Seducing the Ruthless Rogue Read online

  “What am I going to do?” she asked the room at large.

  Now the occupants of the house would be on full alert. Should she beg Chang to join her? No. He would not approve of what she was doing. He would want her to go to someone that could help, but she had no one to turn to. She had to find those maps so that she could exchange them for her father.

  For the first time in a very long time, she felt very much alone. Even with her father gone for the last year, she received some strange amount of comfort from her Monday non-meetings with the Director. Deep down, she knew they had been keeping her father safe, and if something serious happened to him, they would have let her know about it. Now she had no one to ask for assistance.

  “Grrr!” she growled into her pillow in frustration, slamming her fist into the mattress. She flipped over once again to stare at the ceiling. Her eyes burned with the tears that were building. Cassie blinked furiously, successfully refusing to let them fall. “I will find you, Papa,” she promised huskily.

  She felt the minutes ticking slowly by and could stand it no longer. Since sleep eluded her, Cassie decided she would make the most of the night. She gathered up writing materials and drew a sketch of Director McKenzie’s study. She studied it intently and began making a list of every place the maps could possibly be hidden. When she was finally satisfied, the sun started making its appearance on the horizon. Cassie absently tapped the quill against her cheek. When should I make another attempt? she wondered thoughtfully.

  ***

  Mack had spent the last three nights hidden in the corner of his study waiting for an intruder. Each night passed with nothing untoward happening. Tonight, he decided to do something different. He dressed as if he were going out for the evening. He gave John instructions to leave as well. Both men would double back to the house, entering through windows they had left unlocked. John was to wait in the parlor while Mack would take up his post once more in the study.

  “I’m leaving now, sir.”

  “All right, John.” Mack listened to the front door open and close. “Old man, this is it. Let’s hope this works,” he told his reflection. He blew out his lamp, left the room, and made his way downstairs. He looked around at everything once more. Satisfied with what he saw, he left the house, locking the door behind him. Mack walked down a block before hailing a hack. He settled back against the squabs, unable to enjoy the meandering ride because he could not turn his brain off. The carriage jerked to a halt.

  “We’re here, sir,” the driver called down.

  Mack exited the coach and tossed up some coins to the driver. He then made his way back to his house, turning down a side street here and an alley there. Dogs barked at him as he passed some houses. After a final turn, he saw his house in the near distance. He crept up to his house keeping to the shadows. Mack found the window he had left open, and eased it up the rest of the way before slipping through. He lowered it and moved through the house until he found his spot in the study. Then he waited.

  Finally, Mack heard a faint noise in the back of the house. He gathered up the thin rope that lay on the floor beside him. A dark silhouette entered the study and began to methodically work its way around the room. The person pulled the books to the edge of each shelf then ran a hand behind them. Mack waited patiently until the intruder edged closer to him. He stealthily laid the loop on the floor.

  Come on, he silently coaxed. Mack watched patiently as the thief stood, one foot in the loop and one outside. He gently widened the loop, hoping to trap both feet within the circle. What seemed like hours later, but was actually only seconds, both of the intruder’s feet were in the lasso. Mack stood from his hiding place behind the drapes and pulled the rope taught. The intruder lost their balance and toppled sideways, landing hard on a hip. Mack used the person’s disorientation to his advantage and rolled the intruder over onto their stomach. He pinned the person’s arms behind their back and used the rest of the rope to secure the intruder. The person struggled to get free, but was well and truly caught.

  “Did you get him, sir?”

  “That I did, John. Light a lamp so that we can see who we have here.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  As John lit the lamp, the figure squirmed, fighting the restraints. The person was slight and covered head to toe in black. Mack squatted next to his captive and unwrapped the black fabric from around the person’s head. Long blonde hair tumbled free and snapping blue eyes met his.

  “What the bloody hell is going on?” Mack demanded.

  “Free me, right now!” Cassie demanded, wiggling and twisting her wrists.

  “Just calm down.”

  “Let me go!”

  “I said, calm down,” he growled, his brogue becoming more pronounced the angrier he became. His side began to ache where he had been shot. He stood, rubbing the tender spot.

  “And I said, let me go,” she snarled back.

  “You aren’t going anywhere, not until I get some answers. You were here the other night, weren’t you?” Silence. “Miss Graham, you might as well begin answering my questions now. You won’t be leaving until you do.” She stared at him, her blue eyes sparkling with anger. “John, go to bed. Miss Graham and I will be fine.”

  “I don’t know, sir.”

  “I do. We will be just fine.”

  “Are you positive, sir?”

  “Aye.”

  “Just shout out should you need me.”

  “Thank you, John.”

  “Yes, sir.” John left the room leaving the two people staring one another down.

  “We can stay here all night staring at one another,” Mack said as he dragged a chair close to her and took a seat, “or you can begin answering my questions.”

  “And why should I do that?”

  “If you don’t begin answering my questions, I will see that you spend the rest of your night in Newgate for breaking into my house.”

  “You wouldn’t!”

