by Lee Bross
She took a roll from her pocket, one she had actually paid a half pence for, and bit into it. As she chewed, the noises around her became clearer. Rats scratched through the debris somewhere behind her. The low horn of a freight barge made the wood under her feet vibrate. The huge vessel came into view to her right, and she watched its lazy progress.
A lone figure moved into her line of sight. He was dressed in a black coat and had a wool cap pulled down low. It could be Nic, or it could be a random worker. Or it could be Wild. Arista stayed hidden.
The person stopped and looked out over the river. He thrust his hands into his pockets, a move so very familiar that her heart ached. It was Nic. But was he alone?
She waited. Several long minutes passed, but he didn’t step away from the riverbank. The first move, it seemed, would have to be hers. She got up and walked out, carefully scanning the shadows around the building for movement. She waited again, behind the pile of broken crates, before stepping out into the open.
She must have made a sound, because Nic turned and their eyes met. She closed the distance between them until they only stood a foot apart and she had to look up to see the expression on his face. “I wasn’t sure if you’d come,” he said.
“Is this another trick? Will I be framed for another murder today?”
Nic cringed and would not meet her eyes. “No. You don’t understand. I tried to tell you to leave—that Wild knew what you were doing—but you came back.”
“Why didn’t he just kill me instead of setting me up for murder?”
“Wild needed a scapegoat. By taking down Lady A, he would solidify his place as Thief Taker. Things have gotten…bad, gypsy. People are accusing him of working both sides. He needed this in order to keep his position untarnished.”
“How long has he been planning this?” A sick feeling turned in her stomach. When Nic didn’t answer, she took a step closer, forcing him to acknowledge her. “How long, Nic?”
“Months,” he finally said.
“So all of this—everything that’s happened—was all to get to this point. To set me up so he could save himself. And you went along with it? You dragged me into it, knowing what would happen? I thought we were friends. I trusted you. Did you know that Bones almost killed me that night? Did you know that he beat Becky so badly, she probably won’t be able to use her right eye again? Do you even care?”
Instead of being contrite, Nic’s eyes narrowed. “It was hard for all of us. We were nearing the end of our usefulness, gypsy. Did you think we’d just be able to walk away when Bones was done? Live like normal people? I was trying to save us both.” He paced back and forth in front of her.
“Is Wild waiting around the corner to kill me himself?” she asked.
“Christ, no! I had no idea that when Wild approached me, he had this planned out. It wasn’t until the Luckettes’ party that I knew everything, and by then, it was too late. If I’d crossed him, he would have done worse than kill me.”
“So you framed me for murder?”
Nic drew his fingers through his hair and exhaled sharply. “I thought I could get you out. The jailers there are known for their greed, and I still have the money I took from Bones. But Wild kept me right by his side afterward. The only thing I could do was send that note to Becky, and hope that the man I’ve seen you with cared enough to go get you.”
Her stomach twisted into knots. So much could have gone wrong.
“You were never alone, gypsy. I promised to always look out for you, and I did.”
“By betraying me? By lying? By handing me to Wild on a silver platter?” Arista made a fist and slammed it into his gut. His sudden exhalation did little to quell her anger, and she turned away before he could see the tears in her eyes.
“All you’ve ever wanted was freedom, gypsy. Yet just when you could have taken it, you chose to stay and help a family of strangers. The girl I knew would never have sacrified herself for anyone.”
Arista clenched her hands at her sides. “I am not that girl anymore.”
“I know.” Nic stared at her, as if memorizing every feature. He tilted his head. “You are different. Softer. Even dressed as a boy I can see it. Are you happy, gypsy? Really happy?”
She thought of Grae, of Sophia, of Grae’s parents, and nodded. “I feel like I belong. There are people who care about me. Who want me.”
He lifted his hand and cupped her cheek. “You were always wanted, gypsy. But even a blind man could see you were never cut out for this life.”
He dropped his hand to his pocket and pulled out a stack of papers that had been rolled and tied together.
“This is what you need to blackmail Wild.” He hesitated, and when he looked at her, regret shone from his eyes. “I’m sorry for everything, gypsy. I never meant for you to get hurt.” He took her hand and gently placed the packet in it. His thumb stroked her fingers.
“I had hoped that one day, we could go away together—maybe we still can?”
She sucked in a shallow breath. How long she had wanted, needed, to hear those words from him. If he had told her this on the night of the fire, she would have gone with him without hesitation. But everything had changed in a matter of weeks. She shook her head and pulled her hand from his grasp.
Instead of being angry at her withdrawal, a sad smile curved his lips up. “I knew the answer already. I’ve seen you with him. And I know you almost better than you know yourself.” He gripped both of her shoulders so she would have to look at him. “You do deserve to be happy, gypsy, despite what you’ve been told your whole life. Give him a chance. Only one of us is worthy of a second chance, and it’s most definitely not me.”
Her lower lip trembled, and she swallowed the sob that was building in her throat. “This”—she lifted the packet—“if I use it, he will know that you betrayed him.”
Nic shrugged, as if his life were not in danger now. “It was worth it. Maybe this one good deed will make up for a lifetime of mistakes.”
