One Penny Surprise (Saved By Desire 1) (17 page)

“Stay close to me, Poppy,” he whispered, not altogether sure if he meant just while they were outside. He ushered her out of the door before she could speak and locked it behind them.

Their journey across London was the most fraught Poppy journey had ever had anywhere. The smog had, if at all possible, thickened, and rendered even the meagre street lighting useless. At times she struggled to see her hand in front of her face and was immensely grateful that Luke had insisted on holding her hand. She wanted to ask where they were but when something squeaked and scurried across her foot decided she would rather not know. Eventually, Luke motioned for her to stop and tugged her into what appeared to be an alleyway.

“Stay quiet. Remember, they don’t know you but may recognise you as being the woman they tried to target in the park. If they do they may not want to talk to me so let me do the talking. Just keep an eye out in case anyone is lurking in the shadows, and likely to overhear.”

Poppy nodded but suspected he couldn’t see her through the gloom. She frowned and realised then just how vulnerable she was. Not only was her precious supply of money back at the house, but all of her worldly goods as well. She had nothing on her that was actually hers, and had no idea where she was, or where the safe house was, so had no way of retrieving her belongings if she lost Luke. Sidling closer to him, she glanced around worriedly and, as instructed, remained motionless while they waited for the children to appear.

“You are late,” a small voice scolded from several feet away. A young boy appeared out of the gloom so silently that Poppy gasped before she could stop herself. “Who’s that?” Toby asked with a nod toward her. His step faltered. For a moment he looked as though he was about to run.

“The woman in the park you tried to accost a couple of weeks back,” Luke replied quietly. “Did you get followed?”

“Na, course not guv’nor,” Toby replied with a sniff. He sidled closer to Poppy and peered up at her. Poppy lifted the hood of the cloak and bent down so he could see her face. Once he recognised her he grinned cheekily. “No bag today?”

“No, I left it at home where it is safe,” she replied softly.

The sight of the boy’s grubby face disturbed her, but not as much as the thinness of the shirt he wore beneath the threadbare jacket that barely touched his wrists and did little to ward off the evening chill. Her heart went out to him because he looked frozen. If she had thought to bring some money with her she would have given him some so he could purchase something warmer.

Oblivious to the direction of her thoughts, Toby threw Luke a cheeky glare. “Is she yours?”

“Yes,” he replied without hesitation. “So mind your manners. She isn’t a target.”

Toby merely grinned and held his hand out.

“What do you know first? Have you seen the bigger gang?”

“Yeah, they are in the park,” Toby replied with a shudder. “I don’t wanna be anyone in that park tonight. They are a rough lot. Rumour ‘as it they are using a house in Mainwaring Street. Last but one house on the left, but I ain’t been near so dunno for sure who lives there.”

“Don’t go there, Toby. This group are dangerous. Keep yourself safe.” Luke glanced around with a frown. “No Lucy tonight?”

“Na, she went home. Her mam’s sick.” Toby sniffed again.

“Are there any rumours about who killed the dead man in the park?”

Toby frowned. “Just that he was a friend of Trent’s, and went to the Riverside Club a lot.” 

“Have you heard anything about Sayers?” Luke knew he had to be cautious, but needed to start to focus on gathering information on the one person who appeared to be the most dangerous.

Toby looked warily back at him. For a moment he didn’t speak. It was clear that he was deciding whether to tell him. “Just that Sayers is behind the big gang, but it is quiet like. Not many people want to talk about him.”

“Don’t ask too many questions and get yourself into trouble, Toby,” Luke warned.

“I ain’t. My mates are asking round too.”

“Good. Do you know where Sayers’ patch is? I heard it was down the embankment in a warehouse down there. It used to be a coal store?”

Toby shrugged. “I dunno. It ain’t my patch so don’t go down there. I ain’t gonna do it neither. Now are you gonna give me a penny and stick to your side of the bargain?”

