“Leo… I’m so sorry.”
He shook his head. “We both have faced challenges in our pasts. Let us not allow those to cloud our futures any longer.” She nodded, and he continued. “I need you to know that I believe in you. This scheme might seem daunting, but you are strong, capable, and admirably independent. You can both outwit the bastards and launch your new position as a runner. You belong on Bow Street, Juliana.”
Her eyes swam with unshed tears, and she pulled Leo in for a kiss.
Warmth swirled in his chest. Her lips moved over his, her tongue teasing and arousing.
“Wish me good fortune,” Juliana whispered.
A maid entered, requesting Juliana’s presence elsewhere, and Leo was forced to let her go, much to his chagrin.
The next hour rushed by in a flurry of activity as cloaks were donned and weapons were obtained and loaded. Leo had hoped for another opportunity to speak privately with Juliana, to tell her how he felt. Sadly, that moment never came.
Seemingly before he was truly aware of it, he was crouched inside a small gazebo, the setting sun at his back and his gaze on Juliana, sitting on a bench alone in the gardens. Long seconds passed into minutes as they waited, silently observing Juliana reading by the slowly dimming light. It was a fool plan, a reckless plan…but it was their only plan. And as he’d said to Juliana, he trusted her.
What, however, if Miles spotted her over the garden wall and decided to shoot her from a distance? That would not only foil their intent to overtake him, but it could also forfeit Juliana’s very life!
The heaviness that had threatened to crush him all afternoon settled ever heavier upon his chest and shoulders. He wanted to sit with her. If he were next to her, he could shield her if Miles made an appearance.
“I’ll do it,” came a whisper from a short distance behind him.
Leo turned, making eye contact with Jasper through the trellis. He’d heard it, too.
“You’ve failed before, Miles,” a new voice said. “I should—”
“No, damn it!” Miles hissed. “The bitch has crawled under my skin. I’ll get her.”
“Do it quickly. We want the duke, as well, and I’ll not miss my next shot.”
There was a shuffle of feet, and Leo followed the sound with the tilt of his head.
“For Jean.”
Crack!
Leo’s heart jumped to his throat, and his stomach sank to his toes.Christ.Juliana!
As another shot fired, she squeaked and sprawled beneath the bench upon which she’d been sitting.
Damnation.They couldn’t move until the brothers were within the walls of the gardens and close enough to Juliana that Leo, Jasper, and the others nearby could surround the bastards. If they kept firing from afar, the plan would never come to fruition.
“I need to reload,” Miles growled.
“There isn’t time! She’ll flee.”
The men scrambled over the garden’s wall and made a run toward Juliana. And Leo’s heart squeezed.
Their time was nigh.
* * *
Ears trained on her cousins’movement, Juliana maintained her position on the ground. Dirt and sharp rocks dug into her front, and the stone bench caught at her green cloak. The air grew increasingly chilled as the sun retreated, and she fought the shivers that threatened to wrack her frame.
Her body still ached fiercely from her days of riding, but she would withstand any amount of temporary pain as long as her cousins were caught.
Much as she despised the thought of using her pilfered pistol once more, she clutched it in her hand, prepared to fire should the need arise.
The crunch of hurried footsteps approached, and she stiffened.
