Free The Invisible Amateur by Amelia Price

danger on my behalf. Myron has been training me for
combat and Sebastian for the sneaky stuff. I know I can help them,”
she replied, as much to convince her own mind as Daniels.
    “Myron is going to
be angry.”
    “He might, but I'm
safer with them. Which way did Sebastian go?” At this question of
hers, Daniels grinned. He understood her logic. Sebastian would let
her help if she wanted to, whereas Myron would probably try and
send her back to the hotel still.
    “He went around
the back. Go down there until you reach the next road. You'll find
a back gate ajar and Sebastian preparing to jump a fence. You'll
have to hurry.”
    She patted his arm
to thank him for the information and jogged off down the alley,
pleased she'd worn trousers that day rather than a skirt, and extra
pleased the knives Myron gave her were tucked up against her
back.
    As Daniels had
described, she noticed the gate to a back garden was left open by a
small fraction, so she snuck through it and hurried down the little
alleyway beside the house, keeping her footfalls light to hide any
noise. She paused at the end of the house to see if she could spot
Sebastian, but the trees around the edge of the garden blocked out
too much light. The shadows at the end could have hidden an army of
grown men.
    Focusing on her
breathing and moving quietly, Amelia crept closer to the fence.
When she was almost there, a hand reached out and tugged her into
the shadows at the side. Panic almost made her scream before her
brain let her know the grip was familiar.
    “Sometimes I think
you're far too clever for your own good,” Sebastian whispered in
her ear.
    “Everything I
know, you or your elder brother taught me,” she whispered back. The
sound of a low chuckle came to her ears. It was true. She'd never
have been this bold if they hadn't taught her.
    “We need to get
over the fence in exactly one minute.”
    “You can go
first,” she said.
    “Are you
sure?”
    “Yes. I can copy
your movements if you go first.”
    “All right.”
Sebastian moved forward to use the tree as a platform over the
fence and she came up behind, watching every foot and hand
placement in the dim light as he hauled himself up. He moved slowly
to minimise the movement of the branches, but it was a good thing
it was mid-winter and there were no leaves to rustle.
    Amelia tried to
count out a minute in her head, but Sebastian moved before she got
there and she had no choice but to follow. Being second, she
couldn't move as slowly as he had done, but she didn't need to. Her
body was so much lighter the branches moved less for her and
allowed her an easy passage.
    As she lowered
herself down the other side, Sebastian reached up to steady
her.
    “Stay close,” he
whispered as they rushed across the back garden to the back door of
the house. As they got closer, a movement-sensitive light came on.
He grabbed her hand and sprinted to the house. Less than two
seconds later they stood with their backs pressed against the brick
wall to one side of the patio doors.
    As the light went
out again, it revealed a thin strip of light from the patio window,
and she could see the outline of a person looking through a gap in
the curtains. Her pulse raced and her body shook as she tried to
stay calm.
    After what seemed
like an age, the curtains flapped shut again and she exhaled. Not
daring to move in case she triggered the light again, she waited
for Sebastian to move.
    Slower than she'd
thought possible, he slid his body across the wall towards the
kitchen door and away from the patio with the sensitive light,
leaving her closest to danger and not sure she could match his
slow, steady movement. She turned her head slightly, to keep an eye
on him, and realised she was going to need to follow.
    She took a couple
of deep breaths and inched her body along the wall, feeling the
scrape of fabric against brick. A few seconds later the string on
the back of her corset caught on something, and she found