Lord Raine and his brother Mr. Deville turned as one to look at them, but it was Abby who drew his eyes. Color flooded her cheeks as their gazes met.
“Good day to you, Lady Abigail.” Will and the others bowed. Daniel did the same, but he kept his eyes on her.
“Good day, gentlemen. If you will please excuse me, I wish to look in that window.” She pointed behind her.
“Intimidated anyone today, Raine?” Will said when she had moved far enough away.
“Day’s still young, Ryder,” Lord Raine replied. The look he threw Daniel wasn’t exactly hostile, but not warm either.
Daniel watched Abby wander out the corner of his eye. She approached two young boys who clearly had been rolling about in the dirt, as they were covered in the stuff. She leaned down to speak with them.
The woman clearly had no qualms about speaking to anyone. She should be more cautious.
“Of course you know Mr. Dillinger, as you were about to pummel him the day Ace and I arrived,” Will said pleasantly.
No one had raised their voice, and anyone passing would simply see a group of men conversing, but there was an undercurrent that swirled around them.
“The Dillinger family are friends,” Ben said. “Any threat to them is a threat to us.”
“Ben,” Daniel tried to intervene, but Finn’s hand gripped his shoulder.
“We will always protect ours,” Michael Deville said calmly after shooting a look at his sister, who was now occupied looking in a shop window.
“As will we,” Finn said. And his words suggested Daniel was one of his, which he wasn’t, no matter how good the words felt. But Daniel needed no one’s protection.
“I believe that is enough,” Daniel said. “I am no threat to you or your sister, Lord Raine. I have met her but a few times, and we have discussed flowers and the weather. It is wrong of you to presume otherwise, and I will not stand here and allow you to insult these men because of your misconceptions.”
The Deville brothers looked stony-faced.
“So it’s an apology you should be issuing to Daniel, from where we are standing,” Will said.
“We protect what is ours,” Lord Raine snarled. “I will never apologize for that.”
“Even if it’s misguided and wrong?” Finn added.
“There is no need for this.” Daniel attempted once more to stop this from escalating. “The matter has been cleared up, and all parties have moved on. Lord Raine, if I see your sister in the future, I shall walk the other way. Will that be enough to lower your hackles?”
“I am not a dog, Dillinger.” The earl looked angry.
“Then perhaps I may suggest you stop behaving like you are fighting over a bone?”
“I beg your pardon?”
“The truth is rarely pleasant,” Ben said.
Daniel’s eyes went to Abby again. She had to be nothing to him. He would fight this need to have her. He’d fought other things and overcome them before; this would be no different.
Lord Raine exhaled slowly. “Do you have sisters, Mr. Dillinger?”
“I do.”
“Then you understand what emotions they provoke inside their brothers?”
“I do, but I also respect them to make sensible decisions,” he lied. In fact, he was terrible at demanding to know what his sisters were about. “However, your family is not my concern, so if you will excuse me, I have work that needs my attention.”
“We have yet to eat,” Alex said.
“Thank you, but I am not hungry.” He bowed, then walked away. Of course his direction took him by her. She was just turning as he reached her; there were only a few feet between them now. He made himself look away—and saw the man running toward her, knife raised.
“Abby!” Diving at her, he carried her with him to the ground, covering her body with his.
Raising his head slightly, he watched Ben, Alex, and Michael Deville running across the street, chasing the man who’d tried to attack her.
“Are you all right?” Daniel looked down at her.
“I—yes. What happened?” Her eyes were wide, searching his face.
Daniel fought the urge to touch every inch of her to ensure she was all right.
“I didn’t hurt you?”
“No. What just happened, Daniel?”
“Tell me you are unhurt?” He heard the desperation in his words.
“I am unhurt, but I don’t understand what happened.”
“The man had a knife.” Her eyes were so close, she was so close. Just a few inches and—
“Abby!”
Daniel was hauled upright by rough hands. She was taken from him and pressed to Lord Raine’s chest.
“Are you all right?” He kissed her forehead, and Daniel was relieved to see the love there. He could be in no doubt that at least Raine cared for his sister.
“Yes, Gabe.” She leaned into him, closing her eyes. The hand her brother passed down her spine shook.
Daniel wanted to hold her so badly, his hands clenched into fists.
She is not yours and never will be.
“Christ, Abby!” Michael Deville returned at a run, and Raine relinquished his hold on her. She was then hugged again.
“Did you catch him?” Lord Raine asked his brother.
“The Hetheringtons are still in pursuit. I wanted to check on Abby.”
“Are you well?” Finn asked Daniel.
“I am.” He kept his eyes on Raine. Now the fear had gone he was angry again. Irrationally so. Now he knew she was safe he was going after the man that should be protecting her. “May I suggest in future you are more diligent about your sister’s welfare, my lord,” Daniel spat out.
“My sister’s welfare is always the most important thing in the minds of myself and my brothers,” Lord Raine said stiffly, now inches from Daniel.
“That knife was about to plunge into her, my lord. Think about that for a second or two! Had you not been taking me to task, then this may not have happened!”
“Enough now, Daniel.” He felt hands pull him back. He turned from Raine to look at Abby.
“Are you all right, Lady Abigail?” She was pale, and
