The two horses slipped quietly through the back alleys of a bustling London, unnoticed by the many of the ton’s rich and fashionable, who were too preoccupied with the evening’s activities to notice them. Darkness gave them secrecy, of which Justin and Kalinna were both very grateful for. Soon, however, the sights and sounds of upper-crust London gave way to the danker and rowdier taverns and warehouses of the docks where it no longer mattered whether or not they were spotted.

Justin, not wanting to risk being out in the open too long, quickly led the way to a tavern with a stable attached, that was located in a better part of the port. After he and Kalinna climbed off their horses, Kalinna retrieving her mother’s chest from her saddlebags, they surrendered the reins to a kind-looking stableman. Justin gave the man a handsome tip, with the strict instructions to take care of the two, obviously well-bred horses before leading the way to the front door of the establishment.

The two entered amidst the noise of drunken patrons and squealing barmaids, and Kalinna tried her hardest not to stare as one of the barmaids shoved her well-endowed, barely-covered chest into the face of a patron, who just laughed, fully enjoying his view. Justin, who noticed her stare, quickly finished up the short conversation he had been having with the tavern’s owner and steered the young woman in the direction of the stairs. Obediently, she followed close after him as he silently led the way to his room, which was located at the end of the hallway.

The noise of the crowded room below became almost inaudible, especially after Justin had shut the door of the room after them. Looking around, Kalinna took a quick note of their surroundings. For a tavern, it was a fair-sized room, complete with a comfortable bed, dresser and vanity, desk, dining table and a screen which allowed a person some privacy to change, or take a bath. Two sets of windows were opened to the cool night air, curtains blowing cheerily in the breeze. A long rug was laid haphazardly across the floor, giving the room a sense of familiarity and homeliness.

“Make yourself at home,” Justin suddenly stated, shrugging out of his overcoat and startling Kalinna from her perusal of the room.

“How long do you plan on staying here?” the young woman questioned as she set her mother’s jewelry chest on the dining table and shrugged out of her own overcoat, “Surely you must have to sail out on the Christina soon.”

“Until we have a clearer picture of exactly what is going on, the Christina, as well as the crew and I, will remain in London,” Justin explained as he disappeared behind the screen to change out of his evening wear, “There is no sense rushing off into the unknown and possibly blowing everything we’ve worked so hard on these past couple years.”

Kalinna wasn’t really paying much attention to what the young man was saying. She couldn’t help the stare she sent in his direction; his form was outlined through the screen by the dim light of the room and she instantly felt her pulse quicken. She bit her lip, willed herself to look away, and wondered how safe she truly was, alone in a room with a devilishly handsome man whom had just recently kissed her.

A sharp hiss of pain, and a muttered curse, however, quickly brought her attention back to the young man who was all but hidden from her view except for his silhouette. With a frown, Kalinna suddenly remembered the cut Justin had received on his arm as a result of the duel with Fulton. Hesitantly, she stepped closer to the screen.

“Justin?” she softly called, wondering if she should attempt to help him or remain where she was.

“Bloody Frenchman,” the young duke responded as he emerged from behind the screen, dressed in a comfortable pair of worn breeches, his naked chest gleaming in the dim light of the room’s candles.

Kalinna gulped as she took in his chiseled form. Well muscled arms were attached to broad shoulders and a wide, well-defined chest, which tapered down to a slim waist. She had seen a naked chest before, but never one as magnificently powerful as Justin’s. She stood there frozen, unaware of his gaze resting upon her face.

As Justin watched Kalinna admiring his form, he fought the urge to pull her into his arms and ravage her. He could not help the fiery stirrings she awoke deep within him, but he held the reins of his passion tight, not wanting to frighten her away, or do something he would, ultimately, regret. So he just stood there, trying to ignore the pulsating heat his body was radiating due to her inquiring gaze.

“Come, we must get you cleaned up,” the young woman suddenly stated a few moments later as she abruptly turned away from him, finally realizing that she had been staring at him for quite some time.

“As you wish,” he conceded and took a seat on the dining chair she had pointed to.

Silently, Kalinna poured water into the basin that had been provided, and after rummaging around in the vanity drawers, came up with some clean towels and cloth she could use for bandaging the duke’s wound. She carried these articles over and set them on the table before rolling up her sleeves and turning her attention to the injured man.

Gently, after dipping a towel in water and lathering it with soap, she wiped away the blood that had dried around the wound until she could see the edges of the cut. Justin’s breath hissed through his teeth, clenching his jaw in pain as the soap caused an almost unbearable sting. But he knew that he must grin and bear it if he didn’t want to end up losing the arm to disease or something worse.

