The Runner's Enticement (Men of Circumstance Book 2) (24 page)

Anna might not be the only one suspecting a deeper link between the two men.

In casual disregard for his safety, since Nate remained armed, Mr. Rollins taunted, “You are the invaluable Runner. You tell me.”

Nate advanced on the man and Anna had to hold her feet to the floor so she didn’t pull him back. If by some outlandish chance Mr. Rollins was Nate’s half-brother, she would hate for him to have to shoot him.

“Rollins, I’ve lost patience with your prevarication. Say what you want to say and let us be done with it. If I started questioning everyone who could possibly share the same father as me, there would hardly be anyone left in England.”

“A rather harsh way to speak to your brother.”

“You are no brother of mine.”

A hard edge in his voice, Mr. Rollins responded, “Amusing, since you can claim no deeper connection to Wesbrook, yet you declare him as your brother.”

“All of this is because you’re jealous?”

“How is it that despite being as much a bastard as I, you manage to bask in Wesbrook’s fortune while I get nothing?” Mr. Rollins spat the question at Nate.

Nate shrugged easily. “If Gabe gave handouts to all Wesbrook’s by-blows, he’d empty his coffers before he could accommodate everyone.”

“What makes you so special?”

Nate stiffened before he took another angry step closer to Mr. Rollins. “I take nothing from Gabe besides brotherly affection and friendship, neither of which costs him anything. Which is not the issue at hand. Now that you’ve worked so hard to get me here, what is it you want?”

“I want what you prevented me from having when you helped rescue Wesbrook’s daughter. Money and revenge. Something I thought you would supply me with but you were too noble to steal Brodford’s artifacts. Leaving me no choice but to move past the money and on to revenge.”

Anna had lost understanding of the conversation. Similar to Foxmoore standing at her side, she could only absorb the verbal war between the half-siblings. Reference to her father’s collection had her even more confused.

Just as Nate’s response of lifting his gun and leveling it at Mr. Rollins left her baffled. This time she did step forward to intervene, but before she could close the distance, Foxmoore gripped her arm, wordlessly holding her in place.

“
You
are the blackmailer.”

Blackmailer
?

“It was you who’d been controlling Mr. Johnstone.” Nate’s hand tightened on the gun. “Because of you, Gabe’s daughter could have been killed. What the hell do you want?”

As if Nate didn’t hold his life in his hands, Mr. Rollins stomped closer. “I want what should have been mine! I was the one who spent years doing Father’s bidding. No matter how unsavory or undesired. He promised me I would be rewarded. But I got nothing. Wesbrook walks off with the title and what little money Father left behind, only to turn the scraps into a fortune. Money that should have been mine.”

“Knowing Father, anything he had you do was most likely criminal in nature, and all you deserve is to be rotting in prison. If not for what
he
had you do, then for what
you
did to Gabe and his family.”

Eyes, so similar to Nate’s, but lacking any of the warmth, narrowed. “It will be a frigid day in hell before you put me there. I will ruin you and your whore standing behind you before you can stop me.”

As Anna gasped in shock, the door behind her swung open and into Foxmoore, knocking him out of the way. Before she could make sense of what was happening, a cold arm wrapped around her waist and pulled her against a soft chest.

Intent on her freedom, she struggled against the hold, to no avail. Then she stiffened when the solid end of what felt like a gun jabbed into her side.

A harsh voice growled against her shoulder. “I won’t hesitate to pull the trigger. Something I’ve been itching to do for days.”

Frozen in place, her eyes locked on Nate. What she saw confirmed her fear. All color had bled from his face as a single word passed his clenched teeth. “Jarvis.”

Chapter 41

There had been many times in Nate’s life when he should have felt fear but hadn’t. Faced with the deadly void in The Viper’s eyes, as he held Anna with a gun pressed to her side, Nate understood why. Nothing had meant enough to him.

Nothing until Anna.

Now, with fear clutching his chest, he must find a way to outsmart a killer while unraveling the meaning behind Mr. Rollins’ insane revelation. He could only focus on one madman at a time.

From the corner of his eye, Nate was aware Foxmoore had regained his footing and now trained his pistol on Rollins, allowing Nate to focus on the murderer in front of him.

An evil sneer of triumph parted Jarvis’ lips to show off his rotting teeth. “Surprised to see me? I warned you. You should have killed me when you had the chance.”

“An error I plan on rectifying.” Nate asked the next question with a knot lodged in his throat, worried what the answer would be. “How did you get past my men?”

He locked his focus on Jarvis, not daring to look at Anna. He couldn’t allow his weakness for her to interfere with how he proceeded.

