Free Hold Your Breath 01 - Stone Devil Duke by K.J. Jackson

dalliance if she was amicable.
    But all t hat changed the moment she called him a coward. Not because of the insult, but because he realized how desperate she was. Only desperation would make her toss out lies like that. She lied about him being a coward. She lied about her brother. He could already read that in her.
    Desperate people lied. And desperate people did stupid things. Like flick the ear of a duke. Like stick to a stupid plan, because it was the only thing to hold onto.
    Devin rubbed his ear—the flick had actually stung. And then she had tried to blackmail him into silence. The little wench.
    His eyes narrowed at her. He wasn’t going to let her succeed at stupidity. She needed to be protected from herself, whether she liked it or not.
    Devin wondered how long it would take her to produce the necessary excuses to leave the party.
    He didn’t have to wait long. Soon enough, he saw her rub her temples in a distressed motion, and her aunt’s immediate sympathetic face. The aunt rushed off to find her husband, and within minutes, the party of three made their way up the grand staircase and out of the ballroom.
    “Excuse me , gentlemen.” Devin nodded to the four men surrounding him and stepped away to find Killian.
    “Killian.” Devin motioned to his friend.
    “W e shall continue this at another time, gentlemen.” Killian nodded to the group and stepped from the ring of men.
    The two friends walked up t he staircase and paused at a quiet balcony overlooking the ballroom. Both leaned on the gold-leafed railing, looking absently out at the hall of gaiety before them.
    “W hatever you said to her on the terrace must have been interesting, for she could barely contain her need to leave, or hold in the arrows her pretty eyes were throwing your way,” Killian said, and took a sip of the Madeira he was holding.
    “She called me a coward.”
    Killian sputtered and laughed. “A coward? What I would have given to hear that. Really? A coward? And your reaction?”
    “Threats.”
    “Typical.” Killian turned sideways, leaning on his arm as he looked at Devin. “Is it time to leave, then?”
    “Soon . Is your business done?”
    “Yes, enough for the night. ” Killian curiously eyed his friend. “She appears to be fine marriage material.”
    “Who?”
    “Lady Augustine.”
    Devin shot his own daggers at Killian. “Yes, if you discount her panache for dressing up as a hack driver and trying to take down four men, each twice her size.”
    “Lends a certain charm to her, would you not say?” Killian took another sip of his wine. “We all, eventually, have duty to our lineage, Devin. An heir might be something you want to think about.”
    Devin harrumphed, stood straight, and turned toward the upper entrance of the ballroom. “Let us take our leave—if only to cease your idiotic insinuations.”
    Killian followed Devin, speculative smile playing on his face. “We have a coach to catch, don’t we?”

{ Chapter 6 }
    The night plodded along slowly. Rain had sputtered on and off. Her cloak kept her mostly dry, but her search thus far had remained completely fruitless.
    Some insistent young dandies, deep into their cups and rich with the need to lose their families’ fortunes, managed to stop Aggie. They tumbled into the moving carriage before she could stop them.
    With a sigh, she started off to the Horn’s Rooster, knowing that, of the gaming halls, it was one of the best for drunken young men of the peerage to go. The owner was of the good sort; she had seen him send many on their way before fortunes were lost on the flick of a card.
    It was odd, th e knowledge she had gained from the streets of London. If nothing else, this had forced her into a much wider view of the world than she had ever known.
    The Horn’s Rooster teetered on the edge of the east side, which was convenient —she would still have time to go back and poke around near the area where she had found the murderers.
    S couring the east