Chapter 29 #2
“Or what?” Victor asked, keeping his pistol aimed at Adrian as he stepped behind him.
“You seem to still believe that you are going to be the hero here, but I promise you no such triumph will be gained by you today. It is an annoyance that you are here, and as your dearly departed brother now knows, we rid ourselves of annoyances.”
Pain and rage swirled together in Adrian’s chest.
“So it is true,” he rasped, looking from Victor to Warren. “You did kill him. My investigation would have proved successful if not for your little disappearing act.”
From the corner of his eye, Adrian watched as Damien, who had inched closer to Bridget, slowly lowered his hands to her bindings.
“Evander was… an interesting man,” Warren answered, turning his back to Bridget as he looked Adrian over.
“Many thought he was quite untouchable, you know. The golden boy of society who had a destiny far greater than ours. The problem with golden boys, though? They do not like to get their hands dirty. Even when they have been wronged.”
“Is that why you killed him?” Adrian asked, pushing past his heartache to keep Warren and Victor distracted. “You wronged him, and he tried to force you to make amends?”
Warren shrugged carelessly as he dabbed a kerchief to his bleeding lips.
“Evander got what he deserved. And so will you.”
Adrian ignored the threat as Damien quietly began to move toward Victor’s back.
“You blackmailing my wife seemed to work out well for you,” Adrian said. “I see she has brought you jewels worth thousands.”
“And thousands of pounds she stole from your study,” Victor added. “Or did you not know that?”
“I do not care,” Adrian quickly replied. “She can have whatever she wants of me, for I know she deserves it all.”
Victor and Warren chortled, but Adrian pressed on. “So if this worked out so well, then why did you try to force her to marry Victor? I assume he is in as much debt as you are if he is willing to go through all of this. What would it have accomplished?”
“Victor was going to make her disappear after their wedding,” Warren answered.
“And create a ransom for her guardians. They are garishly wealthy and would have paid anything just to avoid society’s condemnation.
Once we had the funds, we would have dumped her body and fled the country as two wealthy men. ”
Bridget flew from her chair before Adrian could reply, striking Warren hard across the face.
“You monster!” she screamed after pulling the gag from her mouth. Warren growled as he lunged for her, but Adrian was there first, wrapping his body around hers as Damien pounced on Victor.
A shot rang through the air, sending a hail of ceiling plaster raining down on them. Trusting that Damien would handle Victor, Adrian put Bridget behind him and lunged at Warren. All of his rage was unleashed as his fists sailed into the man’s face.
“Get off me!” Warren roared.
Bridget screamed in warning as Warren raised something in his hand, but Adrian did not have time to see what it was before something heavy slammed into the side of his face. Stunned, Adrian stumbled back as the sound of racing footsteps echoed on the dilapidated stairs.
Adrian’s world spun as he touched the ache in his face, but as he pulled his fingers back, he found no blood. He had been stunned, no doubt by a club or something of the sort.
“Damien?” Adrian roared, whirling around. To his relief, he found his friend standing over an unconscious Victor, his gun now safely in Damien’s hands.
“I got him,” Damien answered with panting breaths. “Go. Get Warren.”
“Adrian, no!” Bridget pleaded, rushing toward him. “Just let him go, let us get out of here, please!”
Adrian pulled her close, kissing her almost brutally. He would make up for it later, but for now, he just needed to prove that she was still his.
“We finish this now, love,” he panted as he pulled back, his eyes pinging to every one of her beautiful features. “So we never have to worry about this again.”
The urge to kiss her again was great, but Adrian forced himself to stop and instead go up the stairs.
It did not take long for him to find Warren, who was standing on a terrace, looking as if he was trying to figure out a way to climb down.
In his one hand was the sack of jewels and money that had been sitting on the table, in his other, the club.
“You were truly going to leave your brother behind?” Adrian demanded, his voice cutting through the cramped cabin as he stepped fully into the light.
Warren spun around, his expression twisting from shock to open contempt when he saw him. He quickly realized that Damien, Bridget, and Victor had all followed them up there.
“He is no concern of mine,” Warren snapped. “If he is foolish enough to be caught, then that is his fate. I need every coin I have earned to make my escape. I will not squander it on a useless knave.”
At those words, Victor surged forward despite Damien’s hold, fury blazing across his features.
“You swore to me,” his brother roared. “You said we would be free together! I did everything you asked of me. I helped you fake your death. I told them you were gone!”
Warren laughed, sharp and hollow. “And you should be grateful for the privilege. It was your duty as my spare. As was Bridget’s, as my wife.”
Bridget took a step forward, her voice cutting through the rising chaos.
“No,” she said clearly. “You are not my husband. You never were.”
Warren’s sneer faltered as he turned toward her.
“I belong with Adrian,” Bridget went on, her voice steady despite the tremor in her hands. “He is my husband. The only man I have ever loved.”
Adrian’s hand closed around her arm, pulling her back instinctively, shielding her from the madness in Warren’s eyes.
At that moment, Damien moved.
He released Warren’s brother without warning, shoving him aside as Warren lunged forward with a shout of rage. The two men collided violently, grappling at the edge of the terrace.
The iron rails groaned as their combined weight slammed into them. Victor managed to fling himself backward just as the rusted structure gave way. The iron spokes tore free with a shriek of metal, and Warren went with them.
A strangled scream ripped from his throat as he plunged downward, his body striking the jagged rocks below with a sickening finality.
Silence followed, broken only by ragged breathing.
Damien stood at the cliff’s edge, chest heaving, before turning back to seize Warren’s brother once more, wrenching his arms behind him.
“It is over,” Damien said grimly. “You will answer for what you have done.”
Adrian said nothing. He wrapped an arm around Bridget and turned her away from the edge, guiding her back toward safety, toward home.