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  Now, after tasting Riley’s innocence and sincerity, he was ashamed to have partaken in Collette’s taboo. The memory of the things she requested, and in turn those he allowed her to do to him, were acts he would bring silently to his grave. What they shared was tainted and dirty, not something he would ever want to build his life on. He was glad Collette refused his proposal, as it opened his eyes to the sort of woman he should stay away from in comparison to the kind he really wanted.

  Riley was precious and sweet, pure and true. She would love him in a genuine and tender way. And although he had much to teach her when they were able to come together as one, he had a feeling Riley could be just as sensual as Collette, minus the depravity. There was not a doubt in his mind, after the kisses they shared, that loving Riley would be anything but wonderful.

  No, it will be much better than wonderful, because Riley will be only mine.

  He frowned.

  That is, if she will still have me after this visit to Collette.

  Though the thought sickened him to the core, it was a chance he had to take.

  “You look as though you swallowed a frog,” Collette said, meeting him at the door.

  He frowned. Usually it was Veronica who greeted him. “Where is Veronica today?”

  “I gave her and the rest of my staff the day off,” Collette said, rising on tiptoes to plant a deep kiss upon his lips. Normally this news, coupled with such a kiss, would entice him to scoop her up into his arms and carry her to her chamber. Once behind closed doors, he would remove her quickly from her clothes, like a long-awaited present, all along a fire burning in his loins. But now he was left cold, disgusted. When he did not respond, she stepped back to search his face. “Ah, so you’re going to be that way.”

  Gabriel arched a brow. “How could you expect anything different?”

  Collette took an audible breath. “I just thought by now you’d be missing me.” She reached up to caress his face and whispered, “I find it hard to believe you’ve forgotten the warmth between my thighs and the scent of our bodies as we...”

  “Enough.” He gripped her by the wrist and cast her hand aside.

  She laughed sardonically. “Oh, but you could never get enough, love.”

  He glared at her with an inevitable look of disgust.

  “Methinks you have found a bit of warmth elsewhere.” Cocking her head sideways, she glowered up at him. “Perhaps Miss Flanders has a set of warm thighs as well.”

  His lips thinned. “If you were a man, I would punch you for that remark.”

  Collette stared him down. “Tell me truthfully now, Gabriel. Beneath that pure and innocent demeanor, Riley Flanders is not as prudish as we all think.”

  He seethed. “Riley is a lady in every sense of the word, and you are never to forget it.”

  “I also haven’t forgotten it wasn’t a lady you’ve craved all this time.”

  “What was once between us is wrong. I want something different. And so do you, or you would have accepted my proposal,” he said, the muscles at his jaw twitching with the anger he fought to control.

  Collette smirked. “Oh, is this what this is all about, your wounded pride?” She rolled her eyes. “And men have the nerve to say women are sensitive.”

  “Why have you asked me here, Collette?” he asked through gritted teeth.

  She motioned to the parlor. “Shall we?”

  He followed her into the large room, decorated in blue and gold. The plush drapes that hung from the floor-to-ceiling windows were pulled tightly shut. And only one small lamp lit the dimness.

  “I would offer you tea, but I know how much you despise the brew. And I am fresh out of coffee.” She made her way to the serving board, the aroma of jasmine floating from her swishing skirt. Reaching for the liquor decanter, she raised it in the air. “Under the circumstances I don’t believe it’s too early for a brandy.”

  “And of what circumstance do you refer?”

  She turned away to prepare them each a drink, taking her time to fill each glass. “We shall discuss that over our brandies, like civilized people.”

  “I do not have anything to discuss with you,” he said, moving to the hearth.

  Collette turned, holding a glass in each hand, and made her way to him. “Well, I say we do,” was her curt reply as she handed him a goblet. “Besides, if that were the truth, you wouldn’t have come.” In a further act of defiance, she turned her back on him and sauntered over to the far side of the spacious room. “Now, drink the brandy. Drink it all,” she demanded, leaning against the piano in the corner and taking a sip from her own glass.

