Chapter 47 #3
“I don’t know if you’ll get there in time,” he murmurs, looking at the screen.
“Why, what do you mean?”
“It said off-island by nightfall, and…” He holds the phone close to his face. “Wildes sell Alice to highest bidder, and…” He curses. “There’s a ticker for that too. Up in the millions.” He clicks something on the screen and zooms with two fingers.
“Lucy McKennon, a.k.a. Alice, a.k.a. Troisgarde daughter and Queen of Hearts is highly sought after by Hatton Fury, a.k.a. Hatter. Starting bid—” he whistles. “Thirty-three million dollars… and looks like we’re much higher than that now—wait no.” He squints. “Huh. Bid cancelled.”
“Cancelled? What does that mean?”
“Dunno. Just that ‘TCS’ stopped the bid. And… hold up. New bets are rolling in…” He blows out a breath. “Wildes smuggle Alice. Ninety-nine percent. Hatter saves Alice. Three percent. Hatter saves Alice and kills Castle.” He lifts his head. “One percent.”
One percent. According to professional gamblers, there’s only a one percent chance that I’ll save Lucy and get justice for her.
“According to the bids, the chances of the drop-off and pick-up happening just after sundown are in the nineties,” he whispers, lowering the scope and looking up. “Any minute now.”
He’s right. The sunset is gone, the sky having turned the color of a bruise, and the first stars are pushing through.
No. Fuck this.
“Eight-seven percent.” I blow out a breath. “Please fucking work.”
I grab my phone and dial Kian. It rings once, then cuts to voicemail. I call again. Voicemail.
Again.
Voicemail.
“Come on, McKennon.”
But there’s nothing. The man who threatened to kill me twenty minutes ago has shut me out completely as predicted.
Kian and his men are on their way here, but will they make it in time?
They’ll have no idea where to go even if they do, and I can’t wait for them to arrive.
Which means I have no backup, no plan, and the world is rapidly closing in on me like the night.
I press my fist to my mouth and breathe.
I failed Lucy, just like I and my family failed the rest of the women we love.
The thought cuts open the scars of my past.
My grandma having to give up the only man she truly loved. My aunt in her early grave. My mother in the fire. Luna after the Wildes found her and my brother. Lucy in the Smoke and Mirrors Room, lying to her, having to save her from herself after my family’s enemies took her best friend from her.
And now she’s kidnapped by the family that murdered my mother while I’m uselessly standing here looking at their escape route, and the man who orchestrated it all is going to get off scot-fucking free.
“You were still too late. “
And here I am again. Too fucking late.
No. I refuse to let another woman I love get hurt. I marked my mom’s sacrifice into my skin, swearing I would never let someone I love down again. And I refuse to let it happen now.
“Fuck. Okay, think.” I close my eyes and blow out a breath.
Kian won’t answer. He and his men are coming here looking for a fight, not a rescue. But I need to get to her and to Castle.
So I need someone who can redirect Kian. Someone he’ll actually listen to. Someone who can override the man’s pride long enough to save his daughter’s life.
I almost snort. The only person who has power over a man like that is…
My heart stills.
“His wife,” I whisper.
Kian never told his wife about our bet.
Which means he never told his wife about Wander Isle, or Castle, or the Sugar Room, or any of it. Because the men in the Troisgarde are protective to a fault, while the women let them think they’re getting away with it.
Which means she might not hate me enough to ignore me. Not yet anyways.
Castle may think he’s predicted all my moves, but just like that, the Ace and his Queen are face-up on my Blackjack table.
I look to Harry. “I need the boat.”
He nods. “I’m coming with you.”
“The fuck you are,” I growl. “I am not having your death on my hands. Fancy would murder me if the love of her life dies on my watch.”
He almost preens at that, and thankfully it’s enough to shake the noble thought out of the stubborn man’s plans.
“Fine. Keys are in the console. Gas is full.” He waves the scope. “I’ll grab my equipment and cover you from the widow’s walk on the roof.”
“Harry—”
“Hatton Fury, if you make fun of me right now—”
“No,” I insist, stopping him and grinning. “I was just gonna say, make every shot count.”
He grins back. “Go get your girl, son.”
I’m already moving by the time he salutes, running as I pull out my phone and speak to the voice assistant.
“Call Queen of Diamonds.”
The dial tone pulses against my ear as I run to Harry’s marsh-side dock, jump down into the skiff, then find and turn the key. The engine coughs and catches before rumbling to life, churning the water behind me.
One ring. Two.
“Come on, come on, come—”
“Hello?”
My knees go fucking weak. Christ, she sounds just like her.
Relief and panic fill me, and I grip the wheel so hard my knuckles go white.
“Mrs. McKennon? It’s Hatton Fury.” I exhale. “I need your help.”