by Rebecca King
“Give me a hand with her. We can put her in the barn for now,” Oliver murmured.
Harry dutifully helped Oliver carry the young woman into the barn whereupon the men set her down on the floor of the massive space and covered her over with a blanket. They then took a moment to contemplate the corpse at their feet before Harry broke the somewhat thoughtful silence.
“Are they warning us that they will kill all the victims if we keep probing? Or are they warning us that this could be us?”
“I think they are warning us that they can kill anybody they choose whenever they want. They may be sending a warning to Emmeline in that she can be snatched and killed just as easily. We have, after all, snatched two of their men and their carriage. In retaliation, one of the women they have already kidnapped winds up dead only this time is delivered to our door,” Oliver whispered in deference to anybody who might have stayed around to watch the Star Elite’s reaction.
“One thing is certain; we are going to have to make sure we are careful when we move base,” Harry warned quietly.
Oliver nodded. Carefully, he removed the blanket from the dead woman’s neck and studied the ligature marks covering the pale flesh of her throat.
“God, he likes strangling, doesn’t he?”
“Which one?” Harry asked dryly. “It could be either one of them who is killing them.”
“Or one of the thugs they employ.” Oliver covered the body over again. “Any ideas which one she is?”
“Not without looking at the files again. I am sure she is one of them but has been killed by Smidgley to prove a point to us, not because of anything she has done.”
“Time is ticking,” Oliver warned. “The longer we wait to put our plan into action the more women are likely to die at Smidgley’s hands, whichever one is the killer.”
Harry nodded. When he looked up, his gaze met Oliver’s. “Emmeline has to come with us.”
Oliver nodded. He had absolutely no intention of ever allowing Emmeline to stay anywhere unprotected. While the men didn’t have the manpower to guard her all the time, they could do everything possible to ensure that she stayed hidden while they worked to get the Smidgleys off the streets.
“She has to vanish too, I agree,” Oliver whispered.
Harry rolled his eyes. “Do you want to tell her or shall I?”
“I will.”
Together, the men set off for the house. Oliver didn’t need to look for Emmeline. When he entered the kitchen, she was standing before the fireplace with a worried frown on her brow.
“Is she one of the kidnap victims?”
Oliver nodded. He could see no reason to lie to her.
Emmeline closed her eyes and willed herself to calm down. She felt sick with fear at the thought that the killer had been so very close to her while she had been asleep. The thought of what might have happened to her if she had been successfully snatched from her house yesterday was enough to make her want to race across the room and launch herself at the safety of Oliver’s arms. But Emmeline couldn’t get her shaking knees to move so had to slump into the chair beside the fireplace instead.
“I need a word with you, Emmeline.”
Emmeline’s stomach dipped further when she looked up and met Oliver’s solemn gaze. She suspected that he intended to tell her he would drop her off at home before he put his plans to capture one of the Smidgley brothers into action. Emmeline glanced wildly around the kitchen in search of something she could use as a diversion. She didn’t want to hear what he had to say. What she found herself doing, though, was dutifully standing up and following him into the parlour.
“We don’t have much time. We are going to move, so as quickly as you can go upstairs and pack your things. We aren’t coming back here so make sure you take all your possessions. Then put on something dark, and a cloak if you have brought one with you. If you haven’t got a cloak with you then I will lend you one, but make sure your hair is covered. We are going to get the horses ready and will be ready to leave in about ten minutes.” Oliver kept his voice low, but it lost none of its urgency.
“You aren’t dropping me off at home then?”
Oliver tutted and sighed. “No, Emmeline. We are not going to leave you at home, or anywhere else for that matter.”
Emmeline nodded, hugely relieved that they didn’t intend to abandon her. She wanted to ask so many questions that she hesitated, but suspected that Oliver wouldn’t answer them even if she tried asking him. Still, something compelled her to stay in the room with him.
His handsome face was stern, his shoulders rigidly tense. Emmeline wondered if she had imagined the kiss they had shared yesterday. The Oliver standing before her now was so far removed from the man who had been so loving that she had to question just how many sides there were to him. The man before her now was, she didn’t doubt, the hardened warrior who fought so valiantly for the Star Elite and his colleagues. This was the fighter who would do whatever it took to ensure his investigation came to fruition and his target was vanquished. He was, without question, good at his job but that was also worrying because there was absolutely no trace of the gentle, loving man she had met oh, so very briefly. He had disappeared just as swiftly and effortlessly as he had planned to make the Smidgleys disappear. Emmeline had to contemplate if it was at all possible to ever get the old Oliver back; her Oliver, the kind, thoughtful, gentle and loving Oliver who was as attracted to her as she was to him.
God, I hope so.
“Hurry up,” Oliver urged quietly before leaving the room.
Emmeline stared after him for a moment, but then with a sigh, hurried off to fetch her things. Several minutes later, she tugged the hood of her cloak high over her head and tucked her hair out of sight. She then peered through the thick folds of her hood at Oliver who was donning his own cloak.
“We are going to leave first and take a very long route to get where we are going, so we are likely to be riding for most of today,” he explained.
“But I cannot ride,” she protested.
“All you have to do is sit on the saddle and hang on. We are not going to be doing anything more than sitting on the horses and they will be kept at a steady walk. However, we are going to be constantly moving and staying out of sight, so we are going to take a lot longer to travel a relatively short distance. When we do leave the house, don’t speak unless you absolutely must, or if you notice something wrong. Then, make sure you keep your voice as hushed as possible. Remember the evasive moves I showed you, and make sure you don’t venture off anywhere on your own. No matter what, don’t stop. If anything does happen, come back here and be quick about it. I have given you a few basic skills to use that will help you, but the rest is down to bravery. You must be strong, Emmeline. I need you to remain cool and calm, like we talked about.”
