Jess Michaels

by Sin Collection

  Because she loved Hawk.

  He told her he wanted her from the first moment he laid eyes on her, but the weeks they’d spent together battling the war of their wager had taught her one fundamental thing. She loved him. The very same moment his lust for her had been born, her love for him had come to life.

  She loved him then and that love hadn’t faded, even though she did her best to hide it away, kill it with explanations of simple desire.

  Oscar sensed that in her as much as he felt it from Hawk. Her feelings had scarred a powerful friendship and eventually ended her husband’s life. And yet, when she thought of the race that killed Oscar, she thanked God it hadn’t been Hawk who had been in the rig that flipped. That it hadn’t been Hawk whose life was cut short in one blinding, painful moment.

  She covered her face with a sob. All her father’s lectures about the consequences of her actions came to slap her across the face. And guilt, the most powerful expression of it she’d ever experienced, gripped her heart and soul until she sobbed freely in the middle of the square.

  What did it matter if the world saw her anguish? Nothing could erase the fact that her love for another man had driven her husband down the path to his death. And nothing would change the fact that her heart still beat for Hawk and always would.

  Suddenly, she felt a hand grasp her elbow. She jumped at the shock of human contact. So wrapped up in her grief, she’d honestly forgotten she was in a public place. She opened her eyes to thank the kind soul who came to her aid, but instead had to stifle a scream of shock at who held her. Everett Firth.

  His face was still puffy and bruised from the beating he received at Hawk’s hands not three nights before. One eye was blackened and nearly sealed shut by swelling. His nose was crooked and cut from being broken. But despite his painful external appearance, hatred and betrayal still lived in his eyes.

  “Hello, Bianca,” he growled.

  As her heart exploded with terror, she yanked back against him, ready to scream the park down if it would bring someone to her aid. But before she could open her mouth to cry for help, the hard steel of a gun barrel pressed into her side. Everett cocked back the hammer with a smooth motion of his thumb.

  “I wouldn’t run or call out,” he said as calmly as if he were inquiring about her health. “Give me your arm and we’ll go for a stroll. No one need be hurt if you follow my instructions.”

  A cold sweat chilled Bianca’s skin and nausea rolled her stomach as she silently nodded. At such close range, a shot from his pistol would easily kill her. If she wanted to survive, she had no choice but to let him lead her wherever he wanted her to go. At least until another escape route became clear.

  They moved through the park together quietly. His coat hid the pistol so they looked like a couple taking a leisurely walk, not a kidnap victim and her captor. Certainly no one in the park would recognize her distress and intervene on her behalf.

  As for anyone else riding to her rescue, the chances were even slimmer. Hawk didn’t know she’d left, let alone where she’d gone in her panicked state. Given their last encounter, he might simply believe she followed through with her vow to leave England. Her reaction to his confession had probably left him with the impression she despised him. Most likely, he thought she blamed him for her husband’s death, not that she’d been heartbroken by her own part in the tragedy and simply needed time to process her realization that she loved him.

  They reached a row of waiting carriages and with a quick glance around him; Everett helped her into one. She skirted to the far end of the vehicle in the hopes that she could put enough space between them to formulate some escape. But when Everett climbed in behind her, he pressed up against her in the seat, blocking her flight and keeping the gun trained just inches from her flesh.

  “You don’t have to do this,” she murmured as the carriage jolted forward.

  He laughed. The sound was bitter and chilling in the close quarters of the dim coach. “I’m afraid I do. You wouldn’t listen to reason and you insist on carrying on with another man.”

  He turned to look at her. In his face, she saw the hungry gaze of a man obsessed, mad with desire and betrayal. Her heart sank. Unlike in the garden, there would be no Hawk to rescue her this time.

  And if Everett wasn’t satisfied by forcing her to give him her body, she might end up forfeiting much more, without ever telling Hawk how much she loved him.

