40
Words of warning, barely perceptible, whispered somewhere beneath Adrian’s quest for vengeance.A shift in his body as somebody shook him broke through the haze.He blinked, absorbed the demand to cease his actions.
Confusion descended upon him like murky fog.He shook his head, attempted to focus on his own breathing – a series of strained sounds wheezing through him with every tense muscle and tendon.
“Release him.”
Again, that solid voice ordering him to comply.
He had no wish to, but something in the sound – a spellbinding sweetness – halted his movements.
“Adrian.”A firm press of a hand against his shoulder.“Let him give you the letter.”
He shook his head.“What letter?”
“The one I supposedly wrote, inviting him here.”
It could be a ruse, an attempt at gaining the upper hand.Adrian forced air into his lungs while staring at Lawrence’s battered face.Multiple bruises were starting to form, his left eye was swollen shut and blood dribbled from a cut on his lip.
The wrecked individual sprawled beneath him could easily be overpowered again if need be.
With this in mind, Adrian braced his knee against the floor and prepared to let up, but doing so was no simple feat.
Fingers locked in position, it took a near insurmountable effort to pry them free from the neck he was squeezing.Extreme force of will and determination were required, a relentless struggle against every instinct driving him to end the man who’d murdered his sister.
But what if it wasn’t the right one?
Adrian’s fingers unlocked, his hand opened, and he drew back.Lawrence gulped down a series of breaths, then proceeded to cough and sputter while desperately fumbling for something inside his jacket pocket.
Adrian prepared to knock him back onto the floor in case he produced a weapon.Instead, a crumpled piece of paper was thrust in his direction.It bore a broken seal and was indeed signed with Samantha’s name.
He read the rest of it – the impassioned longing for Mr.Lawrence to meet her at this location.Words intended to lure him with the promise of bedsport.
Now that I’m ruined, the letter said,I no longer need to pretend.I’ll seek the pleasure I crave, indulge in whatever desires I please, and welcome whomever I choose to my bed.
It went on, suggesting Mr.Lawrence would be but one of her lovers.
Crafty, since this would have stopped him from questioning why she had written to him alone.According to this, she had not.She was merely accepting auditions.
* * *
The Mayfair Murderer cursed beneath his breath as he watched the scene unfold from across the alley.He’d paid the occupants handsomely for the use of their lodgings under the pretext of needing them for a very important home office assignment.
Croft should have killed Nigel by now.Instead, he’d stopped his attack to examine a piece of paper.The Mayfair Murderer gnashed his teeth.It looked like it might be the blasted letter he’d used to lure Nigel here – the one that proved Nigel wasn’t the killer.
Additional hesitation followed.Tension worked its way through the Mayfair Murderer’s body.The plan to get rid of Croft and Miss Carmichael wasn’t working.If they didn’t kill Nigel, then there would be no grounds to step in as witness and have them arrested for murder.
Instead they would leave the inn and continue their hunt.Croft’s obstinance would not let him stop.He’d review every detail and expand the list of possible suspects until he eventually identified his sister’s killer.Now, with the additional clue of Nigel being used as scapegoat, Croft’s attention would soon find its mark.
The only way to prevent it would be to remove Croft and Miss Carmichael from the playing field.
He reached into his pocket and withdrew the pistol he’d brought along for this eventuality.He’d kill Croft first, then wait for Miss Carmichael, the weaker opponent of the two, to leave the inn.She’d be distraught, he’d happen upon her as if by chance and offer her comfort, then slash her throat.
His pulse leapt in response to the pleasure he knew he’d soon find in spilling her blood.Lips curving in anticipation, he opened the window and aimed his pistol.
* * *
Furious with the additional stain Mr.Lawrence’s letter caused to Samantha’s reputation, Adrian crumpled the page in his fist.“It’s a trap.”
