Chapter 27
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Ada took comfort in Jonny’s hand, flat against her back, as they walked in silence along the docks, lit only by lamplight, which had blurred into hazy halos from the fog that had rolled through.
Ada drew her hood a little lower, the chill brushing her cheeks as her breath puffed in front of her.
Jonny walked beside her, his steps light and measured. It wasn’t the first time he’d had to be this stealthy, as Ada knew well.
She preferred to be by his side rather than the one he was pursuing.
She couldn’t help but sneak peeks at him now and again, remembering the night before.
How he had been tender yet passionate. Caring yet relentless. How she had enjoyed pleasuring him as much as she had receiving from him, and how she wanted to do it again and again.
Jonny’s hand, urging her forward, reminded her that now was not the time to daydream.
Ahead of them, Will moved with a natural swagger, although Ada didn’t miss the tightness of his shoulders and the abruptness of his gestures.
He was playing a part, one that he wanted to be rid of soon, and they were here to observe, to discover any information they could gather to help them take down Sharpe, while also providing Will an extra feeling of protection that she hoped he wouldn’t need.
They easily matched his pace, although they stayed well back from him. Ada’s pulse beat quickly, not from fear, but from sharpened awareness.
Danger lurked in every shadow, and Ada understood just how fatal one misstep could be.
Will’s steps slowed, and Jonny wrapped his arm around Ada, pulling her back against him as they stepped into the shadows.
Sharpe’s men stood near stacked crates and coiled ropes, some smoking, some drinking, but Ada was well aware they were also watching, their eyes open for any threats that lurked around them.
One man tapped the brim of his cap as Will passed — too casual to be nothing. Another shifted a sack with one foot, nudging it toward a side alley. A lantern on a hook swung once, deliberately.
Signal. Approval. Right to pass.
She nudged Jonny lightly with her gloved fingers, and he nodded at her, having seen it as well.
Footsteps sounded behind them, hard and loud enough to be masculine boots. By unspoken agreement, Ada and Jonny slunk back, closer to the wall, as Jonny tensed beside her, his hands lifted, ready to fight if it became necessary.
He nodded at her to stay to his rear, and when she tried to lean into the wall, she nearly fell backward, realizing that there was a small gap in the buildings behind her.
She pressed deeper into the small passage, which smelled of coal and river rot.
She reached out, pulling Jonny in after her.
His broad shoulders only just fit as they pressed into the deepest shadows while two shapes paused right before them.
Had they stayed where they had been, they would have been caught.
One of the men spat on the ground, and the other adjusted his coat. Ada gripped Jonny’s forearm as he stood before her, still tense and ready, but fortunately, the men moved on.
Ada exhaled slowly, and Jonny looked over his shoulder down at her, his expression unreadable in the gloom.
“You saved us,” he murmured.
She allowed a small smile. “I’ve learned a thing or two in my time.”
Sneaking a glance out of the alley, they found the way clear and slipped out, just in time to see Will disappear through a warehouse door, two of the men accompanying him, the others remaining outside.
Ada and Jonny kept to the shadows, watching the door close behind him.
A beat of quiet.
“We can’t follow him,” Jonny said, worry in his tone.
“He can do this,” Ada said with as much reassurance as she could muster. “We have to believe that and have faith in him. He’s come this far over the years.”
“That was before he decided to turn against them,” Jonny muttered. “What if he gives himself away?”
“He won’t,” Ada said. “We have to trust him.”
Jonny didn’t answer immediately. His hand brushed hers—accidental, lingering. He looked at the warehouse, at the danger ahead, and nodded.
“I suppose. We stay as close as we can. And we trust him.”
Ada’s heart stuttered, heat blooming beneath her ribs. We. Not heroics. Not protection. Partnership.
They drifted away once the area quieted, slipping through side streets instead of retracing their steps. The fog thickened, swallowing sound, and Ada felt the evening’s weight settle into her bones — the kind that came from purpose, not fatigue.
She wanted nothing more than to return to Jonny’s house and to lose herself in him again, but they had made a promise, one that they both intended to keep.
“We go report in?” Jonny said, lifting a brow, and she nodded in agreement.
Warmth hit Ada first. Then cinnamon and yeast. Minnie’s hearth glowed, a kettle steaming gently in the house she and Tommy had rented and made their own last year.
When they appeared in the doorway, Minnie gasped and rushed forward, fussing with Ada’s collar before thrusting a mug into her hand. “You’re freezing. Look at your fingers!”
Ada smiled at her friend’s motherly instincts but accepted the steaming tea anyway.
Jonny deflected with a shrug. “We were fine.”
Tommy snorted from beside the fire, wiping cinnamon from his hands, as he had obviously found the buns before his guests had even arrived. “Hard to believe that when I’ve never heard you say anything different.”
“We are fine,” Jonny insisted, meeting the gazes of Rhys and Colin with Tommy by the fire, while Emmaline and Lily waited by the table, Emmaline holding Minnie’s baby in her arms.
“What happened?” asked Colin.
“Nothing,” Jonny said, shaking his head, his dismay evident. “We followed Will, intending to watch him, make sure he was safe, find out anything that we could — but he just disappeared into a warehouse, with too many men outside of it for us to get close.”
