devin dodged through the crowd, trying not to plow into anyone. But Kenning had the advantage of following in the path Devin had cleared for him.

  There was a clearing up ahead, and Devin ducked past two men carrying a large, heavy container out of a house toward a nearby wagon. Devin’s nose quickly identified them as night soil men. They must be making their weekly rounds and picking up the house’s refuse.

  Devin heard the sound of pounding hoofbeats approaching from behind and glanced back. The two sights that greeted his gaze made him widen his eyes. The first was Cecilia, astride a horse with her legs bare to the knees, bearing down on them. Her determined gaze left him with no doubt that she had come to save him. She veered to skirt the wagon, staying well away from the night soil men.

  The second thing he registered was Kenning. As Devin watched, Kenning tried to dodge the two men carrying the container of waste, but he wasn’t entirely successful. He slammed his shoulder against the back of one of the men, causing the heavy burden to slip from the man’s hands.

  Despite himself, Devin turned slightly in his onward rush so he could watch the events unfolding in his wake. The container the man had dropped slammed onto the pavement. The lid flew off and the household’s accumulated waste from the week exploded onto the ground, spewing a foul spray that splashed Kenning across the back. Fortunately, the wagon blocked Cecilia from the excrement.

  Devin couldn’t pause to appreciate the scene because Kenning didn’t break stride under the deluge, but kept running…closing the gap on Devin.

  Devin redoubled his efforts and rounded first one corner and then another. The streets were less crowded here, and he finally began to put some distance between himself and his pursuer. He shot into an alleyway, hoping he’d soon be able to lose Kenning.

  He was wrong. The alley was a dead end.

  He was trapped.

  Kenning turned the corner and entered the alleyway, and Devin could tell that he immediately recognized Devin’s predicament. A wicked grin spread across the man’s face as he sprinted forward. It was obvious that he meant to plow into Devin and knock him to the ground.

  Cecilia turned into the alleyway on her horse. She was moving at a slower pace now. The narrow twisting streets must have forced the horse to trot.

  Devin widened his stance and tightened his grip on the case. He wasn’t going to let Kenning take it from him.

  Not now.

  Not ever.

  Devin carefully timed his next move, and when his pursuer was just a few feet away Devin whirled, swinging the case exactly as Evangeline had, but he put all of his strength and weight behind the blow.

  His makeshift weapon slammed squarely across the side of Kenning’s head with a satisfying thwack, and the jolt of the blow radiated up Devin’s arm. The lid of the case popped open, and something spilled from it, landing in the filthy alleyway as Kenning fell hard. The man’s head bounced off the grimy brick pavers with a thump, and then he lay motionless.

  Cecilia raced forward and then reined the horse to an abrupt stop and jumped from its saddle.

  She gripped the reins with one hand as she approached the prone man. “He isn’t dead, is he?”

  Devin glanced down and immediately focused on the blood near Kenning’s head. The trail of red drops seemed unusually bright in the low light of the alleyway. In fact, the blood had an unusual luminous glow about it. Devin’s perception suddenly shifted, and he realized he’d misidentified what he was looking at — it wasn’t blood. It was a ruby necklace, its dark red gems seeming to glow with retribution and satisfaction.

  Devin grimaced. Perhaps he was projecting his own feelings onto the object.

  “He needs to stay alive so he can clear your name.” She slid the reins through the looped handle of a door that looked as though it hadn’t been opened for years. The accumulated rubbish lying in front of it would ensure that it remained closed.

  Devin crouched on the pavement next to Kenning and checked. “He’s alive, but he smells awful.”

  Conflicting emotions flickered across her face—relief, anger, satisfaction—all battling one another. “Serves him right,” she said, apparently having settled upon satisfaction. “His smell matches his personality. He’s foul both inside and out.”

  Devin chuckled as he picked up the necklace and rose to his feet. He dangled the fiery stones in his outstretched hand. The gems glinted in the morning light between the pair for a moment, incongruous in their filthy surroundings, and then Cecilia accepted them and made them disappear into her pocket.

  Her calm acceptance of the events of the past few minutes took him by surprise, but then he realized that it shouldn’t have. After all, her level-headed thinking had brought them through the night, mostly unscathed. A proud smile spread across his face.

  She was perfect.

  “Cecilia Paring,” he said, reaching out and pulling her into his arms, “you are the most amazing, inspiring, and infuriating woman I’ve ever met. I don’t know what I’d do without you in my life.”

