“Well, I will have to kill you,” he said. “But you already knew that, didn’t you?”
She did. And she knew, truthfully, that he would likely do so regardless. She just had to hope that Asher had a better plan than she did.
Asher followedthe directions Norwood had provided, using the time to try to calm himself.
Coming in hot, angry, and ready to do battle was not going to help anything. Not only would he never discover the full truth of Norwood’s intentions, but he wouldn’t save his wife.
Which was, currently, the most important aspect of all of this.
The directions on the note led to a small storage unit at the back of Norwood’s property, near the stables. The entire estate felt deserted, as though Lord Norwood had told all of his staff to take the day off in order to enact this inane scheme.
The shed appeared to have no windows, leaving him unable to see what was happening inside. Asher hid within a copse of trees, not allowing Norwood to get a look at him. Every now and then, the door opened, and Norwood looked out, watching for him, before returning within.
To Evelyn.
Bile rose in Asher’s throat. He had to do this right, the first time. It took time in the shadows, but he rounded the back of the building, grateful for the dusk that was beginning to blanket the forest so that he could make his way — slowly — to the other side of the building.
There, he saw with satisfaction, a small door at the back. He was sure it was locked so that Evelyn couldn’t escape, but he would find a way in. He had been a mischievous enough child that he had learned how to pick locks at an early age — a secret no one but his brother had ever discovered.
He crept across the yard as fast as he could, stopping in front of the back door, finding the narrow pen blade he had slipped into his pocket at the last minute.
Easing the blade open, he closed his eyes, took a breath to slow his heart rate, and focused. If he rushed and tried to ram the lock, he would only make this harder for himself.
Gently sliding it inside, he probed the keyhole to find the mechanisms, then lifted it to bypass the wards. With patienceand cautious, twisting pressure, finally a click sounded, and he breathed a sigh of release as he was able to turn the knob and push the door open a crack.
He winced, hoping that no one within would hear, but he had barely opened the door. With just one room, he wouldn’t have much time to act.
He would have to do it all swiftly, in one motion.
As a young man, he had learned all the physical prowess required of him — boxing, fencing, and how to handle himself in an altercation.
But the wrestling he and his brother had engaged in for years would likely be what came in handy today.
Palming his knife, he surged into the room. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Evelyn tied to a chair, her arms bound behind her. Anger arose within him, anger that fueled him so deeply he hardly remembered flying across the room toward Norwood, all focus on him.
He had taken Norwood by such surprise that the earl had only just reached for the pistol in his belt when Asher got to him.
Asher was on him before Norwood could react, knocking his hands away from the pistol before taking him to the ground, not even giving Norwood the chance to call for help, for who knew who he had waiting beyond, ready when he gave the word.
Asher allowed all his despair over years of loss flow into him — the loss of his father, who had likely been killed by Norwood, his brother, who had been his own fault, and the fact that this man was trying to take his wife — the woman he loved — from him.
When he finally realized that Norwood was no longer fighting back, that Evelyn was calling his name, Asher stopped, sitting back on his heels.
Norwood was conscious, but he wasn’t going to hurt them anytime soon. Asher had to fight the urge to immediatelycomfort Evelyn, to take her in his arms and assure himself that she was fine, but he needed to make sure first that Norwood wouldn’t be able to threaten them any longer. He took the pistol from the man’s belt before untying Evelyn’s hands, hearing her breath in his ear, and then binding Norwood with the very same rope.
Then, finally, he allowed himself to do as he had been longing to, and gathered Evelyn in his arms.
“Evelyn,” he said, breathing her in as her name came off his lips like a sigh. She was shaking in his arms, and he tried to be a solid support for her as he held her, only to realize that his own hands were trembling.
He ran them over her, making sure she wasn’t injured, and when he finally took in her face, it was to find her lip caught between her teeth.
“I knew you would come,” she said, her voice just above a whisper as tears filled her eyes.
“I would have burned the world to do so,” he said, meaning it, finding he was suspiciously close to tears himself.
He pulled her even closer into him, and she clung to him as the tears continued to stream down her face.
He realized that he was holding her too tightly, and he forced himself to slightly loosen his grip.
