Phillip looked crazy, a vein throbbing in his temple. He laughed loudly, the maniacal laughter echoing throughout the hallway. “And now, you! It’s fitting, don’t you think? Noble ladies all deserve to meet their end and if it needs to be by my hand then so be it.”
She felt some prick her neck, pain exploding from that spot. “Should I kill you the way I killed her?” he asked. “You dear, dear Lady Pebblebrook who had dared to pity me even as I tried to rob her? She must have felt so pleased with herself, did she? Handing over her belongings knowing she would return to a big fancy manor. She got what she deserved and now will you.”
Meredith wished she could avenge her mother in that moment. Even as she slipped into the darkness, her ears growing deaf to everything around her, she wished that she could have at least acted on the fury that had consumed her.
But that fury was short-lived because in the next moment, she fell unconscious.
The moment Heath’s feet touched the Castlemore grounds, he heard Meredith. It was like a whisper on the wind, a low echo that seemed to come from far away. But it was undeniable and he didn’t give himself a moment to think before he rushed away from the carriage towards the house.
When he was inside, he heard it—so loud and distinct that it sliced him with fear. Cold sweat washed over Heath at the sound of Meredith’s terrified scream and he ran off in the direction it had come from, his feet pounding up the steps two at a time. His heart was hammering in his chest, echoing loudly in his ears. He felt as if his chest had been wrapped with a tight rope and he panted as he rushed through the hallways.
Meredith, where are you?
For a moment, he prayed it was a nightmare. At least then he would be able to know that whatever was out to harm her was all in her head. Then, he could wrap her in his arms and keep her there until she felt safe again.
But the scream had not come from the direction of her bedchamber. Heath couldn’t pinpoint exactly where he should go, so he ran helplessly through the hallways, her name on the tip of his tongue. Just as he whirled down another, ready to call out to her, he saw them.
Phillip—and he had one hand around her throat with another pointing a dagger under her chin.
“What are you doing?” Heath roared, rushing over to them. He pulled Phillip away from her, catching Meredith when she fell limply in his arms. Her skin was pallid, dotted with sweat as she wheezed slightly. Right at the top of her neck was the line of red where the dagger had cut through.
“Heath, stay out of this,” Phillip said above him. “This is a matter between her and I.”
He tried reaching down for her again but Heath shoved him away. Meredith’s eyes fluttered as she emitted a soft groan. “Heath…?”
“I’m here.” He shouldn’t turn his back to Phillip. He knew that instantly, even though this was the man he’d called his closest friend for so many years. He needed only take one look at his face to know that this was a side of him he’d never seen. But Meredith came first. He held her face gently, trying to meet her eyes. “I’m here now. You’re safe.”
Her eyes fluttered more as she slowly regained herself. Something tore inside him when he saw the fear that bled into them. “He…This man, he…”
“Don’t talk,” Heath told her gently. “I’ll take care of this. You just stay here.”
She swallowed then opened her lips again, clearly not planning to heed his advice. Heath stood before she could say anything else, facing his Phillip.
The man who stood before him wore a face he didn’t recognize. Twisted with hatred and scorn—all directed at Meredith. Heath couldn’t believe what he was seeing. Even though Phillip had never liked Meredith, Heath never considered the thought that he might try to kill her.
He was struggling to find the proper words. The whys and the hows would have to wait for now. For now, he needed to make sure that Meredith was truly safe.
“Leave, Phillip,” Heath said, keeping himself in front of her. “Leave this place and never return. I’m giving you that small mercy for what you have done tonight, though I do not think you deserve it.”
Slowly, Phillip lifted his eyes to Heath, wide with amusement. It was a twisted look that filled Heath with shock. “Look at you! Blinded by this woman and her sly little comments, aren’t you? You don’t know what kind of fox you’ve gotten yourself mixed up with.”
“You do not know her, Phillip,” Heath growled. It was all he could do not to lash out at him. He’d promised Meredith he would curb that side of himself at least. “Now, I say leave. Before I have you removed forcibly.”
“I’ll leave when I have her head,” Phillip sneered. He tried to pass Heath but Heath pushed him away. But Phillip didn’t take his eyes off Meredith, who hadn’t gotten up off the ground yet. Like a hawk set on its prey, he kept trying to get around Heath and Heath kept thwarting him.
“Enough!” Heath bellowed, his rage boiling within him. He pushed Phillip so hard that he nearly collided into the opposite wall. “What is this obsession you have, Phillip? Have you always been like this?”
“Ha!” Phillip laughed, as crazed as it sounded. “Have I always been like this, you ask? You sound just like my dear, dear father who would beat me to near death every time I acted out. Have I always been like this? Have I always been like this?” His nasty smile turned down into a sneer as he pointed an accusatory finger at Meredith. “Women like you made me like this! Prissy little things who can hardly lift a finger while they take everything from everyone around them! She took you, Heath! My only friend!”
