Tempted By His Kiss

by Tracy Anne Warren

  “What do you mean, ‘put an end to’?” she asked.

  “Exactly what you imagine, my dear. I’m going to kill Byron, of course. My men were supposed to have finished him off all those months ago on the Continent, but they were careless, like underlings so often are, and made mistakes. Which leaves it to me to see the deed done properly this time.”

  “Dear God,” she murmured, her breath growing faint.

  Everett angled his head to cast her a tender, almost regretful look. “A shame I will have to kill you now, too. You truly are a most unusual female, full of fire and determination—qualities I admire in a woman. You really ought to have stayed home, you know.”

  She gasped and jerked within his hold, but he held her steady, his gun unwavering.

  “Oh, don’t act so astonished.” Everett made a tsking sound. “You must realize I cannot possibly set you free now. You have heard far, far too much and would run straight to Clybourne and others with your incriminating tales.”

  “I wouldn’t. If you let Cade and me go, I would promise not to tell—”

  A laugh escaped Everett, his chest booming with unconcealed amusement. “Oh, the wit. Truly, it is a pity to extinguish such a brilliant light. And such a pretty one, too.” He continued chuckling to himself.

  “And just exactly how do you plan to do away with us both?” Cade demanded, abruptly joining the conversation. “I would think our deaths might prove rather problematic to explain, even for you.”

  The laughter fell away from Everett, his face hardening. “I’ve already thought of that as well. I’m going to say that you murdered Miss Amberley in a fit of jealous rage before you turned the gun on yourself.”

  “And why would I have done that?”

  “Because everyone knows you’re insane, of course.”

  Cade strained against his bonds and wished he were free to use his fists to wipe the smug expression off Everett’s face. The bastard will be surprised when I do just that, he reassured himself. Only a few minutes more and the whole game will change.

  Luckily for him and Meg, Everett still didn’t know how to enlist the services of infallible minions. For though the servant had readily enough discovered most of his cache of weapons, he’d failed to find the small shiv he’d secreted in the cuff of one of his shirtsleeves.

  And while Everett had been boasting and complaining, Cade had been busy repositioning his hands so he could work the blade through the cloth and down into his palms. He’d had to repress any display of triumph and hope once the task was successfully accomplished. Now it was only a matter of keeping the blade properly angled while he cut through the thick width of hemp.

  Luckily again, Everett enjoyed taunting his victims, as Cade well knew. So while he worked on loosening his bonds, he knew it was essential to play along with his captor, to keep Everett talking so he wouldn’t notice the shift of muscles in his arms and hands as he strained to free himself.

  “No one will believe you,” Cade declared as he sawed steadily at the rope. “Certainly not my family.”

  “I very much doubt that your family will sway anyone’s opinion,” Everett remarked. “Not after everyone reads the note.”

  “What note? I assume you don’t mean the one that brought us here.”

  “Not at all, though even if that one’s found, it is of no importance. After all, it provides nothing of a suspect nature, but merely lists a time, date, and place. No, I am referring to the note you wrote Miss Amberley tonight, telling her of your plans to confront me here and see justice served.”

  “But Cade didn’t write me a note,” Meg interjected.

  “Oh, but he will,” Everett said with smooth assurance. “In fact, it fits in much better than my original story. How I came here to oversee repairs, and despite the deplorable condition of the place, resolved to stay overnight for an early morning meeting with the architect. How Cade tracked me down here at this property and, in his maddened rage, tried to kill me.”

  “How convenient,” Cade said, continuing his subtle motions with the blade.

  “Yes, it is. The architect really will be here at first light—another witness to my distress.”

  “Distress, hmm?”

  “Oh, yes. ‘I am just sick over what happened,’” Everett said, playing a part as he obviously pictured the scene. ‘ “I was about to close the house up for the night when Cade Byron burst in upon me, ranting about plots and secret meetings and how he must have revenge for what was done to him. I attempted to reason with him, but he was so deep in his delusions, there was no getting through. I had no choice but to fight back out of self-defense.’”