“I’ll make sure he doesn’t hurt you,” she said, clutching the packet to her chest. “But you should leave London, too.” She wasn’t asking him to come with her. Disappointment flashed over his face before he quickly hid it.
“Don’t worry about me. I’ll be okay.”
It was time to go. It was harder than she thought it would be to say goodbye.
“I just want to…” Three figures stepped from the shadow of the warehouse. Her blood ran cold. Two were great burly men, and the one between them was covered by a long cloak.
“You lied,” she gasped.
Nic spun around, and before she could pull her knife free, he had pushed her behind him. “Run, gypsy.” The fear in his voice was real. He didn’t know these men.
“No, I’m not leaving you alone.”
Nic growled low in his throat. “Gypsy, please.”
“There’s no way I’m…” The words faded. She knew the two men standing a few feet away. They were the same ones that had beaten her before the fire. Then the man in the middle pushed his hood back. Shock sent the words into hiding. “You’re alive,” she gasped.
Bones sneered at her. The burnt flesh that clung to his face in black patches made him look more monstrous than he ever had before. Huge, gaping wounds covered his neck, and his hands were blackened and misshapen. Bile raced up her throat.
He leaned heavily on his cane and when he breathed, the wheezing noise sent chills through her body.
“No thanks to you, girl,” he snarled. “And you,” he pointed a blackened finger at Nic, “you stole from me, boy. You know the punishment for stealing, don’t ya?”
“I’m not afraid of you anymore,” Nic spat.
Bones took a step forward and laughed. “You’ll pay for your treachery, boy. I know what you did—turned on me to work with the Thief Taker. I’ve been watching you all this time. Did you think I was stupid, boy? I knew it was just a matter of time before I’d get you alone. Didn’t expect I’d have the chance to take care of that
one too, though. Shoulda put you both down when you were young. More trouble than you both were worth.”
Arista watched the two men draw closer. She had her knife out and ready, as did Nic. The men split off, and came at them from opposite sides. Arista lunged for the same man who had driven his fists into her stomach over and over on the night of the fire.
He twisted, moving far more gracefully than she’d expected for someone of his size, and knocked her wrist with the thick piece of wood she had missed. It immediately went numb and the knife fell into the dirt at her feet. He kicked it away and she heard a splash. From behind her she heard grunts and the sound of fists hitting flesh.
“Tell me where those papers are, and I’ll let you go,” Bones wheezed.
“Never,” Nic gasped. Blood dripped from one cut on his lip and another over his eye. Already the blows on his jaw were making his face swell, and she saw the way he winced every time he took a breath in.
“Very well then.” Bones nodded and the man holding Nic yanked his arms behind his back so hard that Nic groaned. Then the other man started pounding his fists into Nic’s stomach.
“Stop!” Her pleas fell on deaf ears. The man continued to pummel Nic. Nic’s eyes were now fluttering open and closed.
“All right!” Arista shouted. “Here.” She thrust the rolled-up papers at Bones and he took them from her. The man stopped his assault and Nic hung limp between them.
“Let him go,” Bones said. His smile turned malicious as his gaze moved to the river.
“No!” Arista started beating her fists against the closest man’s arm, but he backhanded her as if she were nothing but an annoying insect. She caught herself before her face hit the ground and stayed there for several seconds, fighting back the wave of sickness that washed over her.
It was the splash that brought clarity to her fuzzy mind. They had thrown Nic in the river. In his current state, he would surely drown—she had to save him—
But she couldn’t swim.
Without thinking, Arista pushed off the ground and launched herself at Bones. His lackeys were at the river’s edge, so it gave her time to push Bones to the ground and plant her boot in his gut over and over. He curled in on himself and grunted each time her boot made contact.
She knew there were only precious seconds before the two men saw her, so she grabbed the papers out of Bones’s hand and threw them as far as she could toward the warehouse. Stumbling toward the river, she screamed for help, and heard an answering shout in the distance. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the lackeys take off.
Nic had floated too far for her to reach from the end of the small dock. She ran to the riverbank and waded into the water, but it was up to her waist before she could reach him.
“Help me.” She splashed out farther and the cold water rose over her chest; she couldn’t breathe through the panic clouding her head. Tears streamed down her face and her voice grew hoarse. The water lapped at her chin, and the acrid taste of the river coated her tongue every time she shouted. The current tugged at her feet, making it nearly impossible to stand up. If she didn’t go back, she would be swept deeper into the river.
But she had to save Nic.
One summer, Nic had been determined to teach Arista how to swim. He’d showed her over and over again how to kick with her legs and paddle with her arms, and it had done no good. She’d never learned. But now she had no choice.
With her eyes on Nic’s body, Arista shoved off the river bottom and plunged toward him. She kicked and paddled with every ounce of strength she had, trying to keep her face above water.
When the river closed over her head, she panicked, thrashing her way to the surface just long enough to suck in a breath before she went under. The next time she pulled herself above the water, she’d lost sight of Nic, but it didn’t matter because she sank yet again.