Kalinna bit her lip as she finished washing away all the soap from Justin’s wound and began to bandage it up. Neither one of them found it necessary to speak, which Kalinna was grateful for. She could concentrate on helping Justin rather than the fact that he sat, half-naked, before her.

All too soon, however, the task was complete and Justin was quickly donning a loose, well-worn tunic over his upper half, much to Kalinna’s disappointment.

“Now, it’s about time that we piece together what precisely is going on so that we may be able to get a clearer picture what it is exactly that your father is up to,” Justin stated.

A knock on the door, however, kept Kalinna from responding to his statement. The young man quickly walked over and opened the door to find a serving man, laden with trays of food, standing at attention. He had forgotten all about the meal he had requested from the tavern’s owner, but a slight grumbling in his stomach at the smell of the warm food quickly reminded him of his hunger.

Twenty minutes later, after a serving man had come with dinner and left the two of them alone, they sat eating, both silent, and somewhat nervous in the other’s presence. Justin had given no explanation for the earlier kiss he had bestowed upon Kalinna, and now he was berating himself for such a thoughtless action. He knew that it had been the wrong move, but for some reason, he had not been able to stop himself.

Kalinna, too, was thinking about the kiss from earlier. Though she refrained from touching her lips, she swore that she could still feel them tingling from his wonderful assault. She swallowed, wondering what precisely had gotten into her, a lady of good breeding and extreme sensibilities.

All too soon, the small dinner was over and it was time to get down to business. After the empty dishes had been removed from the room, the young woman wordlessly brought her mother’s jewelry chest forward, which contained all the necessary material pertaining to their investigation.

“Why don’t you start from the beginning?” Justin suggested when he noticed Kalinna’s loss for words and the large pile of letters that she had set on the tabletop.

“Okay,” she agreed, “It all started this morning, when my cousin Benton and I went for an early ride on our horses…”

And with that, the whole story came tumbling out. She told him how she normally went for rides by herself in the early morning hours, but how Benton had managed to find her secret out and demanded to tag along with her. And she ended up being glad that he did, when they came upon a thief sneaking out of the house belonging to her parents, which had been their destination for Kalinna wished to retrieve some of her mother’s possessions.

The thief had been trying to sneak away with a chest in his hands, which made Kalinna see red for it belonged to her mother and was what she had come to retrieve. She then explained about the sword fight between her, Benton, and the thief, whose name she learned was Fulton.

“You mean to tell me that the man I fought in your room earlier, you and Benton actually fought this morning?” Justin warily questioned, rubbing his temple in agitation at the information.

“Yes, the very same,” Kalinna confirmed with a frown, “And he seems utterly determined to kidnap me to France, where he says my father is waiting for me.”

Inwardly, Justin cursed at Kalinna’s lack of concern for her own safety. Sure, she had a magnificent talent with a sword, especially for a female, but that didn’t mean that she was invincible. He knew how the male mind worked; a job was a job and it had to be completed no matter what the consequences.

Obviously, trusting Benton to watch over her would not keep her safe, as had just been proven earlier this day. Short of marrying her and keeping her under lock and key, Justin was at a loss for what to do to keep Kalinna on English soil. This Fulton was obviously intent on kidnapping the lass to France, for what purposes the duke still didn’t understand, but he’d be damned if he let that happen.

“Of course, once I got the chest back to my room this morning, the first thing I did was go through it,” Kalinna continued, not noticing the scowl that was residing on the duke’s face, “I couldn’t quite help it as it belonged to my mother and I was never allowed to touch it while she was alive.”

She then explained, in it’s entirety, the story of the jewelry in the chest, and how the missing diamond bracelet turned out to be the very one they had found months earlier, stashed with the Wickham emeralds. As she began to launch into the strange tale of the letter she had come upon, written in her mother’s handwriting, Justin’s scowl immediately turned into contemplation.

“Your mother has been deceased for the past nine years, correct?” Justin asked as he sat forward to rest his elbows on the tabletop.

“Yes. She died when I was fourteen,” Kalinna confirmed.

“May I see the letter then?” he questioned, his eyes somewhat glazed over as his mind worked overtime, trying to come to some plausible explanation

Wordlessly, Kalinna handed over the parchment that contained her mother’s neat handwriting and allowed the duke to read it. While he was doing so, she got up to pace the room, trying to fit pieces together and get a grasp of what was truly going on.

