“We can’t,” Melody said. “One of us fell through a roof on our way to save Samantha. We can’t leave without her.”
Adrian sent another glance in Edward’s direction. He was approaching too fast. “Murry. Snuff out the light so Marsdale can’t see.”
Murry moved to do as requested but Melody stopped him. “It’s too late. He’s already seen me.”
She jutted her chin in Edward’s direction and Adrian turned. Sure enough, Edward was looking straight at her, his mouth set in a firm line while hints of confusion played in his eyes.
And then he and Kendrick reached them, but Edward’s focus was solely on Melody. “Miss Roberts. What are you doing here?”
His voice was flat, devoid of emotion.
“I came to save my friend,” she replied. When Edward continued to stare at her but said nothing more, she told Samantha, “I’m sorry, but Holly and I have to go and get Tara.”
“Do you need help?” Murry asked, the gruffness in his voice suggesting he might not be as all right as Adrian thought.
“Thank you,” said Holly, “but I believe we can manage. Go tend your wounds. All of you.”
“I’ve a question before you leave,” Kendrick said. “How did you know where to find her?”
Holly exchanged a look with Melody, then said, “Harlowe informed us.”
Between dealing with the explosion, O’Leary’s attempt at escape, and the wonderful news that Samantha was safe, Adrian hadn’t had time to consider the implication of Melody’s and Holly’s presence. Now that he did, the facts slammed into place, jarring his nerves.
“You launched your own rescue mission without informing me first.” He stared at the women. “Even though you must have known I would burn the City down in order to save her.”
“We don’t have time for this now,” Holly said. “Tara—”
“Will have to wait a while longer,” Adrian snapped as his hand shot forward to grab Holly’s arm. She deflected the move with lightning speed, both she and Melody arming themselves with lethal blades as they took up defensive stances. Murry looked ready to strike them both down, but when they backed up a step, he held his ground.
“You’re the reason O’Leary didn’t show,” Adrian added, thinking his way through all that had happened. “When you attacked, his plan went sideways, so he chose an alternate one. A fuse was lit. The explosion that followed provided him the distraction he needed in order to flee. You’re the reason we lost the chance to stop him for good.”
“A battle for another day,” Melody said.
Adrian wanted to roar his displeasure. “You had no right to meddle in my affairs.”
“I had every right,” she told him, her voice fiercer than he’d ever thought her capable of. Her eyes were also filled with a quiet rage that put him on edge. “Samantha was my sister long before she became your wife. Had it not been for you and your criminal past, O’Leary would never have threatened her in the first place. But he did. He had the upper hand and he would have killed you both if Holly and I hadn’t foiled his plan. We were the unpredictable variable. That’s the only reason we managed to do what we did. Because he didn’t see us coming.”
But he’d seen Adrian without having to look. O’Leary had known he would come for his wife without fail. This was what he’d prepared himself for.
“I knew it to be a trap,” Adrian said. “As such, I took precautions.”
“Not enough, it would seem.” Melody slowly re-sheathed her blades. Holly did the same, then the pair darted off, into the night.
“Be grateful,” Samantha murmured while leaning on Adrian’s arm.
“Of course. I just…” He shook his head. “I should have been the one to save you, and I should have killed that bastard in the process.”
“I’m sure there will be another chance in the future. Considering O’Leary’s motive for coming after us in the first place, I doubt we’ve seen the last of him. But for now, I’d like to get some rest.”
Adrian agreed. He just had one final task before he could leave. Addressing Kendrick, he said, “Show me where the body is.”
The chief constable led the way to where a man lay, partially propped against the side of a building, as though he’d been thrown against it. Adrian dropped to a crouch beside him so he could better study his face. It was Burton, the thief.
Adrian released a weary breath, then stood. To Kendrick he said, “If you’re able, please send him to St. George’s. I’ll make arrangements for his funeral in the morning.”
Edward declined Adrian’s offer to drop him off at his house. Instead, he chose to wish the Crofts well and to hang back with Kendrick. The chief constable wanted to make sure the rest of the men who’d accompanied them here this evening were all accounted for.
Croft’s associates, of course, had all departed in the explosion’s aftermath. Eldridge and Moorland, were there, however, sitting on the ground, weapons drawn to dissuade any villains from preying upon them.
