Revealed

Jack’s eyes glinted appreciatively when the motor car pulled up to the curb in front of the DeHaviland townhouse, but he didn’t speak. Grudgingly grateful for his ex-lover’s silence, Anthony got in the car and Jack slid in beside him. Additional gratitude rose in him for the shortness of the ride to the Lords of Aether club. Acutely aware of Jack’s thigh pressing against his, Anthony wished he could be as insouciant as Jack about their shared past.  But no, he had to let the man get beneath his skin repeatedly over something that had occurred years in the past.

Anthony turned his thoughts to Shelley, a much easier subject for him to focus on than Jack. He wondered how Shelley had gotten out of the house. He wasn’t precisely worried because he knew Shelley to be possessed of an extraordinary skill set, not all of which could be considered above the law. Still, Anthony had dragged Shelley into Jack’s world and he felt responsible for keeping him safe amidst the deceptions and subterfuge.

When the car pulled up in front of the club’s elegant white façade, Anthony and Jack got out. Beare stood at the door, his usually impassive face flickering with pleasure as he eyed the gleaming motorcar. Anthony bit back a grin. He knew his driver had given Beare a tour of the car’s features when he’d first purchased it, but he hadn’t realized how much Beare admired the vehicle until now.  So much technology was discussed and displayed at the club that Anthony assumed Beare to be fairly well-versed in the topic, yet still with an appreciation for the rituals of a less modern time.

“Good evening, milord, sir.”

Beare’s greeting to Anthony and Jack was low-key, as if he somehow knew something unusual had occurred at the ball. Anthony figured someone had reported back to Beare about Shelley’s impersonation. News tended to travel quickly within social circles and the club was most definitely social.

Striding through the wood paneled corridors behind Beare’s upright figure, Anthony noted several men who had been in attendance at the DeHaviland ball. One of them, or all of them, were sure to have told the tale of his cock grinding scene in the card room. Not that it mattered. All of the club members had a predilection for men. It was a commonality that kept their ranks fairly elite.

Beare opened the door to a private salon and Anthony swept in with Jack on his coat tails. Shelley sat in a leather wing back chair beside the fire, his hair still possessed of chestnut colored hair dye and his palm filled with a brandy snifter. Anthony sensed rather than felt Jack tense beside him. Ignoring the spy, he crossed the room to take the chair beside Shelley, knowing all the while that the courtesan was putting on a show for Jack. Shelley wasn’t much to sip brandy from a snifter although he regularly poured one for Anthony. His current pose was meant to emulate his brother, thereby setting Jack on edge.

Anthony hid a smile. Shelley’s deviousness happened to be one of the things Anthony admired about the man. His machinations amused Anthony and God knew, not much else in life brought him amusement. Shelley truly was a prize and as such, Anthony would not let Jack use him. Shelley’s part in Jack’s search for Nash was done.

“Who are you?”

The tone of Jack’s voice set Anthony’s teeth on edge. He reached out and took the snifter from Shelley, transferred it to his other hand and then threaded his fingers through the courtesan’s. For a brief moment, surprise flickered in Shelley’s silvery eyes, then he smiled.

“Just a man. A bastard really.”

Jack’s eyes narrowed suspiciously and Anthony could barely keep the grin from his face. Coming closer, Jack took the chair opposite and leaned forward, elbows on knees, so he could study Shelley’s face.

“By God, you are the image of Nash,” he breathed.

Abruptly, he rose from his chair and leaned over Shelley. The courtesan gazed up at him, a half-smile curling the edges of his mouth. Anthony’s fingers tightened on Shelley’s. Before he could ask Jack what the hell he thought he was doing, the spy leaned closer and sniffed at Shelley. Anthony went rigid.

“You go too far, Jack,” he growled, half rising in his chair.

Shelley caressed Anthony’s hand, pulling him back down. As Anthony subsided in his chair, Shelley shot him a private smile. “He means no offense,” he murmured.

Jack drew in another deep breath before returning to his own chair. Beare slipped into the room and placed a tray of sandwiches on the nearby table. He cleared his throat and when Anthony glanced up said, “I believe Lord Bridgewater wanted a word, milord. However, he said it would keep if you were busy.”

Anthony nodded and Beare left. A sharp smile lit Jack’s face and Anthony knew his former lover had begun to puzzle out exactly who Shelley might be. With an inward sigh, Anthony let go of Shelley’s hand. The courtesan looked from Anthony to Jack and back again.

“He doesn’t smell at all like Nash, you know.”

Jack’s smug words pricked Anthony’s annoyance. “Was he supposed to? He’s not Nash.”

“I know that. Now.” A hint of pique colored Jack’s voice. “He must be related to him though. Are you English?” he asked Shelley.

The courtesan’s smile held all the hauteur of a European prince. “Hardly. I’m American by birth but I was raised in Italy.”

“On the DiViola estates, I assume.” Jack’s smirk made Anthony want to hit him. “You’re Nash’s brother.”

Shelley shrugged as if his relationship to Nash meant nothing. “The Conte DiViola has a number of children on both sides of the blanket. Nash and I were lucky enough to have once spent an entire year together running wild on our father’s estate in Tuscany. I have enough of a connection to him to be somewhat curious about his disappearance.”

Jack opened his mouth to reply, but in an instant, Shelley’s demeanor shifted from languid to menacing, the chilling glitter in his silvery eyes seeming to drop the temperature in the room. “Whoever has him is either a fool or very dangerous. To steal the son of a powerful European financier who has the blood of assassins in his veins is to dance with death. That our father is unaware of Nash’s disappearance is a clue in and of itself.”

Jack stared at Anthony, his expression almost accusatory. “You wanted a reaction tonight. What did you get?” he asked roughly, his body taut.

