Page 105 of Stolen By the Heartless Duke

Both men gave chase. Hector exploded forward. The third thug intercepted him. Hector drove a brutal punch into the man’sstomach. The fellow doubled over. Hector grabbed the man’s coat and hurled him aside like discarded baggage.

He sprinted after Jane. She rounded another stack of crates just as one of the men caught her arm again. This time his grip held.

The fellow laughed. “I’ve got?—”

He never finished. Hector slammed into him like a battering ram. The force launched the man sideways into a pile of empty barrels. Wood crashed thunderously. The barrels rolled across the warehouse floor.

The final attacker lunged toward Hector from behind. Jane saw him first.

“Hector!”

He spun, but he was too late. The cudgel descended. Jane reacted without thinking. She grabbed the attacker’s sleeve and yanked with all her strength. It was hardly enough to stop him, but it ruined his balance.

The cudgel missed Hector’s head by inches. Hector seized the opening instantly. One crushing punch. Then another. The man crumpled to the ground, unconscious.

Silence settled once more over the warehouse. Hector turned immediately. Jane stood a few feet away, breathing hard. Her hood had fallen back. Several loose strands of golden hairframed flushed cheeks. Her sleeve hung partially torn where the man had grabbed her. Otherwise, she was unharmed.

Relief hit Hector so suddenly it nearly weakened his knees. He crossed the distance between them in three long strides. His hands settled firmly on her shoulders.

“Are you hurt?”

She blinked. “I—I don’t think so.”

He searched her face. No obvious injuries. Only then did he release a breath he hadn’t realized he’d been holding.

“You used the escape.”

Jane looked at him. “I remembered.”

“You did.” A flicker of pride softened his usually stern features. “It was perfect.”

A tiny smile appeared despite everything.

He was already scanning the room again. He looked toward the deeper reaches of the warehouse. “If this was merely an ambush, there should be more men.”

Jane glanced around the cavernous room. “There aren’t.”

“Which means we’re missing something.”

Or someone.

He bent long enough to retrieve one of the discarded pistols from the floor, checking that it was loaded before slipping it into his coat. Better to have another weapon than leave it behind.

Then he looked toward the darkness beyond the rows of crates. “Stay behind me.”

She gave a tiny nod. “I will.”

Together, they moved farther into the warehouse. The front portion had been arranged to resemble ordinary storage, but the farther they walked, the less convincing the disguise became.

Many of the crates stood empty. Several had been hastily abandoned, their lids left open as though someone had departed in great haste. A lantern still burned atop one crate, its flame turned low.

Someone had been here recently.

He continued forward. Each step heightened the strange feeling growing in his chest. Something waited ahead. He could feel it.

The warehouse opened into a larger central chamber where the stacks of cargo gave way to an open floor. Moonlight pouredthrough broken panes overhead, silvering the dust that floated lazily through the air.

Then Hector stopped so abruptly that Jane nearly walked into him.