“Phillip…”
“And you’re too blind to see it. But you’ve always been a little foolish, though you never wanted to admit it. That’s why you’re still stuck hanging around this place when you know that you belong with our gang.”
“Not anymore, Phillip,” Heath told him. He tried to keep his voice calm, tried not to let Meredith notice how troubled he was, seeing Phillip like this. He’d never known he’d been carrying such trauma within him and guilt hit him at the realization. He should have known. All this time, he had been focused on his own anger and revenge that he hadn’t paid attention to the signs pointing to this very thing. Whatever Phillip’s father had done to him had damaged him to the core, but Heath would be damned if he would let Meredith become a victim to that.
Phillip’s eyes narrowed to slits. His raised hand, holding the dagger, lowered slightly. “What do you mean?”
“I am no longer a part of the gang. I’ve just returned from the hideout after making my announcement.” Heath stood taller, looking Phillip squarely in the eye. “I have chosen my path in life, Phillip, and I wish for Meredith to be my side. If you cannot accept that, then I do not think we have ever been friends.”
Phillip didn’t respond. The side of his lip twitched. His left eye quivered. Slowly, he returned his attention to Meredith before murderous rage seemed to envelop every inch of him.
“Is that so?” Phillip snarled. “We will see about that.”
And then he pounced. Heath was quick to step into the way, but Phillip’s desire strengthened him. Meredith squealed, scurrying to her feet as she tried to avoid the dagger being wielded at her face.
“Phillip!” Heath roared.
“You are just as bad!” Phillip bellowed back. He shoved away from Heath, only to point the dagger at his face. “I thought killing your irritating mother might have opened your eyes so you could see where you really belonged, only to have this wench take you away again. I should have killed her when I stabbed her mother to death.”
The world stopped. Somehow, those words resounded within him, like an echo searching for an escape. Heath didn’t take his eyes off Phillip, searching for the truth beneath all the anger. All he could see was hatred, madness, and rage.
In a moment, all Heath could feel was that painful fury that fueled his need for revenge.
Heath lunged at him. Behind him, Meredith screamed. It was like that night in the alleyway again, but this time, he was
n’t attacking to protect Meredith or defend her honor. He was avenging his mother, taking back the power that had been swept away from him when he returned to find her dead. He landed on top of Phillip with all the force in his body, wrenching the dagger from his hand. He saw a quick flash of fear cross his face before Heath threw his first punch, then the other, then the other.
He felt his knuckles crack open. He felt slick blood—mostly Phillip’s—coat his hands. And still Meredith’s voice sounded behind him, begging him to stop.
But all Heath could see was his mother’s beautiful face. The woman who had held him while he slept, listened to his never-ending stories about the adventurous girl he had befriended, who had fretted over the little things he did in hopes of keeping him safe.
Deep down, Heath felt anger at himself for having befriended the man who had killed her in the first place. He should have known. Somehow, it should have been clear to him.
Suddenly, someone wrapped their arms around. A small hand reached out take his blood fist before it made its mark again, soft blond hair falling over his shoulder.
“Heath, please!”
She was crying. His beautiful Meredith was crying. For him.
“You can’t do this. If you kill him, you’ll be do better than he is.” She held on tightly to his fist, her other arm wrapped over his chest as if to pull him away if he tried to move again. It would take nothing to shrug her off, but the sound of her desperate voice rushed through him like a wave, washing away all the anger.
Heath let out a shuddering breath. He didn’t take his eyes off Phillip as he slowly got to his feet. The moment he was standing, Phillip tried to crawl away, touching his bloodied face. Meredith didn’t take her hand from his.
“I’m fine,” he managed to push out. When she didn’t respond, he met her worried eyes. “I’m calm now.”
Heath pulled his hand gently from hers before he faced Phillip again. He couldn’t see much of his expression past the blood, but he could imagine the hatred lying underneath. Slowly, he knelt before the man he’d once called his friend.
“You deserve every bit of torture hell brings to you,” Heath muttered, before he raised his fist and punched him again, knocking him out cold.
It took all his strength to get to his feet, but the moment Meredith touched him, Heath broke. He slid to the floor and her arms instantly went around him. Encasing him in its warmth as hot tears slid down his cheek.
It had been a long time since Heath had last cried and like a dam, it all came rushing out. So, he clung to her, sobbing into her shoulder as she tenderly stroked his hair. Meredith said nothing, perhaps knowing that there was nothing she could say. He’d found his mother’s killer and, just as he’d known deep down, it had broken him into pieces.
Chapter 30
The time Meredith spent holding Heath while he cried his heart out seemed to go on forever. But she was willing to stay there for as long as she was needed, holding back her own tears. Holding back her own tears had been difficult, but it was Heath’s turn to cry, to finally allow himself the chance to mourn properly. Meredith had spent the past ten years coming to terms with her mother’s death. Heath had spent that time trying to avenge his own mother’s demise.