  She stared, her eyes round with surprise. “I believe the infuriating part. But inspiring and amazing?” The sound of
a police whistle in the distance made her turn slightly and glance back at the entrance to the alley. “I think they’ve found Evangeline and LeCompte.” He could feel her entire body tense in his arms. “You need to leave—,” she turned to face him and gave him a pleading look, “disappear. If the police see you here, they’re likely to jump to the wrong conclusion. After all, you are a fugitive.”

  Devin frowned and shook his head. “I can’t simply leave you alone with him. What if he wakes up?”

  “I’ll be fine,” she said.

  How could she be so cavalier? He tightened his hold on her arms. “He’s already shot LeCompte, and apparently he’s murdered others. Be rational. What makes you think he’d stop at killing you?”

  Cecilia looked thoughtful and then nodded as she placed a placating palm on his chest. “Then what should we do? I don’t want you going to jail. Once they have Kenning in custody and can question him, we’ll be able to clear your name, but until then, I’m worried that the police will treat you harshly. That sergeant seemed to hold you in particular disdain.”

  “That may be true, but I can’t just leave you here. I’m done with running and hiding.” He dropped his hands from her arms and took a step back, looking down at Kenning’s motionless form.

  “Please. For me. Just this one last time.”

  Her words pierced him. Devin raked his fingers through his hair. How could he say no? “I’ll go. But it goes against my grain. I hate hiding this way.”

  “Thank you,” she said softly as she took a step closer to him. “It won’t be for much longer.”

  “We need to come up with a plan to keep you safe until the police arrive.” Devin glanced around the empty street and tugged at his collar, but he couldn’t see a solution. Then, he suddenly lifted his chin and grinned at her.

  Devin yanked at his collar, loosening his neckcloth and quickly removing it, then knelt next to Kenning and tied his hands behind his back. Then he removed Kenning’s neckcloth and used it to bind the man’s feet. While he was there, he checked the surroundings to make sure none of the other stolen jewels had fallen to the ground.

  Once he was done, he stood and gave Cecilia a brusque nod. “You should be safe now.” He picked up the case and handed it to her.

  “Be careful.”

  “I will.” He nodded at the case. “You be careful, too. The latch broke when I hit Kenning. Make sure nothing else falls out.”

  She nodded, peered down at the broken case, and pulled the loose top aside to look inside. Devin followed her gaze. Even in the alleyway, he could easily see the glittering, tangled mass of cut stones in their settings.

  “The auction doesn’t begin until ten o’clock,” Devin said. “You should have plenty of time to return the jewels to the hotel.”

  The police whistle blew again. This time, it seemed much closer. Cecilia’s brow knitted in consternation. “How will I find you?”

  He moved closer to her again, hating that he had to leave. “I’ll make my way back to the hotel during the auction. If my luck continues to hold, my name should be cleared by then.”

  Cecilia tensed. “But what if they still think you had something to do with the theft?”

  “Then I’ll need to face them.” He placed his hands lightly on her upper arms and stroked up and down, trying to soothe her. “I can’t hide forever. If they still believe I’m involved, it will go better for me if I turn myself in. It won’t come to that, though. Things will work out. I promise.”

  He knew he shouldn’t make a promise like that. Not when the outcome wasn’t completely in his control. She must know it too, but even so, she seemed to relax at his words. He could sense the tension fleeing her body. He could see the evidence in every line of her face. She believed him. Or perhaps it was more that she believed in him. But after the events of the past twelve hours or so, perhaps he’d earned a little faith. After all, they’d escaped the police, recovered the jewels, and caught the criminal, hadn’t they?

  But he never could have done it without her by his side. She meant everything to him.

  He slipped his arms around her back and pulled her toward him again. He lowered his head so that their foreheads almost touched, and for a moment, all he could think about was her mouth, and how she made his heart thud in his chest when she gave him the lopsided grin she was giving him now.

  But then that grin smoothed away. Her eyes darkened, her lips softened, and he knew she wanted him to kiss her.

  And oh, how he wanted to kiss her—not just now, but to kiss her every day for the rest of his life.

  He lowered his head so their lips touched, and pleasure flared through him. She opened her mouth under the pressure of his lips and their tongues touched—softly at first, and then more deliberately, more purposefully. A soft moan slipped from deep within her, and the wanton sound surprised him.

