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"Macall," Julian acknowledged, noting that the bastard was grasping Aurora's ar back the instinct to lunge forward and snatch his wife away It would be the stupidesther and himself killed No, he had to stay calm, remain perfectly still as he tried to assess the extent of his ene for me"
"And I found you" Macall spat at Julian's feet, then glanced at the restless urchin who hovered about, waiting "Th
ere" He jerked his head in the direction of a s froet out of here"
"Yes, sir" The urchin yanked the pouch free and bolted without so lance
"So this is your wife," Macallover Aurora "Tell ood? Or did you marry her just for the diamond?"
Julian scarcely blinked "Let her go, Macall Your fight is with me, not Aurora" He sed past the sharp pressure in his throat "You want to kill me? Fine Release h"
"Julian—no" Aurora began to struggle, yanking violently but ineffectually at her ar her bonnet until it fell to the ground
Macall dragged her closer, his grip tightening until she whi stare examined the fineness of her features close-up, took in the loose tendrils of red-gold hair that now tu to suspect Merlin had e," he said with a sardonic smile "I'll have to satisfy h, it ht persuade me to let you live"
"Think again, Macall," Julian countered icily "What you have in mind requires two hands, one of which is currently occupied with holding a sword to my throat Should you remove that hand, I'll find a way to kill you before you draw your next breath, et whatever vile notion you have in s—at me"
"Oh, I intend to vent s After which both my hands will be free—as will your wife" With a sneer, Macall turned back to Julian "You really have gone soft, haven't you, Merlin? Who would ever have thought a woh to you to render you weak, ensure your undoing? After ten ed to lure you into as obviously a trap siet what I want by doing the sah "Ironic, isn't it? As a result of your own stupidity, I'll soon have both your prized possessions—the black diamond and your bride" He jerked his chin in the direction of Julian's coat pocket "Take out the pistol, nice and slow Then toss it to the ground"
"Why should I? According to you, you plan on killing me anyway" A deliberate pause "Of course, then you'll have only half of what you cae What about the black diamond?"
"That won't work, Merlin" Macall's dark eyes glittered "I don't need both you and your duchess alive to get my hands on the diamond, not when she's Aurora Huntley I could easily kill you, then toss up your wife's skirts right here in this alley and take her brutally and repeatedly until she tells me where I can find the stone Hoould that be?"
Julian tasted bile Slowly, knowing bloody well he had no choice, he co it drop to the ground The bastard was right If Macall drove hih here and now, Aurora would be at the privateer's mercy Julian had to stall for time, find a way to save her
"Good" Macall kicked the pistol across the alley "Noe can get down to business" He pushed the sword an iota deeper, pricking Julian's skin until blood began to trickle down his throat "As you yourself just pointed out, I want two things: you—dead at my feet—and the black diamond The first is a fated reality, and has been since the day you killed my brother The second is also a reality, but not quite as unconditional as the first You see, I can either acquire my prize easily or with a bit of persuasion That, Merlin, is where your choice comes in If you tell me what I want to know, you'll die with a minimum amount of pain and the duchess here will be allowed to live If you refuse, your death will be an excruciating one—as will your finalme carve your bride into little pieces The choice is yours"
"There's no choice to ain at her ar your possession"