Blood Blade Sisters Series (Entangled Scandalous)

by Michelle McLean

  Lucy took a deep breath and launched into the tale, leaving out nothing. When she’d finished, Brynne and Cilla glanced at each other, and then back to her.

  “Mr. Taggart has informed us that you’ve retained a lawyer,” Brynne said. “What does he say about all this?”

  Lucy shrugged. “He’s optimistic. I have no criminal past…” Cilla’s eyebrows raised, the scar bisecting her left brow exaggerating her surprised look, and Lucy rolled her eyes and continued, “that anyone knows about. While here, I’ve been a good member of the community. The fact that I started the school could both help and hurt us, he thinks, depending on who’s on the jury. On one hand, it shows my ‘charitable’ nature. But on the other hand…”

  “On the other hand,” Cilla filled in, “if you get a bunch of bigoted old-timers, the fact that you started a school to teach Negroes will go against you.”

  “Right.”

  “No one is questioning that Philip was the one who shot Finn, so Finn at least is safe from suspicion since it’s a bit impossible for him to have bashed Philip in the head from behind after being shot. Believe me, I wasn’t sure there for a while. When we were found, Finn didn’t have his tattoos covered, which gave everyone a bit of a shock. I’m sure if they could have pinned some blame on him, they would have. But there simply isn’t any way to make an accusation stick, so that’s a good bit of news.”

  “Sure. Good for Finn. But it doesn’t help you,” Richard said.

  Lucy shot him a dirty look.

  “Now don’t go getting angry at Richard for just saying what we’re all thinking. It’s fine and dandy for Taggart to be above suspicion, but that still leaves you as the only suspect,” Brynne said.

  “Why can’t you just tell them who really killed the man?” Leo asked. “Surely you must know.”

  “Of course I know. But I can’t reveal who it is. She was only trying to protect me and I’m not going to let her hang for that.”

  “Lucy,” Brynne said, drawing Lucy down to sit beside her and Cilla on the bench. “I know you want to protect this woman, but I think it’s time for you to face the facts. You could be the one on the end of the rope. Are you prepared to just give up and die to keep her identity a secret?”

  Lucy looked at Finn, a lump forming in her throat. “Of course I don’t want to die. I don’t want to spend the rest of my life, or even one more moment behind these bars. And I have no intention of just giving up. But there has to be some way of proving my innocence without giving her up in the process.”

  “Lucy,” Finn said, kneeling down in front of her, “I spoke with Fitzhugh after he left you this morning. It doesn’t look good. There was no one else there. If you don’t tell them who really killed Halford, then in their minds, there is no one else who could have done it but you. Don’t you see that? If you don’t tell them who really killed him, you’ll be the one hanging.”

  “Finn, I can’t…”

  “We have the best lawyer in the South on our side. And what happened to Halford was self-defense. Hell, no one is even questioning that the man shot me. That proves it was self-defense! There is no guarantee that she’ll hang for this.”

  “And there’s no guarantee that I will either. So why can’t we just argue that defense for me? I’ve got a much better chance with a jury than she will.”

  “Because you have other motives for wanting him dead.”

  Lucy’s blood ran cold. She’d never considered that the prosecution might have an actual case against her. She hadn’t confessed and other than finding her with the body, covered in blood, and she knew how damning that looked, she didn’t think they had anything on her.

  “What possible motives could I have for wanting Philip dead? As far as the community was concerned, we were courting.”

  “Exactly. You were courting him and then were found in bed with me.”

  Brynne sucked in an angry breath and Lucy sighed. “Don’t lecture me about that now, Brynne. You can give me the moral-deprivation sermon later.”

  Brynne’s eyes narrowed, though her glare was directed at Finn, but she waved them on.

  “So,” Lucy continued, “because I was found with you, they think that is motive for murder?”