  “Ah, but I would, Miss Graham. Now, how about it? Are you going to tell me why you were in my house? What were you searching for?” He watched the woman lying trussed up in front of him. The black silk pants she wore outlined her legs, fueling his imagination. No wonder society frowned upon women wearing pants. He could only imagine the looks she would garner walking around in broad daylight like that. Mack found himself shifting in his chair as his own pants suddenly felt tight and uncomfortable. What are you thinking? he chastised himself. As far as you are concerned, she’s the enemy. “My patience is wearing thin, Miss Graham.”

  “At least help me to sit.”

  “Better?” he asked once he helped her move to a chair.

  “Yes. Four days ago I was accosted.”

  “Accosted?”

  “Yes. Before you ask, no, I do not know who it was. They never allowed me to see their face.”

  “I find that hard to believe after those moves you pulled on John and me the other night.”

  “Believe what you like, but that is what happened. He pulled me off the street between two buildings. He forced my arm behind me so that I was facing the building, and he stayed behind me.”

  “You keep saying, ‘he’. Are you certain it was a man?”

  “Yes. What I am not sure of is where he is from. He kept using French words like mademoiselle and oui. But the accent wasn’t very convincing.”

  “What happened next?”

  “He told me he had my father, and if I wanted him back, I would deliver what he wanted.”

  “And that was?”

  “Maps.”

  “I see.”

  “You don’t sound very surprised.”

  “A man in my position is never surprised by anything. What I am curious about is why do you believe this person, whoever it is, has your father?”

  “You mean after our year long game? He gave me proof. My father’s favorite muffler. My mother gave it to him years ago, and it smelled like his tobacco.”

  “That’s impossible.”


  “Why? Because it means he was taken from where our government had him tucked away? If you don’t believe me, let’s go and see if he’s there. What harm could it possibly do now?”

  Mack studied the woman before him. Could what she be saying hold any grain of truth? He stood and paced the room. Mack thought of the maps that lay under his feet. He must keep them out of the enemy’s hands at all cost.

  “We will go first thing in the morning.”

  “No. We go now.”

  “It can wait.”

  “We are talking about a man’s life, and you say it can wait? They have only given me a week to get the information they want. Half that time is gone. I need answers, and I needed them yesterday.”

  “I said, we go tomorrow. I will see you to your house.” He moved to her side and began loosening the loop around her wrists. “I warn you not to try any of those fancy moves you did before, or you can forget about my helping you at all.”

  “I despise you, Director.”

  “That is the best for everyone. I will allow you to untie your ankles,” he turned and walked away from her. Once she freed herself, she stood, stretched, and then rubbed her wrists. She fisted and opened her hands, helping the blood to circulate back into them. “Come, I will see you home.” He jerked a cloak off of the hall tree and handed it to her. “Put this on. I would hate for you to give anyone apoplexy walking around London in that getup.” He opened the door and held it open for her before shutting it behind him. Mack grabbed her upper arm and led her down the steps to the street. He began walking, forcing her to keep up with him.

  “Aren’t you going to ask me where I live?”

  “No need.”

  “I don’t know how I feel about you knowing where I live.”

  “It doesn’t really matter what you feel now, does it?” She tried to jerk her arm out of his grip, but he kept a firm hold of her. After a short walk, he stopped in front of a tidy house. “After sunrise. If you are not ready, I’ll leave you behind. Don’t just stand there. Go inside.”

  “Here,” she swept off the cloak and slammed it into his chest.

  “Keep it.”

  “No, thank you,” she said before walking up the steps, unlocking the door, and letting herself in. She slammed it shut, and the lock fell loudly into place.

  He turned and found himself engulfed with her scent emanating from his cloak. She smelled like lavender and vanilla. It was an intoxicating scent. Don’t be a fool, he chided himself. He began walking back to his house realizing just how soon dawn would be arriving. Mack kept replaying the moment when he unwound the silk from Miss Graham’s head, and her blonde tresses had tumbled free. What kind of game was she playing? He could not wait to see her face tomorrow when she saw her father was exactly where he should be. More importantly, who wanted the maps?

  ***

  Mack, always a light sleeper, woke with the chiming of his pocket watch. He stretched, working out the kinks that had settled in during the short time he slept. He padded across the room and sluiced the cold water over his short dark hair. Cupping his hands in the water once more, he splashed his face and chest. Mack toweled off and pulled a robe on just as a knock sounded on his bedroom door.

  “Come in.”

  “I have your shaving water warmed, sir.”

  “Thank you, John.”

  “How did everything go last evening?”

  “Curiously. Miss Graham is under the impression that her father has been kidnapped.”

  “Impossible.”

  “I agree, but to appease her, we are going to check the safe house just to be certain.”

  “Should I accompany you?”

  “No. I do have something I want you to do for me, though. You know the contacts that we use in Town.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  “I need you to make contact with some of them. Ask them if they have heard of anyone asking about maps. Also I want to know if they are aware of any reason why someone would want me to lose my position.”