But once he came back to himself, time sped up. Everything seemed to move so quickly. Heath had one of the footmen who’d arrived in a hurry fetch the authorities. Waking the other servants to keep watch over the still unconscious Phillip. Even having Annalise stay by Meredith’s side while she watched the world move around her. She had refused to go to her bedchamber as Heath had suggested, wanting to see this through to the end. She was a different person now and that sort of person would not cower in her bedchamber waiting for everything to be righted again.
“My Lady.” Meredith jolted at the sound of Annalise’s voice though she had been by her side for the past hour. They were sitting in the drawing room, by the window she loved so much. But, this time, it was closed. She didn’t need the cold anymore.
Annalise set down a cup of hot tea before her while another maid brought a blanket to wrap around Meredith’s shoulders. They both looked dreadfully worried so Meredith plastered a smile on her face, hoping it would convince them that she was fine.
“Thank you,” she murmured. Her voice was raw from screaming Earlier. The tea, she hoped, would soothe it.
The maid wandered away, leaving Meredith alone with Annalise once again. Annalise didn’t waste any time claiming the chair across from Meredith, watching her closely as she sipped the tea.
Meredith savored the taste, allowing the warmth to seep into her bones before she replaced the cup to its saucer. “I suppose you are full of questions,” she said to Annalise.
“Without a doubt,” Annalise said instantly. “But, believe it or not, I know better than to ask that right now.”
Despite all that had happened, Meredith had the strength to laugh. “I can hardly believe my ears.”
Annalise gave her a fleeting smile, her concern outweighing everything else. She reached out and placed a gentle hand on Meredith’s. “Are you certain you are all right?”
The lie was on the tip of her tongue. After a moment, Meredith swallowed and shook her head. “No,” she answered honestly. “I am not all right. But I know that I will be.”
Because it was all over. Though wounds had been reopened, and fresh wounds slicing through both her and Heath, Meredith had no doubt that they would heal over time. Heath had healed her, had brought her back to herself. She promised she would do the same for him if he needed it, for as long as it may take.
“I’m so happy to hear that,” Annalise said with a lasting smile this time. “And, I’m sorry I didn’t hear all that was happening. I suppose I had grown comfortable knowing you were sleeping better at nights that I’d relaxed too much.”
“We were much too far from anyone to be heard anyhow,” Meredith said, sipping her tea. “There is no need for you to apologize. There is little you could have done to help.”
“You might be wrong, My Lady,” Annalise said proudly. She sat back, putting a hand on her upper arm. “I may be slim but there are great muscles lying underneath.”
Meredith chuckled. “Is that so?”
“Would you like a demonstration?”
Meredith raised her brows in surprise. She sat back, her mood already lifting. “Go right ahead.”
Annalise eagerly got to her feet, Meredith watching her with rapt interest. She didn’t, however, get to do anything when the door opened and Heath entered the drawing room, followed by Francis.
One look from the butler had Annalise curtsying and hurrying from the room. Meredith’s good humor fled as she took in the serious look on Heath’s face.
She rose, meeting him in the center of the drawing room. She reached for his hand, searching his eyes. “Are you all right?” she asked him.
Heath nodded. He didn’t take his eyes off her once, as he couldn’t believe she was standing there. Meredith tried a smile.
“What happened with Mr. Gale?” she asked gently.
“He’s been taken away. He will be charged for his crimes.”
“Good. That’s good.” His silence was making her nervous. “Are you certain you are fine?”
Heath waited a beat before he shook his head. “I will not be fine tonight. Perhaps not even the night after that.”
Concern took hold of her. She reached a hand up to his cheek. “You can lean on me for as much as you’d like. I know how difficult this must all be for you.”
Heath sighed deeply. He leaned into her touch before shaking his head. “It is because I cannot do that why I know I will not sleep well tonight. Meredith, you must return to you father.”
She frowned. “Heath?”
“I am not pulling away from you,” he told her, his voice sincere. She instantly believed him. “I told you that I love you and I won’t let you out of my life, no matter what or who tries to come between us. I promise you that. But…after all that has h
appened tonight, it does not bear well with me knowing Lord Pebblebrook is none the wiser. He is worried for you, certainly, and after a serious situation like that, he deserves to know that you are safe.”
She felt a stab of disappointment at his words, but she couldn’t deny the sense in them. She sighed, nodding. “You are right. Without a doubt, word of what has happened tonight might will be spreading throughout London by the end of the week, considering the servants are all well aware. Father will hear of this in one way or another.”
“How does that make you feel?” he asked her gently. Now it was his time to caress her cheek. The touch was all the comfort she needed.
Captive to the Kiss of a Wicked Duke: A Steamy Historical Regency Romance Novel Page 25