  Finn grimaced and pulled a newspaper clipping out of his pocket. “I didn’t want to show you these…”

  He handed them to her and Lucy quickly read the article. The headline, Schoolmistress Kills City Icon to Hide Illicit Affair had her ready to chew glass before getting two sentences into the article. The so-called article was a sordid description painting her as a wanton hussy who’d set out to seduce the goodly Mr. Halford. He’d caught her in the arms of a savage, in the midst of some devilishly heathen lovemaking, they were sure to point out. Lucy, in a rage at Mr. Halford’s rightful rejection of her upon discovering her betrayal, had killed him.

  Lucy stared at the offensive trash in her hands. “Surely no one believes this filth?”

  “Enough do. And it’ll only take twelve to convict you.”

  “Lucy,” Cilla said, taking her sister’s hands. “You’ve got to tell them who really did this. I promise you we will do everything in our power to keep her safe. But your life is our priority here. And I think you need to seriously consider the possibility that you will be found guilty.”

  Lucy looked at Brynne and then at Richard and Leo. And finally at Finn.

  “Only if you promise me that she won’t hang. Even if we have to bust her out of here and go on the run. Promise me.”

  Finn took her face in his hands. “I swear to you, I will not let her hang for this.”

  Lucy stared into his eyes for a long moment. Nausea from guilt and fear rose in her gut, and she swallowed several times, trying to calm the furious pounding of her heart.

  They were right though. She’d be found guilty. She would die.

  Finally she nodded. “All right.”

  Finn crushed her to him. “It will be all right, love. For both of you.” He set her from him so he could look into her eyes again. “I swear it.”

  “I hope you’re right.”

  Chapter Seventeen

  Finn flipped through the telegrams in his hand, though reading them again wouldn’t change the messages they contained. He balled them up and threw them to the floor, not caring about the startled look the telegraph operator gave him.

  Nothing. Richard and Leo and the team of men they’d hired to help search for Lilah had once again come up empty. They hadn’t found one single solitary sign of Lilah. She had just vanished into thin air. No one had seen her and none of her friends and family would admit to knowing anything.

  The rotten part of it was that Finn believed them. They seemed just as worried about Lilah and just as distressed over Lucy as Finn and Lucy’s sisters. While they might not be too keen on Lilah turning herself in, they did very much want to help Lucy.

  Finn raked his hand through his hair, trying to calm the growing panic in his gut. The case against Lucy was circumstantial, but it was a good one. Hell, if he was on the jury and heard the prosecution’s salacious tale, he’d be riveted to his seat…and then he’d probably convict Lucy of murder.

  She’d pled not guilty, of course, and her lawyer was making no secret of the fact that they were claiming that a third party had killed Halford in self-defense. But without any proof…well, it wasn’t looking good.

  Finn took a deep breath, shoved his emotions back into the dark pit they’d escaped from, and set off to deliver his bad news.

  Brynne and Cilla took it about as he suspected. Brynne stared wide-eyed into the fire, seemingly in shock, though Finn knew her mind was thinking up and rejecting a hundred different options behind that blank stare.

  Cilla was wearing a hole in the rug with her pacing. Finally, she stopped and threw up her hands.

  “This is ridiculous! We can’t just let them convict Lucy of murder.”

  Brynne blinked, completely unsurprised by her sister’s outburst. “And just what do you suggest we
do about it? March into the jail and demand her immediate release? Or perhaps we should organize an escape plan and spirit her away in the middle of the night.”

  “Yes! If that’s our only option, then hell yes. Let’s bust in there and get her.”

  Brynne sighed and sank back into the couch. “And what happens after that? Assuming we could get her out of there in the first place, and manage to get her out of the city without being caught, what then? Where will she go?”

  “The same place you were going to send me when I was locked up for murders I didn’t commit. She can go down to Mexico. Carmen and Miguel still have family there. They’d welcome her.”

  “When you were arrested, it was in California. Mexico wasn’t that far away. Carmen’s family is on the west coast of Mexico and we are on the east coast of the United States. It would take weeks to reach them, months maybe. And in the meantime, everyone and their blind Aunt Molly will be looking for her.”

