“I trust you to have my back. Trust me to stay safe until you reach me.”
Nathan cursed, then held out his hand. “I’ll hold you to that.”
He left Walter with Zach’s necktie attached to his collar. His brother held the dog as he whined to follow Gabe, and he hoped he would see their faces again soon.
He rode slowly into town, alert, with his pistol in the waistband of his breeches. There was only the flicker of the occasional light as he passed houses, and he prayed Ombrage did not simply shoot him in the back, as the man was capable of that.
Chapter Thirty
“Wake up, we are leaving.” The angry words roused Dimity from her slumber. Pushing herself upright, she searched for Diard.
“I have a gun and will shoot you if you try anything. I’m going to release your ankles, and you will walk down the stairs.”
“I can’t see.”
“Your eyes will adjust.” She heard his feet approach the bed. “Stand now.”
Dimity was never clearheaded when she opened her eyes, and in fact it took several minutes to become so.
“Get up!”
“I am attempting to do so,” she muttered, blinking several times to focus. She felt a knife slice through the binds at her ankles.
“Your feet are unbound; now we go. Move toward the door, I will follow!” he demanded.
“There is no need to roar at me, Mr. Diard, I am right here. Where is your employer?”
“I have no employer.”
“He told me you were his minion and an idiot.”
“You lie.”
“Do I? He told me I would bring him a great deal of money, and you would get nothing,” Dimity embellished her story. “I wonder if he will kill you when your use expires?”
Hands pushed her forward, and she stumbled but did not fall. He was angry that she wasn’t scared or cowed by him, and now wondering at the truth in her words. Her plan, which she’d just thought up, was working.
She used the wall to work her way down the stairs in the dark.
“A candle would mean we don’t break our necks. Of course, I don’t mind if you fall, but there would be every chance you’d land on me.”
“Shut up.” The gun prodded her in the back, and Dimity leaned into the wall to stop herself from falling.
“Where are we? Who is my family?” He did not reply. “I deserve to know who my parents are.”
“You’ll find out soon enough if it’s true, which your locket and the birthmark would suggest. He will tell you when it is time.”
“Who? Your employer?” she taunted him.
They reached the front entrance, and she was shoved out the door.
“Get into the carriage, and don’t try anything foolish, because I will shoot you.”
“No, you won’t. You want me for a purpose, and shooting me would nullify that.”
He pushed her up and into the carriage. Dimity fell onto a seat.
“You could still suit our purpose and take a bullet in the leg. Now, shut up.” He bent and rebound her feet, then thrust his handkerchief into her mouth.