“And you’re quite sure that this is your mother’s handwriting?” Justin questioned a few moments later as he finished the letter and set it back on the table, now wholly confused.

“Yes, very sure. But that’s about the only thing I’m sure of,” Kalinna cried, her pacing becoming more frantic as the words spilled from her lips, “I don’t know how it is possible that my mother could write that letter when she has been dead for the past nine years. And what is my locket supposed to unlock? And who in heaven’s name are the Bradbury Trio and what do they have to do with this investigation.”

Justin couldn’t help but grin at the image she presented. The boys clothing showed off her slim figure, and the hat that had earlier been placed on her head to keep her hair up, had fallen off, allowing her hair to fan about her. Her green eyes were flashing, her cheeks flushed a becoming pink, and it took all Justin’s strength not to grab her and pull her down on the bed with him.

But he quickly shook that thought away as her words finally sunk in. And suddenly, a few things began to make sense, at least to him.

“Kalinna, calm down. I believe that I can explain a few things,” Justin stated, as he motioned her back over to the table.

“What?” she demanded, plopping unceremoniously into a seat next to him and fixing him with an inquisitive stare.

“First of all, your locket probably has something to do with finding whatever object your father desires,” Justin began, thinking, “If I recall correctly, Barclay manor has many secret passageways and locked off rooms that nobody knows how to get into. I was there a lot when your cousin and I were growing up. Secondly, I think that whatever object your father seeks is merely a small part in whatever it is he really has planned…”

“Yeah, I’d already established that much after my talk with Fulton,” Kalinna broke in as she recalled the conversation she had had earlier with the tattooed thief.

“What?” Justin questioned, quite caught off guard.

With that, Kalinna quickly recapped her entire conversation with Fulton, starting with the thief’s reason for wanting the jewelry chest, to the crazy story about a Pool of Immortality and a map, and finally to Richard Davenport’s plans with the French rebels. Throughout it all, Justin didn’t say a word, just went to stare out one of the windows, lost in thought. Things were beginning to fall into place, yet the picture that was being presented was almost too absurd to actually be truth.

“How is it possible for a dead woman to write a letter?” Justin muttered to himself as he ran a hand through his tousled curls, “Unless…there is the slim chance that maybe she’s not dead at all.”

“Justin…?” Kalinna hesitantly questioned as she overheard his mumblings.

“That would mean her sickness and funeral were all an elaborate act. But to what ends?” he continued on as if he did not even hear her.

“Well, my father seems fine with using me to his own gains, why not my mother as well?” Kalinna suggested, suddenly reminding the young duke that he was not alone, “I can recall many an argument between my parents, for they were never the happy couple they portrayed to the world. It was always a different story once doors were closed to the outside world.”

“Then it makes perfect sense to me,” Justin explained as he sat back down at the table, “I have heard all the stories of your parents’ marriage, how it was very sudden, and how your mother did not seem to be in love with your father at all. It was even whispered when you were born almost exactly nine months later, the true reason for your parents’ marriage was because your mother had gotten pregnant. So I’m guessing there was no love lost between Richard and your mother.”

“I have heard all those stories as well,” the young woman slowly agreed, not wanting to paint her mother in anything but a pure light, “I asked my mother about them before she died. The only thing she said to me, which I found quite strange, was that she was sorry and that she was going to correct her mistakes, no matter what it took.”

“That is rather odd,” Justin agreed, lapsing into thought, “Well if Richard was trying to use your mother for his own gain, and your mother was trying to hide some secret she had, then it would make sense for her to fake her sickness and funeral. It would mean that…”

“She would be out of my father’s clutches, and her secret would stay secret,” Kalinna said, eyes widening as she finished Justin’s thought.

“Okay, so let’s say that your mother truly is alive and somewhere out there at this very moment,” Justin proposed, drumming his fingers on the table in thought, “How does she know so much about this investigation? And why on earth would she leave you to fend for yourself?”

“That I do not know,” Kalinna responded, chewing on her lip.

“Well my next question is, where on earth did Fulton get all this information from about the Pool of Immortality?” the young man stated, totally switching topics, his mind working overtime.

“You don’t mean to tell me that story Fulton told me is actually true?” Kalinna demanded, eyes wide with doubt. Justin frowned.

“Well, it is true to a degree. I have heard the story many a times from my grandfather, who heard it from his father, whose father was part of the exploration group. As it goes, the group of them, about two dozen or so, set out for America in search of new spices, and ended up finding an elaborate civilization of American Indians. In the center of their civilization sat a large pool framed by large boulders that supposedly, when drunk, gave a person immortality and the power to see the future,” Justin explained.