Anthony sipped the brandy, eyeing Jack over the rim of the glass. “The Italian attaché scurried from the room with a scowl so I imagine it won’t be long before the conte is aware that his son is missing.”

Shelley arched one brow, but said nothing. Jack’s face darkened with impatience. Anthony thought about stringing Jack along for another few minutes, but decided against it. He really had no more desire for revenge. He just wanted Jack to go. He didn’t like the way Jack looked at Shelley and he didn’t like Shelley giving Jack information the spy might one day use for his own ends. He wasn’t comfortable having Jack know anything at all about Shelley.

“Besides the attaché, only one man had an unusual reaction to Shelley’s appearance. Pure disbelief followed by a rage so great he visibly shook from it,” Anthony revealed. “And since the man is connected to the Prime Minister, he’s the last person I would have suspected as being involved in Nash’s disappearance.”

He paused and Jack leaned forward, his blue eyes dark with emotion. Beside him, Shelley raised one hand to stroke his earlobe and fleetingly Anthony thought of the jeweled earring he’d bought his lover and of the sweet caress of Shelley’s mouth upon his cock, showing his delight in the gift. His cock surged within his drawers and he wanted Jack gone so he could sink into Shelley’s arms and experience the nirvana only the courtesan could give him.

Unfortunately, Shelley’s masquerade had unveiled a dangerous man and whatever plot had necessitated Nash’s kidnapping needed to be discovered and foiled. Anthony understood his duty even while he chafed at it. After all, his pleasure really shouldn’t be second to a man’s life.

“The man who knows about Nash’s disappearance is…”

A deep, sardonic voice cut Anthony off in mid-sentence. “Nelson Woolley, Viscount Atterby.”

They all turned to find the Earl of Bridgewater standing in the doorway.  Anthony noted that Jack’s face showed signs of excitement at the revelation. However, it was Shelley’s reaction to Emmett Montgomery that drew his attention more fully. The courtesan’s eyes glinted familiarly as he gazed at the earl. And to Anthony’s intense fury, Emmett’s eyes held a note of carnal awareness as well.

Anthony’s jaw tightened as Emmett came into the room and closed the door. He could barely keep his hands from fisting as the earl took the chair beside Jack, his gaze still upon Shelley. Every muscle in his body screamed with the urge to mark Shelley as his and warn off the handsome, athletic earl.

Jack faded into the background as jealousy burned like acid beneath his skin. The realization that Emmett had fucked Shelley gripped Anthony in a vise of raw rage. Every primal gene in his body screamed for action, yet he sat as if turned to stone while deep in his chest a small ache began to throb with every leaden beat of his heart.

“Atterby!” Jack exclaimed, rushing to his feet to pace the room. “Why? Why would the Prime Minister’s closest confidant kidnap Nash?”

“I think that is something we need to discover,” Emmett replied, finally looking away from Shelley. “This isn’t a simple kidnapping and Atterby isn’t the mastermind. He’s not the type. But I do believe this is a dangerous game of possible sedition.”

“Plots within plots,” Shelley murmured thoughtfully. “Atterby likes to dominate and inflict pain. His usual prey are young men, but of late, he’s been seen with men of power like the Prime Minister and various Home Office ministers.”

“Trust you to know the sexual peccadilloes of the men of the ton.” Emmett chuckled as he gazed at Shelley warmly.

Anthony thought he would explode. Until this moment, he’d always liked Emmett Montgomery. Now, he wanted to rend him limb from limb. He heard the conversation about Atterby but couldn’t concentrate on it. All he could think of was that the handsome earl had touched Shelley’s magnificent body and that the exquisite mouth that gave him so much pleasure had sucked the earl’s cock too.

“Anthony!” Jack’s exasperated tone, brought Anthony back to the discussion. His former lover stood with hands on hips in a pose of vexation. “I asked you a question!”

Slowly, Anthony dragged his gaze from Shelley who repeated helpfully, “Where do you suppose Atterby would stash Nash?”

The possibilities were endless, but Anthony knew instantly where he would put Nash if he had Atterby’s connections. “The Prime Minister has an estate just outside of London. A very old stone castle purported to have actual medieval dungeons beneath it. If I were Atterby, that’s where I would put Nash.”

“An odd place to stash someone if you’re a seditionist,” Emmett observed.

“Which makes it damned perfect.” Jack’s voice held a note of triumph and he turned toward the door. “I must be off.”

Anthony rose to his feet and gripped Jack’s arm. “I wouldn’t. Atterby is likely to have gone there direct from the ball to see if Nash is still there. We need to wait a few hours and see what information we can dig up about the house in the interim.”

“We?” Jack’s brows rose as he stared at Anthony.

Shooting a glance at Emmett, Anthony noted his interested expression, the earl’s interest in hunting replacing any caution he might otherwise have had. He nodded at Emmett and the earl’s mouth curved into a smile.

“Yes, we. I think you need us, Jack. You’re emotionally too close to this.” Anthony shoved Jack toward a chair. “Sit. Let’s eat and plan how to spring Nash from Atterby’s clutches.”

Emmett rubbed his hands together. “Hunting always requires careful planning,” he murmured.

Anthony’s rage subsided as Emmett’s attention shifted from Shelley to the love of his life, the hunt. He didn’t know quite how to go about rescuing Nash but he figured between them, they’d come up with something viable. All he needed to do now was keep himself under control, a feat of monumental proportions considering his ex-lover and his current lover were in the same room with a man who’d also been with his lover. Emotion twisted into knots within Anthony, something he’d have to analyze at a later time. For now, he had a rescue to plan.

Lex Valentine Anthony Banning, Emmett Montgomery, Jack Starr, Savage Beare, Shelley Jefferson