Her muscles screamed in protest. Cramps were seizing her legs, making it impossible to keep kicking. She had no strength left to try and fight her way to the surface again. Water clogged her nose and mouth. She fought the urge to draw it into her lungs, and they burned. An eerie silence filled her head.
Slowly, she began to sink.
Then, suddenly, her jacket tightened around her chest and water rushed past her body. An explosion of sound and light erupted around her and she instinctively sucked in choking breaths of air. An arm wrapped around her middle and she was pulled against a solid body.
“I’ve got you.” The familiar timbre of Grae’s voice unleashed the torrent of fear bottled inside her. She grabbed his arm and sobbed. When she felt ground under her feet, her legs were useless. Grae picked her up and carried her to the riverbank as she wrapped her arms around his neck. Her entire body shook uncontrollably.
“I told you I would save you if you ever fell in the water,” he said, setting Arista tenderly on the ground before he lowered himself to sit next to her. Then Becky was there, her face wet with tears, putting Grae’s jacket around Arista’s shoulders.
She threw it off and struggled to stand. Nic. She had to save Nic. “I have to…” Her gaze was drawn to three men swimming to where he’d drifted, almost at the middle of the river. They began pulling him toward the riverbank and Arista struggled to get to him. Grae wrapped his arms around her from behind and held her tight.
“They’ve got him,” he said.
She frantically searched for any sign of life as the men carefully pulled him from the water and lay him on the riverbank. They were talking in hushed voices, but from their tone, she knew.
“I couldn’t get to him,” Arista sobbed. “I tried, but I just couldn’t.”
Grae pulled her into his arms and held her face against his chest as she cried.
“It’s over,” she whispered, looking up at Grae. Then her glance slid to Becky. “It was Bones. He did that to Nic.” She looked past her friend to the spot where she’d last seen Bones, but of course he wasn’t there. The packet? Had he taken it with him?
“Bones is alive?” Becky gasped.
Of course there was no sign of her tormentor or his lackeys. But…“The secrets.” Arista tried to free herself, but Grae kept her in his grasp.
“You need to be still. You inhaled half the Thames,” he said.
“Becky—there, by the warehouse. I threw the packet that Nic gave me. Will you see if it’s there?” If it was, then this had not all been for nothing.
Becky hurried away, searching the ground as she went.
“I’m sorry,” Arista said to Grae. “For lying to you again.”
“Nothing else matters, except that you’re alive. When we got back to the ship and you were missing, I wanted to tear the thing apart. My first mate remembered a boy running from the ship. Becky knew the place that the note mentioned, and we were able to get to you in time.” His entire body shuddered against hers. “I came so close to losing you. If we had been only a few seconds longer…”
She laid her face against his wet shirt. “But you weren’t. You saved me. Again.”
“Miss!” Becky’s excited shout rose above Grae’s heartbeat in her ear. “I’ve got it.”
This time Grae allowed her to stand as Becky came rushing over. The papers, still rolled tightly, were right there.
“What is it?” Grae asked.
Arista shook her head. “I have no idea. But Nic gave his life to get it to me.” Grae gently touched her arm. He watched the river and, from the expression on his face, Arista knew what he saw. Becky took the papers from Arista’s numb fingers.
Arista stared at the spot where the men had left Nic’s body on the riverbank. She had to be sure. As she stood and started toward them, Grae fell into step beside her. She stopped and looked up at him. “I need to do this alone. I hope you can understand that.”
“Of course. I’m here when you need me.” Grae pressed his lips to her forehead.
“Thank you,” she whispered.
It was the hardest thing she’d ever done, taking that short walk. The way
the men stood, so solemnly, told her that it was too late. That Nic was gone. They moved aside as she stepped closer.
“I’m sorry, lad. He were gone before we got to him.” The closest man dragged his cap off his head and hugged it to his chest.
Arista stared down at Nic’s body. He looked peaceful, as if he were only sleeping. He’d not been in the river long enough to look like any of the bloated corpses she’d seen dragged out of it. Her knees weakened and she sank down next to him. His flesh was cool as she took his hand.
“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.” Her head fell forward and she pressed her lips to the back of his hand. His hair was matted to his forehead, and she gently pushed it away from his face. The gash Bones’s men had left on his temple remained, but only a small trickle of blood ran from it now.
Great sobs erupted from her chest. He couldn’t be gone. Not Nic. She draped herself over his chest, willing him to take a breath, but he remained still.
“Lad, they’ve brought a cart to carry the body. Is there someplace we can take it?” the man asked.
Grae helped Arista to her feet and wrapped one arm around her shoulders, pulling her against his chest. She clung to the sound of his heartbeat, so strong and sure and alive under her ear.
“I’ll take care of the arrangements,” Grae said. “Please have the body taken to the coroner, and give him my name, Graeden Sinclair. I will be there to take care of everything in the morning.” Grae gave each of the men a shilling and their eyes went wide.
“Aye, Mr. Sinclair, I’ll take care of it myself,” the man said. “Don’t you worry about a thing.”
“He’s really gone, isn’t he?” Arista whispered.
“I’m afraid so,” Grae said, pressing his lips to her temple.