Page 97 of Seducing the Knave

With a sound of pure frustration, Caillie twisted free of the loosened rope and lunged past her brother to make a dash for the door. The man called Bishop managed to stop her with a tight arm around her waist as he pulled her back against his chest.

“Use your head,” the young man admonished gently. “You don’t even know where she is.”

“Well, someone has to do something,” Caillie shouted, turning a glare to each of her brothers.

“Relax, Cailleach,” Roderick said in a gentle but stern tone.

He was only one who ever called their sister by her full name. Not even Ainsworth, the woman who’d raised her and eventually became the Countess of Wright, called her anything but Caillie.

“Lady Elvina is no doubt being rescued as we speak.”

Though Caillie stopped fighting against Bishop’s hold, her features remained tense. “But the man said Max could only choose to save one of us.”

With his emotions now under control, Max stepped forward. “Gill Rook ain’t smart enough to pull one over on me, minx. I’ve known of his plans from the start.”

“And you let me be abducted anyway?” Caillie asked, her hazel eyes wide with disbelief.

“I knew ye’d be able to handle it,” Max replied with a shrug.

“And you allowed this?” she asked, turning to Roderick.

Their brother made a low sound. “I wouldn’t’ve if I’d known anything about it before two hours ago.” He turned his blue gaze to Max, staring at him in that unfathomable way he had, making Max feel as though he could see right into his mind. “But I suppose I trust our brother as much as I trust you, poppet,” he added, tossing a quick smile to Caillie.

“And you’re sure Elle will be safe?” she asked.

“My most trusted men are on it,” Max assured.

“Along with Nightshade himself,” his brother added.

Max rolled his eyes in response to Caillie’s quick questioning look. They all knew Max wasn’t overly fond of the accomplished investigator. Nightshade had dogged him for years on the Earl of Wright’s behalf when his brother had been so determined to bring his half siblings into the family fold. That Max had actually enlisted Nightshade’s assistance on this plot was significant proof that he hadn’t been willing to take any chances.

Caillie released a soft sigh of relief, finally convinced that Elle wouldn’t be harmed.

Max only wished his fears could be so easily allayed.

He wouldn’t be able to relax until he’d received word from Carver that Elle was safely out of Gill’s hands and his longtime nemesis had been brought in to face the consequences of his unforgiveable actions.

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ELLE STOOD FROZEN WITH fear and the deepest dread as Rook turned them to face the only door to the room. His arm was an iron band around her shoulders and the edge of the knife pressed to the side of her throat. His breath quickened as the sounds of violence and destruction grew closer and she sensed his rising anticipation.

He wanted this. Badly. This confrontation and revenge.

And though she trusted Max with her entire being, she feared for the girl named Caillie and prayed Max might find some impossible way to deny this man the satisfaction he so desperately craved.

As thundering steps made their way to the closed door, Rook’s arm tightened and the knife shifted subtly along her skin. Not enough to draw blood, but close.

Forcing herself to show no fear that might distract Max from his purpose, Elle stood strong and firm as the door flew open. Expecting Max, she was stunned when a young man with black hair and a wicked scar running beneath the edge of his jaw stepped boldly into the room. There was an odd lack of urgency in his stride and a calmness to his expression that seemed out of place in the current circumstances. But as his assured golden gaze slid past her to direct a pointed stare at the man behind her, she slowly released the breath she’d been holding.

Her captor had the opposite reaction, his body going sharply tense as he snarled, “Carver. What the fuck are ye doin’ ’ere? ’As the Griffin gone too soft to fight ’is own battles?”

The newcomer’s black eyebrows twitched upward, the only change in his manner before he replied in a quietly scathing tone, “Ye know better than that, Rook. ’E just didn’t see a point in playing yer fuckin’ games.”

Max wasn’t coming.

The realization triggered warring emotions of relief and despair. Had he gone to save his sister after all?

“What the fuck does that mean?” Rook growled behind her.

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