  “As I said,” Cade told him, “no one will believe you.”

  “I beg to differ. For one, my servants will confirm everything I say, acting as direct witnesses who saw and heard it all. Then there is Miss Amberley herself. You see, she was quite understandably distraught over that wild, rambling note you left her, and resolved to come after you. She hoped to stop you and get you the help you so desperately required.”

  “Why didn’t she go to my family, or a friend? Why would she have come alone without seeking assistance?”

  Everett paused, clearly considering the question. “Well, I suppose I don’t know, women being foolish and fallible in their haste. I would think it was because she wanted to protect you and your reputation, seeing that it was already tarnished, even among your closest relations. Perhaps she feared you would be sent to Bedlam, from where they say no one ever returns whole. But I digress.”

  “My apologies,” Cade said with mock politeness as he felt the shiv sink deeper into the rope. “Pray continue. I must admit I am curious to hear the rest.”

  Everett smiled.

  Beside him, Cade saw the expression of incredulous horror on Meg’s face. He did his best not to dwell on what she must be feeling, concentrating instead on working the blade.

  “Upon receiving the note,” Everett went on, “Miss Amberley followed you here, discovering us locked in a heated argument. In your delusion, you assumed she had come to save me, since you had recently learned that the two of us were meeting alone for early-morning rides in the park. You did know about that, I presume?”

  Cade’s jaw flexed. “Yes. Meg told me.”

  “Good. Then it goes to my story, which is that you conceived a terrible jealousy and turned your fury upon her. Despite my attempts to save her, you shot and killed poor Miss Amberley. Then you attacked me. We wrestled for the second pistol you brought, and in the scuffle you, too, were shot, soon dying of your wound. Absolutely tragic.”

  “And you think you will get away with that faerie story?”

  “Oh, indeed, I do,” Everett boasted. “Your hatred of me is well-known, as is your volatile temperament. You did attack me at a ball, if you will remember?”

  “I only wish I’d succeeded in choking the life out of you!”

  “Exactly my point about that temper of yours. Frightening!” he chided with mock reproof. “But to return to the subject of the note, I had the excellent fortune of obtaining a sample of your handwriting some while ago. A concerned friend at the War Office showed me the letter you wrote warning them about my activities—very bad form, by the way, dear boy. This particular gentleman was most obliging about allowing me to borrow the letter to show my solicitor. As it happens, I am quite adept at copying, and when I returned the correspondence the next day, I had the sample I required.”

  He gave a smile that didn’t reach his eyes. “With my skill at forgery, not even your family will be able tell whether you wrote the note to Miss Amberley. No doubt, a few will have their suspicions, but there will be nothing anyone can prove. I will walk away free, able to return to my real work of seeing this war won by the right side.”

  Cade laughed. “You’re as deluded as you make me out to be, if you believe all that. Let Meg and me go now, Everett, and I’ll ask the Crown to spare your life. Of course, it will be from the inside of a cell, but there is only so much I c
an do.”

  “You’re nothing if not tenacious, Byron. Almost a shame to see a man of your caliber find his ultimate reward, but alas, your luck has run its course.”

  Cade continued cutting the rope. Having to pause occasionally to keep Everett from noticing slowed his progress, but he was nearly there, the bonds beginning to loosen. When they did, however, he knew there would still be the gun Everett was holding on Meg. I’ll figure something out, he told himself, when the time comes.

  “Now, which one of you to kill first?” Everett mused aloud. “You, I suppose, Byron, which would leave me time to play a bit more with Miss Amberley. But that seems wrong somehow, depriving you of the opportunity to watch.”

  The blade slipped, cutting into Cade’s wrist. Only a quick save kept the shiv from tumbling to the floor. “What?”

  “Oh, come now, you must know how attractive I find your fiancée. There are no secrets between us now, so I see no reason to conceal my lust. What a waste to send her to her grave untouched, do you not think? I believe it would be an even greater crime than taking her life.”

