“You’ll tell me all about it when we get to town,” Michael told him then turned to Charlotte. “Tell your father everything. Tell him—”
“John will tell him. I’m coming with you!” Charlotte insisted, following them.
“No, Char—”
“Sebastian is my friend, Michael. He came here to warn us.”
“She’s correct, Michael. I came here to warn you,” the baron drawled.
“He came to kill you, Michael!” Simeon called out, stopping them.
“I already confessed to that, old man,” the baron defended. “Who in the blazes are you again?”
Michael’s investigator mind immediately latched on to the baron calling Simeon an old man. Sure, he was older than they were, but he was no Old John.
With a shrug, Michael dragged him to the door. He was thinking crazy. Could anyone blame him? If any of this was real, and he held Mordred, who, according to some great literature, was the son of Arthur and Morgan Le Fey, he didn’t want Surrey realizing who he really was right now.
“Did you come alone?” Michael asked the baron, not wanting any surprises when he opened the door.
“Of course I did. Do you think I need an army to take you down? If I hadn’t changed my mind, that is?”
“If you’re lying, I’ll kill you.”
He was telling the truth. Outside was clear. They made their way with caution to the stable. Michael didn’t let Sebastian mount until the stable hands saddled his and Charlotte’s horses.
“Why haven’t you arrested Preston by now?”
“On what charges?” Michael asked him.
“Whatever she has told you.”
They both looked at Charlotte, riding a few feet ahead. “She has told me nothing,” Michael said and brooded the entire way to the keep.
The fact that Charlotte had not betrayed her friends kept the baron smiling for the rest of the way.
Michael understood her loyalty. He was a cop. He’d never snitch. Still, he hated that she wouldn’t tell him. He wouldn’t force her, or arrest her for withholding information, but he wasn’t happy.
He slipped his gaze to her while they rode. She looked away. So that was how it was going to be then? She would stand with her criminal friends while he spent his time trying to clean up Croydon and the roads.
He didn’t speak to her when they reached the keep or when they went inside and met up with Colin and Will and some of the other men who had joined his force.
Could he really start over here?
He brought Surrey downstairs to the cellars and lit a bunch of candles. Then he brought the baron to one of the barred cells. “Get in,” he told his prisoner.
Surrey obeyed and walked to the wall, expecting to be shackled. Michael shut the bars. He made a mental note to have all the shackles removed.
“Tell me about the Horsemen,” Michael said from the other side. Charlotte stood nearby, listening. Michael was sure he could hear her breathing fast and labored.
“What do I get out of this?” Surrey asked. “I could get shot for telling you anything.”
“Oh? Who will shoot you?”
Surrey laughed. “I told you, Investigator. Were you not listening? There is a law unto itself here.”
“Preston,” Michael said. “He’s the head of this entire thing?”
The baron nodded but said nothing. “His people are everywhere.”
