Kisses and Scandal (A Survivors Series Anthology ) - Shana Galen Page 0,101

about why he’d chosen this coffee or that tobacco over others. Raeni didn’t have to wonder if his shop would be a success. There was no question.

And quite suddenly she had tears in her eyes. The thought of leaving the office where she’d spent so many hours the past few weeks pained her. She’d felt at home there, and she had rarely ever felt at home. She’d felt at home in Thomas’s arms as well, and now he would never hold her again.

She withdrew, not wanting anyone to see her tears and ask what the matter might be. She would have to pass through the back room with all the men who worked there to go to the office, so instead she went out the side door behind the kitchen. In the narrow alley, she leaned against the wall of the building and wiped tears from her eyes. She was strong. She had left everything and everyone she had known in Jamaica for an uncertain future in a place called England. She could do it again. She’d start over, and this time she would be smarter. This time she wouldn’t allow any man to claim her heart because the risk of having to say good-bye again was too great.

She took a shuddering breath, feeling a little stronger. Perhaps now was the best time to tell Thomas farewell. Now, before she lost her nerve and while he was still so busy that it would be a quick ending. Better to do it quickly as they’d drawn the pain out long enough.

“Look at this, Elias. She’s come straight to us.”

Raeni’s head jerked up. She’d been so lost in thought that she hadn’t noticed the two men blocking the exit to the alley. They were large white men, dressed in the loose trousers, white linen shirts, and open coats sailors wore. One carried a burlap sack and one carried a pistol. She’d never seen them before, but she knew who they were—slavers. They’d been hired by her father to bring her back to Jamaica.

The slavers blocked her exit to Bond Street, and when she glanced in the other direction, she saw the alley had been walled off.

“There’s no way out,” the slaver with the burlap sack said. Presumably he would put that over her head to stifle any cries she might make before he could shove her in a closed coach and have her driven to his ship. “If you don’t fight us, we won’t hurt you.”

She reached back, feeling for the door latch. “You wouldn’t dare hurt me. My father is paying you to bring me back in good condition.”

“Put your hands where we can see them,” the slaver with the pistol said, moving closer. Raeni held her hands up. “And the trip to Jamaica will take weeks. That’s plenty of time for any bruises to heal.”

Raeni’s mind raced. The men were too close for her to open the door to the back room of the shop. Once she turned her back, they’d race forward and grab her while she struggled with the latch. She had no choice but to fight her way past them and into the street. Then she could run. Raeni slid along the wall, closer to the street as the men closed in. “You know what you’re doing is abduction, and it’s illegal. I’m free in this country.”

The man with the burlap sack lifted it. “Your father said to bring you back, and he’s paying. Now stand still.” He lunged toward her, and she cut under his arm and ran toward the street. But she wasn’t fast enough. The man with the pistol grabbed her arm and hauled her painfully back. She twisted, saw his white hand on her arm, and bit him.

With a howl he released her and stumbled back into his compatriot. Raeni lifted her skirts and ran. She emerged onto Bond Street with the men right behind her. She didn’t pause but ran away from the crowds gathering before Bond Street Coffee & Tobacco. The crowds might slow her and give the men a chance to catch her. Londoners might not like the idea of a slaver abducting a runaway slave, but that didn’t mean they would step in and interfere.

She ran along Bond Street, the slavers right behind her. She toppled a costermonger’s cart, spilling fruit in the slavers’ path, and pushed men and women in her way aside. Finally, she crossed the street and glanced behind her to judge how much of a