Highland Awakening by Jennifer Haymore Page A

the Highland Knights.”
    She released a long breath. “Ah.”
    He raised his brows in surprise at her stiffening posture. “You’ve heard of the Knights?”
    “Yes. My brother Sam works with the Agency.”
    He nodded. “I am acquainted with your brother.”
    “From what I’ve gathered, the Highland Knights are an offshoot of Sam’s group.”
    “Aye, we are.” He tilted his head at her. “How much do you know of the Agency?”
    “Too much,” she said flatly.
    He nodded, understanding immediately. Sam Hawkins had been an elite assassin for the Agency for many years, but he was deeply incognito and very few knew the extent of the work he did for the country. Clearly, Esme did, though.
    “The Knights have only been in service to the Crown since Waterloo. The work we’re involved in is much the same, though most of our assignments will be in Scotland and the north.”
    “Why are you in London, then?”
    “I dinna ken, exactly. We were in Manchester for a time, but since then we’ve been in London guarding Pinfield. He’s evidently been receiving death threats. We’ve been assigned to protect him and uncover the nature of the threat. Our superiors believe the danger might have originated in Scotland.”
    “I see.” She paused. “You’ve worked with Sam, then?”
    “He was with us through the beginning months. He introduced us to the work.”
    “Are you an assassin?” she breathed.
    “Nay. Though if my duty calls for it, I’ll do what must needs be done.”
    “So did what happened yesterday have something to do with your work?”
    “Aye, in a way. It was…it was one of the other Knights…George Fraser…”
    She leaned forward, reaching out to cover his hand that was resting on the arm of the chair. He was trembling, very subtly, and he wondered if she could feel it as she squeezed his hand gently.
    He was unused to being comforted. It was a singularly odd sensation. He liked it more than he’d expected to. Quite a bit more.
    “What happened?” she asked.
    “He was killed.” He closed his eyes and took a deep, shuddering breath. “He was my friend. My brother. He was murdered while I was here at your brother’s dinner party.”
    “Oh, Cam,” she murmured. “I am so sorry.”
    They sat in silence for a long moment. Cam kept his eyes closed and his body relaxed, even though it felt alive and awake in every possible way, his senses humming with awareness radiating out from their point of contact at his hand.
    “The worst part about it,” Cam said after a time, “is that we dinna ken who murdered him. And we dinna ken why. Fraser had no enemies.”
    “But the Highland Knights must,” Esme said.
    “Aye.” Again he was surprised at her perceptiveness. She was no insipid female. “Even as green as we are, it’s possible we’ve already acquired enemies.”
    Esme shuddered. “That means you’re in danger, too.” She squeezed his hand a little tighter. “What will you do?”
    “We’ve questioned everyone at the gaming hell where he was last night. Whoever did it covered their tracks well.”
    “It was planned, then.”
    “Aye. Probably. And they waited for him to be alone…or not surrounded by a mob, in any case. He was there with another one of the Knights, Ross. But Ross didna leave the tables at all.”
    “And Mr. Fraser did?”
    “Aye, he did.”
    “You’ll need to be careful, Cam.”
    He didn’t respond.
    “Please. Tell me you’ll be careful.”
    “Aye. I’ll be careful. But I’m no’ going to stop until I find who did this, and why.”
    “I understand,” she said softly. “If anything happened to one of my brothers, I’d feel the same.”
    Her loyalty to her family didn’t surprise him.
    “It seems to me, though,” she continued with a shiver, “that you won’t need to be looking for whoever did this. If it’s truly an enemy of the Highland Knights, I think they’ll be coming to you.”
    “Let them come,” he said darkly.
    They were quiet. Having her