“Afraid they are no longer breathing?” The coldness in Jarvis’ laugh did little in way of reassuring Nate. “As of now, they are still alive. I thought it would be a better fate for them to live, knowing they’d failed to keep you alive. Or, at least for now. I may change my mind and end them before I’m done.”

Nate breathed easier knowing his men were not dead. Now he could fix his mistake and ensure The Viper never left the folly breathing. First he had to free Anna.

“Are you renting out your services now?” Nate taunted, hoping to get a rise from the monster.

“I answer to no one. Not even the law.”

Nate feigned a light chuckle. “Then what do you call being Rollins’ lackey?”

The Viper’s arm tightened around Anna. Nate knew he took a big risk. The madman wasn’t known for being predictable, and provoking him until he forgot about Anna and focused on him could easily backfire.

“Rollins is nothing to me.”

To prove his point, before Nate could react, The Viper raised his gun and pulled the trigger. Certain he’d been hit, Nate remained still, waiting to feel the pain of the bullet, his eyes never leaving Anna’s horror filled gaze.

When he failed to feel the heat of his blood draining from his body, Nate realized Jarvis’ shot had been off the mark. He was about to sneer at the killer’s lack of success when Anna’s eyes widened further and an unmistakable sound hit him. The gurgle of a man choking on his own blood.

Even with knowing what he’d find before he turned his head, the sight of Rollins with an increasing spot of crimson soaking through the center of his shirt, turned Nate’s stomach. He flinched as his supposed half-brother grabbed at his chest, only to come away with a red stained hand. Eyes filled with terror at the prospect of death met Nate’s.

They both knew the hit was fatal.

If not for the new pistol Nate suspected Jarvis had aimed at his back, he would have rushed to Rollins’ side. Even after all the torment Rollins had inflicted, he didn’t deserve to die alone. Instead, Nate was forced to stand by as the man slowly slipped from the table holding him upright to fall to his knees.

With several more blood-filled gasps, he collapsed onto the dirt-encrusted floor.

It all took only a minute or so but it felt as if time had slowed. He’d seen men die before. Hell, he’d killed men before, but for some unexplained reason the blood pooling on the floor stirred something inside him.
My half-brother. Blood of my blood.

There was nothing he could do.

Nate turned back to Jarvis only to confirm what he’d already suspected. The Viper had discarded the spent pistol and had a new one aimed directly at Nate’s heart. Sparing a glance from the gun, he locked eyes on Anna. Silent tears slid over her creamy cheeks and he wanted nothing more than to pull her into his arms.

“You’ve made your point. Why don’t you allow Lady Annabel to leave and we can finish this?”

“No!” The single word burst from her.

To keep his concentration, he avoided her eyes. They had the power to sway him. “What do you say, Jarvis? Let’s finish this once and for all, just you and me.”

“Nate, no,” Anna sobbed.

He steadied his heart against her plea. He didn’t plan on allowing Jarvis to kill him, though he’d easily give his life if it meant she would be safe.

Jarvis slowly shifted the gun from Nate and shoved the barrel against Anna’s temple. “I happen to like you at my mercy and your little whore supplies me with that.”

From the edge of his vision Nate saw Foxmoore shift. Knowing how lethal The Viper’s strike could be, Nate gave a subtle shake of his head. Not even the bullet in Foxmoore’s gun would be quick enough to keep Jarvis from pulling the trigger.

With Jarvis’ gun already in his hand, Nate’s pistol was useless.

“I am who you want. She has nothing to do with it. Let her and Foxmoore go and you can have me.”

Anna’s muffled sobs tore at his heart.

“Let them go and you can have me,” Nate repeated. As incentive, he held out his gun and eased it to the floor. Once they were alone, he’d seal his fate with Jarvis. Then again, The Viper didn’t need to get him alone to kill him.

A flash of satisfaction moved against the empty, dark orbs of the killer’s eyes. Nate’s heart ceased beating as Jarvis continued to hold Anna at his mercy.

About to admit defeat, Nate blew out a hiss of relief when Jarvis pulled the gun away from Anna and aimed it at him.

Jarvis would get off but a single shot before Foxmoore would be upon him. Nate fought against giving Foxmoore the signal to shoot. The bastard held Anna too close for her safety.

Nate tensed as Jarvis’ grip slowly eased from around her waist before he flung her at Foxmoore and the doorway. And her freedom.
Oh, thank God.
Nothing mattered beyond her being free of the madman’s clutches. Not even his own life.

“You had better take one last look since you won’t be seeing her again.”

The gloating pleasure in Jarvis’ voice sickened him, but the finality of his words had Nate fixated on Anna before he could stop himself.

