Texas Viscount Read Online Free

her shoulders, and from his brief glimpse of her body, the curves were in all the right places. “Haul your little butt farther up the plank, out of the way, sweetheart,” he yelled at her, but she didn't move.
           Sabrina knew the accent. Unmistakably American. Subtly different from the Kentucky drawl of the baron, but it was Southern—or Western. A Texas drawl! No, it could not possibly be! Then the madman was set upon by the even more disreputable riffraff with whom he had been engaged. He pulled an enormous firearm from inside his strange-looking coat and brandished it as he backed up the gangplank, drawing nearer to her!
           She shuddered.
           “I wouldn't come any closer even if I was stump stupid like you fellers,” Josh said in his broadest accent, trying to hold them off until the police arrived. But the little one he'd kicked in the nuts seemed to be egging the other two on.
           “Whot ye afeard o', Pepper? 'E ain't gonna shoot. There's three o' us, Jake.”
           “Lordy, even stupider than a stump. This here's a six-shooter. Want to start countin', you ugly little armadillo?” Josh asked, firing a round directly in front of the toe of Beak Nose's shoe. The trio backed down the narrow gangplank, stumbling over each other in their haste to escape. Josh kept his Colt Lightning trained on them as he climbed higher. Until he collided with something soft and sweet smelling.
           The classy little whore with the bronze hair.
           By this time police were swarming over the wharf, and the rioters vanished like roaches in a suddenly lit cellar. Still holding his gun in his hand, Josh turned to the girl—no, make that a woman. He judged her to be enough past twenty to know her way around, but the horrified expression on her face did not seem to fit. Well, if her protector had brought her to a rough neighborhood like this, he should have taken better care of her.
           “You all right, ma'am?” he asked, reaching out to steady her.
           She jerked away. “Will you please dispose of that...that firearm before you actually shoot someone,” she demanded imperiously.
           Josh grinned. “You're pretty as a paint pony on a sunny day, and that's no lie.”
           Sabrina only glared at the offending weapon, still more shaken than she cared to admit.
           Before he could holster it, two police officers came rushing up the gangplank and seized hold of his arms. “Just give over the gun, lad,” one said calmly while his companion held his nightstick at the ready.
           “Josh Cantrell, at your service, officers. What in blue blazes took you so long?” He handed his Colt to the one who had spoken. “It seems like we had a little misunderstanding here.”
           “Looks to be a bit more than that, mate. Half the cargo on the pier's been smashed or looted, and you're the only fellow here.”
           “And the only one carrying a gun,” his fellow officer added helpfully. “You're a Yank, right, lad? Me and Reggie here is going to give you a London tour. We'll start at the Thames Police Office. Lovely place, it is. Come along now.”
           As Josh argued with the two policemen, they escorted him down to the wharf. Sabrina backed away, unnoticed. Dear heavens, what was she to do now? They were arresting Hambleton's heir, and she and Edmund would be blamed for it, even though it was the dreadful fellow's own fault. The boorish oaf had started a riot, and she'd nearly been...well, it didn't bear considering what might have happened to her.
           Sighing, she realized there was only one thing to do. She'd have to go to the police station and explain who Mr. Cantrell was to the authorities. And pray they'd believe her!

 
     
    Chapter Two
     
     
           Josh sat in the rear of the crowded stone dungeon that served as a large holding area for those recently arrested. It