Page 71 of Her Dark Seduction
He entered the room, smiling broadly, a man following him. The man nodded at me and coughed loudly.
“I have found someone willing to take you further,” Tom said. “He…”
Another man appeared and a knife flashed briefly in the sunlight before he drew the blade across Tom’s throat. Crimson liquid pulsed down the young man’s chest, and he fell soundlessly forward, not even a look of surprise in his eyes, so swiftly did he meet his death.
The two men advanced toward the bed.
“We’ve been looking for you.”
“You have the wrong room,” I cried, painfully aware of how close they were to Geoffrey, wriggling on the bed beside me. “You’ve killed an innocent man—my brother!”
I drew breath to scream but they were too quick. The man with the knife picked up Geoffrey, and held the blade against my son’s body while his companion took my arm.
“I’d advise you to be silent. You are coming with us and we’d prefer it if you—and the brat—were alive.”
“Please, let my son go,” I sobbed, “I care not who you are—I’ll say nothing, do nothing if you leave now. I tell you, you have the wrong room!”
“I’m afraid we cannot do that. We are in the right room, are we not, Lady Mortlock?”
Mon Dieu—I had been discovered.
He nodded to his companion. “Bring the brat.”
“No!” I cried.
“Be quiet!” He twisted my arm behind me and took my throat with his free hand. “Dead or alive you shall be the means of my reward. Your life and that of the little bastard depends on your following orders. Play the devoted wife, and I may be more kindly disposed toward you.”
He led me out of the room, crudely fondling my body as we walked through the tavern. A third man waited outside next to a cart laden with sacks. Before I knew what was happening, pain exploded in the back of my head. The last thing I remembered was Geoffrey’s cries as I sank into the dark pit of despair. Yet another innocent life had been taken because of me, and I had failed utterly to protect my son.