In the darkness, the silent plea held in her blue-green eyes was unmistakable. If only they had a moment longer. A single moment alone. He’d confess his love, a fire that would never end. Nothing else mattered. Certainly not with the bullet The Viper was all but guaranteed to put in him.

“Ah, touching. The bastard Runner and the lady. I’ll be doing you a favor since you’d never fit into her world.”

Sobs racked her body as tears poured down her cheeks. As much as Nate wanted to, he couldn’t reject Jarvis’ claim. He would never be her equal. With a killer’s gun steady on him, it seemed a nonissue.

Nate forced his eyes from Anna and locked on Foxmoore. “Go.”

Indecision settled on the earl’s face, no doubt worried what his sister and niece would do to him knowing he’d abandoned Nate.

Thinking of the devotion he’d inexplicably been blessed with, Nate had to smile. He’d done little to deserve it.

But he’d take it.

In all his regrets, the people he loved were not included in them. And he would do what he must to keep those loved ones safe. Resolved to his fate, Nate inclined his head sharply, an acknowledgement Foxmoore returned before he urged Anna toward the door.

“No! Nate, please. No.”

Even as her hoarse cries ripped his heart in two, Nate wouldn’t look at her. He’d never survive with the vision of her grief in his mind.

Bringing his attention to Jarvis made Nate wish he hadn’t. The enjoyment the man took in Nate’s misery was clearly written on the crazed bastard’s face. Nate longed for nothing more than to punch him bloody.

As he and The Viper wordlessly studied each other, Nate kept peripheral track of Foxmoore as he pulled at her resisting body. A few more heartbeats and she’d be gone.

Before he could breathe in relief, all hell broke loose.

Foxmoore’s cry for Anna to stop broke through the silence the same horrid moment a flash of blue rushed toward The Viper.

“Anna! No!”

The shout left his mouth only to vanish under the thunder of a gunshot filling the room.

And then another.

Chapter 42

Nate had never thought there could be something more painful than having a bullet tear through his flesh. Or that it was possible to be in hell while still breathing. But as Anna crumbled to the floor of the folly, he knew it to be true.

No rational thought remained as he fell to her side.

“Oh, God, Anna, no. Please don’t leave me.”

Desperate to assure she still lived but petrified of causing further damage, he eased her to her back and pushed her coat out of the way. Thank heavens he was already on the floor or the sight of the deep crimson marring the light blue of her dress would have dropped him to his knees. He glanced from the wound on her shoulder to her pale face. Her closed eyes, their shine of sweet life denied him, frightened him more.

“Anna. Wake up, sweet. Anna? Can you hear me?”

Deeper panic set in when she didn’t move, not even a flutter of her lashes responding.

“Let me see to her.” Foxmoore pushed Nate aside as he went to Anna. The earl applied pressure to her wound.

Why the hell hadn’t he thought of that? Since thinking had become an incapable option for him, he left Foxmoore work, while he crawled to Anna’s other side and warmed her cold hand between his.

“Please, Anna. I need you,” he whispered, as solid pressure landed on his shoulder. Concerned only for Anna, he hadn’t ascertained Jarvis’ fate.

Certain he’d be facing the barrel of a gun, Nate turned slowly.

What he found had the same power to knock him off his feet as a bullet to his chest. But there was no bullet and no gun. Instead, he met the concerned gaze of his brother. Not his newly acquainted, recently deceased half-brother lying in a puddle of his own blood, but Gabe. The brother who should be safely situated at Frenton Hall, instead of standing in the folly with a dead killer only a few feet away.

“Gabe, what the hell are you doing here?”

“Not now. You need to see to her. Your men have gone for the doctor. They will meet us at the house.”

His men? The doctor? Gabe, here? Nate’s mind felt like Christmas pudding and no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t connect one thing to the next. Anna’s fingers twitched against his and he was reminded of why. Half of his life—the most important half—was slipping away from him.

“I have a horse ready. Marcus, is the bleeding under control?”

“The ride back to the house won’t help matters but I think she will survive it,” Foxmoore replied.

In his typical ducal fashion, Nate’s brother took control. With Foxmoore’s assistance, the three of them managed to position Anna on Gabe’s horse, held tightly to Nate’s chest.

When he fumbled to reach and grasp the reins, Gabe placed them in his hand. “Get her back to the house as fast as you can. The doctor should be there soon. Foxmoore and I will see to everything here.”

Nate glanced back to the folly only to see the outline of Jarvis’ prone body through the door. Concerned for Anna, Nate had done nothing more than to ensure the man was dead before carrying Anna away from the bloodshed.

