Surrendered Innocence: Innocence Lost, #2

By Sawyer Quinn

A man is dead, and Caden Gallagher, the Highland Earl of Andilet, is wanted for it.  Lady Isla Deveroux is bound by her station and helpless to prevent the plot to hang the man she loves, until fate provides an alternate destiny.  With only hours before Caden is gone from her life forever, she offers the only thing she can.  And he's more than eager to take it.

 

But, when seduction turns to betrayal, a war is begun - and love never takes prisoners.

 

This is a regency short story and ends in a cliffhanger.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Sawyer Quinn
• Release date: May 27, 2022
• ISBN: 9798201003869

Book preview

1

Chapter One

There was nothing Isla could do to save her savage rogue.

Her father conspired that very moment with Lord Eberlin to capture Caden, ensure his hanging, and collect the staggering reward on his head.  All she could do was pray he got out of London alive.  

That he’d run as fast and as far as he could. 

That she’d never see him again, despite her own suffering.

The bed ceased calling to her hours ago, the window and its entrancing oblivion beckoned instead. It was impossible to find peace when Caden was out in that storm.  Even Mother Nature conspired against them, exposing him to the winter elements. The sleet pelting the bedroom window muffled her slippered footsteps, and the darkness beyond reached inside her chamber, inviting her to abandon all sense.

Her heart and soul screamed to run away from London, and everything keeping them apart.  Duty and honor shackled her since birth; her place was in England, married to Lord Eberlin.    

So the world said.

Being Lady Isla Hawthorne was a terribly heavy weight to shoulder, and she was far too close to crumbling under the pressure.  She tipped her face to the ceiling, pleading with God to spare her love’s life and allow her some peace. 

The onyx world beyond her window promised nothing but emptiness, and she spun toward the bedroom door, her thick, auburn braid falling over her shoulder with the hasty escape.  

There was little she could do to stave off the chill coming from within, but the movement fed her need for some purpose.  She stalked toward the fire, rubbing her upper arms as she stole a glance at the mantle clock, but the time slipped from her consciousness as a harsh rattling broke through the silence.  Isla froze mid step as her eyes shifted to the window.

A brawny figure filled the entirety of the pane as the urgent rattling intensified.  Cold fear washed over her, chasing away logic, and she ran for her life, unwilling to wait for an identity.  Heavy boots stomped across the floor, soggy soles filling her ears and foreboding unspeakable ruin. 

Before she