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“Good,” he murmured, then let out a long, low whistle that sounded like an owl’s hoot.
Mercifully, Connor managed to stifle her scream when a man suddenly appeared beside her. Tall, huge in stature with jet black hair and dark eyes, he looked like the very Devil himself. He hadn’t made a sound; he had just appeared as swiftly and silently as the heavy smog that regularly encased London.
“Let me introduce you,” Connor said as he shook hands with the man. “This is Matthew, our contact.”
Matthew bowed politely as though they were at the grandest of balls.
“Good evening, ma’am. I believe you need a carriage home.”
Lost for words, Tahlia nodded jerkily and watched the white flash of Matthew’s teeth glisten in the darkness. She wasn’t reassured at all because he looked so sinister she felt he was likely to lunge for her throat.
“Hello,” she murmured politely, unsure what else to do.
To her amazement, he nodded to the woods behind them.
“Come on, let’s go,” he urged before he melted back into the darkness.
“Good Lord, does he always do that?” she whispered out of the side of her mouth as she cautiously tip-toed after him.
Connor snorted. “It’s our job.”
She looked down at Connor’s feet. Sure enough, neither of them made a sound as they began to make their way across the forest floor. Tahlia, meanwhile, made enough noise to wake the dead.
When an owl hooted a warning from high above, Connor conceded defeat and swung her into his arms.
“What are you doing?” she cried as she clung desperately to his shoulders.
“Stopping you from falling over,” he lied, relieved when she didn’t object. He was apt to do so, however, because now he couldn’t see his feet. But at least he could now listen out for anyone following them.
Tahlia was unnerved by the silence. How two grown men the size of Matthew and Connor could be so silent was beyond her comprehension. With nothing else to do, she studied what she could of their surroundings as they journeyed deeper into the woods. The more she looked at the darkness, the more she became aware of shadows flickering here and there that had nothing to do with the gentle swaying of the trees.
“It’s just woodland animals. Some of them come out at night to forage for food,” he assured her.
She nodded but didn’t take her eyes off the trees around them as walked for miles. When they did emerge into a small clearing, she gasped aloud when she saw Oscar and Cecily waiting for her, and wriggled until Connor had no choice but to put her down.
“Thank Heavens you are alright,” she gasped as she ran toward them.
Oscar hugged her hard and kissed the top of her head, and stood back when Cecily batted him out of the way so she could have a hug.
“Did you face any problems?” she demanded as Connor stepped forward to shake Oscar’s hand.
“Nope. We got followed for a while, but we managed to shake them off around Regent’s Park,” Cecily said proudly, her eyes wide with excitement.
Reg grunted and shook his head, which earned him a scowl from the maid. Unperturbed, the burly Star Elite man threw Connor a wry look.
“We got out,” he muttered, unsure whether he was still amused or horrified.
Connor suspected there was a story there, but didn’t push for details right now.
“I don’t know. Ben seemed to know what he was doing, and got us out of there. We weren’t shot at,” Oscar grunted. “At least we are free now, and can go home.”
Connor made the introductions to the new escorts.
“Cecily, you will now go with Jacob,” he advised.
“Isn’t Reg coming with us?” she cried, clearly horrified at the prospect of leaving him behind.
Reg shook his head in dismay, and glared at her.
