*Riding South spoilers below*
Trapped inside Tenney House and at the mercy of his father, Camilla and South are forced to face their greatest fears in order to bring down the Gentleman's Network--an organization that trades in secrets.
But in order...
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I'd been pacing around the room, waiting for South all day. Agatha had been in and out, offering me snacks and decaffeinated coffee, but nothing could distract me from my thoughts.
What was going on—and why hadn't South come back home yet?
Warm summer night air was drifting in through the window I'd opened—my only taste of the outside world. The family schedule had been updated several times today, each pushing back South's arrival, until finally, the door creaked open, and South slipped inside.
Tiredness clung to his face, and I realized he'd been out all day with very little sleep. "Did the nurse come to see you?" he asked. "Has anyone bothered you?"
My irritation prickled past sympathy. "Yes, a nurse was allowed in to see me. And yes, my hand is fine." I lifted my newly bandaged hand in the air, and South looked relieved. "But that's not what I want to talk about. South, why are you trying to keep me locked inside this room?"
"I'm trying to do the right thing, Camilla. Can you see that?"
My hand landed firmly on my hip. "And what is the right thing?"
"Protecting you."
Hurt and remorse showed in the crease between his brows and the set of his jaw. South might believe he was doing the right thing, but he wasn't being fair. Not at all.
"Protecting me?" I let out an awkward laugh despite how annoyed I was. "Do you think locking me in this room is going to protect me? I can't stay in here forever, South. And even if I could, I wouldn't want to. Because that's not how I plan on living my life—waiting for something to happen and hiding from people."
"Don't you think I know that?" South sank onto the edge of the bed, hands fisting sections of his silky hair. His frustration plain. "I'm sorry, Camilla. I am. But I don't know what else to do. Fitzpatrick is still wandering around the house, and so are the security guards. Everywhere I looked this morning, I saw my father's informants. I don't know who to trust."
South lifted his chin and looked up at me with devastatingly sad eyes, "I don't want to put you at risk."
"We are both at risk," I said slowly. "Not just me."
South shook his head. "When are you going to realize I don't give a shit about what happens to me? The only person I'm worried about is you."
"If you're worried about me, then talk to me." I made my way towards him, softening my tone just a little. "What did your dad do today? What has you so on edge?"
South pushed off the bed and strode over to the low dresser set between the two windows, then grabbed the receiver of a black, antique telephone. A number was dialed into the rotary before he lifted the receiver to his ear. "Ten minutes," was all he said before setting the phone back down.
I narrowed my eyes suspiciously. South drummed his fingers on the dresser for a moment before turning around.
Despite everything going on, my gaze ticked down his body. The all-white uniform fit him perfectly, and even though I'd been around men in uniform my whole life, the sight of South Tenney in one did something to me. I knew exactly what I'd find when all those buttons and buckles and laces were undone.