Luke handed Toby two pennies and dug deep in the pocket of his own cloak for two pies, and a loaf of bread. Once he had handed them over, he watched Toby stuff them into his pockets, but hesitate for a moment. He glanced back at Luke. There was something in his eyes that warned Luke he wasn’t going to like what Toby was about to tell him.

“You know you were followed here don’cha?” he whispered quietly.

“Where?” Luke squatted down so he could whisper.

“He is in the alley across the road. A tallish fella about her size, but skinnier. I think he was the man from the woods in the park.”

“What’s he wearing?”

“Black. Summat about ‘im that’s trouble if’n you ask me,” Toby warned knowledgeably, his young face stern.

Luke nodded. “Does your patch stretch into Camden?”

Toby frowned. “It can do. As long as I get paid I don’t care where I go.”

“Then keep an eye on this property for me.” Luke reeled off Poppy’s address, but whispered it into Toby’s ear so nobody could overhear. “Tell me who comes and goes. I don’t need to know when they leave or arrive. I just need to know how many people are there, men or women, and ages, that kind of thing. I will give you two more pennies for your time today. Also, keep an ear to the ground. See if anyone is fencing high end goods in pawn shops. In particular, I am looking for a very expensive painting.”

“There are rumours already,” Toby whispered. “I overheard Freddie moaning that the price of his wares has gone down ‘cos the shop has taken a load of heavy stuff. We have been told to take more to make up the difference.”

“Freddie is your boss.” It wasn’t a question. Luke watched Toby hesitate. “Give me his surname, Toby. I am not going to hurt him. I just need to know where to find him if I need to.”

“Why?”

“I need to know if Freddie has connections to Sayers.” He watched Toby closely, but the boy only frowned before he shook his head. “Freddie hates Sayers. He wouldn’t work for him. Freddie is Lucy’s cousin. He is a right thug but he ain’t no gangster. Sayers runs the big gang that’s taken over. It’s pushing us all to go further and further out and stops us getting as much as we should.”

“You need these then,” Luke replied, holding out a couple of apples and one shilling. “Take some to Lucy too. Meantime, if there is anything else just come to see me.” He gave the boy the address for the safe house. “Can you remember that?”

Toby rolled his eyes but nodded.

“I will see you here day after tomorrow if I don’t see you before then, but make sure you aren’t followed.” He ruffled the boy’s hair and watched the lad melt back into the shadows as silently as he arrived.

Poppy watched the mist swallow the boy up and shivered once silence settled over them. They could ostensibly be the only people in London because not even distant sounds of life could be heard through the deafening smog.

“Can we go back now?” she whispered with a sniff. She was frozen, but it was more from what she had just witnessed than the chill in the air.

“Yes, let’s go,” Luke replied.

He captured her hand in his and tugged her out into the street. As he led the way his senses were tuned to the area around them for any sign of danger that might lurk in the shadows. Something was wrong he just knew it.

“I hate this,” she whispered when she stumbled off a kerb and fell against him.

“It won’t take us long to get back because we haven’t gone far.”

“How can you tell where we are?” She couldn’t see anything except kerbs, railings, and the occasional glow of a street lamp. Apart from that there was nothing but smog. It was unnerving. It was creepy. It terrified her to the point that she couldn’t wait to get out of it.

“I know,” Luke replied obliquely.

He didn’t say anything else because he didn’t want their conversation to act as a beacon for anyone following them. He put a cautionary finger to his lips to warn her to remain quiet. Because of the risk of frightening her, he didn’t tell her someone was following. Whether they posed a risk or not remained to be seen. At the moment, getting her out of the smog was his priority, not someone else who happened to be out walking.

The street was so still, so silent, that it almost felt as though it was waiting for something. She glanced about nervously and held the folds of her cloak closed tightly. Although she tried to keep herself calm, her eyes darted from one shadow to another. She tried to reassure herself that they would soon be at the house where it was warm, dry, and they were at least able to see. Unfortunately, matters were swiftly taken out of his hands with a brutality that shocked them both.

