Page 104 of Stolen By the Heartless Duke

His hand drifted instinctively toward the pistol concealed beneath his coat. His gaze swept across the shadows.

Nothing.

Behind him, Jane remained exactly where he had left her.

A faint creak echoed somewhere overhead. Hector stopped. It wasn’t the building. He heard footsteps. Before he could turn, figures emerged from behind the stacked cargo. Five men in total. Each carried a weapon tucked visibly into their belts.

Their expressions were relaxed. One of them smiled. “Thought someone might come snooping.”

Hector slowly shifted his stance. “You’ve been expecting visitors?”

“We’ve been expectingyou.”

Another man stepped around the opposite stack of crates, cutting off the path back to the entrance. Jane inhaled sharply behind him.

Hector spoke without taking his eyes off the men. “Stay behind me.”

The tallest thug laughed. “That won’t save either of you.”

Hector’s pulse steadied. He thought of his father in that moment. There were five men in close quarters. There were too many to evade, but that would not stop Hector from trying to protect Jane.

The leader spread his hands. “Mr. Strachan sends his regards.”

“So it would seem.”

“And he says you’ve asked far too many questions already.”

The first blow came without warning. A cudgel swung toward Hector’s head. He ducked beneath it. The heavy wood crashed into a crate instead. Splinters exploded into the air.

Hector drove his shoulder into the attacker’s chest. The man staggered backward. Hector followed immediately. His fist connected with the man’s jaw. Bone cracked. The thug collapsed before he even struck the floor. One down.

A second man lunged at him with a knife. Hector caught the man’s wrist before the blade reached him. They struggled for only a heartbeat. Then Hector twisted. The knife clattered across the floor. An elbow drove hard into the man’s ribs. Another strike landed beneath his chin. The fellow folded wordlessly.

Two down.

Movement flashed to Hector’s left. Another attacker swung a club. Hector barely blocked the blow with his forearm. Pain shot toward his shoulder. The fourth man rushed him simultaneously.

He retreated a single step. This was a tactical error. The fifth man slipped past him and headed straight toward Jane.

“No!” Hector turned, but another punch caught him across the cheek.

His vision blurred. By the time he shoved the attacker aside, two men had already reached Jane. One grabbed for her wrist. The other circled behind her.

“Easy now, my lady.”

Jane didn’t scream. She reacted exactly as he had taught her. She turned with the grip instead of fighting against it, lowered her weight, and rotated beneath the man’s arm.

Then, sharp and quick, she struck the vulnerable point beneath his thumb. His fingers opened involuntarily, and Jane slipped free.

Hector’s heart lurched. She had remembered. Pride surged through him. Then the second man seized her shoulders.

Jane twisted again, but not quickly enough. His fingertips caught her sleeve. The fabric tore, and she stumbled backward.

“Run!” Hector shouted.

Instead of freezing, she moved. She ducked beneath another reaching arm and darted around a stack of crates.

One attacker cursed. “There!”