  ***

  “I don’t understand. What do you mean, she isn’t here?” Hawk growled as he braced the door to Bianca’s London home open with one arm. “She isn’t at my home, either. Where else would she be?”

  The butler turned up his nose. “You are welcome to come in and search the house from top to bottom, sir. Lady Bianca is not at home and has not been for over a fortnight. If she had returned, I would be the first to know.”

  Hawk ran a hand through his hair in frustration as he searched the other man’s face. It seemed he was telling the truth. But if Bianca wasn’t at home… where was she?

  “Fine,” he barked as he pivoted back to his carriage and climbed up. “Take me to the Earl of Covey’s residence,” he snapped to his driver through painfully clenched teeth. “And hurry.”

  As the carriage pounded down the street, Hawk flexed his hands in and out of fists. When he’d finally gotten up the nerve to go up to talk to Bianca and found her gone, he thought she might have simply left his home entirely. But her wardrobe was still filled with her beautiful gowns and her lady’s maid was in residence.

  He hadn’t panicked as he made his way to her home. After his confession, he couldn’t blame her for wanting distance. It had obviously horrified her to know what his love for her had caused. She blamed him for Oscar’s death.

  But now the tendrils of fear and anxiety were beginning to creep into his chest. Bianca wasn’t at either of their homes. She had left without escort or even a pair of gloves. And Everett Firth was still on the loose. The idea of her stumbling through dangerous city streets alone was almost too much for him to bear.

  He rubbed his eyes as the carriage wheeled around a corner onto the Earl of Covey’s street. Hawk wasn’t looking forward to the showdown about to come, but he had no choice. If Bianca had sought refuge here at her father’s home, he needed to know. And if she hadn’t…well, he was going to need help to find her before she was hurt or worse.

  His carriage pulled to a stop. Before his footman could open the door, Hawk flew out and up the stairs. He pounded on the door with his fist. His intuition and fears were growing with every moment and he had no time for societal rules of politeness and decorum.

  “May I help you?” Covey’s butler said in annoyance as he opened the door just an inch.

  “Mr. Hawkins to see his lordship,” he snapped out in his best no-nonsense tone. “Is he in?”

  The servant’s eyes flickered, as he looked Hawk up and down. In an instant he passed judgment and shook his head. “He is not in residence at present, sir, but you may leave your card.”

  “Not in residence, my ass,” Hawk growled as he pushed the door open. The servant reeled back with a cry of protest as Hawk strode down the corridor.

  “Covey!” he bellowed at the top of his lungs. Parlor maids and footmen popped their heads out from various corners and the butler was at his heels prattling on as he continued to shout, “Covey where the hell are you?”

  His voice echoed in the empty hallway. “Damn it, it’s about your daughter’s safety!”

  At that, a closed door at the end of the hall opened and Alan Renfire, the Earl of Covey came into sight. His arms were folded and his blue eyes, the ones Bianca had inherited, were dark and narrow with outrage. Behind him, all three of his sons stood with similar expressions. Hawk drew in a short breath. The four men were a daunting firing squad to face, even to him.

  “My daughter?” Covey snorted, as he looked Hawk up and down with the same disdainful expression the butler had used at the door. It was evident the master of t
he house came to the same conclusion as the servant by the way he turned up his nose. “The biggest danger to my daughter is your depravity.”

  “Where is she?” Hawk snarled as he pushed past the four men. “Is she here?”

  Covey slammed the door and stalked to his desk. Bianca’s oldest brother, Henry let out a laugh. “Are you saying she’s finally come to her senses and left you? Good riddance.”

  “She didn’t leave me,” Hawk spat out through clenched teeth. At least, he prayed she hadn’t. “She went for a walk and hasn’t returned.”

  “But she didn’t leave you, oh no,” Philip Renfire taunted as he lit a cigar and puffed out a ring of smoke.

  Hawk glared at the middle son before he returned his attention to the Earl. Covey stared at him as if he was a rat who had wandered into his study. Hawk he didn’t care. Covey could look down on him all he liked, as long as he would work with him to find Bianca.

