Chapter 21
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
Marco and William approached from the back of the house.
Marco’s heart thundered with the pressure of what they were about to do, yet he didn’t even bat an eye when William effortlessly picked the lock on the back door.
His stomach churned with anticipation, wondering why a man like Hackman would even consider kidnapping Alice.
Yet as they stealthily progressed through the house, finding themselves in Hackman’s library, a sense of disquiet inside him grew and grew.
Then William drew his attention to something on the desk in the library.
“Are those not the new factory plans?”
Marco stopped and looked down at the blueprints for his factory.
His heart was trembling with grief and fear.
He noticed a long list of ingredients scribbled down beside it.
He recognized the components. Marco was familiar with explosive devices.
He'd spent a long time looking into who could have set off the explosion that had destroyed his livelihood.
In his mind's eye, he saw the raging fire consume his factory and burn Thomas until he was unable to breathe.
“These elements… they create a bomb,” Marco said quietly, running his fingertips down the list. William’s young face was full of rigid ferocity, and he nodded sharply.
“It was him then,” William said harshly. “The Duke of Fitzroy’s man built the device that killed my father and ruined your factory. And he plans to do it again.”
“We will not know for sure unless he confesses, but… it seems like it,” Marco admitted quietly.
He wondered, very briefly, if it was indeed done upon the orders of Alice’s father or if it were possible that Hackman had coordinated it alone.
Still, it hardly seemed to bear relevance to the situation.
None of it explained why Hackman would take Alice.
“He should be punished for this,” William said, clenching and unclenching his fists, his jaw ticking with anger. Marco knew William was at risk of running off and causing significant damage, plunging ahead without any thoughts aside from revenge.
“We shall bring him to justice, I promise, William,” he said quickly, his voice low with assurance. “But first, I must find my wife.”
William nodded and brushed his sleeve against his eyes, and Marco realized that he was glassy eyed with tears. No doubt it was overwhelming to have this information, this confirmation of his father’s brutal murder at the hands of a villain who was within their reach.
“Not your wife yet, sir,” William whispered, smiling tremulously at his attempt at levity.
“Well, that is true,” Marco said. He tried to smile back, but how could he joke about the possibility that his wedding day might have been stolen away from him? William seemed to see his despair and clapped him on the arm.
“We will get her back, sir,” he said, his voice soft and comforting. Then he turned his face towards the door, eyes sharp. “I heard something. This way.”
Marco trusted his young ears and quick senses.
He followed William out of the library, creeping along the corridor as Hackman’s voice grew louder with disdain and rage.
Marco’s heart stopped when he heard the tell-tale click of a gun hammer being pulled back.
It seemed as if the voices were coming from a side room, and William stopped in his tracks, having clearly also heard the gun.
“He is armed,” William breathed, his eyes full of fear and determination. “But there are two of us, sir. I think we can overpower him.”
“No, you must stay here,” Marco whispered back. “You are too young.”
“It’s not my first time wrestling a weapon from a man,” William said with a low chuckle. “You forget. I grew up among farmers, hunters, and poachers. Let me help.”
Marco could not find words to disagree with the young man.
After all, he might have fists and could hold himself well in a fight, but he had no experience at all in trying to disarm a man.
Then the sound of a ringing slap resounded, and he heard Alice’s voice, raised with utter disdain and dislike as she rebuffed Hackman's advances.
The implications of her words jolted Marco's heart.
He was willing to take the risk of peeling himself off the wall beside the room and craning his neck to look inside.
What he witnessed chilled him to the core.
Alice was in Hackman's grasp, looking tiny and vulnerable.
The blackguard snarled something Marco couldn't quite understand.
Hackman had her throat clenched and pushed her against the wall.
He had the gun pointed at her face and was pulling up her skirts.
He finally realized why Hackman had kidnapped Alice.
The monster planned to ruin her before forcing her to marry him.
He was overcome with rage unlike anything he had ever experienced.
He ran into the room before he could even think about his actions, pulling Hackman away from Alice with a power he did not even know he possessed.
