What A Rogue Wants (41 page)

Today was the eighth. Grey frowned,
trying to order his thoughts. “How do we know whoever this is
really has Edward?” There was much more he cared to ask, but all he
could focus on right now was that one question. Later, he’d ask
questions with his pistol pointed at the person he was
questioning.

Gravenhurst thrust a ring toward Grey.
Even before looking at the word “allegiance” engraved on the
inside, he knew it was Edward’s. Ice thickened his blood as he
stormed toward the door Madelaine was sitting behind. He plowed
through the entrance, a loud bang announcing his
arrival.

She scrambled to her feet, her eyes
wide with fear. Gripping her by the arms, Grey wanted to shake her
until her teeth rattled in her head. Instead, he forced himself to
release her, wincing at the sight of her reddened flesh where he’d
held her too tightly. Blood roared in his ears as he tried to find
a calm he didn’t feel. How could she be part of this folly? Had he
been so wrong about her? Could she really be plotting to kill the
king’s spies? All the evidence suggested so. His jaw ticked
uncontrollably, until he had to press a finger against the tick to
try to stop it.

He stood on legs that felt shamefully
weak, unable to look away from her. Anger curdled in his belly. He
moved a hand toward her, and she flinched away then spoke in a rush
of words. “Grey, I’m sorry. I know how upset you must
be.”

“
You cannot begin to
fathom.” He was drowning in her amber eyes. “I’m looking at you,
but I don’t know you. And I realize now I never did.” Just like
he’d never known his father. There was too much pain inside of him.
He had to once again find a way to convince himself he needed no
one.

MADELAINE STRUGGLED TO STAY AWAKE, but
the dark night and the clopping of the horse’s hooves worked as a
sleeping draft on her exhausted body. She felt herself slumping
forward, too tired to hold herself upright any longer. Her head
rested against Gravenhurst’s back, her foggy mind cruelly reminding
her that Grey hated her so much he couldn’t even bring himself to
touch her. With a sigh, she closed her eyes and drifted.

A crack of thunder in the sky awoke
her sometime later. She sat up and stretched her aching muscles,
blinking at the sight of large ships around her. Water clapped
rhythmically against the side of the docks as the horses walked
down the cobblestone road and a ship’s horn blew from somewhere on
the sea. “Why are we at the docks?” she demanded, not that she was
in any rush to join her father in the tower.

She didn’t expect Grey to answer. He’d
not spoken to her since asking who she was. Her heart ached at the
memory of his words. “Lord Gravenhurst, are you now ignoring me as
well?”

He pulled up on the reins and stopped
the horse. Grey came to a halt beside them so that he faced her.
“We’re here to meet your friend. He wants you, in exchange for my
brother’s life, and I intend to deliver you.”

“
What―?” she choked out in
astonishment.

Grey’s lips curled back over his
teeth. “As if you weren’t expecting something like this. Don’t
worry, sweet Madelaine. I’ll hunt the two of you down once my
brother is secure, and bring you and your accomplice back to the
tower to join your father in death.”

Her belly twisted into knots of dread.
“I don’t know this man. I don’t have an accomplice, and if you
deliver me to whoever this is, you need not bother to come looking
for me. I’m certain I’ll be dead.”

“
Stop lying.” Grey’s voice
was flat, as if he couldn’t be bothered with what she’d just
said.

Something in Madelaine snapped. She
shoved back from Gravenhurst, threw her leg over the horse and
jumped. She was running the second her feet hit ground. Maybe
before. Behind her, shouts commenced followed by the urgent
pounding of feet against the stones. She didn’t know where she was
going, but she’d not allow Grey to deliver her to a lunatic. Her
breathing came hard as fear and the blood pumping through her veins
drove her around the corner of the main street and into an
alley.

Up ahead, music poured
into the alley from an open door and the raucous voices of sailors
almost made her cry. If she could make it into that tavern maybe
she could lose Grey.
And then what?
She didn’t know. But what choice did she
have?

“
Madelaine!” Grey roared
as she dodged through the open door of the tavern and stopped short
at the sea of faces pressed into the small room. This was perfect!
She maneuvered around small tables crowded with drunken men while
frantically searching for another way out. Tankards of ale clanked
against tables to mix with the rumble of voices.

“
Look, mates, an angel’s
floatin’ by,” a deep voice slurred before a hand grabbed her bottom
and squeezed. With a yelp, she tried to bat the man’s hand away,
but he only squeezed harder. A chorus of raucous laughter erupted
from the table, and a new fear, a fear of unspeakable horrors
crawled up her flesh. She scanned the faces around the table, her
heart hammering painfully and her gaze landed on the only man not
smiling. He was dressed as every other man here, but his hair, pale
like the moon, was secured neatly back at the nape of his neck. His
cheekbones were high, his nose patrician, and his full lips pressed
together distastefully. He was her best hope. Pleading with her
eyes, she prayed he would help her.

His fist slammed into the face of the
man groping her, the man’s hand dropping with a howl as he fell out
of his chair gripping his nose. Madelaine squeezed her eyes to make
sure she’d not imagined things. She’d not seen the blond man move
until he’d thrown the punch. The table grew silent, but the noise
continued around them.

She stiffened as her savior rose and
towered over her. He placed an arm around Madelaine’s waist while
glowering at the men around the table. “Don’t any of the rotted lot
of you have sisters back home?”

Madelaine blinked in surprise at the
man’s impeccable, lordly accent.

He glanced down at her. “Can I buy you
a drink?”

