Randall's Romance (Behind Closed Doors) by Brazil Lee

Author:Brazil, Lee [Brazil, Lee]
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Publisher: Evernight Publishing
Published: 2013-04-29T05:00:00+00:00

Chapter Nine

Nudging a loosened tooth with the tip of his tongue, Randall spat a mouthful of coppery blood on the sandy rock floor of the cave. Another meaty paw grabbed him by the shoulder, another fist caught under his chin sending him reeling into yet another of the smugglers. "There's been a misunderstanding." He mumbled through swollen lips. He frantically tried to find Jason in the darkness. The man had gone down like a stone when the behemoth had struck him from behind. A swarm of ill-tempered ruffians had followed him into the cave, and every last one of them had taken one look at Randall and recognized the Riding Officer who'd recently moved to the village.

"Only misunderstandin' here is why you keep standing. Yer friend there got the right of it." This time the blow knocked Randall to his knees, and he grimaced as his lame ankle twisted painfully under him. Sweat stung his eyes and the split in his lip. Fear, for himself, for the defenseless Jason, chilled him more than the late autumn night had.

"Hey! Get that cargo stowed and let's go!" The commanding voice stilled the taunts and slowed the vicious circle, but a gritty boot lashed out and struck Randall in the ribs sending him crashing to the ground, clutching at his side in agony.

"What the fuck?"

"Found us a riding officer, cap'n. He were here when we brought the cargo in."

"Fuck it." The smuggler's ringleader cursed when he stepped into the cavern and saw the circle of snarling men taking turns kicking and punching at Randall. "You lot! Get the casks put away and let's clear out!"

"He's a revenue officer, Cal!" The protest came from a broken toothed man who'd grinned with pleasure while punching Randall in the kidneys. "We should kill them."

"Tie them up. Let the tide take care of them." The voice came from the shadows, well behind the man called Cal and out of Randall's sight. That French accent was unmistakable though. Could this be the man Peregrine sent him to find? The man Jason sought? "We've deliveries to make tonight."

The hulking figure that the other men called Cal grabbed Randall by the shoulder and manhandled him into a corner. Head spinning, Randall squinted at the man through a trickle of blood from a cut in his forehead. Someone had thrown him into the wall of the cave and he'd come away with a scrape. His hands were pulled painfully behind his back and tied briskly with a length of rope.

The man behind leaned forward and growled in his ear. "Couldn't leave well enough alone, could you Gretton?"

Though a few torches had been placed at intervals to light the cave, it was impossible to distinguish anyone's features in the dim shadows created by the leaping flames and gnarled rock. The voice though, as well as the massive frame, were familiar. Gasping in recognition, Randall opened his mouth to speak. His arms were jerked sharply upright, and he wound up shrieking instead. "Damnation, man!" He snarled at Lord Haytor, arms throbbing, head pounding.

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