Chapter Five
Present Day
Chris was almost out the door when a premonition struck him.
He really couldn’t leave without saying goodbye to Nobi.
It felt wrong. Like the sky would shake an angry fist at him in the form of hail if he went against etiquette.
Etiquette? His heart was laughing at him, but he didn’t hear it for it was.
Regardless, he accepted that it wasn’t etiquette pulling him back into the house.
He turned around and came face to face with Jacob, the new groom, who shouldn’t be down here. “Oh, Jacob. I’m glad I ran into you, though I didn’t expect to see you this morning.”
His ear tips rimmed in red as he murmured, “Just…erm…grabbing a few…flowers.” He coughed roughly. “For Sally,”—he scratched his head awkwardly before adding—“to smell.”
Chris cleared his throat. Well, that was unnecessary information. And also a prevarication if he ever heard one. Anyway, he didn’t really want to know what Jacob was going to do with flowers on Sally’s body. Before Jacob could take off though, he needed to get to the point.
“I was just about to leave but I realized I didn’t have a chance to say goodbye to Zenobia yet. Have you seen her around this morning? I’m sure that’s a silly question.”
“Actually, Sally inquired about Zenobia to find out when she was leaving and Zenobia told her that she was going to sneak in some target practice before she left. So I’m sure she’s there.”
“All right. Thank you.”
“Glad to help. Now, erm…I’m just going to go grab those flowers.”
“Sure.” Chris nodded with a dim smile. And Jacob almost took off again before Chris remembered his manners. “That was a great house party, Jacob. I wish you and Sally marital bliss.”
In reply, Jacob only blushed further into his cheeks, waved, and slipped into the garden.
Perfect. Nobi was out gallivanting about the property. He really didn’t want to go find her now. She would be all windblown, with a flush in her cheeks. And she would be happy, doing what she loved. He didn’t want to disturb that.
Feet firmly planted shoulder width apart, he could feel the push and the pull—first one way and then the other.
Push. He should go. She was his friend, and he needed to talk to her. Pull. This shouldn’t be such a difficult decision. He didn’t feel this guilt—yes, he supposed that’s what it was—to bid adieu to everyone else at the party. Push. But it was Zenobia…she was different.
Pull. It didn’t matter.
The decision was simple. He would see her back at home. He wiped his hands together as if settling the matter physically would ease the emotional turmoil.
So, against the knots forming in the pit of his stomach, he leapt up into the waiting carriage and took off.
The rumbling wheels of the carriage against the dirt road matched the rocks bumbling around inside of him, and he didn’t get more than fifteen minutes away before he changed his mind. He had to return and say goodbye. He had to tell her about his plans. It couldn’t wait.
Banging on the roof of the carriage, Chris called out, “Stop the horses.”
He knew he was being foolish, but sometimes a man needed to listen to his gut. He would take one of the horses back, tell her the news, and then be on his way home.
He reached to open the door when he heard a peculiar sound. A thunk followed by a grunt and another thud.
Perhaps the driver was having a bit of trouble reigning in one of the horses. But those sounds didn’t quite match the scenario he was playing in his head. No matter, he would find out in a second what was going on.
The door squeaked open, the sunlight hitting his eyes and momentarily blinding him. It took a second for him to find his footing and jump down.
But instead of being greeted by the open road, or the driver, a gruff voice sounded in his ears.
And then he knew. This was the storm, the clouds, the discolored sky that his gut had been warning him about.
This was the premonition being fulfilled.
But he didn’t have time to react or find his bearings.
His mind was on his regrets. On Zenobia.
And that blinding sun. He still couldn’t make out any figures in front of him.
Just a silhouette, and it didn’t look friendly.
In fact, it looked very unfriendly. And he couldn’t tell, but was that a gun?
“’Bout time you showed up. We’ve been waiting for you.”
What the—
Blackness enveloped him as he slumped to the ground.
God…his head ached. How long had he been out? His tongue pushed roughly against some fabric. Great. Gagged. His hands immediately made an attempt to remove the gag, but they were bound behind his back.
“The duke’s awake,” a skinny bloke nudged a burlier man beside him. The larger of the two had been staring out the window, and Chris could see a pistol on his lap.
His head hurt like hell and his heart was stampeding in his chest. He needed to get out of here.
He needed to see Zenobia. What the hell had he been thinking?
He should have listened to his gut. He could kick himself right now.
Which…really was about all he could do since thankfully his legs weren’t tied up.
Instinctively, he wanted to know why these two ruffians had abducted him.
