Page 68 of Duke of Seduction

“Morgan,” Helena whispered. Relief surged through her as she urged herself to her feet; her mind was too fuzzy to embrace what was happening, and she felt herself sway.

“Helena,” Morgan choked out, his hate-filled eyes going wide with concern as he flew to her side in an instant to catch her. “It is all right. It is going to be all right. We are going to get the tonic out of you.”

“What?” she breathed. Too many emotions and too many questions were raining down on her simultaneously. The comfort of Morgan’s long-missed embrace was only adding to her confusion.

“What the hell are you talking about?” Ambrose demanded of Morgan.

“Father, I am sorry,” Luke groaned as he reached towards Reuben’s feet.

Silence, thick and tense, filled the room as Luke’s secret came tumbling from his lips. Morgan’s attention remained solely on Helena as he cupped her chin and studied her eyes. She tried to focus on him, elation pouring through her at being with him again, but her vision was extremely blurred.

“I need you to sit, sweetheart, it is not safe,” Morgan whispered to Helena as he gently lowered her into a chair. Everyone else slowly turned towards Reuben.

“Luke has been drugging you, but it will wear off,” he told her, his soothing tone in complete contrast with his deadly expression. “We are taking care of all of this right now.”

“Drugged?” Helena rasped, tears forming in her eyes as a tremor of fear ran through her.

“Nothing more is going to happen to you, I swear it,” Morgan told her, holding her hands easily with one of his as he pressed a glass of water gently to her lips.

“Drink, little one,” he commanded softly. As though his words had broken a spell, Helena felt her body break free from its sickly, tense hold as she succumbed to Morgan’s dominant, protective demand.

I have missed you.

Helena cried silently as she opened her mouth to swallow the refreshing liquid.

“That is my good girl,” he coaxed, tilting the glass a little more.

“Morgan.” Ambrose’s voice was a twisted mixture of indignation and surprise as he heard his best friend talk to his little sister in such an intimate way.

Helena flushed, realizing Morgan had just revealed their bond, and yet she could not break away from his intense gaze.

“I will take care of this,” he rasped as he set down the glass, rose from his knees, brushed his lips along her forehead, and turned towards Reuben with clenched fists. Helena sank into her chair as Morgan stood protectively in front of her and glared at the men before him.

“You have one chance to tell the truth,” Morgan stated, taking a threatening step towards Reuben. “I demand to know whoyouare and whoheis,” Morgan hoisted his leg and give Luke’s side a swift kick, “or my brothers and I will unleash an unholy hell upon you, I swear to God.”

“Brother,” Josiah said, looking up at Reuben from his chair. “What is he talking about?”

“Shut up, Josiah,” Reuben snarled, “Have another drink.”

Barbara stepped protectively in front of her father.

“Itoldyou to stay far away from him!” Reuben’s voice boomed through the hall, his face purple with fury as he swept a finger towards the orphaned brothers. “I told you to stay away fromallof them.”

“Is that man your son?” Ambrose demanded, pointing a finger towards the still crumpled up Luke.

“Barely,” Reuben seethed the word.

“Father, please, I did what you asked,” Luke pleaded, rising carefully to his knees.

“And you spoiled it all!” Reuben snarled, making his son flinch back into a fetal position.

“YouareWhittler,”Morgan stated, drawing the attention back to him. “That was what George had been trying to tell us.Hewrote the messages to our fathers, but it wasyouwho ordered him to do so, was it not? It wasyouwho offered the bigger payoff to George, not our fathers.”

Shock exploded in Reuben’s eyes before a devilish smile overtook his face, and he tilted his thick chin downward, making him appear more demon than man.

“My, my. You like to pretend you are the stupid one, but you are smarter than you appear, are you not, Lord Grandhill?”

Morgan tilted his chin upward as he smirked, his fingers flexing in anticipation.

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