For a second no one moved, then with a roared expletive, Reinhardt took the next two steps, shoving both his captives to one side, and pointed his gun towards the clergyman. Seconds later the gun went off. Instinctively, Reverend Shackleford lifted the frying pan and the bullet ricochetted off, flying straight back up the stairs and catching Reinhardt in the shoulder.
With a snarl that sounded hardly human, the American ignored his injury, and grabbed hold of Mercedes, holding the pistol against her head.
‘I have one more bullet,’ he ground out. ‘Don’t think I won’t use it.’ Then he manhandled Mercy down the stairs and past the shocked clergyman. ‘If I so much as see your face again, I’ll blow her brains out.’ Blood was pouring out of his wound, covering both him and his captive in crimson rivulets. Mercy’s face was expressionless, but silent tears were trickling down her cheeks.
Seconds later, both of them disappeared into the alley alongside of the lodging house.
***
Reaching the point at which the jetty joined the wharf, Nate stared towards the lodging house. Was it the right place? It was close to the ship and Reinhardt would no doubt want to hurry his new wife on board in as little time as possible. He looked to his right. A few yards away there was a smallish shed. He strode towards it quickly, looking for something to tie Flossy on to. As he got closer, there was a sudden intense smell – of cloves.
With savage satisfaction, Nate realised his hunch had been right. He was definitely in the right place. Spotting an unused cleat behind the shed, he clumsily managed to attach Flossy’s lead. Just as he finished, a sudden shot rang out.
Pulling out his pistol, Nate ordered Ruby to stay and quickly retraced his steps to the front of the shed and stared towards the lodging house, instinctively knowing that was where the shot had come from. The temptation to run towards the house was almost overwhelming, but the Viscount knew he’d be no use to Mercy if he ran straight into Reinhardt. There’d only been one shot, so if it had been the American, the varmint still had at least one more unused bullet.
Seconds later, his heart thudded as Reinhardt emerged from an alleyway next to the lodging house. He was dragging Mercy by the arm, a gun held firmly to her head. Quickly, Nate stepped back round the corner of the shed, careful to keep them in his sights. By now it was getting dark, and the wharf was much quieter than when he’d first arrived. It was very unlikely that anyone would intervene, even if they saw what was happening.
As they got closer, he could hear Mercy’s soft sobbing. Had the marriage already taken place? No matter, the bastard wouldn’t survive the night. Nate looked back along the jetty - clearly Reinhardt was headed to the Western Star and there was no one between the American and the ship to challenge him.
Remaining where he was and simply watching was the hardest thing the Viscount had ever done, but he knew that to stand any chance of saving his betrothed, he had to wait until they reached the point closest to him. He dared not shoot for fear of hitting Mercy, so his only option was to come up behind Reinhardt in the hope of taking him by surprise.
The next two minutes passed agonisingly slowly as Nate watched them approach, until finally they stepped onto the jetty, only feet from his hiding place. Every muscle in his body tensed. Could he take Reinhardt down if he moved now?
And then Flossy howled.
Hearing the noise, Reinhardt swung his captive towards the sound, and caught sight of the Viscount. Immediately, Nate sprang forward, knowing he had seconds.
Shoving Mercy away, Reinhardt raised his pistol, but just as he was pulling the trigger, a streak of russet fur shot from the side and jumped, snarling at his injured shoulder. The American’s shot went wild as he screamed, and a second later Nate crashed into him.
Both of them went down in a tangle of limbs and Nate fought the throw up as his injured arm took the brunt of the collision. Seconds later he thought his wound had reopened, but quickly realised that Reinhardt had been shot in his shoulder. Withouthesitation, he put his thumb on the bleeding wound and pressed down.
The American screamed and dealt Nate a glancing blow with the now useless pistol. Momentarily stunned, the Viscount collapsed to the side, giving Reinhardt the chance he needed to stagger to his feet. At first Nate thought he was going to seize Mercy again, but in the end, he lunged forward, seized hold of the necklace round her neck and wrenched it off.
As Nate got to his feet, Reinhardt started running towards the Western Star, clutching his shoulder, the stolen locket clearly swinging between his fingers. Ignoring him, the Viscount ran to help Mercy to her feet. She was crying softly, and he simply gritted his teeth when she threw her arms around his neck, and buried her head into his chest, taking no heed of his wound. Ruby whined faintly, nudging against her skirts and seconds later Flossy appeared, her lead trailing behind her.
‘I have to go after him, love,’ Nate said at length, gently putting her away from him. ‘I cannot allow him to escape.’ Mercy sniffed and nodded, stroking over Ruby’s head before bending down to pick up a delighted Flossy.
‘Be careful,’ she murmured brokenly. ‘I couldn’t bear it if anything happened to you.’
Nate cupped her face, bending forward to kiss her forehead. ‘I’ll never leave you, Mercedes,’ he whispered hoarsely. ‘You’re stuck with me forever.’
Then he turned and ran towards theWestern Star.
Chapter Twenty-Three
The Reverend waited until Reinhardt had disappeared into the alley with Mercy, then lingered for a few more seconds to allow the blackguard enough time to get out onto the wharf, then yelling to Percy and Finn, he hurried after them.
Emerging from the alley, he stopped, watching in horror as Reinhardt dragged Mercy towards the ship. ‘I don’t know what the blighter’s doing,’ the clergyman muttered, ‘but surely he doesn’t think he’ll be able to escape with her now.’
‘I think the man’s completely addled,’ Percy whispered coming up to stand beside him.
‘Wha’ ye daein?’ Finn hissed, sticking his head between them, ‘g'oan wi it. He be gaun tae get awa.’
‘We daren’t get too close, lad,’ the Reverend explained, ‘or he’ll shoot Mercy.’
‘Who be that?’ Finn pointed, just as Nate leapt from his hiding place behind the shed. The three watched with bated breath as Ruby came from nowhere to jump at the American and the two men crashed to the ground, a gunshot splitting the air.
Moments later, as Reinhardt escaped towards the ship, Finn could wait no longer and dashed out of the alleyway, racing towards the couple who were now embracing tearfully. Though the Reverend and Percy immediately followed, they soon fell behind - until halfway across, Finn suddenly skidded to a halt. When the two men reached him, he was standing immobile, tears streaming down his cheeks. ‘What’s wrong, lad,’ Percy asked, putting his arms around the distraught boy. ‘Mercy’s safe now.’
