I smiled bitterly. “I’m the son of the duke.”
“You talked to your father about it?”
“I occasionally see him. It helps keep him off my back. I’ve been there more times than I would like this week, but it was necessary to learn what was happening with the taxes.”
“You plan to go after the caravan.”
“Don’t you?”
She bit her lip as her eyes darted past me. “It sounds tempting and would be a strike against Ivan, but it’s abigrisk, Ryker.”
That was the first time I’d heard her call him Ivan and not King Ivan; I was starting to rub off on her. I wasn’t sure if that was good or bad.
“Itisa big risk, but we always knew we’d have to start taking them,” I said.
“We did. So, are we going to start training?”
“Not tonight.”
“Why not?”
“We’re going to plan for a robbery. Tucker and Ianto are expecting us.”
“Ryker….”
“What?”
She hesitated before speaking again. “We have to devise a really good plan for this. If we don’t, then we shouldn’t do it. We’ll be putting ourselves at risk if we don’t.”
“There’s no need to worry about that.”
“Why not?”
Because I’d never let anything happen to you.
The words were on the tip of my tongue, but I would never utter them. “Because I’m not a fool, Ellery. I’ve commanded troops on a battlefield and understand the importance of a solid plan when it comes to taking down the enemy.”
My words were more clipped than I anticipated, but my inability to shake my feelings for this woman irritated me. I’d destroyed countless enemies but couldn’t destroy what I felt for her.
“Enough of Tucker’s followers have progressed in their training to the point where they can help. We also have your expertise as the Robber and mine as a general.”
“Is that enough to successfully steal from the king?”
“Yes.”
“And what if it’s a trap? They’re not after the Hooded Robber as much as they were before I retired, but this could be their way of trying to draw me out.”
“We’ll plan for that. We’re plotting a rebellion and building an army for it. We need money for that, and it’s time to do something more than train in the woods.”
“Ryker—”
“You’re either with me or you’re not, Ellery.”
She planted her hands on her hips. “I’malwayswith you; I’m just pointing out things to pay attention to.”
“And we will take all of them into consideration. We won’t proceed unless we’re all comfortable with the plan and think it will succeed. We’re not going to rush into this.”
“Okay. Then let’s see what we can come up with and if it has a chance of working.”
