Chapter 27
Accompanied by Tara and Holly, Melody ran through the narrow alleys, toward the house where she knew Samantha was being held. She was passing The Devil’s Tail at the heart of the rookery when Tara held up her hand, alerting them that something might be amiss.
Melody paused. They all did. Frozen in place, they listened for any sounds that might seem foreign. Sounds that could alert them to potential danger. O’Leary could have laid a trap, besides which they knew Croft was likely nearby as well with his own plan to save his wife.
It was imperative that they reach Samantha before he did, before he could do something stupid or foolish to halt them in their mission.
Melody turned, a beam of moonlight bathing her face and placing her at risk of discovery should anyone be watching. So she dipped her chin as fast as she could, but it was too late. She’d already heard it — the unmistakable intake of breath.
Heart pounding, she turned, her gaze seeking the presence lurking nearby as every muscle prepared to react — to fight a potential foe.
But as her attention slid to the right and she found the figure who stood in the shadows, her stomach dropped.
Even silhouetted as he was, his body partly concealed by the corner of a building, she knew this man.
Edward Pryce, Earl of Marsdale.
His gaze snared hers and held it. Although she could not see his expression, it was likely full of surprise. Questions would follow — questions she had no time to address in the moment.
There was much to accomplish, and she could not let him or anyone else get in her way. Already, another figure on the opposite side of the alley in which Edward stood was peeling away from the darkness.
“Go,” Melody hissed at Tara and Holly, launching into a sprint. She felt their bodies keeping pace, listened for any hint of Edward or his companion giving chase, and relaxed when no sounds followed.
Pushing him from her mind, she focused on completing her mission.
Stealth was imperative. If Edward was part of Croft’s operation, other friends and associates of his might be around.
Men who might not be as willing to let Melody and her companions slip by.
She feared Croft would not. If he had his own plan in place, he wouldn’t want anyone else interfering.
This meant that if she, Holly, and Tara were to succeed, they would have to get out of the street. They would have to reach the house where Samantha was held before anyone else noticed their approach. Finally, they would have to get Samantha away from Finn O’Leary’s dangerous grasp.
Before Croft ruined their chances, as Melody feared he might.
They were technically on the same side, but Croft had a history with O’Leary and the kind of attachment to Samantha that threatened to cloud his judgement. Melody had no doubt he’d try to kill O’Leary for what he’d done, and that was the kind of single-minded anger that put everyone’s life at risk.
She and the others entered the alley parallel to the one which led to O’Leary’s headquarters. They slowed, falling into a casual gait while taking a breath to assess their surroundings.
“Two females ahead,” Tara whispered, drawing attention to the women who approached. Whores, judging from their appearance. The cheap kind who could barely afford to get by.
“Care fer a bit o’ sport?” one of them asked when they came within speaking distance.
“Not tonight,” said Holly, her voice low and gruff.
The women snorted their disapproval and continued past, in the general direction of Covent Garden.
“A man,” Tara muttered a few seconds later when the alley snaked to the left. “Guard up. Could be trouble.”
Melody slipped one hand to the hilt of the dagger she kept in a sheath attached to her belt. She swallowed a breath, felt her heart leap in her breast as she curled her fingers around the weapon, and readied herself for potential battle.
Too soon.
If they fought this man now, the noise could alert O’Leary.
She hunched her shoulders, attempted to look like a regular bloke who belonged in these parts.
They closed their distance and Melody dipped her chin, pretending to ward off the rain and the chill in the air.
“State yer business,” said the man, his voice gruff.
The prompt command made her stop. Tara and Holly too. Melody raised her gaze and peered up at the tall figure. Broad shoulders, a solid stance, and an angular jawline filled her vision.
“We’re headin’ to The Mad Bull,” Holly told him, once more sounding like a young man.
“Not through ’ere ye ain’t.” He crossed his arms.
“An’ why’s that?” Melody asked.
He shifted his gaze in her direction. A snarl curled his lips. “’Cause I says so.”
Right. Of course. He was likely one of O’Leary’s thugs, here to ensure there were no surprises. That Croft didn’t try anything underhanded. And that there would be no one to interfere with whatever O’Leary had in store.
Tara sent her and Holly a swift look. “Shall we?”
Melody nodded. If it was between this brute and Samantha, the choice was simple, and since they had to get past him to get to her, they had little choice.
Tara leapt forward first, her actions so swift and nimble it took a second for Melody to realize she’d already launched an attack. And then Holly was on him as well, her body spinning and dodging his blows.
Melody blinked at the sight. At the flash of metal blades glinting in response to each movement.
A stab to the man’s side had him groaning.
He thrust his fist at the nearest assailant.
Holly caught the blow straight to her face.
With a yelp she fell to her knees. He rounded on Tara next, his large hand circling her neck and pulling her upward.
Dear God, he was going to kill her.
“Melody.” Holly’s voice. “Don’t just stand there.” Panting heavily, she was already pushing herself upright. “Help us.”
The command broke the paralysis. Melody moved, instinct honed through hours of training propelling her forward. With one swift swipe of her left hand she grabbed the dagger Tara had left in the man’s right side while freeing her own from the sheath attached to her belt.
Not breaking her stride, she circled around him and jumped, embedding both blades in his shoulders and pulling herself up higher as he went down with a howl, releasing Tara in favor of trying to wrench himself free.
Teeth gritted so hard her jaw ached, Melody pulled the blades free as she and the man underneath her rolled sideways. Her legs wrapped around him, holding on tight while her arms shot forward on either side of his neck.
Two twin slashes slit him open. A sputtering sound followed before he went limp.
She fell back, her head in whatever filth covered the street. A life. She’d taken a life. Out of necessity, a quiet voice whispered from somewhere deep down inside.