  “Let me go, you disgusting animal!” Meg struggled against him, her unexpected resistance momentarily loosening his grip on her. But he caught her again and slapped her hard across her face.

  She swayed from the force of the blow, crying out against the pain as she raised a trembling hand to cover her reddened cheek.

  “None of that now,” he warned. “Unless you want to play rough. With a little persuasion, I could be convinced.”

  Cade came partly out of his chair, despite the bonds that still held him in place. “Let her go! This is between the two of us, not her.”

  “But you’re wrong. This does involve her now, and I want you to suffer a bit more before you die. Just like in Portugal, I know of no better means of tormenting you and enjoying myself at the same time.”

  Cade fought the red haze that enveloped him, his blood beating in time to the fury pulsing through his veins. He wanted to leap up and pound his fists into Everett, beat him until there was nothing left of the man but regret and pain. But that reaction was exactly what Everett wanted, he realized, as he struggled to calm himself. Everett wanted to draw his rage and anguish, to revel in his suffering. And he knew that the more he reacted to Everett’s provocation, the worse matters would go for Meg. What he needed was a calm head, so he could gain their freedom. In the meantime, he would have to find a way to distract Everett. But how?

  “This is nothing like Portugal,” Cade declared, working the shiv into the rope again.

  Everett paused. “Oh, and how is that? The similarities seem striking enough to draw certain important parallels. For one, you’re once again at a disadvantage—all tied up, as it were. For another, I have your woman again, yet another fiancée for you to cry over.”

  “But it’s not the same, since she isn’t really my fiancée.”

  “What!” Everett narrowed his eyes, his attention most definitely caught.

  “That’s right. Our engagement is a ruse. We’ve been deceiving everyone this Season, while she looks for another man to marry.”

  “This is nonsense,” Everett scoffed.

  “Not at all. Ask her yourself, if you don’t believe me. A few months ago Meg was forced to take shelter at my country estate. We were alone for some time, which unfortunately left her compromised. But neither of us wished to marry the other, so we came up with an alternate plan. A Season at my expense in exchange for the opportunity for Meg to find another bridegroom. I’ve been waiting eagerly for her to make up her mind and jilt me. So despite an admitted affection for her, I am by no means in love with her.”

  Everett swung his head toward Meg, whose face had drained of colour. “Is this true?”

  She nodded. “Yes. Everything is as he says.”

  “So you see, Everett,” Cade continued, “my objection to seeing you force yourself on Miss Amberley is the same one I would have were I made to watch you violate any young woman against her will. If your intention is to elicit some sort of personal anguish on my part by assaulting Miss Amberley, you will be sadly disappointed. The sort of feelings you crave are dead in me now. You killed them the day you murdered the only woman I shall ever love.”

  A soft sound escaped Meg’s throat, as though she couldn’t quite catch her breath, her eyes vividly blue, almost bruised looking, against her stark white cheeks.

  “It doesn’t look like Miss Amberley is glad to hear you say that,” Everett remarked. “And I am not convinced that a closer relationship doesn’t exist between the two of you.”

  Cade forged on, refusing to let himself dwell on any distress his words might be causing Meg. Surely, he reasoned, she must realize he was doing this to keep Everett from her and buy both of them a bit more time.

  “You’re right,” he admitted. “You’ve caught us out on that. Meg and I are lovers.”

  Under Everett’s inquiring gaze, a rush of condemning warmth returned to her skin.

  “She’s an extremely attractive woman, so how’s a man to resist when she’s living right under his nose?” Cade went on, using a seemingly negligent shrug to cover the snap of the rope finally pulling apart, yet careful to keep his arms together as if he were still confined. “But just because I’ve enjoyed a tumble or two doesn’t mean I want to slip on a parson’s noose. After all, why pay for the sweets when I’m already getting the sugar for free?”

  Meg gasped in obvious offense. With the sound still reverberating in the room, he reached sideways for his cane and leapt from the chair.