  “By God, do you all hate me so much you can’t see the larger issue here?” Hawk asked with a shake of his head. “Unless your oldest son has found him and not passed that information on to me, Everett Firth is still on the loose. I assume Henry told you he attacked Bianca at the Monroe party a few days ago. If Landon, Henry and I hadn’t come upon them-” he broke off, unable to finish that thought.

  The Earl’s face paled and his hands gripped into fists on the desk. “Yes. Henry told me what happened. We’ve been looking for Firth ever since, but we haven’t found him. Do you think he’s still in the city? Would he dare the wrath of the Renfires and yourself for another opportunity to catch Bianca alone? He must know it’s suicide.”

  Hawk’s mouth thinned. “Henry saw him that night. I think he would agree with me when I say Firth is obsessed with your daughter. He’ll do anything to regain her favor. I believe his attempt on her body that night in the garden was a twisted way of proving his love for her. If he actually took her away…” He shivered. “Her very life could be in serious danger.”

  “Then let us take care of it,” Seth Renfire piped up from the corner of the room. The youngest son folded his arms with eyes flashing. Of all the Renfire heirs, Hawk felt the most animosity coming from the youngest man. “We don’t need your help.”

  “You need all the help you can get,” he said with enough heat in his voice that the room shook. “And you have no right to shut me out of the search for her.”

  “You have no right!” The Earl of Covey got to his feet as he slammed his palms down on his desk. “You and your shameful ill use of my daughter. Treating her like she was some common whore who you can take, then discard. Don’t act as if you care for her. You know nothing of what she needs.”

  Hawk shook his head. “I beg your pardon, my lord, but I think the same could be said about you.”

  A chorus of male growls greeted that statement as all the Renfire sons and their father made threatening moves toward Hawk. But he didn’t back down. He couldn’t.

  “You hate me. I don’t blame you for that. If Bianca were my daughter or sister, I would hate me, too. But if you’re passing out blame for her current state, you’ll have to put a part of it on yourselves.” He lifted his hand as the four men began to protest. “Do you know why Bianca is staying with me? Because she came to me and proposed our current relationship. And the reason she did is because you-” He pointed to Lord Covey and the older man flinched back. “Threatened her lifestyle, her spirit, her very independence. She believes the only way to escape your well-intentioned meddling is to regain her fortune and flee the country. She used me and my feelings for her to that end.”

  The earl took a step back and sank into his chair with a thump. “You lie,” he said softly, but in his eyes, Hawk saw he knew the truth. “I was only trying to protect her. Protect her from men like Firth. From men like you.”

  A surge of rage heated Hawk’s blood. “Say what you will, old man, but never compare me to that bastard. I am in love with your daughter. I have been for as long as I can remember. I would never harm her. I would never take from her what she wouldn’t willingly give. And if you won’t assist me because of some ridiculous moral objection, then I will search alone.”

  To his surprise, it was Henry Renfire who stepped forward and took his side. “Father, I know you’re upset, but I saw Bianca the night she was attacked. I believe Hawk is right about the precariousness of her position when it comes to Firth and his drive to possess her.”

  “Thank you, at least one of you sees reason,” Hawk said on an exasperated sigh.

  “Don’t press what little luck you have, Hawkins.” Henry locked eyes with him before he turned his attention back to his father and brothers. He sighed heavily. “I also believe this man is telling the truth. He loves Bianca. More to the point, it’s evident she loves him in return. That might not be the life we would choose for her, but she seemed happy with him at the Monroe party. And he was willing to kill a man in order to protect her.”

  Hawk’s heart jolted. Henry believed Bianca was in love with him? That she was happy? A wave of joy washed over him, bathing him in hope for the first time since he’d admitted his part in Oscar’s death. If she had even a slight affection for him, he had a chance to make the past up to her. And perhaps even create a future.