“How can that be true?” the young woman demanded.

“It isn’t. Every single one of the men from the exploration group drank from the pool, and as you can see, none survive to this day. The reason for the bottles of water that were kept and transferred back to England were merely for mementos sake,” Justin concluded, “The story was passed along by word of mouth, and got jumbled through the years as tends to happen.”

“Well how did you come to know the truth then?” Kalinna demanded.

“My great, great grandfather was a smart man, so I’m told. He wrote the entire story down in a journal, which easily disproves the myth of immortality. However, as those journals have been lost over the years, it is only one person’s word against another’s,” the duke revealed.

“Which is why my father believes such an unbelievable tale,” Kalinna concluded, frowning, “And in order to chase after such a dream of immortality, he is going to use me to secure the money he will need.”

“I will not allow that to happen Kalinna,” Justin sharply replied, then grinned at her startled look, “After all, you have the Bradbury Trio looking out for you.”

“What?” the young woman sputtered, confused.

“One-third of the Bradbury Trio at your service,” Justin said with a slight inclination of his head in her direction, “Along with your cousin Benton and Anthony Maddox, the three of us make up the Bradbury Trio, as we are called by the British government. The three of us work as a team on investigations, and the name comes from the first case we cracked, a murder at the old Bradbury mansion.”

“Benton KNOWS all of this?” Kalinna practically shouted, her eyes flashing emerald fury as she stood up from her chair and resumed her frantic pacing about the room.

“Kalinna…”

“Is there anything else you would like to tell me right now, because I am not one who enjoys being lied to,” the young woman snapped, unaware of the duke walking in her direction, “I don’t appreciate being treated like I am some…”

Before she could utter another word, however, Kalinna was silenced as she was pulled roughly to Justin’s body and his mouth crashed down on hers. Hungrily, he nibbled on her bottom lip, his tongue darting out to tease and caress her mouth open. When she sighed and surrendered to him, opening her mouth, he wasted no time in plundering its dark recesses.

The kiss seemed to drag on for an eternity. Justin’s hands were wrapped tightly about Kalinna’s waist, her body flush with his as she wound her arms about his neck, one hand splayed across his back, the other tangled in his unruly hair. They were oblivious to their surroundings, all attention focused on the soul-searing kiss and the electricity that seemed to jump between them.

Kalinna suddenly broke away as she realized exactly what was going on. She went to pull away, but found she could not do so, and merely settled for resting her forehead against Justin’s. Justin was too preoccupied with trying to get his body under control that at first he didn’t notice her unease.

“Kal,” he softly whispered when he finally took note of her reaction, “Kal look at me.” Obediently she raised wide eyes to his face; eyes that were a deep green, betraying the passion she had felt from his kiss.

“Justin, I…” she began, equally as soft, not really knowing what she was trying to say. What they were doing was wrong, but all she wanted at that moment was for Justin to be kissing her again like he had been doing only moments ago.

As if reading her mind, the young man suddenly lowered his head and gently took her lips in a soft, caressing kiss. A breathy sigh escaped Kalinna’s mouth and she felt her resistance caving in, her knees becoming week at his gentle touch. She felt like she was floating upon a cloud, her senses becoming alive all at once.

When she felt one of Justin’s had grasp her breast, however, her eyes flew open and her mouth dropped in shock. This was nothing like the gentle kiss he had just bestowed upon her. No, this was like fire, and her body was responding to it like it was mere kindling.

As he continued to tweak her nipple through her tunic, which was quickly hardening under his attention, he pulled her ever closer, so that she could feel exactly what effect she was having on him. She bit her lip as something like amazement and curiosity trilled through her body when she felt that hardness against her belly.

“Justin,” she gasped out as he began to lavish her other breast with the same attention while his tongue danced over the soft skin of her neck and traced a hot path up to her ear lobe.

“You have been driving me crazy,” he muttered in explanation before capturing her mouth once again in another dangerously enticing kiss.

Kalinna could feel her heart slam in her chest, knowing full well that this man desired her plain and simple. The thought made her feel quite powerful and boldly, she arched against Justin’s body before quickly pulling his head down for another kiss. Though surprised by her actions at first, the duke quickly responded, his lips hungrily devouring hers.

As they continued to kiss, Justin began to move them backwards until he felt the edge of the bed at the back of his knees. Without a word, he broke the kiss, picked Kalinna up in his arms and gently laid her down on the bed. He joined her only moments later, to pull her close and bestow another kiss upon her before settling to the task of removing her clothing.