  Everett started in shock, completely caught off guard. He brought the pistol up, but not in time, as Cade bounded forward. Lifting the cane high, he slashed it down against Everett’s head, grabbing his other hand, as he fought for control of the gun.

  Everett bellowed in pain and fury, twisting in an attempt to escape Cade’s hold. But Cade drank in the sound, Everett’s resistance fortifying his own rage and determination to crush the other man like the low, vile insect he was. Tightening his grip, he squeezed harder, willing bones to break, if that’s what was needed to take possession of the gun. He pressed on with relentless force, knowing he couldn’t afford to lose his advantage or underestimate the viciousness of his opponent.

  Cane raised his walking stick to strike a second blow, but Everett grabbed the cane. The two of them took several staggering steps as they grappled for control of both weapons this time.

  Everett lashed out with a savage kick at Cade’s weak thigh. Leaping to one side, he managed to take only a glancing blow, avoiding what otherwise would have been a disabling strike. Nonetheless, the kick sent painful reverberations pinging up through his leg, his muscles protesting the strain and abuse. Instead of weakening him, though, the discomfort only increased his ire, his heart hammering out a vengeful beat, as he redoubled his efforts.

  He and Everett struggled for a seemingly endless time, muscles bulging, lungs heaving for breath, as each tried to gain supremacy. Suddenly, Cade sensed the other man weakening. With a brutal, almost merciless strength, he wrenched the cane free of Everett’s grip and brought it down, aiming for the arm and hand that held the gun.

  Everett roared at the blow, his arm trembling, his fingers reflexively loosening their grip. Cade reached for the weapon, but the barrel popped free of his sweat-slick grasp and flew into the air. For a second he watched as the gun hit the floor, spinning outward in a series of wild circles.

  But he didn’t have time to consider going after it, as Everett lowered his head and ploughed bodily into him. Cade stumbled, fighting to retain his balance and his hold on the cane as he was propelled back. Dimly, he heard Meg scream.

  He hit the far wall with a punishing thud, bits of dust drifting over both he and Everett, as they continued to struggle. Again Everett tried to get in a few well-placed kicks, Cade taking more glancing blows that left him aching.

  With blood pounding between his temples and desperation fuelling his efforts, he reached out and c
lamped a hand around Everett’s neck. The other man’s eyes bulged and then he was gasping, his hands clawing to escape Cade’s brutal grip. Blood dripped over Cade’s fingers as Everett’s nails scored his skin, but Cade did not let go. Instead, he squeezed even harder.

  Abruptly, Cade shoved Everett to the floor, leaving him sprawled in a heap, the other man gagging and struggling to gain his next breath. While he did, Cade pressed a pair of fingers against the bejewelled eyes on the head of his cane and unsheathed the sword inside with a single, graceful sweep.

  Moving quickly, he brought the lethal tip down and laid it against Everett’s neck. The man grew still, chest still heaving as he stared up at Cade with undisguised malevolence.

  And something else this time.

  Fear.

  In his mind’s eye Cade saw himself driving the blade deep, watching Everett’s life slip away as the blood drained from his body. Clearly, this was a man who did not deserve to live. Yet such a fate seemed too easy; no punishment at all, really, for someone who deserved no less than hell. Cade towered above him, his hand unmoving while he weighed his choices.

  With a sudden twist of his hand, he drew the blade across Everett’s throat from one side to the other. A shallow line of blood blossomed deep scarlet against the material of Everett’s ruined cravat, the wound deep enough to scar but not kill.

  “Something to remember me by,” Cade murmured.

  A heavy footfall sounded from the doorway. “Put that down now an’ let ’im go!”

  Cade looked up and saw Everett’s manservant slowly approaching, a gun in his hand, with the muzzle pointed squarely at him.

  “Like I said, step off or I’ll shoot ye,” the servant declared.

  Cade heard a rustle of skirts to his right. “And I’ll shoot you!” Meg declared. Everett’s pistol—the one abandoned in the fight—was now in her hands.