  The earl looked at his eldest son for a long moment before he nodded slowly. “And what do you suggest, my boy?”

  “That we join forces with Hawkins to find Bianca. And argue over what to do about the two of them after we’ve ensured her safety.” Henry turned back to Hawk. “What are your thoughts on where to look?”

  He sighed with relief. From the looks on their faces, the other three men would follow Henry’s lead. For now, at least, he had them as allies. “I have a few places in mind, as I’m sure you do.”

  “Will your brother Landon be a part of the search, as well?” Henry asked. “He was a great help the night of Bianca’s attack. With his resources we could search the entire city from top to bottom in one day.”

  Hawk flinched. Landon had been helpful the night Firth went mad in the garden. He even sent word the next day to inquire after Bianca. As much as he hated to involve his brother, he had no choice.

  “Yes, I’ll contact Landon.” He sighed. Trusting his brother wasn’t going to be easy, but for Bianca he would do it.

  He would do anything. Especially since her family had given him hope that maybe, just maybe, she could love him, too.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Being chained to a bed in one of the darkened rooms in Everett Firth’s house was nothing like being tied with velvet ropes as Hawk teased her to a fever of desire. The steel binds cut into Bianca’s wrists until welts rose around the metal. Everett had covered her with a blanket, but beneath she had been stripped. The terror that rose in her chest was almost overpowering. She fought to rise above it and remain calm as she awaited her fate.

  She had long since given up crying out for help. Alone in a room below the main floor, no one seemed to be able to hear. Or they chose to ignore her. The latter was just as likely given how several of Everett’s servants had actually assisted him in smuggling her into the house from a back entrance and securing her to the bed where she now lay.

  She pulled against her chains, but as they had been the last few times she’d tested them, she found them tight and sturdy. Unlike Hawk the night she bound him to his bed, there would be no dramatic breaking of the ties.

  The only way she might manage to get free would be to bargain with Everett.

  She shivered at what she would be forced to give up. But certainly it was no more than what he would take when she was helpless. She didn’t have to ask what he wanted from her when he stared at her with desire-glazed eyes and ran his hands over her in an obsessed fog.

  With a shiver, she pushed those thoughts from her mind. Dwelling on Everett only fed her fear. To escape, she had to tamp that emotion down and depend on her wits and strength to survive. Hawk would expect that from her. And thoughts of him helped buoy her spiri
ts.

  Shutting her eyes, she pictured Hawk smiling at her. Kissing her. Holding her in his arms. To get back to him, she would do anything. Including bide her time and wait until Everett was at a weak moment.

  A jangle of keys shook Bianca back to reality and she snapped her eyes open to watch Everett open the door to her makeshift cell. He spun the heavy key ring around his finger as he closed the door behind him with a cold smile.

  “Are you getting settled?” he asked as he set the keys down on the table beside her bed and took a seat on the edge near her.

  “I don’t know how you can ask me that,” she said with a laugh that surprised her with its even, calm sound. Good. Very good. Her only chance was to remain calm. “It isn’t as if I had much choice in coming here.”

  He frowned. “Eventually you’ll thank me for helping you see the error of your ways.”

  “You mean for helping me see my way back to you,” she said softly.

  She didn’t want to pretend to give in too soon or Everett would be suspicious, but there was no harm letting him believe she could be turned around to his way of thinking. If he thought she was weakening to him, he might let her loose, even for just a moment. And that would be her chance. Perhaps her only one.

  “Yes, exactly.” He nodded. “You do understand what I want, what I need from you. You must see reason.”

  She swallowed hard. Now was the time to test her boundaries. “It would be easier to see reason if I weren’t tied to a bed against my will.”

  He shook his head with a chilling smile. “I’m sorry, there’s nothing I can do about that at present. Just because I want you to see my way of thinking doesn’t mean you won’t be punished for your behavior. Leaving me for Hawkins was abominable and I must make sure you never do such a thing again. You must know you are mine and only mine from now on.”