Melody considered. She and Holly could easily jump down and render this man unconscious, then work on freeing Tara. After that, they’d have to find some means by which to climb back onto the roof. A doable feat, all of it, but one that would force them to lose precious time.
She made her decision based on what had to be done instead of what every part of her conscience was ordering her to do. “We’ll come back for you, Tara.”
“You can’t mean to leave her like this,” Holly said.
“We have to. If we’re to rescue Samantha and get her to safety as well, then we need to move.”
“But—”
“That man won’t harm her.”
“You don’t know that.” Holly stared into Melody’s eyes. “This is the heart of St. Giles. He wouldn’t be living here unless he had the wherewithal to stand against cutthroats, which surely makes him one too. That man may be old, but I’ll wager he’s just about as dangerous as they come.”
Melody hesitated while making a swift calculation. It wouldn’t work. It was either Tara or Samantha if they chose to save Tara first. By choosing Samantha, they had a chance of getting them both back to Clearview House.
A gamble, but one that had to be made.
“We’ll come back for her,” she repeated to Holly, then leapt to her feet and continued onward, toward the structure O’Leary supposedly owned.
28
Finn paced the simple room in the building he’d taken over. Where the hell was Brian Kelly? He should have been back by now. Surly and Clarkson too. Finn had sent them out to ensure Croft showed, that he brought his associates with him, and that he would not do anything stupid.
First sign of trouble, and Finn intended to send Murry back to him, one ear poorer. As it was, the man was proving to be more trouble than he was worth. His attempt at escape had nearly met with success. Only the stranglehold Liam and Nolan carried out together had rendered the brute unconscious. After which Finn himself had inspected the bindings that held him.
A temporary solution until Finn decided to use the man as a warning for Croft to be wiser the next time Finn gave him the chance to recover his precious wife.
The desired effect was of course to get Croft to cooperate. Once he’d been brought to his knees in front of Finn and made to beg before those who’d pledged their allegiance to him — made to look pathetic in front of them all — a quick shot to the head would ensure that he never crossed Finn’s path again. His wife would have to go too, though not until she’d served her purpose in bringing Croft to heel.
Soon.
He glanced at his pocket watch once again. The meeting was set to take place in ten minutes, but heading out before Brian confirmed all was well would be reckless. He had to wait. Maybe Croft had proven a fool after all. That would explain the delay in Surly and Clarkson’s return. If Croft had laid a trap of his own.
Finn considered.
He considered the men who remained with him. Sean, Patrick, Liam, and Nolan. And made his decision. “If Kelly doesn’t walk through that door in five minutes, we’re cutting the valet’s ear off.”
“And the wife?” Sean asked with a smirk.
“She’ll be led through the street like a dog on a leash,” Finn replied. He would take pleasure in bending that bitch to his will. In watching Croft made to feel just as helpless as Finn had felt when he’d learned his father had died. Murdered by that bastard’s hand.
Additional seconds ticked by and Finn took another look at his watch. He briefly considered sending two more men out to see what had happened, only to think better of it. If Surly and Clarkson hadn’t returned yet, chances were they wouldn’t. Which meant they were probably dead. He could only hope the same would not be true of Brian.
Nevertheless, it was time for him to act. “Patrick. You’re with me. Let’s go get that ear so Croft understands he’s no longer in charge. In the meantime—”
Glass shattering somewhere upstairs made him freeze. Jaw tight, he looked toward the entryway, then to his remaining men. “Liam and Nolan, go see what that was.”
The men loped off, bounded up the stairs, and disappeared into the room where they’d locked away Mrs. Croft. Thuds sounded along with shouts and grunts. A fight. Maybe Croft had located the building and breached it.
Finn considered his options. If things went truly wrong, an explosion would follow. He’d put Croft’s former associate, Chapman, on it. The man had left earlier and gone to one of the nearby buildings. All of the ones in the area surrounding the meeting spot had been rigged with explosives. The only thing needed was one spark from a flint.
As the clock ticked down, as things turned more dire, as it looked less and less likely the meeting would go according to plan, Chapman would know to strike. It was all part of Finn’s strategy to get out of there with his life intact should his plan turn to dust.
Until then he would count on his men to help him eliminate any threats that entered this building.
Still bound to the chair she'd been confined to since attacking O’Leary the previous day, Samantha watched as events unfolded. She could scarcely believe what was taking place in front of her. Melody had crashed through the window, and Holly had followed swiftly on her heels. Together they were now fighting off the men who’d responded to the noise.
With one eye partially swollen shut and a cut near the other thanks to the most recent beating from O’Leary, Samantha watched the ongoing fight. It felt like she was one giant bruise. Her lip was split open too, her cheeks ached all the way to the bone, and her throat still throbbed from having it squeezed so tightly, she thought O’Leary would crush her windpipe. Hell, her eyes stung just thinking about it.
