Free Tiger's Eye by Karen Robards Page A

With me out of the way, we figure he’s bound to get nervous and make his move. Then we’ll have him.”
    “What kind of organization do you run?” He did not seem overly concerned that someone was trying to kill him. From her own experience, Isabella knew that facing one’s own prospective murder was terrifying. But perhaps killing was an everyday matter to him.
    He hesitated. She could sense him mentally drawing rein on himself again, as he debated what to answer. Isabella realized suddenly just how little she knew of this man, and how misleading her earlier sense of familiarity might be.
    “Are … are you going to kill me?” Her deepest fear came blurting out before she could stop herself. Isabella sat with her hand pressed to her mouth, eyes wide with horror at what she had said. She should have pretended to have no such notion, and waited for another chance to escape.…
    Unexpectedly he chuckled. The sound was oddly engaging. “So, far from fearing rape, you thought I came in here to put a pillow over your face, eh? That’s not a bad idea, considering the noise you were making.”
    Isabella sat mute. After a moment she could feel him peering at her through the darkness.
    “That was a joke, you know. You don’t have to fear being murdered. At least, not by me.”
    “What do you mean?” The last part of that statement was definitely sinister. Isabella stared at him through the darkness, feeling less than reassured.
    “You and I are in the same boat, my dear. Someone wants you dead quite badly too.”
    Isabella must have made a protesting sound, because he continued with a touch of impatience. “I’m assuming you know that the bastards who kidnapped you meant murder.”
    It was a statement more than a question, but Isabella nodded, forgetting that he couldn’t see her through the darkness. But apparently he sensed her movements as she sensed his.
    “Aye, then. Well, somebody hired them—Cook Parren never took a step in his life unless there was somebody to pay him for it. He meant to kill you right enough, but it wasn’t his idea. Before we restore you to the bosom of your family, you should know that somebody in your life wants you dead.”
    Isabella stared at him. “That’s impossible! Who?”
    From a slight movement of the mattress she thought that he might have shrugged. “Now, that I don’t know. Not knowing you, or your family.”
    “My family wouldn’t want me dead.”
    Again she had the sense that he shrugged.
    “They wouldn’t! You must be mistaken.”
    “You know your family better than I do. But Parren was hired to kidnap you for ransom, which he did, and then paid more to kill you, which he would have. Somebody hired him, somebody with something to gain. Who stands to benefit from your death?”
    “Benefit? You mean financially? No one. My husband got my dowry when we married. I have very little in my own name. And my father … my father wouldn’t do that. Besides, he certainly has nothing to gain. Sarah—my stepmother—doesn’t like me, but she wouldn’t hire someone to murder me. There’s no one. I’m sure of it. No one.”
    “Believe me, there is someone, someone who wants you dead badly enough to pay a goodly sum to have it done. I can try to find out who for you, if you wish. One of the advantages of my position is that I can ferret out any amount of unsavory facts. If someone knows who hired Parren, and why, my men will find him sooner or later. And then you’ll know the worst. Of course, if you’d rather not know, that’s up to you. I can have you sent home to your family as soon as we no longer need you for cover, if that’s what you want. You’ll have to provide me with your name and direction, of course.”
    “You don’t know who I am?” Isabella’s eyes widened as she realized that he didn’t even know her name. And here she’d been feeling more at ease with him than she had ever felt with a man. Certainly more comfortable than she ever felt with