Hell bent on getting Anna help, he nudged Gabe’s horse and raced away from the folly.

For what seemed like hours later, as Nate sat in the drawing room waiting for the doctor, memories of all the pleasure he’d found with Anna in this very room overwhelmed him.

By the time he’d reached the house, her blood had soaked through his coat and jacket. He couldn’t see how any could have remained in her small body.

What the hell had she been thinking? He’d asked for her to go. For heaven’s sake, he’d
begged
her to go. He could have faced anything—even his own death—knowing she was safe. Instead, he desperately clung to whatever hope there was that she wouldn’t die.

Because he didn’t know if he could go on living without her.

“How is she?”

Absorbed in his thoughts, it took him a moment to register Gabe’s arrival.

“The doctor is still with her. He had to remove the bullet. I don’t know much more. Brodford forced me from the room.” Nate was still surprised the older man possessed the power to do so. In the end, brute strength hadn’t brought about Nate’s acquiescence. As much as he’d wanted to be there for her, the sight of the doctor tearing into her delicate skin to retrieve the bullet had been too much for Nate to stomach.

Since pulling the doctor away in a fit of rage wouldn’t help her, Nate had retreated to the drawing room. The only place besides her bedchamber he could
feel
her in.

“Has the situation been dealt with at the folly?”

This time Foxmoore spoke. “Your men are taking care of everything. The only thing left is to share with your brother who Rollins is.”

As Gabe’s eyes flicked questionably from Foxmoore to him, Nate wished he didn’t have the misfortune of explaining to Gabe that his half-brother had targeted and tormented him for unclear reasons.

Not ready to break the news, Nate narrowed his eyes on his brother and changed the subject. “What are you doing here? I thought you were at Frenton with Elizabeth and the children.”

“And leave you to face this alone?”

Being a man of six and twenty, Nate hated how Gabe’s overly protective, elder-brother demeanor made him feel like a child. Especially after all he’d kept from the very person who’d always been there for him. “Even after everything you’ve learned?”

With purpose, Gabe approached Nate. “You are my brother. Having a father with as many illegitimate children as ours, there are any number who can claim a familial connection to me. Yet you are more than my blood, you are my family. I wasn’t about to let a killer take my family from me.”

Nate didn’t know what to say. Instead, he continued to gawp at Gabe like a simpleton incapable of thought.

His brother sighed, “I’m not as oblivious to what is right in front of me as you believe. While I didn’t know the specifics, I suspected there was more to your trips away from Frenton Hall than leisurely pastimes. I just don’t understand why you didn’t tell me. Why you couldn’t trust me.”

The hurt in Gabe’s voice forced Nate to take a step back. “I did it for you.” At Gabe’s raised brow, Nate clarified. “Even though you didn’t want it to, I saw how the censure from the
ton
burned. Your acknowledgment and treating me as more than a bastard half-brother brought disapproval. I refuse to give them more to toss at your head.”

“The
ton
be damned.” Gabe’s features turned fierce. “You are a fool to think I would place what others think before you.”

Faced with such a heated claim, Nate
did
feel rather foolish. He should have known his brother would spurn the upper crust before turning his back on family. Gabe had never had much in the way of family, causing him to protect those he held close—especially after he’d caved to his feelings for Elizabeth and accepted he deserved to be loved.

Months earlier when Gabe had chosen Nate over the demands of his blackmailer, Nate should have realized his career choice would be insignificant.

“You are right. I am sorry for not trusting you.” Gabe opened his mouth to speak but Nate had more to apologize for. “Ever since the day you stumbled across me after a particularly rotten confrontation with our father, you’ve stood by me. I couldn’t have broken away from you even if I’d tried.” Starting to feel like a sentimental ninny, Nate got to the point. “What I’m trying to say in the most horrible way possible, is that you, Elizabeth, and the children are my family. You won’t be rid of me anytime soon.”

Gabe didn’t speak. Instead, he muscled Nate into a quick hug that ended with a solid pat on Nate’s back before he stepped away.

Clearly not interested in letting the slight awkwardness dissipate, Foxmoore spoke from his position close to the door. “With all the feelings floating around the room, I’m of a mind to get the two of you fitted for matching gowns.”

The easy teasing held no sting of insult, so Nate did the only thing he could. He laughed it off.

Gabe, on the other hand, told his friend exactly what was on his mind. “Piss off, Marcus.” Just as with Foxmoore, there was no mistaking his good-natured humor. Until his face drew serious. “With that out of the way, will someone please inform me exactly who Rollins is—or should I say, was—and why the bloody hell I should give a damn?”