  The air in the room grew heavy, almost smothering, the silence broken only by a ticking clock.

  When she finally turned to face him, her glass was as empty as his. He placed the cut crystal goblet he held upon the mantel and seated himself in a nearby chair. “I am listening.”

  Placing her glass upon the piano, she made her way to him. Animosity seeped from her gaze and soaked her words. “Aye, you listen, and listen well.” Her nostrils flared. “For it shall be the last time you will hear my voice.”

  Gabriel’s muscles tensed. Every nerve and tendon was on edge. Yet he forced himself to appear calm. It was a warrior’s way of tricking the enemy, and at this point, Collette was looking more and more like she fit the part. A measure of fear coursed through him, but to fear was a good thing. When afraid, a warrior’s instincts were heightened, sharp and ready to act upon whatever it took for survival. He refrained from answering with words, not trusting his tone to remain as calm as he held his body, so he merely gave a taut nod.

  She quirked her lips and continued in a bemused tone. “I didn’t think this would be so easy.” She leaned toward him, giving him an ample eyeful of her plunging neckline, and smiled sardonically, her cool fingers tracing the outline of his lips. “He worried I could capture you with just my charm.”

  He arched a brow, recoiling from her touch. “Who do you speak of?”

  Collette’s tone was mockingly apologetic. “Oh, now love, there’s not a need to look so irritated. I will tell you soon enough all about my consort. But you see, darling, everything must unfold just at the right time or the rich effect of it will be unappreciated.” She straightened, waving a hand in the air. “Besides, getting ahead of ourselves will completely ruin the story.”

  He could feel his stomach tying in knots as he fought to keep his facial expression impassive. “And you should never ruin a good story.”

  “Now, I just knew you’d agree with me on that,” she said, taking a seat opposite him.

  He crossed his arms over his chest. “But I have not all day to sit here and wait for you to tell your little tale, so suppose you get on with it.”

  “All in good time, Gabriel.” She stood, collected his glass from the mantel and her own from atop the piano. “Can I interest you in another brandy?”

  “No,” he said flatly.

  “Very well, then,” she said. “But I think I shall indulge, in spite of the early hour.”

  He shifted in his seat while he waited for her to fix herself another drink.

  She stayed standing by the sideboard, her back to him, as she downed her drink. Then she turned and with slow steps neared him, reclaiming her seat. Raising the hem of her skirt above her ankles, she crossed one long, shapely limb over the other before beginning her story.

  “I believe I have shared a morsel of my childhood with you before.” Collette shrugged. “Enough, at least, for you to realize I had a wretched home life,” she said, folding her hands neatly in her lap.

  His tone was curt. “Yes, I remember well the little you shared.”

  “Aye, it was the afternoon you came to propose, and I was leaving to have lunch with Jackson Hodge.”

  He nodded, the humiliation of that day mounting his face with heat.

  “I probably should have allowed you much more than a glimpse of those horrendous days,” she said. “But the memories are painful, you see,
and I’m not one to rehash what cannot be changed.”

  He remained silent as he studied her, the ebony hair curling perfectly around a beautifully sculpted face, which now appeared hard and cold, as did the rich, dark eyes that stared back at him. They burned into him like live coals, an underlying evil penetrating him straight to the back of his skull.

  “Then why rehash it now, Collette?”

  Her lip curled in a sardonic grin. “So you will understand better the reason I did what I did.”

  He arched a brow. “Why is it so important to you that I understand anything?”

  Collette took an audible breath. “I suppose because I’ve genuinely grown fond of you and Sunny.” For a moment her expression softened. “You two are the first real and sincere friends I’ve ever had, and to a small degree, I care what sort you see me as.” Then in the next instant, her face hardened. “But getting sentimental is not my forte, as it weakens the resolve, hinders survival. So, I will get on with my story.” She sat back in her chair. “I’ve already told you my marriage was a deal my father made with Alistair Halston, a man thirty years my senior, in order to pay off his gambling debts and supply him with enough alcohol to drink him into his grave.”

