To Trust a Thief

by Michelle McLean

  But Min was going to pay the price.

  Her arms tingled and an icy cold flowed down her limbs, leaving her lightheaded and terrified.

  Rellik let go and slapped her. Min’s head snapped backward and Rellik grabbed her by the hair. Black spots swam in her vision but she blinked at them, not wanting to lose consciousness with a madman at her throat.

  “No!” Arthur shouted.

  Min twisted free but didn’t get far. Arthur spun away from the man who’d attacked him and lunged for Rellik, but he shoved Arthur out of the way and grabbed Min by the hair before she could run. She screamed, the sound nothing more than a hoarse screech. Rellik dragged Min out of the greenhouse, yelling at her as she stumbled, trapped in his grip.

  “Rellik!” Arthur thundered after them. “What are you doing? Let her go!”

  Rellik tightened his hold on Min and had her out the door, hauling her to where his waiting horses stood just outside the greenhouse, pawing at the ground in their agitation.

  Arthur flew out the door and launched himself at Rellik. Rellik, momentarily stunned, let go of Min.

  “Run!” Arthur yelled.

  Min hesitated. She couldn’t leave him!

  “Get the girl!” she heard Rellik shout at one of his thugs.

  The man was blocking her path to the house so she turned and dashed into the copse of trees behind the greenhouse, running as fast as she could.

  A large body tackled her, rolling her to the ground.

  “No,” she moaned, closing her eyes as the man flipped her on her stomach, wrenching her arms behind her. She struggled, kicking and thrashing, when she felt a thick length of rope being wound around her wrists. The man let go of the rope for a moment and shoved her face into the ground, grinding it against the twigs and rocks in the dirt.

  “Just hold still, missy, and I won’t have to hurt you,” he grunted, giving her head one last painful shove before he resumed tying her. When he was finished, he picked her up, throwing her over his shoulder.

  “Wouldn’t want you trying to run again, eh, girlie!” He laughed, giving her bottom a hard slap. Min sobbed against his shoulder, spitting dirt out of her mouth.

  He brought her back to Rellik and dumped her to the ground on her belly. Min cried out at the pain pulsing through her body.

  “You won’t get away with this!” Arthur shouted.

  Min watched as Rellik and Arthur circled each other. Arthur was bleeding from his lip and nose but looked like he’d gotten in a few hits as well.

  Rellik paced in a slow circle around him. Arthur stood rigid, standing his ground. He met Min’s eyes for a brief second, his face a mask of regret. It was all the time Rellik needed. He lunged at Arthur, knocking him to his knees. He wrapped his arm around Arthur’s windpipe from behind. Arthur pried his fingers beneath Rellik’s elbow, trying in vain to relieve the pressure on his neck. Rellik pressed a knife to his throat. Arthur froze in place.

  The knife sliced into Arthur’s flesh and Min’s rasping scream echoed through the air.

  Chapter Thirty-six

  Bryant groaned and cracked his eyes open. It took a few tries before he could focus on anything, and the effort didn’t help the pounding in his skull. He lifted his head for an instant before letting it fall back onto the pillow.

  “Don’t try to sit up just yet,” a brusque voice ordered. “Just lie still for a moment while I check your bandages.”

  “Where am I?” Bryant asked. From what he could tell, he was in a small room, furnished with little more than the bed he was on, the table beside it, and a few chairs. The window was covered with curtains that were thin enough to admit a bit of light but sufficiently patterned to prevent him from looking outside.

  “You are in a house I rented in Fairgate,” the voice answered.

  Bryant tried to focus on the face behind the voice and found himself staring at Julian, whose usually animated features were drawn and haggard. Bryant closed his eyes again, sucking in his breath as Julian removed the bandage from his side.

  “How long have I been here?”

  “Nearly two weeks now. You have been in and out of consciousness. I’m glad to see you have finally come around.”

  Two weeks. Bryant tried to remain calm. Min was safe. Julian had promised. But he knew he wouldn’t rest until he could see her and assure himself of that fact.

  “I have to leave here as soon as possible. There are things I need to take care of. And I need to make sure Min is all right.”

  Julian looked away and a shard of apprehension pierced Bryant.

