My Favorite Thief Read Free

were unlike any he had ever seen. There was a singular strength emanating from the strange young woman standing before him, a unique resolve that was as bewildering as it was captivating.
    â€œAre you carrying a pistol?” she demanded.
    â€œNo.”
    She frowned. “What about a dirk?”
    Reluctantly, he nodded. “I have a dagger in my boot.”
    â€œA dagger is fine for threatening to cut my throat,” she allowed matter-of-factly, “but if someone decides to try to wrestle it from your hand, we’re going to have a problem.”
    He didn’t know what to make of her. Any normal gentle-born woman would have been drowning in tears by now, begging him to release her unharmed. Instead this strange girl was scanning the room, apparently trying to come up with another weapon for him. He went to the window and glanced at the crowd still gathered on the street below. The hammering in his head was spreading now, sending deep tentacles of pain streaking across his forehead and into his temples.
    â€œI know!” she exclaimed suddenly. “You can hold Lady Chadwick’s hairbrush in your pocket and press it against my ribs as we go out, giving everyone the impression that you have a firearm.”
    She grabbed a heavy silver brush from the bureau and held it out to him. As if she actually believed he was a man of great daring, who was easily capable of outwitting an irate mob on the strength of a mere hairbrush. For some strange reason, he was loath to disillusion her. When was the last time a woman had looked at him with such pure, untainted trust in her eyes? he wondered bleakly. The pain in his head was getting worse now. He knew in a few minutes it would be excruciating, and then he would be unable to think at all. If there was any chance of escape, however small, this was his only moment to grasp it.
    â€œAnd what do we do when we get outside?” he asked.
    â€œDon’t you have a carriage waiting for you?”
    â€œNo.”
    She frowned again, as if she found it incomprehensible that a thief could attempt a robbery so poorly prepared. “Then we’ll have to take mine,” she decided, moving toward the doorway.
    â€œAre you hurt?”
    She regarded him in confusion. “No—why?”
    â€œYour leg—you seem to be having trouble walking.”
    â€œIt’s nothing,” she assured him shortly. “I’m fine.”
    Shoving Lady Chadwick’s hairbrush into his coat, he wrapped his arm around her.
    â€œI don’t need your help to walk,” she protested, trying to push him away. “I’m quite capable of—”
    â€œI’m only doing as you suggested and pretending that I am using you as a shield.”
    â€œOh.” She stopped fighting him, but her body was rigid beneath his arm. It was obvious he had touched a raw nerve when he mentioned her leg.
    â€œOnce we are outside, if anyone decides to overtake me, I want you to get the hell away from me so you are out of harm’s way.” Harrison regarded her seriously. “Is that clear?”
    She shook her head. “No one is going to attack you as long as I stay in front—”
    â€œIs that clear?”
    â€œIf I move away from you, someone might shoot you.”
    â€œWe’re not leaving, Miss Kent, until you say yes.”
    She sighed, reluctant. “Yes.”
    â€œFine, then. Let’s go.”
    They moved awkwardly down the staircase together. By the time they had reached the main floor, his accomplice was breathing heavily, and despite her assurances that she was fine, Harrison knew her gait was painfully stiff. He had little time to reflect upon this, however, as they stepped up to the front door and into the view of the crowd awaiting them outside.
    â€œEveryone move back,” Harrison commanded, holding fast to his partner, “and send Miss Kent’s carriage over.”
    The terrified horde obediently took a few