She didn’t get the time to scream before a figure in black suddenly lunged out of the smog and came straight at them. It wasn’t Luke the man threw himself at, it was her. She caught sight of the sudden flash of wild eyes seconds before she felt her cloak being tugged violently.

“Get off me,” she screamed. She squirmed against the tight hold the attacker had on her cloak that threatened to drag her into the smog. “Luke,” she cried.

She smacked at the man’s hand to get him to let go. She dragged her feet and leaned backward but was still propelled away from Luke’s reassuring bulk. The attacker’s face was mere inches away from hers, but she could see nothing beneath the large cap that covered his face in shadows. She could, however, feel his warm, fetid breath on her cheek, and hear his snorts as he tried to drag her with him into the darkness.  

“Get away from her,” Luke snarled, and launched himself at her attacker’s back. He had seen enough to suspect that his was no ordinary mugger out for her money. This assailant was trying to get her alone. Only vaguely aware that the man had dropped something, Luke began to rain blows down on the attacker’s head and shoulders with such force that it broke the man’s hold on Poppy.

For several moments nothing but the sound of fists meeting flesh and loud grunts could be heard in the night. Pain exploded in his ribs when the attacker landed a punch but Luke gritted his teeth and redoubled his efforts to subdue the man before he launched himself at Poppy again. Unfortunately, he was slightly hindered by his need to keep one eye on Poppy, just in case the man had an accomplice somewhere. With only partial concentration, he was vulnerable to being hit more than he usually would be, and was subjected to several bruising blows that took his breath. When a well-aimed punch landed on his jaw, stars exploded behind his eyes. He staggered backward with a curse, but didn’t allow the man to gain the advantage. One booted foot was all it took in the attacker’s midriff to double him over and give Luke the advantage he needed. Once the man had been subdued by one arm twisted painfully up his back, Luke hauled him around so he could look at his face, but there was not enough light to know if he recognised him or not.

“What do you want with her?” Luke growled.

“Get off me,” the man gasped in a voice full of desperation. “It is her I want, not you.”

Luke frowned at the almost child-like tone of the man’s voice. Before he could demand some answers, the attacker suddenly began to kick and squirm again. The two men wrestled for supremacy for several moments. It was only when Luke drew a wicked looking gun out of his cloak that the attacker stopped, stared at it, then him, and then suddenly dropped limply to the floor. Luke was forced to release him or fall over himself when the man’s weight threatened to unbalance him. It was enough to give the attacker the opportunity to break free and, in an instant, he scrambled back onto his feet and disappeared into the smog as quickly as he had appeared.

“Are you all right?” Luke demanded. He scoured her from head to foot for signs of injury but couldn’t see much in the gloom.

“Are you?” Poppy asked. “He hurt you,” she added, more shaken than she cared to admit.
She had never witnessed anything so brutal in her life and didn’t quite know how to work around the fear that threatened to overwhelm her.

“Keep an eye out for anyone else,” he ordered. “We are leaving. Now.”

More focused on the danger they were in than the blood trickling steadily from the cuts on his face, or the pain in his ribs where the man had landed far more blows than he was happy with, Luke turned her around and hurried her toward the safe house.

“T-t-the g-gun,” she stammered.

“I need it,” he replied.

He made no attempt to re-pocket it and left it visible as he marched her to safety. He didn’t wait to hear if she had anything else to say, merely placed a hand in the middle of her back and propelled her ahead of him. Once they were on their way, he paused long enough to pick something up off the floor, and pocketed it to take a look at later.

Poppy had little choice but to do as she was told and remained quiet as she followed the directions Luke gave her. Her thoughts were locked very firmly on what had just happened. Whoever the attacker was, wherever he had come from, whatever he was up to, whatever he wanted with her, one thing was abundantly clear: he was watching her. Not just watching her but following her too. She went cold; then hot. She wanted to run, but she also wanted to demand some answers. At the moment, she needed the man walking along right behind her more than anything else in the world, and not just because she desired him.