  “So let them look! We’ll hide her. If Mexico is too far away, send her up to Canada. Or we could smuggle her onto a boat and ship her to the Continent. You, Finn, you’re from Ireland, you could take her there.”

  “I haven’t been to Ireland since I was a child. Besides, getting her onto a boat and keeping her undetected throughout the voyage would be difficult,” Finn said, hating to speak against her idea. He was all for spiriting Lucy away. But he wasn’t sure where they could go where she’d be safe, if they could get her away at all.

  “Difficult, but not impossible,” Cilla insisted.

  “Cilla,” Brynne said, “this case is already the most notorious case the state has seen in a very long time. Her portrait has been splashed all over the papers with all those horrible articles. Lucy would have to look over her shoulder for the rest of her life, always worried that someone might recognize her and turn her in.”

  “Well at least she’d be alive enough to worry!” Cilla stood glaring at her sister, her breath coming in short pants. “I can’t believe you’re just willing to sit there and give up. You blew up half a town to save me from the end of a rope but you’re not even willing to discuss doing the same for Lucy.”

  “Oh, Cilla.” Brynne stood and pulled her sister’s rigid body into her arms. Cilla resisted for a moment and then let Brynne hold her. After a minute, Brynne pulled away and led Cilla to the sofa with her. She patted the seat beside her and waited until Cilla took a seat before continuing.

  “First of all, I’d gladly blow up half this cursed town if it would save Lucy’s life. But it wouldn’t, and you know that. Bethany Ridge was different. It’s a tiny town in the middle of the Californian wilderness. We were basically on our own out there, so blowing up a few buildings and disrupting a hanging or two was a little more feasible out there. But this is Charlotte. It’s a big city with a lot of people living in it. Staging a prison break would be a little more difficult to achieve out here.”

  “But not impossible,” Cilla insisted.

  Brynne looked thoughtful and a sliver of unease wormed its way into the ball of misery that used to be Finn’s heart.

  “No,” she finally said. “Not impossible. We’d just have to be more careful about it.”

  “Wait,” Finn said. “You two aren’t seriously proposing we break Lucy out of jail.”

  Two sets of chocolate-brown eyes gazed at him.

  “It’ll never work, and then she’ll be in even more trouble than she is now. Running only makes her look guilty.”

  Cilla snorted. “If you’re too much of a coward to help my sister, then you can leave.”

  “My courage isn’t what’s in question here. It’s your judgment. Brynne is right, even if we could get Lucy out of there, hiding her away forever would be next to impossible.”

  Cilla rolled her eyes. “You were raised by natives and have been working with smugglers for years. I’d be willing to bet the whole gold mine that you’d be very capable of taking Lucy and disappearing.”

  “Yes. I could. But is that what you really want? Is it what she’ll want?”

  “She wants to live.”

  “What kind of living would that be? You’d never see her again. We’d have to disappear and never return. Preferably to a foreign country where the government here couldn’t touch her. Is that what you want for her? Because I guarantee you that’s not what she wants for herself.”

  “At least she’d be free.”

  “Free to do what? Be on the run for the rest of her life? She could never have children. What kind of life would that be for them? She’d never see her family again, her home, the people and things she loves. What kind of a life is that?”

  Cilla fumed, but she before she could speak again, Brynne cut in. “He’s right.”

  “What?” Cilla asked, her face flaming red.

  “He’s right, Cilla. And you know it. Lucy wouldn’t want to live like that.”

  “At least she’d live!”

  Finn flinched at her words, but he didn’t say anything, waiting silently with Brynne until Cilla calmed down. The fight had gone out of her with those last words. She knew what she was proposing was futile. If Finn thought for a moment it would work, he’d already be breaking down the jailhouse doors.

  “We still have time,” Brynne said quietly. “Richard and Leo are still out searching. And a jury might realize that Lucy is telling the truth and is innocent. She hasn’t been convicted of anything just yet.”

  Finn nodded, fiery determination burning in his gut. “But if she is,” he said, meeting Cilla’s gaze, “then we’ll talk.”

  Cilla nodded and gave him a slow smile.