  “Yes, that much I already know,” he admitted.

  She cast her eyes down to her hands, now clasped tightly. “Before that deal, my father used me in other ways to pay his arrears. As it happened, by the time I turned fourteen, I was quite skilled in pleasing the many chaps Father brought home for dinner.”

  “Collette, there is no need for you to...”

  “Aye, there is, Gabriel.” She raised her gaze to meet his. “The evening went something like this,” she expanded further. “Mum would serve us all dinner, Papa would moan and groan over his poor financial situation, and then a trade for some monetary compensation would be discussed. Once the deal was agreed upon, Mum would take me upstairs to my room and ready me for my performance. She remained silent through my protests, forcing herself to carry on her duties in spite of my pleas. She refused eye contact as she fixed my hair, dabbed my neck with lemon verbena, stripped me of my girl’s clothes and dressed me in...in...”

  Inside, he cringed as he waited for her to continue, the memories contorting her beautiful face into a mask of hatred.

  Collette cleared her throat. “When all was done and over with, I would wash my flesh until it was raw.” She arched a brow. “But I never felt clean regardless of how much I bathed. Eventually I realized I’d never feel clean again.” She hesitated a moment. “Then I’d lay awake ’til late, listening to my mother in the next bedchamber, crying herself to sleep. I worried for her health. She was already a fragile being, pale to look at, sick more than not, and I feared she’d die and leave me alone with my father. If Mum was gone, how long would it be ’til Papa visited my bed? As it was, he would look at me with hunger in his eyes. So, after the first few times, I shut something off inside, made Mum think it didn’t bother me, hoping it wouldn’t bother her so much. I did whatever I was told with whomever, and learned well what was expected of me.”

  “I am sorry,” he whispered, genuinely sad for her lost innocence.

  Collette frowned. “I don’t need or want your pity, or anyone’s pity. I did just fine for myself in the end.”

  “You were just a child, a frightened little girl,” he said. “What could you know, how could you make the right decisions for yourself?”

  “Nay, I was never a child, and I made many wise decisions. It wasn’t long before I rose above the fear as well. I became fearless. It was the only way I could keep from hating myself, hating what I had been made to do. By the time I married Alistair, I was a strong woman, skilled in the bedchamber. I left his old hide gasping for breath and needing medication. I used him instead of him using me. I took all he owned, all he worked for, and then some. And when he died, after the three long years I endured being his wife, it all belonged to me. So I continued with his business dealings, though they were tainted and vile, because I vowed never to be poor and submissive to any man’s whims again.” She took a deep breath. “With that said, it brings us to the reason I summoned you here today and the present state of affairs.”

  “Which is?” he muttered.

  Collette’s voice held a bored tone. “Why, your latest adventure. It complicated things for me, my current consort, and the clients.”

  “And I suspect your past consorts were once the Sea Patrol,” he stated firmly.

  “You catch on fast,” she said, standing to make her way to the closed drapery. Pulling a panel aside, she gazed out the window. Rain pelted the panes of glass.

  “You of all people, knowing as you did the horrors of being taken against your will, should have put a stop to such depravity. How could you destine any woman to such a fate?”

  The heavy material slipped from her grasp as she turned to face him. “London’s prostitutes were destined to a far worse fate then what my well-oiled operation offered. Homeless and full of disease, they walked the streets in the cold, the rain, the heat, and the fog. They were subjected to being murdered or left to die somewhere alone. They were dirty, hungry, and drunk.”

  He arched a brow. “And how did you better their situation?”

  “My clients were willing to offer them a permanent position. As a concubine a woman is well clothed and fed, would have a place to dwell, be watched over by guards. It was all such a perfect plan. Even the Queen approved, was pleased the streetwalkers were no longer a problem. Her royal head didn’t worry or question for a moment what happened to them or where they were brought, just as long as they didn’t continue to infest London with their sort.”

  Anger swelled in his chest. “My sister, Raven was not of that sort, and if Lord Shannon had not come to her rescue and married her to save her from the Sea Patrol’s clutches, right now she would be...she could be...”