Wrong.
Whatever the reason, she didn’t feel right about what she had done.
The weight of the man’s body eased, distracting her from any misgivings as Holly and Tara pushed him off her. They helped her rise, pulling her to her feet and ensuring she found her balance.
“Are you all right?” Tara whispered, concern clinging to every word.
Melody’s hands were already trembling. She needed to get that under control. A stiff nod — albeit a lie — might help convince herself and the others. “Yes. What about you?”
“I’ll be fine,” Holly said.
“Me too,” Tara replied.
“We weren’t as quiet about this as we should have been,” Melody said, sending a sidelong glance down the alley. As she’d feared, two shadowy figures were already stalking toward them.
“There will be no stopping to chat this time,” Holly said, her voice low. “It’s either them or us. Now let’s go surprise them before they have time to prepare.”
She set off, Tara at her side. Melody sent the man she’d killed a final look, then jogged after the pair. They fanned out as they closed the distance with the two men who were coming toward them. Another pair of nefarious looking individuals, each with a blade at the ready.
Melody broke into a targeted sprint, the daggers she’d used on their colleague still clutched in each hand. The men raised their hands prepared to strike, when she dropped to the ground and skidded between them, each hand reaching out, the daggers she held slicing their thighs.
The two stumbled past her, their footing uneven. Cries of agony filled the air. Then came the startled grunts of pain as Holly and Tara shoved their blades deep into each man’s belly.
“Onward,” Melody hissed in urgent despair. O’Leary must surely know he was under attack by now. In which case, there was no telling how he’d respond. All she could do was pray that the woman she’d come to save would not be placed in additional danger.
Another man up ahead had her muttering endless curses under her breath. They couldn’t afford any more delays. They had to get to Samantha now.
She gripped her blades, prepared to kill him swiftly to avoid wasting time, when he shifted direction and vanished into a nearby building. Her breaths eased and she swept past the doorway through which he’d entered, toward the building that backed up against O’Leary’s headquarters.
Gaining a foothold on a ledge jutting from under a shuttered window, she leapt up and caught the edge of the roof, then pulled herself upward. Tara and Holly followed suit and settled into squats at Melody’s side.
“You’re sure he wasn’t a threat?” Tara pointed over her shoulder toward the building the unknown man had disappeared into.
“There was nothing aggressive about him, so he’s probably just a local.” That, or he was with Croft, in which case they were on the same side.
Melody stood, her gaze scanning the slope of the roofline and the building behind it.
A small outdoor space lay between. From what she could see there were five entry-points.
A door and four windows. Thin slivers of light protruded from gaps between some of the curtains. One window was blacked out completely.
She pointed it out to Tara and Holly. “We’ll enter through there.”
“It’s probably locked from the inside,” Tara said. “I can go first and work the latch.”
“How?” Holly asked. She’d come up alongside, her focus on the open space between the two buildings. “It’s too far to jump.”
“Here,” Melody agreed, “but not up ahead.”
The plots of land grew increasingly narrow farther along, forcing the houses closer together. The three of them could cross there and circle back over the rooftops.
“I’ll lead the way,” Tara said and set off.
Holly followed with Melody at the rear. Although she’d had her apprehensions about being part of this mission, she was glad she was here. Danger and high stakes aside, it was without doubt the most exhilarating experience of her life.
Besides kissing Edward.
She slammed the door shut on thoughts of him and raced after Holly and Tara. The occasional roof tile slid out from under their feet and fell to the ground below. Hopefully no one would notice and think to look up.
They reached the narrowest spot and leapt across the gap, landing with gentle footfalls, and vaulting into the final stretch of their journey.
Another roof tile shattered against the ground. Melody glanced toward Tara, who leapt down toward the subsequent roof—and disappeared through it with a resounding crash.
Dear God.
Holly slowed her pace but kept moving forward with greater care. By the time Melody reached her, she was on her hands and knees, peering into a gaping hole through which they could glimpse Tara’s body, faintly visible in the darkness.
“The beams were probably rotted through,” Holly whispered.
And with the two roofs at different heights, Tara had jumped down a couple of feet, landing harder against it than she would have done otherwise.
“Tara?” Melody hissed her name and a soft groan answered. “Are you all right?”
“More or less,” came the answer after a few seconds. “Just battered. Nothing broken.”
Melody breathed a sigh of relief. “If you find something to stand on, we can—”
A series of loud thuds cut her off, and she jerked her attention sideways, to the old man who’d climbed the stairs from below. A lantern was clasped in one hand, a knife in the other.
The glow from his lantern lit his grim features, and the damage caused to what Melody guessed was his home. It also directed his gaze toward Tara, allowing Melody to see that she hadn’t just fallen through, she’d also been pinned in place by a partially broken beam.
The man started toward her and Melody spoke. “It was an accident.”
His attention shifted and he swung his gaze skyward to where Melody and Holly perched.
“Devil take ye, ye good fer nothin’ scum. I’ve a gapin’ ’ole in me roof cuz of yeez, an’ it’s rainin’,” he shouted.
“We’re terribly sorry. Amends will be made, I assure you. If you’ll help our friend up, we’ll—”
“I think not.” His expression was cut in angry lines. Dipping his gaze, he seemed to survey the damage once more before starting in Tara’s direction.
Melody’s heart thumped wildly against her breast. Tara could easily take this man if need be, provided she wasn’t trapped under bits of debris.
“I’ll leave you to choke on your own blood if you hurt her in any way,” she warned.
The man grunted, but halted his progress. Silence followed and Melody held her breath while Holly remained an anxious presence beside her.
Eventually the man told them all, “She stays ’ere, as collateral. Ye’ll get ’er back when ye bring me the funds to repair this. Plus some fer the trouble.”
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.