  He heard footsteps running closer on the street behind them and stopped. He was torn by indecision. He wanted to stay but needed to leave. Before he could choose for himself, Cecilia pulled away. “You need to go.”

  He hated the words but knew she was right. But he couldn’t leave without telling her. What if their luck didn’t hold? What if everything fell apart? “I need to tell you something.”

  “They’re coming. Go.”

  “It will only take a moment.”

  She widened her eyes, imploring him to leave.

  “I love you,” he said. “I wanted to make sure you knew that. Just in case you had any doubts about it.”

  Her eyes focused sharply on his face as her mouth snapped shut. She exhaled through her nose. “You have horrible timing, but I love you too, Devin Montlake. Now go. Run.” She pushed him toward the horse.

  Devin grinned, turned, vaulted onto the horse, and tore toward the entrance of the alleyway.

  As he turned the corner, he glanced back at her. She was facing him, the case clutched firmly in her hand, and a look of intense determination on her face.

  12 - Wedding Day

  One month later

  Sunlight streamed in through the window at Mivart’s Hotel. On a nearby table, light bounced off the crystals dangling from a pair of small lamps, sending prisms of reflected light dancing around the room.

  Unfortunately, since Devin was seated in a position of honor at a long table facing the room and the bank of windows, one of those bright flashes of light kept shining directly into his right eye.

  He shifted his chair to the left, inching closer to Cecilia. Lord Babbage shot him a censorious glare from his end of the table until his wife poked him in the ribs and whispered something in his ear. To Devin’s surprise, Lord Babbage reddened and looked away.

  Devin grinned and glanced at their guests, but no one else seemed to have noticed the exchange.

  Cecilia’s arm brushed against Devin’s as she sipped her champagne, and it caused a rush of awareness to course through his body. She was so close to him now, in more ways than one.

  She glanced at him, and when he met her gaze she smiled. “Penny for your thoughts,” she said.

  He considered his possible replies. They ranged from the sensual to the mundane, but since they were currently on display, he chose the most circumspect one. “I was considering when we could make our escape.”

  Her smile deepened into a grin. “What? Don’t tell me you’re eager to leave our wedding breakfast and move on to our honeymoon.”

  He shifted uncomfortably in his seat and pulled a pocket watch from his waistcoat. It was as though she’d read his mind. But then again, he’d made no secret of his feelings for her. “It’s already half past one, and we have a train to catch.” He tucked the timepiece back in his pocket. “Plus, I’m beginning to wonder if your father has changed his mind and is plotting to steal you away to France with him.”

  Cecilia leaned forward to glance down the table at her parents, and her breast brushed against the back of his hand, sending a jolt of awareness though his body. “I see your point.”

  “H
e’s been staring daggers at me all day. Even at the wedding.”

  “We’re married now. He can stare all he wants and it won’t make a jot of difference.” She locked gazes with her father and then tipped her chin and cocked an eyebrow at him in challenge. Lord Babbage grimaced but managed to look abashed.

  “Don’t tell me your own father is afraid of you.”

  She looked rather like a satisfied pussycat as she settled back in her chair. “I threatened not to visit him in France. I’m still rather irritated with him. He’s known you all your life, yet he still believed you were a thief. I’m appalled at his poor judgment.”

  “I think his reaction was influenced by the preponderance of evidence against me.”

  She scowled. “But he’s still being quite difficult, even though you've been exonerated.”

  “That’s because he’s losing a daughter. It must be doubly difficult since he’ll be in the south of France. You should be more forgiving.”

  “How can you be so forgiving?”

  Devin leaned closer to her. “I’m beginning to see his point of view.” He took her hand in his and lifted it to his lips, pressing a kiss on it. “After all, I couldn’t bear the thought of losing you either. Now that you’re mine, I don’t want to imagine my life without you in it.”

  The smile that spread across Cecilia’s face was even brighter than the sunlight shining through the window, and her cheeks took on a rosy hue. “In that case,” she said, rising to her feet, “perhaps you’re right. It’s time to take our leave.”

  Devin stood. “Let’s make our goodbyes.” He glanced at the crowded room. “It’s a good thing we’re starting now. This might take a while.”

  First they spoke to her parents. Lord Babbage was stoic, but it was obvious that Lady Babbage was close to tears. She blotted the edge of her eye with a handkerchief and excused herself from the room.