  “Aside from your sister’s situation, it was a winning outcome for all involved, until Captain Langley stepped beyond his orders.” She sneered. “He became too sure of himself, over calculated the authority of his position. His confidence turned into arrogance, which eventually blinded him like a bat to the original mission. He became overzealous by taking from higher means, offering well-bred virgins, instead of from our usual source.”

  “Which were women whose disappearance would hardly be noticed,” he concluded.

  “Aye, Captain Langley made a paramount mistake in kidnapping Lady Wellington and Riley Flanders. Their disappearance drew too much attention.” She studied him with disdain. “But then again, greed is the way of all men.”

  “Not all,” he said.

  She shot him a black glare. “Perhaps my plans would have paid off better if I had hired a warrior to do my bidding.”

  “A warrior would not have done your bidding,” he said.

  “Ah, aye, the very concept a warrior holds breathes nothing but honor, isn’t that correct, Gabriel?”

  He nodded, silent wrath gripping his insides.

  “You are a magnificent specimen. And I am not ashamed to admit you’ve given me more pleasure than any man I’ve known, but you’ve also caused me tremendous trouble.” Collette sauntered closer, leaning down to gaze levelly into his eyes. “If I were just involved, I’d ignore what you did, pack my belongings, and move to Australia. It would be hard to prove I was a part of any wrong doing, as I’ve stayed relatively in the shadows. But my partner hasn’t been as indirect as I’ve managed to remain. I believe you’ve already met him. Jackson Hodge?”

  He remembered clearly the name she mentioned. Hodge was found with Collette the day Gabriel came to propose.

  “Because he isn’t able to disappear as easily as I can, this causes him concern. So I’m sure you can understand why he sees things much differently than I do. Besides, he tends to be the type who likes to tie up loose ends,” she added.

  With that said, Collette stood and walked to the double doors at the far end of the parlor that led to the mansion’s
library. Upon opening the door, three men appeared.

  “I believe we’ve already established the fact you’ve met Jackson Hodge,” Collette said as politely as though she were being a hostess at a gala. “And these are his assistants, Lionel Tubbs and his brother, Horace.” She indicated the other two men.

  Hodge, decked out in a fine black suite, top hat, and walking stick strutted into the room. “So again we meet, Mr. Eagle. A pity it has to be under such awkward circumstances as I’ve admitted to Collette you sound like an interesting chap. Truly an individual I’d enjoy getting to know.”

  Lionel and Horace Tubbs, both much larger in build and very tall, wore worn gray trousers and a black shirt. They remained silent as they took a place beside Hodge. Both brothers’ dark, beady eyes glared down at Gabriel.

  “Lionel and Horace are quite efficient at what they do,” Hodge said. “So if you cooperate, Mr. Eagle, we can all go about this in a quick and easy manner.”

  Gabriel knew that if he stood, both the Tubbs men would be on him in an instant. And since he suspected what sort of thing they were efficient in doing, he refrained from making any fast moves. “And what if I do not cooperate, Mr. Hodge?”

  Hodge smiled, large lips pulling over uneven, stained teeth. “The truth is, old chap, you haven’t much of a choice in the matter. The brandy you consumed was laced with a relaxing agent, and at any moment, you should be feeling very weak.”

  “I would say, then, you have me at a disadvantage,” Gabriel said.

  “The very way I like my adversary, Mr. Eagle,” Hodge boasted. “I find it much easier to remain the victor that way.”

  He leaned back in his chair, seeming to his audience his strength was waning.

  “You’ll feel nothing in a bit, love,” Collette said, her voice slightly shaking. “They promised me it would all be painless.”

  “And it shall be, my dear, it shall,” Hodge reassured her with a gentle pat upon her arm. “Once he’s unconscious, Lionel and Horace will take him to their carriage and dispose of him in the river.” He chuckled lightly. “To London’s finest it will just appear Mr. Eagle had the misfortune of drowning.”