“That’s not nothing,” Emmaline countered. “You know where he went and you know how many men were watching.”
“True,” Jonny noted.
“And we know the signal of approval,” Ada added. “Not just anyone can get inside.”
Sit,” Minnie said, waving them to the table and placing fresh buns before each of them. Jonny sat beside Ada, his thigh brushing hers beneath the table. He didn’t pull away — in fact, he only pressed closer against her.
Their friends let them eat for the moment, as utensils clinked and the women murmured in low tones to one another.
As they discussed their next movement, Ada reached under the table and laced her fingers with Jonny’s. He squeezed back, not looking at her — because he didn’t need to.
They didn’t need the words. Not now. Not here.
They both knew they had found steadiness and strength in one another. It was what they had to hold onto to make it through this.
“I brought something for you,” Lily said.
“What’s that?”
“A cloak and some other clothing, if you’re going to continue this scouting on the docks,” she said. “You might as well be warm.”
“Thank you, Lily,” Ada said with a smile. “And thank you, Minnie, for hosting us.”
“Of course,” Minnie said.
“What’s next?” Rhys asked, crossing his arms as he stared them down.
“Next, we gather all of the information we can,” Jonny said. “Will plans to do what he can to take evidence himself, and I’ll break in one night and try to steal records.”
“What happens if you’re caught?” Rhys asked, leaning forward. “You need us there to back you up.”
Jonny was already shaking his head. “We can’t all go.
” He lifted a hand to stifle Rhys’s objections before they began.
“It is not because I don’t want to ask for help.
It’s because these kinds of things need to be done stealthily.
If there are too many of us there, it will be noticeable.
I know how to get in and out quickly, especially with Will’s insight. ”
“Last time you needed extra help,” Ada said, looking at him with a raised brow.
He sighed. “I did.”
“I’ll be there,” she said. “I have the skills you need.”
“Let us know when you’re going,” Rhys said in a voice that told them all there should be no argument. “We won’t all come, but you need one or two of us.”
“Fine,” Jonny said, before looking around at all of them. “I do appreciate all of you. I know this isn’t what you would all like to be involved in, so I want you to know that… this means a lot.”
“Of course,” Colin said, as Ada squeezed Jonny’s hand again under the table, telling him, unspoken but sure, that they were in this together.
He looked to her, their eyes meeting and sharing the same message — they were grateful and determined, even if they were worried about what would come next, for more reasons than they wanted to say aloud.
Their entire future rested on what would happen in the coming days.
Ada could only hope he felt the same, even if he was reluctant to say anything.
She supposed she would find out soon.
A couple of hours later, they were nearing Jonny’s house, having denied a ride in the carriage from Lily and Colin, despite the chill, when Jonny suddenly put his arms around Ada, stopping her before she could take another step.
“What’s wrong?” she asked, instantly alert.
“There’s someone waiting outside,” he said, “in the shadows.” He pointed ahead of them, and Ada realized that while she had learned some things over the years, there was still so much that Jonny’s experience had on her.
“Mr. Tate?”
Ada’s shoulders fell in relief. It was just a boy.
“Yes?” Jonny said, hesitation in his tone.
“A note for you.”
The boy handed it to him, running away after Jonny laid a coin in his palm.
“What is it?” Ada asked, looking over his shoulder, but Jonny shook his head.
“Inside.”
When they had made it within, Jonny walked around to ensure all was well, finally lighting one of the gas lamps. They sat before it, Ada next to him, her chin just over his shoulder, while they read the note together.
“It’s from Will,” Jonny said. “He’s telling us when and where a shipment will be taking place. It’s got to be one of Sharpe’s illegal shipments.”
“What are we to do about it?” Ada asked, looking up at him with a frown.
“It will give us some information to use against him,” Jonny said.
“We watch the shipment, and we learn what they are doing with it. And,” he said, his brows lifting, “perhaps that would be the best time for us to steal from him. Will notes that all hands will be helping unload the shipments. Which means—”
“That the warehouse might be empty,” Ada finished for him.
“Exactly.”
“There we go,” Ada said. “Now, when is it?”
“In three days,” Jonny replied.
“Then we have three days to prepare.” Ada slipped onto his lap and wrapped her arms around his neck. “What do you say we take tonight to focus on something else?”
Jonny couldn’t help but smile at that, leaning his head down and taking her lips. He shut off the lamp and carried her up the stairs, laying her on the bed, removing her clothing slowly this time.
“I was wondering,” he said, tracing a line down her neck, over her collarbones, down to her breasts, straining up to meet him.
“Wondering what?”
“How far your freckles stretched.”
“Everywhere,” she said, biting her lip. “Do you mind?”
“Absolutely not,” he said, looking up at her with a grin. “I love them.”
He made love to her, strong and steady, slow but sure, needing her to know, even if he couldn’t tell her, just how much she meant to him.
And when she finally fell asleep, her head on his arm, Jonny lay beside her, looking down, watching her breathe.
And realized that there was no other option than for this all to work.
For he couldn’t live without her, in any way. Before, he’d had nothing to lose.
Now, he had everything, and he refused to give it up.
Not willingly. He had the woman of his dreams, and, if he had anything to do with it, she would remain in reality.