  “Right away, sir.”

  Mack quickly shaved and dressed. He stopped at his study and grabbed two pistols, fitting them into a contraption that wrapped around his back and fit snugly about his shoulders, one gun secured on each side. It lay between his vest and his superfine coat. He turned and left the house, almost tripping on a person that sat on the stoop.

  “Watch where you’re going!” a decidedly feminine voice exclaimed.

  “What are you doing perched on my stoop?” Mack demanded once he found his equilibrium.

  “Waiting for you. You did say we would be leaving at dawn, did you not?”

  “Yes.”

  She nodded in the direction of the rising sun causing pink and gold fingers to enter the cloudless sky. “I believe you are a bit late, Director.”

  “Did you sleep at all, Miss Graham?”

  “I don’t think that is an appropriate topic of conversation. Shall we go and see my father?”

  “Of course.” He stepped past her and his superfine flew open just a bit, allowing her a peek at the contraption beneath.

  “What is that?”

  “What are you talking about?”

  “That thing holding your guns in place.” She waved her hand to encompass the leather strap.

  “Your father made it for me. One of his inventions. It has come in handy more often than not.”

  “That’s what I thought. My father had been sketching that design before he disappeared.”

  “Are we going to stand here and reminisce about your father and his inventions, or are we going to go so that I can prove to you he is safe and sound?”

  “You are a…”

  “More than you know. Come, we will have to walk to find a hack.” The two walked in angry silence for three blocks before reaching a hackney stand. Mack hailed a carriage and gave the jarvey directions before helping Miss Graham inside. He entered and closed the door then the coach was off, traveling over the paved street. They traveled for almost a half hour, arriving at their destination. “Cover your hair and face. This is not a neighborhood where we want to attract attention.” He was pleased to see she did as she was told before following him out of the coach. She was turning in a slow circle when he started moving into the building. “Are you coming?”

  He walked up two flights of stairs, but slowed as he approached a door at the top on the left. The door stood open a few inches. Mack pulled one of the guns free and cocked the hammer.

  “What are you doing?”

  “Stay here. In fact, get over there in that corner and stay out of the way. If someone comes out of that room, make yourself as small a target as possible. Move, now,” he growled in a whisper. He waited until she followed his instructions before approaching the apartment door. A grizzly sight greeted him in the apartment. Tools and gadgetry lay scattered all over the floor as well as every available surface. The bedding on the bed was half hanging off the mattress. In the middle of the floor lay a man face down in a congealing pool of blood.

  “Papa!”

  Chapter 4

  Cassie snuck up behind Mack, planning to stay there until she saw the sprawled body on the floor.

  “Papa!” she cried, slipping past the director. Before she reached the body, she felt an arm like a steel band around her waist. She was yanked backwards against a firm, male body.

  “What did I tell you?” he growled against her ear.

  Cassie squirmed, bringing an elbow back into Director McKenzie’s rib cage. She felt his grip loosen immediately, and made the most of it. She spun in his hold and while he bent over cradling his rib, she hit him in the lower back with both fists, bringing him to the ground.

  “Stop,” he groaned, as she ran toward the inert form. “Not your father,” he rasped out.

  Unhearing in her panicked state, she dropped to her knees and rolled the man over. Unseeing green eyes looked at her from an unfamiliar face, a cut low across his throat indicated how he met his demise. A grimace of agony would b
e forever frozen on the man’s face. She quickly let go of him, letting the body fall back into the position she had found it in and rose. Cassie looked down and saw rust colored stains on her dress and cloak.

  “Satisfied?” A voice penetrated her hearing.

  “What?” she asked, turning to see Director McKenzie struggle to his feet.

  “I told you to stay the bloody hell out of the way. What did you think you were doing?”

  “I thought it was my father,” she argued.

  “You could have very well gotten us both killed. What if the murderer were still here.”

  “I can take care of myself,” she said, lifting her chin defiantly.

  “Sure you could,” he replied sarcastically.

  “I’ve taken care of you twice now, haven’t I?”

  “And that’s another thing. The next time you decide to use whatever it is you do on me, I swear I will save myself the hurt and just shoot you and put you out of my misery. Understand?”

  “Are you threatening me, Director?”

  “No, Miss Graham, I don’t make threats, I make promises. Now, get over here and let me take a look. That is if there is anything to see after you have disturbed the scene.”

  Cassie huffed and moved over to the entrance. She stood and quietly watched him walk around the room, studying every nook and cranny. She attempted to hold her dress out so that the blood-soaked spots where she had knelt on the floor would not touch her body.

  “Did the man have any family?”

  “What?” Director McKenzie asked, sounding distracted.

  “Did he have any family?”

  “No. We now try to recruit men and women that have no family. Easier that way when this type of thing happens.”

  “That is a bit cold-hearted, isn’t it?”

  “But necessary.”

  “Do you have any family, Director McKenzie?”

  “That is a bit personal, Miss Graham.”

  “Shouldn’t you send for someone?”