He paused at the top of the steps. Should he awaken her or let her sleep? The scene would be gruesome. She didn’t need to see it. He aligned his steps so they were silent on the floor.
His silence didn’t matter. She was sitting up in bed, looking rumpled and delicious, the sheets pulled around her.
“What is happening?” Her voice was husky but alert.
He hesitated.
“Gabriel?”
“There’s been another murder. I’m going there. Go back to sleep and I will return by the time you rise.”
“Another murder? Like the others?” Her hand dropped from the sheet and exposed part of her breast to his lovely view. “Go back to sleep? No, I’m coming with you.”
He wasn’t surprised. Her grit was one of his favorite qualities. Still…“It won’t be pretty. Think of what your brother described.”
He saw her shiver, but she shook her head. Her eyes were clear, her expression determined. “I’m coming.”
He nodded. “Get dressed. Call if you need help. We are leaving in ten minutes.”
They left in eight.
The streets were foggy and dark. The early morning shadows from the gaslights cast odd shapes against the buildings and stones.
Gabriel watched Marietta stare through the window at the passing streets. Last night had been…interesting. He had taunted and seduced her and found himself falling into his own trap.
She was…interesting.
She made him laugh.
She didn’t hold her tongue around him. Most women bent over backward to please him. Oh, there had been a few who hadn’t in the past, but none of them had produced a pull, a desire to continue a liaison for the pure joy of it. And even if her face went moon-eyed with want like so many others, hewantedto see the expression on her.
Strange.
His driver pulled up to the curb. There were a lot of people milling around the area, and the watchmen were trying to keep them away from the corner, a daunting task with the two streets converging and four directions to watch. Dresden was roaming the crowd, sharp eyes taking in each face.
“Dresden is here.” He tapped a finger against the window. “If we exit, he will know who you are without a doubt.”
“You said he probably already does.”
“He will hunt you.” He thought about confining her to the carriage.
Her shoulders straightened. “Kenny is going to be exonerated. He will have nothing to hunt me for.”
Gabriel wondered what she would do after her brother was freed. Try to get back into society? Retire to the country? Find some young man to marry who didn’t mind her tongue or the fact that she would try to be the strong one in the relationship?
He wondered if he could continue a liaison with her. He was strangely unwilling to let her go.
He had worked with scores of women over the years. He had even been interested in a few. But the attraction ultimately fizzled. Every time.
This one was still going strong. He had known it before taking her to bed too. Had scared him witless for a moment.
What was it about her that kept his attention? He watched her clutch her hands as she looked out to the crowd, nervous and excited to see her brother freed. She wasn’t the prettiest. She wasn’t the smartest or the tallest or the bravest. But she was all of those things wrapped together in a package that just seemed to fithim. How utterly terrifying.
He had never imagined Marietta Winters walking in and blowing a hole in his well-planned life.
He pushed open the door. He would see what happened. And if she didn’t come to him…he wouldbringher to him.
He helped her down from the carriage and they walked toward the scene. Dresden’s eyes focused on them immediately and narrowed. Gabriel snapped his fingers for Billy to follow. The young footman jumped down from his spot on top with the driver.