  “What’s wrong? Is Min all right?” Bryant finally recognized the signs of stress and worry on Julian’s face. The mingled fear and anger that blazed from him made Bryant’s blood run cold.

  “I failed you.” Julian’s voice was barely audible.

  Bryant sat bolt upright and cried out at the pain in his side. “What? Where is she?” Bryant swung his legs over the side of the bed and staggered to his feet.

  Julian jumped to his side and tried to press him back into the bed. “What are you doing, man? Are you mad?”

  Bryant shook him off. “Talk.”

  “She’s been missing since yesterday. I only let her out of my sight for a moment. She wanted some air, and the doctor was with her. They were on the school’s grounds, so she should have been safe.”

  “I need my clothes. Now!”

  “She’s alive, Bryant. I’m sure of it. The doctor was killed, left where he’d fallen. There was no sign of Min, but there was evidence of a struggle and several horses.”

  Bryant paused for a moment, his staggering relief that it hadn’t been Min’s body they found almost immediately overcome by anxiety for her.

  “Where are you going?” Julian asked as Bryant stalked to the dresser.

  Bryant wrenched open the drawers, found pants and a shirt, and dressed as quickly as his injury would allow.

  Julian, with a sigh of exasperation, reached over and helped him. “She isn’t at the manor, and we’ve combed the woods. A whole team of policemen from Scotland Yard, her family, and half the villagers are searching for her. I don’t know how you think you can help when you can barely stand!”

  Bryant gripped Julian’s arms. “They’re at the mausoleum.”

  “That was the first place we searched.”

  “Then he waited for you to leave and went back. Trust me. He wants that necklace. He’s there.”

  Julian stopped arguing and ran from the room. Bryant took a deep breath, willing his heart to keep beating through the terror engulfing him. He sat on the bed, finished buttoning his shirt, and pulled on his stockings and boots.

  He ran for the door, thoughts of what was happening to Min pushing him past the protests of his body.

  “Julian! Gather who you can and follow me!” He ignored Julian’s shout and jumped on his horse, spurring him toward Thornmont.

  His thoughts tortured him, pounding into his brain with every strike of his horse’s hooves on the road.

  He’d never forgive himself. Never. His greed had already cost her more than anyone should have to pay. If she was dead… No. Rellik wouldn’t have killed her yet. Not yet. Rellik would try to get the necklace’s location out of her first.

  Bryant wasn’t sure if he should pray that Min was dead or not. Because by now, she might be wishing she was.

  Chapter Thirty-seven

  Min lay bound and gagged and face-to-face with a corpse. She was bruised, battered, and defeated. She pressed herself against the side of the stone coffin, as far from Anne Benton as she could get. Though one of her eyes was nearly swollen shut, she kept her gaze glued to what was left of the stained-glass window above her head. Her prayers for someone, anyone who could help her, went unanswered.

  Poor Arthur was beyond help. Min couldn’t erase the sight from her mind. His face as the knife had pierced his skin. His eyes burning into hers. Her name on his lips. She choked on a sob, desperate to keep silent.

  Another deafenin
g crack resonated through the mausoleum and Min flinched at the sound. Rellik was going tomb by tomb, breaking them open with the crowbar. If she didn’t produce the “real” necklace soon (and she couldn’t, as she had no idea where the “real” necklace was), Rellik was going to lose his tenuous hold on sanity.

  A sudden silence sent terror ripping through Min.

  Rellik’s face appeared over the edge of the coffin and she shrank away from the fury in his face. “I know you know where the real necklace is! Where is it?” Rellik shouted. He flicked his knife toward her and the tip of it caught at the fabric across her mouth. Her cheek burned as the material split. Min vaguely wondered how deeply he’d cut her as warmth trickled down her chin.

  His eyes bulged and a thin line of spittle hung precariously from his mouth. “Tell me!”

  “You’re mad,” Min whispered, her bruised throat nearly incapable of producing any sound.

  Rellik wrapped his hands around her throat and dragged her out, forcing her to her knees on the floor in front of him. “I suggest you talk while you still can.” His fingers tightened.

  “I told you,” Min rasped. “You already have the necklace. There is no other!”

  Rellik howled and struck her. Min’s head snapped back, her vision spinning as she tasted blood.

