Keeping hold of her hand, he vowed that he wouldn’t let her out of his sight again. Where he went, she would be there as well.
As they entered the townhouse and found Devon standing and waiting for them, he confirmed what they’d just heard from Harriette. “He’s being held at the stables in Greenwich. Elijah is there too.” As he started to continue, there was a loud knock on the front door. “And one more thing?—”
The door burst open and Avalon stood there with several men from the Blue Boys, their identities noted by the fierce loyalty he saw in their eyes as they stood by their master.
“—Avalon is here.”
Devon’s statement faded into the air as Drake kept a firm hold about Fleur’s waist. He tensed, ready to fight to the death if need be, but Avalon lifted his hands into the air in supplication. “I come here in peace. At least, toward you. For Reynolds, I cannot claim the same. He has betrayed me in the worst fashion by daring to threaten our acquaintance and I do not take too kindly to such a slight from someone I was supposed to be able to trust.”
Drake relaxed slightly but he was still determined to remain on guard in case this was nothing more than a Trojan horse attempt to gain his ear.
“I know he absconded with you and I want to personally apologize for such a terrible action against an ally.” His lips twisted ironically. “I know we have not always seen eye-to-eye on everything, but women have a tendency to scramble a man’s common sense.”
He offered a brief nod of acknowledgement to Fleur.
Drake decided that since Avalon was being honest, he would do the same. “I didn’t steal Elina away from you. She told me things were over between the two of you and she was searching for another protector.”
Avalon jerked as if he’d been struck but then he appeared resolute. “I can’t say I’m surprised. She never seemed that steadfast when we were together. She was always wanting more, searching for more.”
“And in the end, she had nothing.”
Drake and Avalon’s focus turned to Fleur. She took a deep breath and said, “I found a letter Elina had written to Harriette with an entreaty. They were cousins. She claimed that she was with Elijah and that things were not going well. She was… unwell and wanted Harriette to… attend to her.”
Both Drake and Avalon stood silent for a few moments, as if they were both mourning a lost love, or at the very least, a woman that had been of temporary importance to them.
“All this time I believed Elijah was—” Avalon shook his head and moved forward to Drake. Holding out his hand as an offering, he said, “I am man enough to admit when I have done someone wrong. For the offenses I have laid at your door, allow me to atone for those now.” He snapped his fingers and Amos appeared in the foyer. Devon rushed to him, and father and son embraced, Fleur put a hand over her heart, obviously touched by what she observed.
Drake dared to admit to himself that the reunion was rather emotional. As his annoyance toward Avalon faded, he stared at the palm before him and found himself reaching for it. Other than Amos, he supposed that Avalon was the only other man he might actually be able to respect.
After a brief grasp, they parted.
Drake lifted a brow. “Does this mean you’ve also decided to be a hero for the day?”
With a snort, Avalon said, “I much prefer being the villain, don’t you? Let’s retrieve young Flavian and show his captors what men of action actually do.”
Drake’s grin spread over his face. “I couldn’t have said it better myself.”
CHAPTER22
Fleur had never been more thankful to be friends with so many cutthroat men as she was in this moment. If someone would have told her a few weeks ago when she’d implored Miss Wilson for assistance that she would find herself in the midst of so many menacing looking men and be glad for it, she would have believed them to be mad.
Perhaps nowshewas the one who was fit for Bedlam, and yet, she didn’t care as Drake and Avalon bent over a map of Greenwich and devised a plan to free her brother while Devon and the rest of the Blue Boys looked on. She felt confident that they could easily usurp Elijah and Daniel, although a part of her heart was saddened that they had to resort to such drastic measures.
However, when she mentioned that perhaps she might be granted an audience with her former stable master and friend to speak some sense to him, Drake had firmly forbidden it. “You don’t know what sort of lies his brother has filled into his head about me. Aboutus. He could claim that you have been influenced by my radical ideals and are not the same girl he once knew. No doubt Flavian will agree to anything since he is in a precarious position at the moment. He might believe that he had found sanctuary with Daniel, but no doubt he has learned otherwise once Harriette spewed her poison to Elijah. Not only that, but we don’t know if Elijah has managed to gain some sympathizers for his cause. We could be walking into a trap.”
Fleur was sitting on a settee in the front parlor, although the room was still rather bereft of many other furnishings, and put her forehead in her palm. She was glad that Avalon had departed with the others for the moment, giving her time to breathe and collect her thoughts before their return that evening when they would head out for the village that she had called home not so long ago. “I can’t believe how intertwined this has all become. I am not sure I will ever be able to comprehend it all although I know the truth as it has been proven to me.”
Drake bent down in front of her and took her chin in his thumb and forefinger. “I won’t let anything happen to your brother. You know that, don’t you?”
She swallowed hard over the lump in her throat. “I don’t want to find myself in a position where I must choose between you or Flavian, but I fear it shall be so.”
Those mesmerizing silver eyes were focused, intent on her face. “I don’t anticipate that with all of the men on our side but should that come to pass, I want you to choose your brother. Blood is thicker than water and you deserve to hold on to the last of the family you have left.”
She could feel a tear quivering at the edge of her vision, turning his handsome visage into a blur. “You are my family now too, Drake. I?—”
He pressed a finger over her lips. “Do not finish that sentence. Upon all that is holy, do not dare speak those words.”
“But why not?” she whispered.
