Jenna Petersen - [Lady Spies] by Seduction Is Forever Page A

yourself.”
    Ana folded her arms and a sudden flash of anger lit her normally gentle eyes. “Yes. You were. But that was six months ago. You hadn’t yet been shot. I had never entered the field. I doubted myself, but that is no longer the case. But you should doubt yourself, my dear. You should be aware of your shortcomings or else you’re just a terrible accident waiting to happen.” Her tone softened and tears sparkled in her eyes. “Emily, I don’t wish to see you added to the anonymous wall of fallen spies at the War Department.”
    Emily hesitated. Now that she’d railed out a good portion of her outrage and anger, she felt calm enough to really hear Ana’s pleas. And she understood them, even though she hated the fact that they might be true. She had to prove they weren’t.
    And now that she had uncovered this false Prince, perhaps she could. Her gaze slipped to Ana’s face. For many years, she had depended on her partners for support in the field. For research. For assistance. She had turned to Charlie for details she couldn’t obtain on her own.
    But this time, that wasn’t possible. If she told them what she’d seen, they would certainly remove her from the case, citing all their concerns about her abilities. She might never overcome her fears and regain their trust. Or her trust in herself. If she wanted that, she would have to do this alone…unless she could find a suitable partner to assist her. One who had something to prove, himself.
    “What are you going to do, Emily?” Ana tilted her head. “Now that you’re aware of our deception.”
    She swallowed hard. There was only one thing to do.
    “Well, first, I’m going to put Lord Westfield through his paces.” She folded her arms with a wicked smile. “If he wants to follow me, he’ll have to earn the right.”
    Ana shook her head, “Emily—”
    She shrugged off her friend’s protests. “My apologies for interrupting you, Ana. Now that I know the truth, I’ll be on my way.”
    “No.” Ana followed her as she left the parlor and headed into the foyer. “This conversation isn’t over yet, Em!”
    She ignored her friend’s calls as she left the house and headed to her carriage. The one she had paid the hackney driver handsomely to fetch and send back for her from its hidden location by The Blue Pony.
    “Go enjoy your husband,” she called over her shoulder as she climbed into the rig. As she shut the door behind her, she murmured, “I have my own plans.”
    Yes, Grant Ashbury would have to prove what kind of spy he was. And if he passed her test, then and only then would she approach him with the truth and offer him a chance to redeem himself in the eyes of his superiors by helping her solve the case of the false Prince.
    Because this could be the biggest case she’d ever investigated. But she wasn’t sure she could do it alone.
    As the carriage rocked around a corner, a nagging voice inside her reminded her that after tonight, she also wasn’t quite ready to let go of Grant. Even though there was no future in that desire.

Chapter 8
    “A nd then she left you locked in her bedroom?” Laughter thickened Ben’s voice and Grant could feel his brother’s amused stare on his back.
    He gritted his teeth, finding nothing humorous about the situation. It wasn’t a circumstance he would normally relate to anyone, even his brother, but he’d been so damned haunted since he awoke in the bedroom where he’d had what was probably the most powerful sexual encounter of his one and thirty years. He had to tell someone. And there was no one he trusted more than Ben.
    “Yes,” he managed to grind out as he clenched and unclenched his fists and stared into the dancing fire.
    “I’m sorry.” Ben wasn’t even trying to hold back the chuckles now. “But I think that may be the most entertaining thing I’ve ever heard in my life. How in the world could you, my controlled and powerful older brother, one of the best spies in the whole