  “Liar!” He hit her again and she crumpled to the floor, unable to stop the fall with her hands still bound behind her.

  Min stared in stunned fascination for a moment as drops of blood ran from her face to drip on the polished marble floors. She could barely support her throbbing head, but she inched upright as best she could and leveled her clouded gaze at Rellik. “Not lying. You have the only one.”

  She tensed and waited for the next blow. Her horror intensified as, instead of striking her again, Rellik’s eyes roamed over her body. His face was flushed, and Min realized the madman was enjoying himself.

  He ran the bloodstained knife that had killed Arthur lightly down her cheek, trailing it from her neck to her breasts. Min held her breath, fighting her panic. He wrapped his free hand once again around her neck and hauled her to her feet. She tried to pull away, to no avail.

  “Hmmm,” he breathed, pulling her closer. “There is no one coming to save you, you know. Westley is dead. No one else knows where you are. By now, everyone will think you are dead as well.” He put his lips to her ear. “No one is coming, no one is coming, no one is coming.” He laughed at the whimper that escaped her swollen lips.

  “Tell me where it is,” he whispered.

  Rellik nuzzled at her neck and Min recoiled as he licked his way up her cheek, tasting the blood trickling from her cheek and lips. He pierced the fabric of her dress with his knife, his laugh sending darts of freezing terror through her. A liquid warmth seeped down her chest and her mind flashed to the blood that had poured from Arthur’s neck.

  Rellik’s breath came faster. “Perhaps we can have a little fun while you think about it, hmm? Maybe that will help you remember.”

  “Step away from her, Rellik. Now!”

  Min nearly laughed, hysterical with relief and horror as she heard Bryant’s voice from the doorway. Was it real? Or had Rellik finally broken her? Bryant was dead. No one was coming to save her.

  “Rellik!” Bryant’s voice was more a growl of rage than human language. This time Min had no doubt he was really there.

  At Bryant’s entrance, Rellik released her and spun Min around so her back was pulled up against him. She blinked her swollen eyes, trying to bring Bryant’s face into focus. He really had come for her. She nearly sagged in relief, but then froze as Rellik pressed the knife to her throat, the tip grazing her ear.

  “Don’t come any closer, Westley. Well, well, well. I guess I shall have to try harder to kill you next time. Tell me where the real necklace is, and I might let you have what you came for.”

  Bryant stepped farther into the room. Rellik pressed the knife into Min’s flesh and she flinched. Bryant stood still. Tears leaked from Min’s battered eyes as the blade drew a thin line of fire across her throat, leaving a trail of wet stickiness in its wake.

  “Rellik, damn you, let her go!” Bryant roared. “If you want the necklace, I’ll give it to you. But you must let her go first.”

  Min stared at him in shock. Did he have the necklace? Impossible! Surely he was just stalling for time. She couldn’t tell anything from his expression. His face was a mask of fury, his eyes raking over her like one possessed. Her gaze locked with his and she nearly sobbed.

  “Give it to me now or she dies!”

  Rellik dragged Min back as Bryant risked another step into the room. He froze again and Min heard the muted sound of a boot crunching on glass. A muffled shout was cut short. Bryant’s eyes flared in relief for a split second. Rellik was too far gone in his madness to notice anything. Bryant continued to talk to Rellik, trying to distract him from Min.

  “You win, Rellik,” Bryant said in a voice that brimmed with supplication. “She has nothing to do with this. Let her go and I will take you to the necklace. Here is proof if you need it.” He pulled a shining pendant from his pocket. Min’s battered jaw dropped as she stared at the glittering jewels in Bryant’s hand.

  Rellik hesitated, stunned into silence as though trying to figure out how to grab the pendant and keep ahold of Min at the same time. He opened his mouth to speak but whatever he was going to say turned abruptly to a startled yelp as Mr. Durant crashed through the broken window behind him and knocked him to the floor.

  Bryant lunged toward them at the same instant, grasped Min by the shoulders and shoved her to safety. She scrambled to the door, stumbling blindly into an unfamiliar man who had run up. He quickly surveyed the scene, taking stock of Min’s face and the blood seeping down her face and neck. He quickly cut her hands loose and Min gasped at the pain that shot through her limbs as the circulation returned to her arms. The man pressed a cloth to her throat and tried to lead her from the scene, but Min shoved him away. She wouldn’t let Bryant out of her sight again, no matter what.

