Chapter 1 #3
The anger in Theo’s voice made Genevieve stiffen as she met his harsh gaze.
God in heaven, what had William told him?
Uncertainty tightened her muscles with tension.
Irritated by his interrogation, she bit back an equally abrupt reply.
Why was he suddenly so concerned for her well-being, anyway?
Straightening her shoulders, she managed to keep her response calm and serene.
“I’m not sure what Wills told you, but he said I was going to be fine.”
“No. He said you were lucky.” Theo’s brusque response made Genevieve stare at him in disbelief. Bloody hell, had Wills actually told Theo that she’d been stabbed? Why would he do that?
“Lucky?”
“Yes, lucky, Genevieve. As in lucky to be alive.” It was a dark growl of fury, and she flinched.
“Exactly what did Wills tell you?”
“He said you work for the Crown and were stabbed two nights ago.”
Genevieve gaped at him as his harsh declaration filled the air.
It echoed with something more than anger, but she couldn’t tell what.
It was a passing thought until it settled in her brain that William had revealed her status as a spy for the Crown.
Why the hell would he tell Theo about her injury?
Unless…her heart almost stopped beating.
Dear God, Theo had to be working for the foreign section.
It hadn’t surprised her when C had mentioned another Rockwood had joined the Secret Intelligence Service a week after Peter’s death.
All the unmarried Rockwood men shared two townhouses close to each other.
The larger of the two was where they all gathered for conversation and whatever else interested them.
It wouldn’t have taken them long to uncover what her brother had been involved in.
“Did Peter know?”
“Know what?” she prevaricated, praying her voice echoed with bemusement.
“Don’t be obtuse, Genevieve. I might have only just started working for the Crown, but I’m not some lovesick swain enthralled by your beauty.”
Although his confirmation that he was an agent in the foreign section shouldn’t have surprised her, it did. Even more startling was that he’d called her beautiful. Theo’s blue eyes flashed with suppressed fury when she didn’t speak.
“Answer me, damn you. Did Peter know you were working for the Secret Intelligence Service?”
“Yes, he knew,” she said softly.
The memory of how angry her brother had been when he’d learned she was working for the Crown was the reason she now reported directly to C.
The minute Peter stormed into the man’s office, the head of the foreign section had decided none of the other Rockwood men were to be informed of her involvement or he’d have a mutiny on his hands.
“I’m surprised he didn’t wring your neck.”
“He wanted to,” she said with bittersweet irony at the memory of Peter berating her for the better part of an hour. “But when he realized he wouldn’t be able to dissuade me, he gave way. He, and C also, knew I possessed an ability to procure information you and the others don’t.”
“An ability we—” The rage darkening Theo’s face made Genevieve’s heart skip another frantic beat. If he hadn’t been a Rockwood, she would have been more than uneasy in the face of his anger. Tension held him rigid, and the timbre of his voice became low and menacing. “Explain that statement.”
“Men will talk to a woman more easily than they will a man, especially if they’ve had enough to drink.”
The moment she spoke, Theo paled before his features became a stony mask of savage fury.
His throat bobbed as if he were struggling not to rain down all the fires of hell on her head.
In fact, his anger seemed to be even greater than Peter’s had been the day her brother had learned she was working for the Crown.
“Does that mean you’ve…” his voice trailed off as he inhaled a deep breath. She stiffened, knowing precisely what he was asking without having spoken the words.
“That I’m trading my body for secrets? That’s none of your business.”
Bitterness made her eye him with contempt.
She didn’t even have time to blink before his hands were biting into her upper arms, and he shook her hard.
The action tugged painfully at her wound, and she winced.
Instantly, an emotion she couldn’t decipher eased his stony expression a small bit.
With a jerk, he released her as quickly as he’d grabbed her.
“I’m making it my business,” he snarled. “Now, answer me. Are you sacrificing yourself for information?”
“No,” she said softly.
Theo’s marble-like features revealed nothing of what he was thinking as he studied her with a severity that said lying to him wouldn’t be a good thing.
Genevieve swallowed hard at her half-truth response.
She might not be selling her body, but she’d been flirting with danger for the past five months.
It was a risk to flirt with and tease men who lusted after her.
But she’d extracted valuable information from those men by leading several of them to believe they would have her in a dark alley.
But she’d seen to it that all of them had imbibed enough drink to save her from having to fend off unwanted advances, except for the other night.
Genevieve had seriously misjudged Scully’s level of intoxication.
When she’d left The Blind Beggar, he’d followed her.
Now, as she met Theo’s gaze, he released an unintelligible sound and spun away from her.
Just as Peter had done when he’d learned she was working for the Crown, Theo prowled the floor of the croft like a restless lion ready to do battle.
Why was he so angry? Although his concern for her safety warmed her heart, the level of his anger puzzled her.
Theo came to an abrupt halt and turned to glare at her.
“I ought to wring your goddamn neck,” he snarled. “You, of all people, know how dangerous the East End is.”
“And because I was born and raised there, I’m able to traverse that area of London better than most,” she replied quietly.
“That’s not a reason to venture into that infernal hell without a partner.”
“I don’t want a partner,” she said tersely as she narrowed her gaze at him.
“Nevertheless, you have one now, and you’re looking at him.”