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among thieves? That seemed more likely than the possibility that he was the leader of a benevolent rescue force.
    “Good evening to you, Parren.”
    Except for the hard undertone that laced the words, Isabella would almost have described Alec’s voice as affable. The effect on the man who had just emerged from the house was immediate. He froze, swivelling toward the speaker as if he’d heard a voice from heaven—or hell. The other men whirled in their tracks as well.
    “God’s bones, it be the Tiger!”
    “Damn it to bloody ’ell!”
    “I done tol’ you ’e ’ad the second sight!”
    “Shut up!” This last was muttered by the man who had dragged her from the coach—Parren, Alec had called him. They responded by sidling toward their leader, who stood still as a rabbit in peril from a snake as Alec strolled toward him. The darkness made it impossible for Isabella to see the burly Parren’s expression, but the tension of his stance made his apprehension obvious. The lantern he was holding suddenly seemed to vibrate. Isabella wondered if his hand trembled.
    “I, uh, didn’t expect, uh …” Parren seemed utterly discomposed as he stared at Alec.
    “Are you trying to say that you didn’t expect to see me this far from London on such a fine night? Why, Parren, how shortsighted of you!” Alec’s voice was pure silk, so polished that if she had not heard him earlier, she might have mistaken him for a gentleman after all. But something sinister buried just below the surface made even Isabella shiver. The lantern Parren was holding quivered again.
    “We … we never meant to do you out of your cut, Tiger. I … I swear it. We would ’ave give it to you, just as soon as we got back to Lunnon. But the gent whut wanted the job done was in a powerful ’urry, and …” Parren’s voice trailed off as Alec—Tiger?—shook his head almost regretfully.
    “But you know how much I like to be informed of these things in advance. I’m afraid that you’ve made a slight error in judgement, Parren. And it’s going to cost you. Dearly.”
    “ ’Ow much? ’Ell, Tiger, you can ’ave ’alf our take.…”
    “I want it all.”
    “All?” It was an outraged croak.
    “And the lady, too. Alive.”
    “But—but we already made a deal with ’er da, and got our cash. ’Ard bloody work it was, too. Believe me, Tiger, there’ll be no more paid for that one.”
    “There is no deal made out of London unless it’s approved by me. You know that.”
    Parren was silent.
    “You shouldn’t have tried to cheat me, Parren. I don’t like that. Ask anyone. Ask Harry Givens.”
    “But ’e’s crabbed.”
    “He is dead, isn’t he? And that’s what you’re going to be if I ever set eyes on you again. I’m very much afraid that from now on you’ll have to carry out your dirty little jobs in another town, Parren. London’s just been closed to you.”
    “You can’t do that! ’Ell, even you don’t own the whole bloody town!”
    “Don’t I?” The voice was almost a purr. Alec lifted his pistol almost idly, and the men behind him immediately did the same. The tension in the air was palpable. In the sudden silence Isabella thought she heard a metallic click.…
    “Watch it!”
    All of a sudden Parren dropped his lantern. Isabella was following its downward trajectory with her eyes when there was another hoarse shout and the staccato bark of a pistol.
    Paddy cursed, and thrust her toward the woods. “Run, wench!” he growled at her. Yanking a pair of pistols from his waistband, he sprinted for the field. There were more shouts, more pistol shots. As Paddy emerged from the woods, pistols blasting, Isabella realized that Alec lay on his belly on the frost-bitten ground. The other men had either taken cover in the woods or were, like Alec, lying sprawled in the open.
    Run, Paddy had said. Isabella needed no second urging. She lifted her skirt clear of her legs and fled as exploding pistols and men’s screams rent the