“Curse it all! What did you put in my drink?” he demanded, as his unfocused gaze reached Hawk.
“Something to make you a little more manageable,” he said unapologetically.
“You son of a bitch! What have you done? If anything happens to Jillian, I will hunt you down and kill you.”
“I would expect no less,” Hawk said as he watched Justin slip into unconsciousness.
“What the hell did you do to him and why?” Case demanded incredulously.
Hawk ignored him and called for Edward.
“Hawk, what the hell are you about?”
“Can you think of a better way to get him to cooperate?” He stared hard at Case. “Once the Royal Guard comes for him it is finished. He will be beyond our help. He will be charged with kidnapping. Prinny isn’t interested in the truth. He just wants to satisfy those who support him financially, and we all know how strapped he is for funds.”
Case reached out and grasped Hawk’s shoulder, spinning him around to face him. “How do you know so much about what Prinny is or isn’t doing?”
“I can’t tell you that, Case.” Hawk shrugged of his hand. “Trust me. We must get Justin out of London with all haste. Leave Prinny to me.”
Case looked at him in astonishment. “When this is all over, you and I are going to have a long talk.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
Justin opened his eyes and quickly closed them again. His head ached vilely and his mouth felt full of sawdust. He sat up suddenly as he remembered what had happened last. Where the hell was he and where was Jillian?
“Your grace, would you like some water?”
His head came up to see Edward sitting across from him. They were in a carriage. “Where are we?” he demanded.
“Almost to the coast.”
Justin looked at him in astonishment. “How long have we been traveling?”
Edward looked pained. “Almost a full day, your grace.”
Justin swore, cursing his cousin all over again. “Where is Jillian?”
“She is safe,” he replied. “Lord Case and your cousin were seeing to her safety when you and I left.”
“You drugged me.”
“Your cousin drugged you,” he corrected. “I merely aided him in getting you out of the house.”
“And how exactly did you get me out of the house?”
Edward shifted uncomfortable in his seat. “In a crate, your grace.”
“A crate? You stuffed me in a crate?”
“Well, yes, we did,” he explained. “Lord Case escorted your things to the docks where he booked passage to India so it would look as if you had left London.”
“And who is with Jillian?”
“Your cousin remained with her at your townhome until Lord Case returned; at least that was the plan. I, of course, was en route with you to Cornwall by then. Lord Case was to return and close your London home since you were no longer reported to be in residence.”
“And how do they propose to get Jillian out of London?”
“I do not know, your grace,” he said apologetically. “I was instructed to get you to a cottage in Cornwall your cousin made arrangements for. The story you are to tell anyone who should ask is that your wife’s failing health forced you to move to a milder climate where the doctors feel she will make a full recovery.”
