Chapter Fourteen
He should have offered her the bed. Brogan frowned as Juliana rubbed the small of her back again. The sofa had been no place to let a woman sleep. But if she’d taken his bed, he’d never be able to sleep in it again. Not knowing her body had lain on it. Rolled about on it. Perhaps touched hers—
“And you say the assailant used a sling?” Wilberforce sat on the edge of Brogan’s desk, turning the rock that had almost brained Juliana over in his hand. He stared at it as though the stone would reveal the secret of who had wielded it.
“Yes,” he said. Juliana arched her back in her seat behind his desk, and Brogan wanted nothing more than to rub her aches away. He truly was an arsehole. Last night never should have happened. Now that he knew what she tasted like, how she sounded when in the throes of passion, he would never be able to rid her from his mind.
Brogan forced his gaze back to his boss. “One of my friends used to hunt with a sling when we were growing up. I’d go with him some times. The sound is distinctive.” But unusual enough that he hadn’t placed it until it was too late. He clenched his hand. If Juliana hadn’t bent over at that precise moment…
Wil looked at Juliana like she was an abused puppy. “Are you certain you’re all right, that we shouldn’t call a doctor?”
“I’m certain.” She gave him a firm smile. “I only want to find this blackguard so my life can return to normal.”
Brogan winced. A normal that didn’t include him, no doubt. She’d hardly said two words to him this morning, and why should she? He’d led her to believe something that wasn’t possible. That their class differences didn’t have to come between them. But in the back of his mind, he’d known the truth.
She was an aristocrat, a noble, someone not to be touched by the likes of him. It was better this way, for the both of them.
Wil stood and tossed the rock to Brogan. “What’s your plan?”
“I’m returning to Newgate. I think Pickens is ready to talk, he just needs some prodding.” He jerked his head at Juliana. “I want Lady Juliana to stay here while I’m out. She should be guarded at all times.”
Wil nodded. “Of course. Lord Summerset’s office is quite comfortable. He spared no expense in furnishing it. Lady Juliana can rest there.”
The woman in question remained suspiciously quiet.
“No objection on your part?” Brogan asked.
“Would it do any good?”
“No.” Brogan narrowed his gaze. Submitting to reality wasn’t a trait he had credited her with.
She pulled a timepiece from her pocketbook. “Then why object? I will be fed, won’t I?” She raised an eyebrow at Wil. “I become awfully grumpy if I haven’t eaten by eleven.”
“Of course.” Wil’s lips twitched. “There is a fine bake house around the corner which delivers. I do believe it was the reason the owners of this agency fixed on this location for their offices.” He tilted his head towards the window. “A word, Brogan, before you go?”
Brogan followed the manager across the room. “Yes?”
Wil rested against the window sill and crossed his arms over his chest. “Do you need a reminder of your professional responsibilities?”
Brogan blinked. “What?”
Wil gave him a look, glanced at Juliana, then turned his gaze back to Brogan. “She is a client, and one under threat. She needs our protection and help. She doesn’t need to have her emotions toyed with.”
The back of his neck heated. “I have said nothing to make you suspect—”
“There is much that can be said without words.” Wil ran a hand through his hair. “I don’t want to involve myself in the affairs of my investigators, but if it involves a client, it becomes my business. Take care.”
Brogan swallowed, the back of his throat aching. “You don’t need to worry. I have made it clear to the lady that nothing can happen between us. Besides, she is more worldly than you give her credit for.Shewould not be hurt emotionally by an affair.”
She would walk away from him as easily as she had her past lover. With a smile and a wish to remain friends, a wish that would never happen. He felt nothingfriendlytowards Juliana.
Wil smiled sadly. Rubbing his thigh, he rose to standing. “Take care,” he said again.
Brogan nodded. He strode for the door, gathering his coat and hat from the pegs on the wall. Without a backwards glance, he fled the offices and headed toward Newgate.
Solving this case had become more imperative than ever. Not only because the threat against Juliana had become apparent, but so had the threat to him.
He needed Juliana out of his life, happily settled back with her family, with her odd friends and untraditional lifestyle.
