“His fate is entirely up to you, Miss Wexley,” Abraham said, standing to his full height. “Save your lover or father. Either way. Youwillbe losing one.”
Ophelia waited for her fear to return. For the meekness that had seemed to take over for the last few weeks. Strength rose instead; a determination that she would not allow either man to be lost.
She leaned back into the chair, her mouth drawn into a grim line, and said nothing.
Abraham, as if he accepted her silent decision, slammed the door shut as he left. The moment he was gone, she untucked the small key from her palm, and with it, began to poke holes through the fine, delicate silk of the cravat binding her hands together.
CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR
“That is enough,” Abraham’s commanding shout broke through the melee.
Tristan released the now- unconscious man from his grip and looked toward the staircase. The fighting surrounding him, Alistair, Hugo, and Dominic, ceased as Abraham took a few more steps down the stairs.
“Where is she?” Tristan demanded, raising his pistol toward Abraham.
It was empty, its last shot used to scatter Abraham’s guards, but he prayed Abraham would not notice. By the looks of him, though Tristan was sure he could barely stand. The blood-soaked kerchief tied around his neck and the flecks of it in his white hair proved that he had been through quite the struggle, and Tristan had no doubt that it was Ophelia, his fierce, quick-thinking wife-to-be who was completely responsible for it. He smirked, feeling a surge of pride.
“Where are my ownership papers?” Abraham asked in return.
Tristan shook his head, the smirk still on his lips.
“We are not giving you anything,” he replied.
“Other than your life,” Alistair stated, joining Tristan by his side. “Unlike you we do not murder people.”
Abraham smirked.
“So you figured that out, did you?” He asked.
Rage tunneled through Tristan’s veins.
“So you admit you killed my father then?” He grit out. “Why?”
“All the more reason for you to sign the papers,” Abraham said with a cocky grin. “You seem to need much from me, Lord Darlington. You want your lover alive. Your secret kept. Now you want the story of your father. You can have it all if you and your friends just sign over your ownership.”
From the top of the staircase, Tristan saw Ophelia silently come into view. His heart quivered as he took in her torn dress, ruined hair, bruised cheeks, and the many tiny cuts over her arms and collarbone. He hated that she’d experienced such pain and he silently swore then and there that he would somehow try to make up for it. Once, of course, they all survived.
She shook her head at him as she pressed a finger to her lips, then in her other hand raised what looked to be a heavy gold necklace.
“Why go to all this trouble?” Tristan asked, keeping Abraham distracted. “Why not make your money the way we all did? With time and effort and proper decisions?”
Abraham’s eyes narrowed at Tristan’s question.
“It must have been nice to have a father to teach you such things,” Abraham said coldly. “It is a shame that the only lessons my father gave me where how to cheat and lie and gamble.”
“Oh I see,” Tristan scoffed, watching as Ophelia drew closer to Abraham’s back. “This is a ‘I had a bad Daddy sort of bit,’ is it?”
Abraham bared his teeth as he took another step down the stairs. Tension had Tristan freezing as Ophelia stilled behind him, then slowly raised the necklace with both hands behind her head.
“Just for that I am killing Ophelia,” Abraham growled out.
Then the links of the heavy gold necklace clinked in Ophelia’s hands. Abraham whirled around as Tristan shouted his name, and as Abraham lunged at her, she swung the heavy necklace down; slamming the large gold rose directly into his face. Abraham’s hands shot out for her as he went sailing backward down the stairs, and in a brief moment of terror, Tristan saw Ophelia going with him. Then her hands shot out, catching therailing, and her already torn skirts ripped away from her dress, leaving Abraham to fall down the long set of stairs alone.
A moment of silence passed as Abraham’s body crumbled to the bottom of the stairs. Then all at once, everyone began to move. Dominic and Hugo tying up the unconscious guards. Alistair rushing to check on the very still Abraham, and Tristan and Ophelia lunging toward one another.
Tristan caught her as she leaped over the unmoving heap that was captor and pulled her close, claiming her lips in a deep kiss.
“Thank God you are all right,” he rasped over between their desperate kisses. “Oh look at you. What has he done to you?”
