The Impostor Read Online Free PDF Page B

see the carriage, moving steadily down the road, and then, without warning, it burst into flames.
    Tessa Ryder drew in her breath sharply.
    He cursed softly. His coachman and horses screamed. The flames roared upwards, toward the sky. The unnaturally ferocious fire devoured the carriage, a great, ravening beast such as he had only seen once before in his life, when flames had consumed the men who lay dying in the dry grass of Talavera.
    “Come on,” he said to his captive. “We have to keep moving. They’ll be looking for us.”
    He was already dragging her into the darkness of the alley. They moved swiftly down the cobblestone street, and soon, the mouth of the next street appeared before them, illuminated by several lit windows, and then fading back into the fog.
    He came to an abrupt stop, pressing the dagger into his captive’s throat. Footsteps came down the street toward them, transmitted through the fog. He reacted instantly, dragging Tessa Ryder backward into the shadows of a side alley. As he watched, something moved in the darkness at the neck of the street, and slowly took shape and form. Three men, advancing toward them. They spoke in clear American accents.
    “They can’t be far,” said one of them. “They must have slipped out when the carriage stopped here. There wasn’t any other opportunity.”
    “Did he take the girl with him?”
    “I think so. Didn’t hear her in the carriage when the damned thing exploded.”
    “Does Sevigny want her alive?”
    “He doesn’t want her harmed. Kill Montague, if you can, but leave the girl.”
    Sebastian glanced behind his left shoulder. In the swirling fog, he could make out the dim shape of the house that made this alley a dead end. He had only a second to make a decision.
    He knew what he should do—kill the girl and move on. It would be easy enough to slit her throat while she stood within the circle of his arms, like a parody of a lover’s embrace. It would be quick. She would not suffer.
    He brought the blade of her dagger down, cleanly. She shivered slightly, bracing herself for the deathblow. And then he severed her bond, freeing her.
    In the darkness she turned, raising her head to look at him.
    “Go to your friends,” he said harshly, giving her a slight shove as he turned on his heel and ran.
    He was halfway down the street when the gunshot sounded. He turned. Tessa Ryder stood in the center of the street, her white swans down cloak like a beacon in the darkness. Her arm was raised and steady.
    But she had not aimed for him. A body thudded on the other end of the alley, and one of the men pursuing them gave a shout of rage as he called to his companion. The third man ran toward the slim white figure, but Tessa fired again, and her second aim was as true as her first.
    “Go!” she cried to him. “There are others!”
    But he had already heard the footsteps of an additional three or four men pounding toward them. Without stopping to think, he retraced his steps, reaching out to close his hand on her arm and drawing her back into the shadows.
    He forced open the door of the house at the end of the street with a single swift kick from his good leg. The great wooden door, knocked off its hinges, swung ajar, and Sebastian drew Tessa inside so forcefully she dropped her pistol. They were standing inside a workshop of some sort, but there was no time to examine their surroundings too closely. Kicking aside boxes and benches, they made their way to the other side of the building, which opened up onto the river.
    They burst through the back doors. Below, a rotting wooden jetty with broken steps led down to row of small boats. He hesitated only a moment. Then, still grasping Tessa’s upper arm, he dragged her down the steps.
    She had clearly expected him to be leading her to the boats, but he shoved her under the jetty instead, and from the darkness her pale face gazed up at him in confusion.
    “What—” she began.
    He silenced her with a raised