Slumped with his legs spread out before him, he tried to raise the flintlock against his opponent, but was hampered when Croft’s foot came down on his hand.
The face of death and destruction leaned in without any hint of pity.
“Here,” Croft murmured, pure loathing coating his voice, “allow me to help you with that.”
In one fell swoop, he’d pulled the dagger free, the brutality forcing an agonized howl from Benjamin’s throat. “Bloody bastard,” he choked.
“Pretty words from a man who has murdered at least three people. Care to confess?”
“Go to hell.”
“Eventually,” Croft snarled, “though I dare say you’ll get there first.”
There was no forgiveness for the man who was awkwardly propped up against the wall. A hollow sensation devoid of feeling was all Adrian knew as he stared into Benjamin Lawrence’s face.
Blood was sprayed across his brow and cheek. It also stained his cravat and the upper left side of his jacket. The woman he’d shot lay but two paces away, her lifeless eyes filled with a silent plea that would haunt Adrian for the rest of his days.
Lawrence had killed her without second thought – a blight not only on his soul but Adrian’s too. He’d promised he would protect her. Hell, it had been his damn idea that she send for Lawrence. And when the man had shown up…
Christ have mercy. The poor woman had only been trying to help, and Adrian hadn’t been quick enough to prevent disaster from playing out. Which changed things. Lawrence’s actions this evening had sealed his fate. There would be no prison or court appearance for him, no time to beg for salvation.
What he’d done was beyond compare – unforgivable in a way that deserved only wrath. So Adrian liftedhis foot off Lawrence’s hand and retrieved the pistol from his clutching fingers.
“My father will see you hanged for this.” A ragged sound wheezing between parted lips. Lawrence’s eyes, wide and hateful, followed Adrian’s every move as he slowly straightened to his full height.
“I sincerely doubt it.” Calmed by the ice flowing through his veins, Adrian pointed the flintlock at Lawrence’s head and squeezed the trigger.
The sound of a shot being fired sent Samantha racing for the door to Miss Fontaine’s building. She’d arrived only moments before, had not even managed to pay the driver who hollered from somewhere behind her.
Two steps at a time. Up the creaky staircase, her heart in her throat, every terrible possibility playing out in her mind. Yet nothing prepared her for what she found when she burst through Miss Fontaine’s door.
Her pulse tripped as she took in the scene: the shattered door hanging crookedly from its hinges, the blood splattered across the wall, and her husband, standing between two corpses with flint in his eyes. It was ghastly.
Ice erupted inside her bones, yet she forced herself forward, her gaze inexorably drawn to Miss Fontaine’s gruesome wound. Something inside her contracted, creating a pain that lanced through her heart. Thisshouldn’t have happened. Miss Fontaine should not be dead.
Neither should Benjamin Lawrence, who’d clearly been shot in the head at short range. But without the help Adrian had been expecting, he’d had to deal with the situation alone, though it should not have come to this.
Something must have gone horribly wrong.
She raised her gaze to Adrian’s face and was met by a harsh expression. “Where’s Murry?”
“He—”
“Don’t move an inch.” Kendrick’s voice filled the foyer, causing the world to shrink around her. She froze, mind racing while working through all possible means of escape. There was a crunching sound as the constable stepped up beside her, a pistol aimed directly at Adrian’s chest. “You finally proved your worth, Mrs. Croft.”
A sinking sensation pulled at her stomach. She’d led him straight here, and in doing so, she’d made him witness to Adrian’s unforgiving nature. There was no denying that he had just murdered a marquess’s son – a man the whole world believed to have lost the use of his legs.
Dear God.
Their only chance was to overpower the constable and flee. She stared at his pistol. Could she manage to shove it aside before he fired? Unsure, she hesitated, her breath tight in her breast.
Kendrick gestured with the pistol.Step away from thebody. Adrian moved aside. “Drop the weapon, Mr. Croft.”
To Samantha’s dismay, her husband complied without question. She gaped at him, a tremor sweeping the nape of her neck when he looked straight through her. “Adrian, I—”
“Hold your tongue,” Kendrick ordered. “You’ve meddled enough as it is. If you’ll please come with me, Mr. Croft, I’ll take your statement at the Bow Street Magistrate’s Court.”
Adrian stared at Samantha – his wife – and saw the intricate details of the carefully crafted trap she’d devised.