Sure, he was a duke, and they could be using him for ransom.
But surely there were older, more feeble dukes that would serve an easier target.
Chris wasn’t a particularly prideful man.
Certainly, no one would admonish him for his conceit.
But really, he was a strapping, young (enough) duke that he wouldn’t have been someone’s first pick as an easy target.
So, with some pride (and he hoped, more logic), he had to presume the men were after something else.
His head wasn’t quite clear from the blow though, and it was a touch difficult to sift through possible reasons for being abducted. His two closest friends had recently wed. One had been well on their way to the chapel…But those were the most significant goings on in his life…except…
Only one thing stood out. Sam had entrusted him with a package before the house party started.
But these ruffians couldn’t possibly know about that.
No one knew about it. It had only been Sam and Chris who were privy to that exchange.
And well, of course one couldn’t discount two households full of servants.
But their servants were loyal to them. Weren’t they?
Chris started to make a mental list of all the people he employed, but he wasn’t able to get far through his list, as he was interrupted by nature. Or, nature’s call to be more precise.
“I gotta take a piss,” one of the ruffians announced with a grumble.
“Hold it,” the larger of the two answered without making eye contact with his cohort. “We’re almost there.”
“I can’t hold it. Been waiting too long.”
“Bloody hell, Lester. We were waiting in the bushes all morning. You didn’t think to go then?”
“What can I tell you, Jax—I thought we weren’t using our names—I have to go. Now.” The skinny fellow started rubbing the cushion with his bottom, doing an awkward dance on the seat. A dance that Chris would never be able to erase from his memory.
“So unless you want this carriage to stink like—”
“Stop!” Jax bellowed. “Get out.” He thrust the door open and Lester tumbled over Jax’s lap.
Chris didn’t have time to think, never mind plan his escape. He saw the moment for what it was and exploited it.
Lester was still crawling over Jax’s lap, for God knows what reason, and Chris was only too grateful to the divine for their stupidity. He inched toward the other door while Jax snarled at his friend. “Get your cock off my leg, you sodding fool. Take your piss—”
“Ahh!” Lester toppled onto the dirt floor and Jax moved to take a step out of the carriage to help his friend.
Chris shoved his shoulder against the other door, praying it was unlocked.
It was. He tumbled down to the ground, but he didn’t give himself a second to consider what new bruises he might have added to his body.
Propping himself up on his knees, he pushed up to a squat, and then shot himself up to standing.
He took off running. The trees were close to the road. He dove into them, desperate for cover.
He could hear the two still arguing at the carriage but kept running.
He didn’t stop when he heard Jax demand, “Lester, put your cock back in your pants. Let’s go.”
When they yelled out, “Duke! Get back here!” He ran faster. His body was weak, his legs were drained. But his heart was strong. He had motivation on his side. He had hope on his side. He had love—
WHUMP!
A harsh forest floor. Green grass. Flowers.
A thick tree trunk. Those were a beautiful sight.
So many memories. One in particular. What a night to remember.
If he had to choose a memory to play in his mind before going down, this would definitely be one of them.
In fact, it was probably playing front and center right now due to how often he recalled it at night before he went to sleep. Innocent. Pleasure. Her.
His vision blurred as layers of glass kept presenting themselves atop his eyes. It wasn’t meant to be this way. He needed to tell her…
Blackness.
And later, for the second time that day, in what was really far too close to the previous bout of unconsciousness, Chris woke up.
If he had thought his head ached before, he was quite sure it had split right down the middle this time. It was like lifting a horse with a pinky to pry his eyes open. His head sagged back against the squabs.
Incidentally, it was a good thing he didn’t want to kick himself for trying to escape, because this time he couldn’t even do that if he wanted to. His legs were bound tightly at the ankles.
Not normally one to show weakness, he didn’t care right this second. He released a groan. Now his body throbbed, and he was furious. He grumbled against the gag until Lester pulled it out of his mouth.
“What are you saying, Duke?”
“What do you want with me?”
“All that will be coming in good time. Don’t worry. When we get there, we’ll explain everything—oomph!” Lester rubbed his side where Jax had blasted him with an elbow. “Aye. Not everything. Just the things you need to know.”
Even if he wanted to, Chris didn’t have the energy to pursue that line of questioning.
His eyes slammed shut and he couldn’t hold his head up any longer.
This time, unlike the previous two, he succumbed to darkness of his own volition and let his body sleep.
He would need his energy when he woke up, because there was no way he was going out like this.
If all he did was see Nobi one last time, he could die happy. Or at least, happy enough.