AllFreeNovel
Share Us
They exchanged a few more words, then Signore Cardinelli retreated back down the hallway while the guard stalked off in the other direction.
Alec let out a sigh and pressed his forehead to the wall just above her shoulder. A strand of her hair brushed his ear, and he nearly succumbed to the urge to lean his cheek against her mass of curls. At some point Lottie had taken hold of his shirtfront with trembling fingers. All her earlier bravado was gone now.
“It’s all right.” He placed his hands over hers and eased her iron grip.
“I heard the word ‘professore,’” she said, her voice uncommonly strained. “Are they looking for you?”
Now that danger wasn’t quite so imminent, Alec was very aware of how close they were, and how Lottie’s curves brushed his frame. He couldn’t stop himself from sneaking a glance down at her décolletage, which strained and swelled against the fabric of her dress with each rapid inhalation.
“It’s nothing. Don’t worry.”
Something flickered in her eyes. Then her concerned frown deepened to a glare as she pulled her hands out of his. “I don’t know why you were following me anyway. You seemed pleasantly occupied when I left,” she added under her breath.
Alec’s jaw tightened. Now was hardly the time to discuss his kiss with the madame. He turned around and moved toward the hallway. No one was about. He beckoned to Lottie and she grudgingly pushed away from the wall. “There is a boat waiting for us,” he explained in a low murmur.
“You expected we would have to sneak out like a pair of thieves?”
“I try to prepare for every possibility. Stay close to me.” Alec held out his hand. Lottie stared at it with a sour look. “Please,” he prompted. She let out a sigh and took it. Alec gripped her hand and gave her a reassuring squeeze. It was the best he could do for now. As they stepped lightly down the hallway, Alec listened for the slightest sound of footsteps. He was prepared to do whatever it took to keep her safe, but he loathed the idea of committing an act of violence in front of her.
It does not matter. Let her see you for the animal you are.
Lottie tugged his hand. “You’re hurting me,” she whispered.
Alec immediately gentled his grip and gave her an apologetic smile that she did not return. At the end of the hallway was a heavy door that opened onto the back. From there it would be a short walk to their meeting point. Alec tested the knob and cursed. Then he knelt down and pulled out his lock picks. It took only a few moments before the ancient mechanism released and the door slowly opened. Then he glanced back. Lottie was looking at him with something close to awe but quickly schooled her expression.
He smiled again as he stood. “I wouldn’t be much of a spy if I couldn’t pick a lock.”
“No,” she said dryly. “I suppose not.”
He held out his hand again, and she readily took it this time. They crept outside and Alec guided them along the palazzo’s back wall, taking care to stay in the shadows until they reached a little slope that gave way to a dock.
“Our boat will meet us there,” he murmured. Lottie followed his gaze and nodded. He did not add that they would be dangerously exposed until then. If they were spotted, they would have only a few precious minutes to escape. Alec looked around one last time, but there was no one else about. He took a deep breath and hurried them toward the dock. He did not dare look back until they reached the end.
“Where is it?” Lottie asked tightly. “Where is the boat?”
“See there?” he gestured to a light out on the lagoon. “That’s for us. The driver has been keeping watch.”
As if on cue, the light began to move toward them. They stood side by side waiting as the nimble little vessel came into view. It would be here in less than a minute. He had kept her safe. Alec closed his eyes as the tension slowly ebbed from him.
Then came the telltale creak of someone stepping onto the dock. It was the same imposing guard from the hallway stalking toward them. He was a head taller than Alec and outweighed him by at least thirty pounds. All of it muscle.
Beside him Lottie whimpered.
“Watch the boat,” Alec told her, his voice deadly calm.
“What are you going to do?”
He shot her a glare. “Charlotte.”
Lottie’s eyes widened and she immediately turned around.
Alec pulled out the switchblade he always kept nestled in his breast pocket and waited until he could see the whites of the brute’s eyes. Then in one swift motion he released the blade, striking the man below his left shoulder. He let out a grunt and fell to his knees just as the boat pulled alongside the dock. The driver was a man called Marco, who also ferried tourists around the city.
“Go,” Alec said, pushing Lottie toward the boat.
But she clung to his arm with surprising strength and dug in her heels. “Not without you.”
Alec glanced back. Despite the knife buried in him, the guard was attempting to stand up. There was notimefor this. Alec lifted Lottie off her feet and practically tossed her into Marco’s arms. She wrenched around and looked back at him with a wild desperation that cut him to the quick. “Wait.”