Warming bells were going off in his head that this was no courtesan or dancing girl who knew the ins and outs of lovemaking, but rather an untried virgin. However, he just pushed the thought aside, the desire for her so overwhelming that he quickly lost all sense of thinking. And with his heart swelling with something resembling love, the young duke knew it never felt so right in his life.

As he began to pull her tunic over her head, kissing each inch of skin as it was revealed, Justin felt his body begin to ach with longing. The tunic and protective undershirt lurking beneath were quickly removed, which were soon followed by breeches and other articles of underclothing, until she laid naked before him. Moonlight cast her body in an ethereal light, and he quickly sat back to take in the beauty before him.

A long, slim neck gave way to petite shoulders and a pair of well-sized breasts that arched proudly up at him. Her waist was slim, tapering down until it met with the gentle curve that was her hips. Slim, well-shaped legs tapered down to tiny feet as his gaze completed its quest and returned to her face.

She was gorgeous, plain and simple. He wanted her; wanted every part of her, wanted to ravish her until she screamed his name with pleasure. But he quickly reined in his passion as she trembled under his gaze, nervous and unsure.

“My beautiful Kalinna,” he whispered, before settling a gentle kiss on her lips, one of his hands placed possessively at her waist to draw her closer to him.

Their tongues danced and intimate dance, a hallow promise of what was yet to come, what they both desperately wanted. Again, Kalinna arched against him as one hand fondled her breast, tweaking the nipple until it was a hard, aching peak. His hand suddenly moved lower and she felt a gasp involuntarily escape from her lips.

“Relax,” Justin gently stated as he parted her legs, fingers seeking the heated folds resting at the apex of her thighs.

Wordlessly, Kalinna tried to do as told, but the minute his fingers began to caress her most secret place, she couldn’t help but cry out. Utter heat; raw, passionate and all-consuming, began to course through her body before coming to pool in the pit of her stomach. With a mind of its own, her body began to arch, straining for something she did not understand.

“Not yet,” Justin whispered as he continued to stroke her.

Kalinna could only lay there as he brought her body to full awareness, her hands restlessly roving of his still-clothed form. Wanting him to be as naked as she was to him, she found the edge of the tunic and began to pull upwards. Justin had no choice but to turn his attention away from what he was doing and allow her to undress him.

His tunic joined her’s on the floor, followed quickly by his boots, breeches, and undergarments until he laid next to her, completely bare for her perusal. Unashamedly, she allowed her gaze to travel over his wholly male form, her heart pounding fiercely in her chest as she did so.

He was glorious. Wide shoulders and a sculpted chest tapered down to a slim waist and hips. His member stood proudly erect, thick and waiting, a testament of the feelings she awoke in him, and she almost gasped in shock. Muscular thighs and lean calves spoke of a figure that was elementally male and all in all, Kalinna thought he was beautiful.

Before she could say anything, however, Justin covered her body with his, both of them quite aware of the electricity that shot through them at the skin-to-skin contact. He kissed her when he felt her nerves tense, and ran a soothing hand up and down her side. His fingers found her most sensitive spot again and began to caress, sending trills of heat coursing through her.

Without warning, he fitted himself to her entrance and began to invade her body. Involuntarily, she shuddered at the sweet invasion, until he came to the natural barrier her body created. As he pushed past, she bit her lip in pain, not wanting to cry out.

Justin saw the pain flit across her features, and gently readjusted so that she grew comfortable with him. He pulled out a little, and she clenched her jaw tight, expecting to feel the same pain she had just experienced. However, when she felt only his thick heat and a somewhat heady feeling, she relaxed.

Then he began to move within her.

Kalinna’s eyes opened wide as unfamiliar feelings began to pool in the pit of her stomach, much like what had happened when he had caressed her with his fingers. But this… Oh this was beyond anything she could ever imagine.

Justin fought for control as he felt her body respond beneath him. She was so wet and tight, her body arching, her hips rising to meet every thrust he gave her. She would, he was convinced, be the death of him.

“Justin,” she gasped a moment later, the heat becoming unbearable.

His pace increased by leaps and bounds as he pounded in and out of her. Her legs became wrapped around her hips, allowing him better access, while her nails dug into his back in sweet pain. He didn’t even notice.

All of a sudden, Kalinna’s body tensed, and she was sent soaring above the clouds. She cried out Justin’s name in ecstasy and amazement as the intense feelings wracked through her body. Never before had she ever imagined that lovemaking could be so wonderful.

