If only she could have done something to stop this!
CHAPTER 35
“Don’t speak,” Reeves murmured as Bridget drew near. “Don’t say anything.”
She complied, little though she wanted to. What she wanted was to turn around, run back to Emma, and grab her. She wanted to shield Emma’s body with her own. She would take any shots that were fired Emma’s way. Anything was better than sending Emma into the hands of Gareth.
How could Reeves do this?
She looked into his eyes, searching for answers. He made eye contact with her, but only for the briefest moment—then he looked away. It was obvious that he didn’t want to meet her gaze, though why that was, she couldn’t be sure. Was he ashamed of what he was doing?
He should be.
As long as she lived, Bridget knew she would never forget this. She would never forgive him. How had he made this choice? How could he be choosing her over Emma? Didn’t he know that she would never have agreed to that if he had asked her? That she would have been happy to sacrifice herself so that Emma could go free? All he’d had to do was stay away, and everything would have been fine—fine for Emma, that was, even if not for Bridget.
But he hadn’t. He’d chosen wrong, and now they were all going to pay the price.
Then several things happened in quick succession.
She reached Reeves, and he grabbed her and thrust her behind him. Bridget let out a cry of shock at the suddenness of it—she hadn’t expected him to lay hands on her at all. She stumbled forward slightly and was forced to throw her arms out and catch Reeves around the waist to steady herself.
As she was turned around, she saw past him to where Emma had made it to Gareth. Just the sight of Emma so close to that vile man turned her stomach, and she felt even worse when Gareth reached out and put a hand on Emma’s shoulder.
How dare he touch her!Fury rose within Bridget. Even though she knew she shouldn’t, even though she knew there was a gun, and she was likely making things worse, she lurched against Reeves, trying to make it back to Emma and stop this from happening after all.
A slow smile spread over Gareth’s face—he must realize he’d won—and then he let out a cry, pulled his arm back, and Bridget saw blood there.
Confusion surged through her. What had just happened?
Emma threw off her cloak.
Bridget gasped.
It wasn’t Emma at all.
She had assumed it must be, because of the person’s short stature. She hadn’t even considered the fact that it might be anybody else. But suddenly, everything came clear.
Of course, Reeves would never have brought his beloved daughter into this sort of danger.
Of course, there had been another plan all along.
The person who now stood face-to-face with Gareth wasn’t even a child. It was a man, though a very lean and short one. He had close-cropped dark hair and narrow, nimble fingers. His face wore a wicked smile. And as Bridget watched, he drew back his blade again and drove it into Gareth’s stomach.
Gareth let out a scream of agony and collapsed to the ground. His hands went to his wound, trying to stop the bleeding.Bridget could see that his torn shirt was quickly becoming stained with red. Horror spread through her. It was a relief, of course, to see Gareth taken down. The situation had certainly turned in their favor. But she had never borne witness to this kind of violence. Was she going to have to watch a man die today? She wasn’t ready for that. She didn’t want to see that.
The small man bent down, relieved Gareth of his firearm, and took a quick step backward, out of reach of his grasping hands. “I’d lie still if I were you,” he said, his voice dark and low. It didn’t seem at all suited to his stature. He ought to have had a childlike voice, not such an ominous-sounding one. He seemed like a dangerous person, even more so than he had when he’d pulled his knife.
Bridget shivered.I’m glad he’s on our side, whoever he is.
The man rose to his feet and wiped the blade of his knife on the hem of his shirt. Then he turned to face Reeves.
“That ought to do it for him,” he said darkly. “He’s down for the count, at the very least.” He handed the gun to Reeves. “I’d keep this trained on him if I were you, though. Even though he’s down, you can never tell what a desperate man might do. I wouldn’t put it past him to try something.”
“Run out and tell the constables we’re ready for them,” Reeves said, his eyes on Gareth.
“Are you sure you want me to step out? You could send the woman.”
“No, she isn’t going anywhere on her own.” Reeves’ voice was tight, and Bridget felt a surge of gratitude. Though she had no desire to stay in this room with the vile Gareth, the idea of separating herself from Reeves now was no better. He was the only thing making her feel safe. “I wouldn’t worry, Jasper. I think Norman and I can handle Gareth now that he’s on the ground, and you’ll only be gone a few moments.”
