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An Excerpt From: DEVIL’S PEARL
Copyright © DAWN HALLIDAY, 2007
All Rights Reserved, Ellora's Cave Publishing,
Inc.
“Stop.”
All three of them froze. The voice had come from behind
them. Cool. Deadly. Familiar. Algernon and Thomas dropped her arms and spun
around. Julia turned more slowly, fear rising like a flood in her gullet.
The man stood in the shadows about ten feet away. He
cocked his pistol and aimed it directly at her heart.
His voice pierced the still night air. “Walk slowly
toward me, Julia. You two,” he waved the pistol at Algernon, then at Thomas, “do not move, or I will shoot her.”
Julia cast a frantic look at their surroundings. She did
not know the street, only that they were somewhere near Algernon’s house in
Bedford Place.
It was a narrow street, quiet, with not a soul in sight. The houses
abutting the pavement were dark, their occupants long since retired for the
evening. But if she screamed loudly enough…
No sooner had she opened her mouth to do just that than
the man took a step forward and snapped, “Scream and I will shoot him.”
He trained the pistol on Algernon.
“Shoot me then,” Algernon said, brave, blessed soul that
he was. She was close enough to him, however, that she could feel the
tremors running through his body. “I will not let you harm this lady.”
The man laughed. “Well now, she’s hardly a lady, is
she?”
She knew that laugh, that voice. A strangled sob erupted
from her throat. Like everyone else of his class in London, Sir Devlin Vaughn thought her a
trollop. Lord Clayton had not forgotten anyone when he spread his vicious
lies.
It hurt, but she shouldn’t be surprised.
She nudged Algernon with her elbow. “I know him. It is
Sir Devlin Vaughn. He was the one—” She drew a shallow breath. “I know
him.”
Thomas gripped her elbow. “We will not let him take you,
Julia.”
In the gloom, she could not decipher the look upon Dev’s face, but he steadily pointed his weapon at
Algernon.
How she had missed him. Part of her wanted to run to
him, to throw herself into his arms. Ridiculous, considering he threatened
both her and her cousin’s lives. But she could not help remembering the
talks and laughter they had shared, the cozy days in his bed and at the inn,
the passionate lovemaking…
A shudder rolled through her. Relinquishing her body to
him had given her the most profound pleasure she had ever known. Life in
the past year had been cold and dry in comparison.
“Step forward, Julia,” he said, his voice low and
confident—the tone of one accustomed to command.
Waves of heat pulsed across her skin, centering low in
her belly, pooling into desire. No, no, no. What a traitorous body
she had.
Sir Devlin Vaughn had ruined and demeaned her, and now
he threatened her closest friends in the world. She clenched her jaw
against a sudden flare of anger. How dare he threaten Algernon and Thomas?
“Let me go to him,” she whispered to her cousin.
“Julia, you are not thinking clearly! We will fight for
you.”
“I am thinking clearly, Algernon.” And she was. A pistol
pointed at one’s chest had a magical sobering effect. Devlin, on the other
hand, must be three sheets to the wind. What else could have prompted this
ridiculous, extreme behavior? “Please don’t try to protect me,” she
whispered to her cousin. “I don’t want to see you get hurt.”
Dev was her problem and she would face him head-on. She
wrenched her arm out of Thomas’ grip and took a step forward.
“Julia!” Thomas hissed.
She turned back to give them a smile she hoped masked
her quavering insides. “I will see you soon.”
Thomas shook his head and began to unbutton his
greatcoat, preparing to fight.
“Please do not, Thomas. I beg you. I promise he will not
hurt me.” A bitter taste rose in her throat at the lie. He could hurt her,
but not in the way they imagined. “I promise, Algie.
He would never harm me. If I am not home tomorrow, call at his house in Mayfair.”
Thomas’ hands paused over his buttons. A crease appeared
between Algernon’s brows.
“Please,” she whispered. “I don’t want you to get killed.”
“Julia—”
Now. She had to go to Dev now or they would do something
rash. She couldn’t allow that to happen. She turned her back on them and
strode up to Dev, stopping when the barrel of the pistol dug into her
bosom.
She looked up into his handsome face, with its straight,
long nose, square jaw and brooding eyes. Ignoring her stuttering heartbeat,
she met his dark gaze.
“Here I am, Sir Devlin.” And a rebellious spark
somewhere deep within her added, Now what are you going to do with me?
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