A Savage Deception

A Savage Deception A Guardians of the Bones Novel A Regency Romance K.J. Jackson Copyright © K.J. Jackson, 2023 This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the author’s imagination or used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, Living or dead, is coincidental. All rights reserved. No part of this publication can be reproduced or transmitted in any forms, or by any means, electronic or mechanical, without permission in writing from the author. First Edition: February 2023 ISBN: 978-1-940149-70-7 http://www.kjjackson.com http://www.kjjackson.com ~ I found you and you found me—let’s not lose each other! Be sure to sign up for my VIP List for news of my next releases, sales and freebies. You’ll get my FREE starter library when you sign up! ~ Don’t miss my other books Historical Romance If you haven’t already, be sure to check out my other historical romances—each is a stand-alone story and they can be read in any order (here they are in order of publication and series): Hold Your Breath Stone Devil Duke, currently free! Unmasking the Marquess My Captain, My Earl Lords of Fate Worth of a Duke Earl of Destiny Marquess of Fortune Lords of Action Vow Promise Oath Revelry’s Tempest Of Valor & Vice Of Sin & SanctuaryOf Risk & Redemption To Capture a Rogue, A Logan’s Legends Novella To Capture a Warrior, A Logan’s Legends Novella The Devil in the Duke Valor of Vinehill The Iron Earl The Wolf Duke The Steel Rogue The Christmas Countess Box of Draupnir The Heart of an Earl The Blood of a Baron The Soul of a Rogue Exile Exiled Duke Wicked Exile Dangerous Exile Guardians of the Bones Discreet Destruction Shadows of Scandal A Savage Deception Guardians of the Bones #4 Paranormal Romance Flame Moon #1, currently free! Triple Infinity, Flame Moon #2 Flux Flame, Flame Moon #3 – For my favorite Ks Contents Trigger Warnings { Prologue } London, 1820 { Chapter 1 } London, April 1827 { Chapter 2 } { Chapter 3 } { Chapter 4 } { Chapter 5 } { Chapter 6 } { Chapter 7 } { Chapter 8 } { Chapter 9 } { Chapter 10 } { Chapter 11 } { Chapter 12 } { Chapter 13 } { Chapter 14 } { Chapter 15 } { Chapter 16 } { Chapter 17 } { Chapter 18 } { Chapter 19 } { Chapter 20 } { Chapter 21 } { Chapter 22 } { Chapter 23 } { Chapter 24 } { Chapter 25 } { Chapter 26 } { Chapter 27 } { Chapter 28 } { Chapter 29 } { Chapter 30 } { Chapter 31 } { Chapter 32 } { Chapter 33 } { Chapter 34 } { Chapter 35 } Epilogue { Bonus Epilogue } Trigger Warnings Hello to my awesome readers! Aside from my usual salty language, gore and open bedroom door scenes, just a quick heads up that I have a few trigger warnings for this story. Stop reading now if you don’t want spoilers… Here they are: Chapter six has a miscarriage in it (you’ll know by who if you read the last book in this series), so skip that chapter (specifically after Silas finds Georgina) if it will add unneeded anguish to your reading. Also, Chapter eighteen has a sketchy near rape scene, so again, skip if it will cause anguish. And there is mention of incest (not with any of the main characters). All the love, my friends! – K.J. { Prologue } London, 1820 He found her in the bowels of the building. Crying. He could hear her tears even as he stepped down the stairs, his feet light, his skill at silent footfalls so ingrained that he walked covertly even when he didn’t need to. His steps could be heavy, loud, here at the main building of the Guardians of the Bones. He could be himself, but he’d found it hard to switch back and forth at this point. To be one person one minute. Another the next. All necessary for his job as a covert guard for hire, but he hadn’t been himself in a long while. At the bottom of the stairs, he stopped, his head cocking to the side to follow the sound. To the right. To the servants’ table that would be empty at this time of night. He hadn’t taken even a step into the room with the wide rough-hewn table and thick stone walls before Josie turned her head to him. She could hear anything. Even his silent steps. Even when she was crying. “Silas.” Her eyes were red, swollen like someone had landed not just one blow on her but two. That would be unusual, for Josie was nothing if not quick and agile. One blow maybe. Not two. She swiped her fingers across her wet cheeks. “Josie, what is this? If it’s tears about the news Hector had, there is no need for them. You know what this will mean for us—both of us?” He moved fully into the room, stopping in front of her sitting on the end of the long bench that flanked the table. Even though they were below ground, the cinnamon that cook always had simmering filled the room, somehow taking the dankness out of the space. His fingers unconsciously went to her dark brown hair, the color so rich one would swear there was a nighttime rainbow glowing under the darkness, and he slid back the strands that had fallen from her chignon. He hadn’t seen her with her hair askew in a long time. “I would have thought you’d be waiting for me with champagne and a smile on your face with the news. Not this.” A crushing smile twisted her lips as she pulled away from his hand. “No. It isn’t that. The title—that is good news. I’m happy he chose you, especially as Leander was a