“Maybe I will,” he said. “After you put the gun down and we take care of our business.”
“We don’t have any business,” Leonard said with a shrug. “I’m going to shoot you because you stole from me and you lied to me and you made me wait. No one makes me wait. And when you’re dead on the ground, I’m going to take the gem, and that’s the end of it. No one will mourn you, no one will miss you and the world will go on as it always has.”
Ellis clenched his teeth. Not because he believed this man. No, he knew he was loved. More than he deserved. But because all his sacrifice would be for nothing if it ended this way.
“Oh, the world willalmostgo on as usual,” Leonard corrected himself. “You see, I don’t think your blood is enough payment for what you put me through. And shooting you in the heart is efficient, but it won’t really pay for what you owe me. I want you to know that I’m going to carefully and painfully punish everyone you love. Your brother. Your cousin. And that very pretty girl you’ve fallen in love with. She’ll be last. And best.”
Ellis ignored the sadistic laugh. He let out a roar and lunged, swinging out a leg to kick Leonard’s knee. It buckled, and the double-barreled flintlock pistol fired. The bullet whizzed by Ellis’s ear as he tackled his enemy.
One shot down. And if he couldn’t get to his own gun, he could use the other shot to finish this at last. Once he got the pistol away.
They rolled, struggling together, both straining as Ellis squeezed a tender spot in Leonard’s wrist to get to him to release the weapon.
But Leonard wasn’t weak. Raised as a gentleman or not, Leonard had worked hard to become a villain. He was well matched to Ellis. He shifted his weight and they moved slightly, Leonard half covering him, Ellis straining as the gun began to shift toward him.
Leonard laughed. “Did you think you’d end me, boy? There was only ever one way this would end.”
“With you begging for your life. Put the gun down,” came a voice behind them.
Both men froze, pivoting to face the intruder. Rook stood there, a gun trained on Leonard’s head. Harcourt and Marcus Rivers flanked him, also armed and similarly aimed. To Ellis’s shock and horror, it wasn’t just the men there, though.
Juliana was standing behind the others, her sisters at her sides. And all she was looking at was him.
“Juliana,” he breathed, shaking his head.
She nodded in response, stubborn as always. God, how he loved her, even though he was going to ring a few necks if he got out of this alive.
“Get off of Ellis,” Harcourt said, his hand trembling slightly. “And look me in the eye, you bastard. You killed my brother—give me any reason to splatter you across the grass.”
For a moment, Ellis felt Leonard’s hesitation. Then he rolled away and set the gun down, before he got up, arms outstretched. “Oh, good. You’ll take me before the magistrate, will you?”
Ellis saw Harcourt’s jaw twitch. “Yes.”
“Excellent. My father has such a good relationship with the magistrates. This will be swept under the rug before a week passes.”
“He’s right,” Ellis said, brushing himself off and grabbing for the gun Leonard had dropped. “Step back, Harcourt. Step away and let me do this. For my family. For Solomon. He was your brother, but he was my friend. And I’ll avenge him for both of us and keep this bastard from hurting another soul.”
“You would throw away your life to protect us?” Harcourt asked, and his gaze shifted slightly to Ellis. “Your future? Your happiness.”
“I owe you that.” He looked past him to Juliana. “I owe her even more.”
“No,” she said, desperation cracking her voice. “You owe me the future we might have. You’ll throw that away by doing this. Please don’t. Please.”
He pushed the gun against Leonard’s skull. “Just look away.”
But she didn’t. Instead, her eyes went wide and then she marched forward, slowly, her hands shaking. It took him a moment to realize she wasn’t doing it as some kind of challenge to his decision to kill the man who had caused them all so much pain. As she came closer, he saw that Lady Lydia was behind her. And she had a gun pressed into Juliana’s spine.
“I think you’d best be smart now, Mr. Maitland, and put the gun down. My brother isn’t going anywhere.”
The press of the gun against Juliana’s back was so cold and hard that she could barely breathe. One wrong flick of the wrist, one lost bit of footing, and she would be dead or badly injured.
“Lydia,” she said as she was shoved forward none too gently. “What are you doing?”
“Protecting my own future,” Lydia hissed.
Juliana tried to keep her voice calm. Soothing. “How doesthisprotect your future?”
“The best way I know how. Winston said he would give me a portion of the proceeds when he rids himself of the jewel. Enough for me to run away and live my life as I see fit. Then whatever he does won’t matter to me.”