  Across the room, Bryant and Mr. Durant struggled to contain Rellik, who seemed to channel his fury and madness into an impossible strength. Julian finally wrapped his arms around Rellik from behind and yanked him savagely to his feet. Bryant stepped back, chest heaving, and glanced at Mr. Durant, who seemed to have an unexpectedly limp Rellik under his control. Satisfied that Mr. Durant had a good hold of him, Bryant turned to the door and started toward Min.

  “Bryant!” she croaked.

  Rellik had arched backward, taking Mr. Durant by surprise as their heads smashed together with a horrible clunk. Mr. Durant slid to the floor, momentarily stunned. With a crazed laugh, Rellik pulled a small pistol from his pocket and leveled it at Min.

  “No!” Bryant erupted in a feral scream. Min dove. Bryant threw himself at Rellik just as he pulled the trigger. The blast mingled with Bryant’s shout as Min crashed to the floor. Her head struck the marble and she slipped into emptiness, the sound of a second shot echoing in the darkness.

  Chapter Thirty-eight

  The next several weeks were a blur. Min lay in her room, her hand traveling often to the bandage at her neck. The knife hadn’t done any permanent damage, but it had sunk deep enough that it would leave a thin scar across half her throat. She could speak again, though it had taken a couple of weeks before she could do so without having to clear her throat. Her face, luckily, was almost healed. Min’s aunt, harried by the realization that Min had been in danger from Lord Rellik, had been overjoyed that she was alive but distressed to find her beaten, bruised, and in love with her dance instructor. Min didn’t think it prudent to reveal his true profession.

  Aunt Laura had called in reinforcements and Min’s sister, Linnet, and her husband had come to help care for her. Or smother her, rather. They alternated between scolding her for becoming involved in such a crazy scheme and mumbling prayers of thanksgiving that she had come through alive. They chided her for her poor choice in men; though the
y were thankful Bryant had saved her, they were very disapproving of his profession. Aunt Laura almost had a fit thinking Min would follow in her mother’s footsteps and run off with a penniless teacher. Her disposition improved considerably when she discovered that this particular dance instructor was independently wealthy. Min was glad they hadn’t asked her to explain how he’d acquired his wealth.

  Most of all, they were simply proud of Min’s strength and courage.

  Min had a difficult time recalling the aftermath of the confrontation. When she had regained consciousness, the scene was one of utter chaos. Because of Lord Rellik’s involvement, inspectors from Scotland Yard were everywhere, talking, measuring, taking notes. Min had been wrapped in a blanket, patched up, and given over to Charlotte’s weeping, loving care.

  Rellik’s bullet had gone wild. Without Bryant’s interference, Min would have been dead.

  Arthur was gone. Min swallowed past the lump in her throat. It hurt to cry. It hurt not to. Thoughts of Arthur would always hurt.

  Bryant, blessedly unharmed, had been led away for questioning, and Min hadn’t seen him since. Her need to be with him was almost crazed. If she hadn’t been injured, she would have leapt from the bed to get to him. Her family seemed to understand this and had set Charlotte to watching her. Min loved Charlotte, but if she suggested one more game of chess or worse, a nice little nap, Min was going to throttle her.

  Mr. Durant had gone to Scotland Yard several times to offer testimony, and he was optimistic that Bryant would soon be released. Which calmed Min a little. The officers seemed to realize that there had been no choice in the situation. It also helped that they didn’t know about Bryant’s previous profession.

  However, Rellik was dead, by Bryant’s hand. In the wrestling match that had ensued after Bryant had knocked him down, the gun had fired yet again. The bullet had struck Rellik in the head.

  Min wasn’t sorry for Rellik’s death, but she was terrified for Bryant. Rellik had engaged in criminal activities, had kidnapped Min and had provoked Bryant by his assault on her. And while what had happened was an accident and witnessed by several officers of the law, still, Rellik had been a prominent member of society with many influential friends who were loathe to let his killer go free, no matter what the circumstances. It had been hard to devise a story that would explain their presence at the manor and the bloodbath that ensued, so they stuck as close to the truth as possible.