When Cordell got the missive that the play had been canceled that evening, he headed straight for Drury Lane to find it deserted. As he forced his way in the back door of the stage entrance, his heart was about to hammer out of his chest. Aislynn had yet to return to the townhouse, and he feared that something dreadful had happened to her.
With every step he took, he wondered if he would come across her lifeless body on the floor. Instead, when he called out her name, he heard furious pounding coming from the direction of her dressing room.
He rushed toward the sound and stopped before the door then turned the key that was still sticking out of the lock.
Upon opening the door, he discovered John standing on the other side looking rather frazzled. “What happened?” Cordell demanded.
“She tricked me and trapped me inside.”
Cordell wasn’t sure whether to be impressed or infuriated by her resourcefulness but decided that he would go with the latter. “Where is she?”
“She did not say, only that she had somewhere to be,” the other man snapped. Shoving a hand through his hair, some of his anger was starting to abate now that he’d been rescued. “Mr. Steele, I?—”
Cordell held up a hand. “I do not need excuses. I know the lady. I should have realized that she would not easily remain where I left her. But rest assured that, when we are reunited, I plan to wring her pretty little neck.”
He left the theatre and assumed that John would soon follow. The man was the last of his concerns at the moment. There was some place Cordell was anxious to be. While he didn’t know where Aislynn might have taken it into her mind to go, he decided the best place to start would be with Mary.
When he arrived at Spades, he wasn’t sure what to expect. However, when he walked inside and saw Mary waiting expectantly for him, he knew his suspicions had been correct. “Where is she?” he demanded.
Rather than reveal the information, she walked over and patted his greatcoat. “So impatient. Come into my private parlor where we can discuss some important facts first.”
Cordell ground his teeth together. He wasn’t in the mood for polite conversation at the moment, but since it was obvious the lady held all the cards and would not reveal Aislynn’s whereabouts without his cooperation, he relented.
He accepted the brandy that she pressed into his hand, the kind she knew he liked best. He downed it all in one scorching gulp and set the glass down with a thunk. He leaned forward and clasped his hands loosely together. “Are we finished?”
His companion smirked. “I have never known ye to be so out of sorts before. This girl really has ye twisted in knots.”
He clenched his jaw. “I am trying to keep her safe while I solve a mass murder.”
“Are ye telling yerself that is the only reason for yer growing obsession?”
“I am not obsessed with her.”
She crossed her arms. “Yet I find ye ready to break down the door to my establishment in yer haste to find her.”
“Because I learned she lied to me. After all I have done to protect her, I feel her subterfuge was irresponsible and unnecessary.” He narrowed his gaze. “Why did she come here to see you?”
“I wondered when ye were going to ask the obvious question,” Mary murmured with a touch of sarcasm. However, she quickly sobered. “She has it in her mind to think ye are the killer.”
Cordell jerked as if he’d been physically attacked, and then he recalled a very important meeting he’d had earlier. “Wolf.”
Mary straightened. “The Wolf is staying with ye?”
“He was shot a couple nights ago,” Cordell replied distractedly. “I patched him up. But he has decided as of this evening that he is well enough to press on.”
“Blimey,” Mary breathed. She got to her feet and poured another drink. Cordell wouldn’t have thought much about it except he noticed the way her hand shook as she lifted the tumbler to her lips.
“Why did my mention of The Wolf make your expression grow ashen?”
“No reason,” she muttered but her unease persisted.
He got to his feet and stood in front of her, forcing her to look at him. “Mary, if you know something that is going on, you have to tell me.”
She still looked rather uncertain, but she shook her head and drew him to the furthest wall in the room, where it was assured that they wouldn’t be overheard. “I heard that the reason he was shot was because he attacked a gent at another brothel. Ye know I do not allow gangs to enter my establishment. I pride myself on catering to the wealthy clientele, not the usual riffraff off the streets.”
“The Wolf is hardly riffraff,” Cordell countered evenly. “He has a steady following, not including the three men of his ‘pack’ that continually hover over him.”
She abruptly reached out and grasped the lapel of his coat with her good arm. “Listen to me good, Cordell Steele. The Wolf is a dangerous man. I have heard the horrors of his actions. It is mostly gossip I have picked up but there is a reason no one is left alive to add credence to the stories that swirl around him.”
