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Prologue

The Kingdom of Morocco, North Africa

1846

"Take the shot, MacCarrick!" Davis Grey ordered yet again His tone was harsh, but low enough not to give away their vantage, concealed high in the desolate headlands of the Atlas Mountains

Hugh ignored him This was to be his first kill, and he knew that once he cohty decision for a man of only twenty-two years

He would do it when he was bloody ready

Taking his eye froh released his rifle with one hand and ran his forear his eyes like needles Summer was upon them, and the surreal blue of the sky stretched relentlessly, unht of a white, indistinct sun

"Why in the hell are you hesitating?" Grey bit out "It's noon" The sun was directly above, casting the fewest shadows of the day Shadows unman's truest aim

Hugh didn't want to disappoint the older Grey, his h's only real friend outside of the MacCarrick clan, and the only person Hugh would spend time with, apart froh would kill for He gave a bitter laugh, adjusting his rifle against his shoulder

In a way, hewas killing for her

To take out a stranger in cold blood was to cross a line Which hat he wanted

"Goddamn it, MacCarrick!" Grey yanked his own rifle and its detached refractor scope fro theain"

That was true The traitor kneasfor aup in the abandoned Berber farm far below them In this part of the world, even a battered, flat-roofed hut like the one below had a courtyard for a private oasis, and the man sat within it He faced the courtyard's only entrance with a pistol in his lap and a shotgun by his side, yet he was unguarded from above

The shot was clear, but both of theet so far away Where Grey's preferred weapon was a blade, Hugh had been hunting and target-shooting since he'd been old enough to lift a rifle Besides, Hugh wanted to act soon while the lance toward Grey He refused to believe he saw excitement there in the man's expression This was a job, a foul task Grey couldn't enjoy this

Hugh turned back and took a bead once et was lare of the sun was an environun barrel were heated, as was the single bullet inside the chamber He took all of this into account

He stroked his forefinger over the trigger guard before placing his sensitive fingertip at the trigger, beginning a ritual he performed with every shot, al the forestock, he rubbed his thuh an exhalation of breath

The press of the trigger was smooth; the report was like a cannon boom in his ears, louder, for so

Nearly two seconds later, the bullet pierced the round Blood seeped out fros twitched in death, stirring a cloud of dust at his feet

It's done, then

Hugh was done

There again, he saw so like pleasure in Grey's eyes "I've never seen anyone shoot like you, Scot" Grey slapped hi fro

All Hugh felt was disgust and a strange sense of relief

Theymountain trails An hour after they reached the valley, they neared a village and slowed

"When we get back to London," Grey began, still jovial, still excited, "I'o out on your own"

Hugh's expression must have revealed his uneasiness with Grey's buoyant mood

"Don't look atas I have, and we'll see if some part of you doesn't come to love it"

Love it?Hugh shook his head and quietly said, "It's a job Nothing more"

"Trustmore - when it's all you have"

Chapter One

London, England