She darted a gaze toward the door.
“No, but you could tell me if there’s another way out of
here.”

The man pointed toward the back of the
tavern. “Leads into an alley that will take you straight to the
main road.”

She nearly fainted with relief,
started to thank him, then saw the gleam of a knife blade on the
table. That was just what she needed if she should come face to
face with any more ruffians. Or if she had to threaten Grey to
escape him. “Is that your knife?”

“
It is now.” He flashed a
smile. “I won it in a game of cards.”

She tugged at the large ruby ring on
her finger, the only jewelry she wore. “I’ll trade you this ring
for that knife.”

The man eyed the ring for a moment
then grabbed the knife and discretely handed it to her hilt first.
“Seems like a good trade.” He leaned in close. “You better sheath
it in front of this lot. They get jumpy when they see a woman with
a weapon.”

She slipped the knife into her boot
and let her skirts drop. “Thank you.” As she started to move away,
he grabbed her arm, her heart lurching.

“
Do you need
help?”

Expelling a sigh of relief, she shook
her head and forced a smile she didn’t feel. She’d not drag one
more person into this mess. Besides, she didn’t know this man. “I
just need to go.” She stared pointedly at her arm.

Once released, she wound through the
crowd and made her way to the back door. Her heart thumped, all her
nerves tingling. When the door easily opened, she stepped into the
dark night and pressed a trembling hand to her forehead. She
glanced left to right and saw no one. She needed to flee right now
and get as far away from the docks as possible. Once she was
hidden, she would figure out the rest.

Quickening her steps, she ran toward
the street that led to the main road and raced around the corner.
She needed to find a horse or carriage to steal. Let them add theft
to her other crimes. Did it really matter? Laughing bitterly, she
swiped at the tears leaking out of her eyes then stopped to pull
out her weapon. As she bent to retrieve her dagger, an arm swooped
around her waist jerking her off her feet. The unmistakable cold,
hard metal of a pistol pressed into her forehead. “Got
you.”

Madelaine bucked her body, trying to
break the hold on her.

“
Don’t make me hurt you,
Madelaine,” Grey whispered in her ear. She stilled, fear clogging
her throat. Immediately, he set her on her feet. Gravenhurst eyed
her piteously. Warmth spread up her neck and over her face. Gads!
What a time to be embarrassed. But she was. Grey’s hatred of her
was palpable in his voice, his stance, the way he flinched when he
touched her.

He pointed the pistol ahead of him.
“Will you kindly move that way?”

As if she had a choice? She started to
walk but picked up pace when the pistol nudged her in the back.
“Faster, sweet. I wouldn’t want your dragging feet to get my
brother killed.”

By faster, Grey meant run. They raced
down the street, pains jabbing in her side. A large building loomed
at the end of the lane. Grey stopped and jerked her to the side of
the road behind some crates.

He shoved her to the ground, her palms
scraping against gravel. An involuntary hiss of pain escaped her,
and she automatically cradled her hands to her body.

Grey dropped down beside her, his
thigh brushing hers, his tense, bulging muscles pressed hard
against her leg. He turned to Gravenhurst who crouched at her other
side. “You approach from the left, and we’ll come from the right. I
expect he’ll be shooting at us.”

Gravenhurst nodded. “One of us should
make it.”

“
I’ll wait here,”
Madelaine offered with a nervous laugh.

Both men eyed her without a
smile.

Grey grabbed her by the arm and hauled
her up. “Stay behind me unless you want your friend to accidentally
shoot you when he’s aiming for me.”

She nodded, too afraid to point out,
once again, that whoever this man was, he was no friend of hers.
They crept through the darkness, darting around trees and winding
their way toward the right side of the warehouse. As they reached a
door, a shot rang out in the night seeming to come from somewhere
above them in the building.

“
Damn it.” Grey gripped
her arm once again. “You better hope Gravenhurst is all right,
Madelaine.”

She tried to wrench free, but he
tightened his fingers like bands of steel. “I do hope he lives, and
if you want to live you need to release me and concentrate on
killing whoever wants to kill you.”

He frowned. “I suppose of the two of
you, your accomplice is the bigger threat since you’re not armed.”
He gripped her chin. “One false move and I’ll shoot
you.”

She nodded. Finally, he was going to
concentrate on protecting himself. Later, she’d allow herself to
wallow in the fact that he had no qualms about shooting her. She
sniffed.

“
Stay by my side,” he
whispered and moved up the dark stairs.
As
a board creaked under his weight, Grey bit back a curse and threw
his arm out in front of her. He touched the next step with the tip
of his boot. When no noise followed, he motioned her forward. At
the top, they rounded the corner and followed the glow of light
coming from the end of the hall.

As they crept along, gooseflesh rose
on Madelaine’s arms. Without a sound, Grey stopped in front of the
door and raised his pistol.

She gulped back a cry of fear. A man,
his face so hideously burned that she recoiled at the sight of the
mangled flesh, stood facing the door with one pistol pointed at
Grey and another pointed at Grey’s brother’s head. Lord Ashford was
bound by rope to a chair, a rag stuffed in his mouth and secured
with more rope tied over his parted lips. He immediately bucked in
his chair when he saw them. The wood scraped against the hardwood
floor, but Lord Ashford’s efforts did him no good. Angry sounds
poured from him, impossible to understand because of the
gag.

“
You took long enough,
Lord Grey.”

The muscle at the side of Grey’s jaw
ticked furiously, but he simply inclined his head. “My apologies.
I’m here now to make the trade.”