The Woman Behind the Mask

Contents About the Book Keep in touch with Alyson! 1. Chapter One 2. Chapter Two 3. Chapter Three 4. Chapter Four 5. Chapter Five 6. Chapter Six 7. Chapter Seven 8. Chapter Eight 9. Chapter Nine 10. Chapter Ten 11. Chapter Eleven 12. Chapter Twelve 13. Chapter Thirteen 14. Chapter Fourteen 15. Chapter Fifteen 16. Chapter Sixteen 17. Chapter Seventeen 18. Chapter Eighteen 19. Chapter Nineteen 20. Chapter Twenty 21. Chapter Twenty-One 22. Chapter Twenty-Two 23. Chapter Twenty-Three 24. Chapter Twenty-Four 25. Chapter Twenty-Five 26. Chapter Twenty-Six 27. Chapter Twenty-Seven 28. Chapter Twenty-Eight 29. Chapter Twenty-Nine 30. Chapter Thirty 31. Chapter Thirty-One 32. Chapter Thirty-Two 33. Chapter Thirty-Three 34. Chapter Thirty-Four 35. Chapter Thirty-Five 36. Chapter Thirty-Six Keep in touch with Alyson! Also By Alyson Chase About Alyson Chase The Woman Behind the Mask Agents of Desire Book Two Alyson Chase C opyright © 2023 Alyson Chase All rights reserved. In accordance with the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976, the scanning, uploading, and electronic sharing of any part of this book without the permission of the publisher is unlawful piracy and theft of the author’s intellectual property. It will also result in the author not being able to afford the important things in life, like snacks and my mortgage. Thank you for your support of this author’s rights. Cover design by Dar Albert. About the Book S he never lets a rule stand in her way. He plays everything by the book. If these two can learn to work together, they just might catch a killer. Miss Cassandra Moore has one obsession – to exact revenge for the death of her sister. She doesn’t yet know how she’ll find the blackguard, only that she’s willing to do anything it takes to obtain retribution. The only thing standing in her way is a man who insists upon doing everything by the numbers. Charles Strait believes in an ordered life. He’s professional at work, a dutiful friend and son, and when he turns his eye toward seduction, he only dallies with women suitable to the task. So when he’s paired with a gently-bred miss to catch a thief, his carefully organized world is blown apart. Such a woman has no business working at an inquiry agency, and even less business taking a starring role in his nightly fantasies. As if working alongside her isn’t distracting enough, Charles has the sneaking suspicion that Miss Moore isn’t the woman she pretends to be. A thirst for vengeance lies behind her serene façade, one that goes against every notion of justice he has. But when the killer she seeks turns his sights on her, Charles will have to decide how far past the bounds of law and order he’s willing to go to protect the woman he loves. Keep in touch with Alyson! T hanks so much for reading! For an exclusive epilogue for Bound by the Earl and other goodies, join Alyson’s VIP club! You’ll get the lowdown on all the latest releases, sales, and giveaways. Click here to join my VIP club. I'll never share your email and you can unsubscribe at any time. Follow me on Bookbub Chapter One L ondon, 1819 Charles disapproved of the lady on many levels, but he had to admit, Lady Mary Cavindish excelled at taking every insult she received and returning it in kind. “Strait.” Hurst jerked his chin at the closed door leading to the manager’s office. The sunlight shining through the window behind him glistened off the recently polished hardwood floors surrounding his desk. “Verity and I are placing bets on who wins this mill, Summerset or Lady Mary.” It had been a slow morning at the offices of the Bond Agency for Discreet Inquiries. The agency’s three investigators, himself, Walter Hurst, and Cyrus Verity, were all about, either doing paperwork or waiting for another case. Brogan Duffy, the remaining agent, was away on the Continent, enjoying his honeymoon. “If I were a gambling man,” which he wasn’t, at least not at his workplace, “I would put my money on the lady.” Charles pursed his lips. “Our employer may insult his friend most convincingly, but he’s as soft as syllabub when it comes to women.” “Oh ho, I’d love to see you say that to his face.” Verity chuckled. Charles glanced at the door. No, that wouldn’t be something he’d say to the man’s face. Not only because Summerset was one of his employer’s and it wasn’t Charles’s place to make such a comment, but because Summerset, while indulgent with women, had been known to make more than one man disappear without a trace. A string of insults was hurled between Lord Summerset and Lady Mary, interspersed with the soft murmurings of a third party trying to play mediator, and rather unsuccessfully at that. A loud crash sounded behind the door, followed by an eerie silence. Charles exchanged uneasy glances with Verity and Hurst. He pressed his palms to his desk and started to rise. Heated voices erupted in the office once again, and Charles sank back down. Whatever was happening in the manager’s office wasn’t his concern. He slid a sheaf of papers into an envelope then placed it in a drawer of his desk. He adjusted it until its corners matched those of the envelopes beneath before closing the drawer and locking it. The ring of thefts he was currently investigating was his concern. A concern he was no closer to solving, and reading through his notes for the hundredth time wasn’t getting him any closer. He stood and reached for the jacket on the back of his chair. “I’m going out,” he told them. “Tell Wilberforce I’m running down a lead.” “We’re going for drinks after work,” Hurst said. “The Motte and Bailey. Join us?” “I’m busy, but thank you.” He shrugged into his jacket and tugged on its hems. “I’ll see—” The door to the manager’s office swung open, and Wilberforce stepped out. “Strait. Come in here, please.” The manager