Seeing the pleasure flit over her face only turned Justin on all the more, and with a last few frantic thrusts, he emptied himself into her. The two of them collapsed back on the bed, a tangle of exhausted, sweaty limbs, sedated and quite content to just lie there.

A few moments later, Justin stirred and rose to lean on one elbow so that he could gaze down at the beauty lying next to him. Her eyes were closed, her breathing deep and even and he knew in an instant that she was asleep. He couldn’t help but grin at the fact that he had completely exhausted her.

After laying a gentle kiss on her lips, he snuggled close to her, wrapped his arms about her waist, and let sleep overcome his exhausted body.

It was a few hours later when Justin stirred Kalinna from sleep to make love to her again. Their pace was slow, as they explored each other’s bodies. Neither spoke a word, didn’t have to, passion consumed them and sent them to the highest heavens for the second time that evening.

After they were sedated again, Justin began a lively conversation about his family and what it had been like growing up under the stern tutelage of his father, the deceased duke. It was an unspoken agreement between the pair that their lovemaking would not be discussed, at least until they both had time on their own to figure out exactly what was going on.

Justin knew that he cared deeply for Kalinna, but was it love? He certainly wasn’t sure for he had never been in love before. But when he tried to picture his life without this fiery spitfire of a woman by his side, he couldn’t quite do it. She had taken him over, body, mind and soul, without him even realizing.

“Come, let’s go stretch our legs,” Kalinna suddenly stated a moment later as Justin finished his latest story about a scrape him and his younger brother had managed to get themselves into years ago.

“As you wish,” he agreed before donning his clothes and helping her into her own.

They exited the room, Justin locking the door, before the headed down a set of back stairs to walk out, undisturbed, into the late night air. The docks, normally rowdy, were beginning to settle down for the night, so there were not many around to notice the pair departing from the safety of the tavern.

“Do you think my mother really is alive?” Kalinna suddenly questioned, a thought that had been on her mind for some time now. Justin put a comforting arm around her shoulders and held her close as they walked, searching for the proper reply.

“I honestly don’t know. From what we’ve pieced together, it all makes sense that her sickness and the funeral could have all been an act,” the young duke slowly stated, “But it is such a stretch to believe, that there is still doubt wiggling around in my mind.”

“That is what I was thinking as well,” Kalinna agreed, biting her lip.

They walked on in comfortable silence, leaving the tavern behind, and quite oblivious to anything but each other. Therefore, they never noticed the trio of men that quickly descended down upon them.

“Justin!” Kalinna cried when she felt herself being pulled from his side and tossed to another man up on horseback.

Justin was quite busy and almost didn’t hear her cry as he tried to fend off two attackers, weaponless while they both held swords and leered at him. He balled his hands into fists, helpless to save Kalinna, who sat securely in the arms of the third man atop a tan-colored horse.

“I warned you Schellden, not to interfere,” the man on the horse coldly stated; Justin looked up in shock as he realized the man on the horse was none other than Fulton Knox, the thief whom he had fought and had tried to kidnap Kalinna earlier.

And if he wasn’t careful, the thief would succeed this time, for though Kalinna struggled, Justin could see that she was having no luck escaping her captor. Cursing to himself, he quickly got ready to fight the two men who stood in the way. He never, however, saw the blow coming, and blackness quickly slipped over him as one of the men brought the back of his sword down on the duke’s head.

“Justin!” Kalinna yelled as the tall frame of the young man crumpled to the ground, unconscious.

“Leave him. I want him to live with the guilt that he screwed up his entire investigation,” Fulton called to his two men before turning his horse towards the point where ships sat docked, “Search his room and report back to me. We set sail in thirty minutes, so do not be late.”

After nodding their heads in confirmation, the two men climbed on their horses and took of in the direction of the tavern. Fulton turned to his captive, who sat in front of him, yelling expletives worthy of any strong sailor. Grinning, he whipped out a gag and tied it securely around her heard. She glared mutinously up at him as speech was taken from her.

“Oh I’m sure once you get settled in with Andre, he will give you many more reasons to scream, though I have no doubt that you’ll be screaming his name rather than Schellden’s,” Fulton stated as he leered at her.

As the full meaning of Fulton’s words sunk in, Kalinna felt her eyes widen and began to struggle in vain against her captor. But she soon found herself just trying to stay atop the horse as the thief kicked the horse forward. They were soon leaving the fallen duke behind and Kalinna only managed one more fleeting glance of the man who had stolen her heart before she found herself being kidnapped into the night.