  Finally, they agreed on something.

  …

  The next time the cell door opened, Finn entered alone. Lucy took him in, her gaze hungrily raking over every inch of him. He stood at the door to the cell for a moment and just looked at her. Then he opened his arms and Lucy rushed to him, burying her face in his chest and breathing him in as he enveloped her in his embrace.

  Every time she saw him she wondered if it would be the last. Would he decide that standing by her side was too much trouble? Too dangerous for him? And what if she was convicted? She didn’t want him wasting his life waiting for her. Or worse yet, watching while she was executed.

  “Come here,” Finn said, drawing her to the narrow bunk against the wall.

  He sat down, pulling her onto his lap. She curled against him, taking comfort from the steady beating of his heart. He ran his hand up and down her back.

  “How are you doing?” he asked.

  Lucy considered lying, telling him she was fine. He probably wouldn’t believe her though.

  “And don’t tell me you’re fine,” he added.

  Lucy laughed. “No, I’m not fine. I’m angry and uncomfortable and worried about the trial. But I am happy to see you.”

  Finn kissed the top of her head. “I tried to bribe the sheriff into letting me move in but he didn’t bite.”

  Lucy snuggled closer. “Maybe we just need to offer him more money.”

  “It’s worth a try.” He kissed her forehead. “Though this bed is far too narrow.” His lips brushed her cheek. “We’d definitely need something larger.”

  “Definitely,” Lucy murmured, lifting her face to meet his lips.

  Finn crushed her to him and Lucy wrapped her arms around his neck, starving for his touch.

  “Hey!” a guard shouted.

  Lucy jumped, but Finn kept her firmly planted on his lap.

  “None of that, you hear? Or you’ll be out of there right quick.”

  Finn glared at the officer but Lucy nodded. The guards had treated her fairly well for the most part and the last thing Lucy wanted was to lose any privileges, like being allowed visitors well past regular hours.

  She gently extricated herself from Finn’s arms, though doing so felt like she was amputating part of herself, and sat beside him on the cot.

  She shushed his growl of protest. “Hush. There’ll be plenty of time for all that
when I’m out of here.”

  Finn’s lips tightened and Lucy’s stomach dropped. She’d known he hadn’t had good news when he’d walked through her cell door. Still, she’d hoped she was wrong. “What is it?” she asked. “You can’t find her, can you?”

  Finn shook his head and got up. He paced the cell, his long stride eating up the small space in two steps. “We’ve looked everywhere. Asked at the train stations, at every establishment within twenty miles of here. Richard and Leo are still searching with a team of men we’ve hired, combing every roadside shelter in every direction she might have gone. No one has seen her.”

  “Well,” Lucy said, looking down at her hands. She tried to force as much cheerful optimism into her voice as she could, though she was far from feeling any. “I told her to disappear. Can hardly blame her for obeying me.” She gave him a weak smile.

  “Yes, I can. You are very likely going to be convicted of a murder you didn’t commit and while I’m grateful to her for saving your life that day, it’s doing you little good now if you are going to hang for it!”

  Lucy stood and went to him, placing her palms on his chest to stop his pacing. She looked up into the face she adored, into the eyes that she saw every time she closed her own. “I can’t fault her for trying to save her own life. I still have a chance. A good one, I think. I’m innocent and there is no evidence to suggest that I’m not.”

  Finn cupped her face in his hands. “They don’t need evidence, Lucy. A pillar of their community was killed and they want blood for it. Anyone’s blood. They don’t care whose it is. They don’t care if you are innocent or not. There is no one else to blame, and so they’ll blame you. And I’ll lose you.”

  His voice cracked and he swallowed hard and drew her nearer.

  “We don’t know what will happen,” she insisted, reaching up to cover his hands with her own. “And for now we still have each other. We haven’t lost each other yet.”

  “It’s not enough.” He leaned down and kissed her. “An eternity wouldn’t be enough.”

  Lucy kissed him, molding herself as tightly to him as she could. He was right. She could have a lifetime of days and nights with him and would still ache for more.