“You filthy bastard!” Marco growled, breathing heavily as the taller man stumbled away.
“She’s not yours, Alegria. You stole her from me!” Hackman barked, lifting the pistol in his hand, and pointing it at Alice. Without thinking, Marco stepped in front of the gun.
“Marco, no,” Alice whispered in terror, but he would not even let himself look at her, would not risk it, keeping his eyes fixed on the predator in front of him.
“You don’t need to do this, Hackman. Your fight is with me,” he said evenly, observing from the corner of his eye as William inched his way into the room. If Marco could only keep Hackman talking, keep his focus upon him, then the boy might be able to surprise him.
“You took what was meant to be mine!” Hackman shouted; his face twisted with rage.
“The lady made her choice, Hackman. Though from what I heard, that matters little to you.”
“Of course, it matters not. She is nothing more than a bastard. The old man was a fool in all things. I maintained his fortune. Why, I even took care of the little problem of your factory when you threatened his profits. Then he went and gave it all to his baseborn brat when it was promised to me."
“So it was you,” Marco said, carefully watching William, whose eyes were full of feral indignation. “You ruined my business and countless lives. Tell me, was it on his orders?”
“The Duke? He had a ridiculous gentleman’s notion of honor.
He did not tell me to do it but trust me, he didn’t care what I did as long as I didn’t dirty his hands and the money kept coming,” Hackman laughed cruelly.
“He always deferred to me. He even planned to leave his wealth to me until his doxy convinced him to marry her and acknowledge his by-blow when he fell ill. "
Hackman looked almost deranged, spitting with fury. Marco tried one last time to placate the man, who was quickly becoming unhinged.
“If it is money you want,” Marco said calmly, raising his hands in supplication. “We will give it to you. Once we are married..."
Hackman cut him off with another hysterical laugh.
“You refuse to understand,” he sneered, shaking his head as he moved the gun slightly to focus more on Alice. Marco simply moved, blocking his aim. He knew he would take the bullet for her and die if necessary. “She has everything that was supposed to be mine and I am going to take it back.”
At that precise moment, William leaped up behind Hackman, twisting his arm and prying his fingers so that the gun fell to the floor.
Marco pushed it aside and threw himself at Hackman, hoping to pin him to the ground and keep him there until Giovanni arrived with the law.
Hackman, on the other hand, appeared to be capable of defending himself.
He roared, rolling Marco to the ground and reaching his large hands down to strangle him.
“Get her out of here, William!” Marco struggled to say. If he were to die at Hackman’s hands, perhaps he could keep him fighting long enough for William to take Alice to safety.
“No!” she shouted, and suddenly, Marco saw a flurry of tiny fists raining down upon Hackman’s back.
Hackman only growled in response, but he turned, loosening his grip long enough for Marco to breathe.
He coughed and rolled onto his stomach, breathing in dusty air, eyes blearing and swimming stars as he looked up to see Hackman lifting Alice off her feet with a feral snarl.
“You need to learn your place,” Hackman sneered. Marco watched helplessly as Hackman threw the woman he loved across the room, heard her head smack against the wall with a sickening crack, and cried out in despair as she fell to the floor.
“Alice!” he yelled, terrified when she didn’t respond.
Hackman grinned nastily and turned his attention back to Marco, still weak and wheezing.
He desperately tried to get up but felt like he could not move.
Then, William appeared like an avenging angel with a fire poker, beating Hackman on the back.
“You killed my father!” William screamed. “You bastard, I’ll see you dead!”
Marco struggled to breathe, willing himself to rise. He could not stop Hackman from catching William’s poker in his hand and wrenching it away. He began to beat William wildly.
“Insolent pup,” Hackman sneered, pulling the poker back, clearly intending to bring a deadly blow onto William’s head. Marco groaned and pulled himself up, lunging forward to cover William with his body. He could not save Thomas, but he would not let his son come to harm.
“No,” William moaned underneath him as Marco took the blow.
Above them, Hackman sneered down.
“Do you really think you can save him?” Hackman jeered. “You have only given me the delight of killing you first!”