“No!” Marina rushed to the door and pounded on it. “You can’t leave us here!”
Hurried footsteps faded.
Panic clawed up her throat. Heat pressed in. Smoke thickened the air. Her lungs fought for breath.
Evan. Arthur. They would be left without her.
Think, Marina. Think.
How long did they have? Seconds? Minutes?
She coughed, forcing down the rising terror.There’s a way out. There has to be.
Chapter 7
Evan
Evangrittedhisteethas his knee bounced relentlessly as the carriage slowed before the dress shop. He’d hated leaving Marina alone—he should have refused outright. From now on, she’d have no choice but to accept that he’d shadow her every step until this threat was over.
He leapt down and motioned for the footman to follow but froze when he reached the door. Locked.
Dread knifed through him. Evan pressed his face to the glass—and saw flames consuming fabric displays inside. No sign of Marina. Only a figure darting toward the back.
Fuck. Where was she?
“No!” he shouted, pulling on the door with all his strength.
“Get this door open!” he barked to the footman before sprinting toward the alley.
“Out of my way!” Evan shoved past a man in his path, barely slowing as panic drove him faster. He ran as if his life depended on it because it did. If something happened to Marina, and after he left her alone again against his better judgment, he couldn’t go on.
Then—a gunshot.
His pulse thundered as he pushed his body harder, lungs burning, heart hammering like a drum.Please, God. Let her be alive. Let her know I’m coming.He would do whatever it took.
Rounding the corner, Evan spotted a stout man fleeing the building’s back door—the bastard from the window. Evan didn’t hesitate.
He lunged, tackling the man hard to the ground. They hit the cobbles with bone-jarring force, and Evan landed a savage punch. The man wriggled free just enough to strike back, his fist catching Evan’s jaw. The pain barely registered. Evan grabbed the man by the throat, slammed him down, and drove his fist into his face—again and again—until his body went limp.
“Evan!”
Marina’s scream broke through the haze.
“Thank God. Oh, thank you,” he rasped, glancing back to see her. Relief surged so fiercely it nearly dropped him. “Get help!” he shouted. “I need something to tie this bastard.”
The man barely stirred now, but Evan braced his knee on the scoundrel’s chest, grinding hard as smoke thickened the air. The bastard had planned to burn Marina alive while Evan arrived too late to save her. And the thought sickened him.
“You’ll never see daylight again,” Evan snarled. “I will make sure of it.”
The man coughed, blood seeping from his nose. “You’ll pay… for what you did to my cousin.”
Evan hit him again, harder. Hard enough that hopefully his bloody cousin felt it from prison. “You’re the one who will pay. And soon your cousin will hang. You get to live just a bit longer since I shall turn you over to the magistrate instead of dealing with you myself.”
By the time his footman arrived to help restrain the man, Evan had secured a gag around the man’s filthy mouth. The least he could do was silence whatever poison he meant to spew.
Only when the villain was bound and secured did Evan rush to Marina. He grabbed her, crushing her against him.
“Please tell me you’re unharmed,” he demanded, his fingers skimming her arms, her waist—any sign of injury. His breathing wouldn’t steady until he knew she hadn’t been hurt.
