Page 117 of Dukes Are Forever
Obsidian had gotten rid of the body, but there was no blotting the blood from the carpets in the powder room. No hiding the tremble in Adele's shoulders as she clung to the coat he'd draped over them.
"Are you all right?" he murmured, though his ears still rung. He needed to pull himself together, and now, but there was an odd dreamlike quality to the moment.
"Never better," Adele lied.
He caught himself before he reached for her. So much for sleight of hand. So much for manipulating Devoncourt. What a fucking idiot he'd been. Too busy playing his own games to keep his eye on the prize.
He'd nearly lost her.
Nodding curtly, he helped her up into the carriage, as Obsidian and Gemma swished down the steps behind him.
"What the hell happened in there?" Obsidian muttered. "I thought you were watching her?"
I made a mistake.
The muscle ticked in his jaw. "I left her with Barrons."
Obsidian searched his eyes. "Why? You were supposed to keep an eye on her. You were supposed to be the decoy."
"And I was." Malloryn pressed a hand to his earpiece, trying to force his body to control itself. "Byrnes?"
"Yes?" came the crackling reply.
"Have you got your tracking device upon you?"
"Yes."
"Good," he said, ignoring the flare of surprise in Obsidian's eyes as he hauled himself up into the carriage. "Follow Devoncourt. You won't have to get too close. He'll be expecting a tail but I managed to plant the tracking device on him. I need you to find me those explosives."
Chapter 24
As Ava and Kincaid bundled Adele inside the safe house, Gemma stopped Malloryn, her gloved hand locking around his upper arm.
"A word?" she asked briskly.
He nodded to Herbert, indicating the butler should drive the carriage around back. The man snapped the whip with alacrity, and then Malloryn was standing there alone in the street with his protégé.
"What is it?"
"You didn't think to tell us about your plan?" she asked briskly.
"It was more of an opportunity taken, than a plan."
"You just happened to have a tracking device upon you? And Byrnes and Ingrid waiting?"
"You knew they were at hand should anything go wrong." Malloryn stared down into her eyes. "I expected to draw someone from the shadows. It's merely happy coincidence it was Devoncourt, and not Jelena."
"And what if ithadbeen she who approached you?"
"Balfour knows her weaknesses. I was gambling on the fact he couldn't afford to let her off the leash—"
"And yet, it seems he did." They broke apart, as Gemma paced. "You took a risk. You should have had someone watchingyourback. Watching Adele's. We both know you're targets. I should have insisted upon it. I didn't know you were planning to act independently."
"I'm more than capable of defending myself."
"Are you?" The flash of challenge in her eyes made his temper rouse. They both knew he wasn't operating as efficiently as usual. "I'm so sorry I give a damn, Malloryn. I'm so sorry you mean so much to me. To COR."
"You care too much—"