Emmeline nodded but when she looked up at Oliver, her eyes were alive with a pleading for reassurance that she daren’t openly ask for. She didn’t know what she was asking for. Was it a hug? A quiet word of reassurance? Or a promise from Oliver that he wasn’t like this, so commanding, calm yet cold and aloof, all the time?
But I know he isn’t like it all the time. It is just for now while he has so much to deal with.
Still, secretly, she wished he would give her a hug or something. She was so scared her knees were starting to shake again.
“We will be all right,” Oliver assured her, having read her searching look with an accuracy that made her jump.
Emmeline blinked at him.
“You look terrified,” he teased.
“That’s because I am,” she whispered. She tried to laugh off his concern, but it sounded unconvincing and shallow even to her own ears.
Oliver smiled sympathetically at her. Despite several of his colleagues gathering the Star Elite’s possessions, Oliver tugged her into a secluded corner of the room and gathered her into his arms. He shook his head because he could feel fine tremors coursing through her.
“I need you to stay s
trong for me for the next day or two. It is going to be difficult, and things will change at a fast pace, but it will all settle down. Given what happened with that young woman, we are not safe here. For everyone’s sake, we must leave. The greatest danger we will face will be when we step out of this house, and before we arrive at the new safe house. After that, we are going to set about putting our plan into action that will, hopefully, get Smidgley off the street and unable to murder again,” he murmured for her ears alone.
“What happens if you don’t succeed?” she asked carefully.
“There is no such thing as failure,” Oliver assured her with a cocky smirk. “We don’t fail. We never have yet. Smidgley is an arrogant killer. He isn’t intelligent or he wouldn’t have to rely upon his contacts to keep him out of gaol as much as he does. For now, let’s go somewhere safer so we can talk a little more freely.”
“Are you able to show me some more defensive moves?” Emmeline asked hopefully, not least because she hoped it would lead to yet more of his kisses. Selfishly, she wanted – needed – the old Oliver back, just for a little while.
“Not right now,” he replied in a voice laden with regret. “But maybe at the new location, if we have the time. Like I have just said, things are going to move quite quickly from now on.”
Emmeline smiled at him not least because she liked the intimate tone of his voice and the way his gaze kept dropping to her lips when he talked. She hoped he was thinking the same thing she was, and found herself smiling gently at him in return, secretly hoping that he would do something or say something that would give her some hope for the future.
Oliver flicked a look at Harry, who disappeared across the yard to help Rhys move the body in the barn. Already, Niall was hurrying down the stairs.
“We will talk soon,” Oliver hastily promised Emmeline before he dropped the briefest of kisses onto her lips. By the time Niall hurried into the room, Oliver was standing beside the kitchen table, and a somewhat stunned yet delighted Emmeline was gazing adoringly at him.
Niall froze. His gaze flickered from Oliver to Emmeline and back again.
“Ready?” he asked her cautiously.
Emmeline nodded. “I have no idea what I am doing but I will give it a go,” she said.
Oliver folded up the last piece of parchment and barely gave her a second look before he strode out of the kitchen and went in search of their horses.
“I am going to take you on this leg of the journey. Oliver will circle around and wait for us further along the trail. Then I am going to hand you over to him and double back before circling around and joining back up with you further along the route. It is going to mean you are always escorted by one of us, and your journey might double back more than once. If you start to see the same scenery, there is a purpose because we must do everything possible to avoid being followed. To do that we have to keep going back and making sure nobody is behind us. Just do what we tell you when we tell you, preferably without asking any questions, and we can get through this as quickly as possible.” Niall silently held out a gun.
Emmeline stared at it in horror. “Surely to God I won’t need that, will I?”
“If you don’t want to use it yourself then fine, but if you do get into a struggle, just remember what happened to that woman on the doorstep. There can be no sentiment when fighting Smidgley and his men. They will kill you first and won’t have any qualms about it. In this game, you either kill or be killed. Just take it. Put it into your cloak pocket. It is going to be there then should, God forbid, you ever need it.”
Emmeline cautiously took it off him. She held it at arm’s length between her thumb and forefinger as she studied the heavy weapon. Reluctantly, Emmeline slid it into the depths of her cloak pocket before she gathered up her bag and hurried after Niall, who had already left the house. Emmeline barely glanced back at the cold and now empty kitchen. It felt barren and unwelcoming. It was difficult to see it as it had been, and remember just how warm and welcoming it had felt when she had first arrived.
Only yesterday.
Shaking her head in disbelief, Emmeline turned around and spied Oliver sitting atop his horse yet hidden deep within he shadows of the barn. At first glance, she missed him. It was only when his horse nodded his head, trying to tug on the reins, that she noticed him. Her gaze lingered for a moment, but he was temporarily distracted by tugging the horse’s head back up and talking briefly to Harry, who vaulted into his saddle with an ease that was startling.
Emmeline reluctantly hurried across the yard only to be halted half-way by Niall.
“Over here,” he called.
Emmeline changed direction and made her way over to him, and the large beast he stood beside. She wanted to protest that she couldn’t possibly ride such a huge animal, but wisely kept her mouth shut. Instead, she dutifully handed her bag over to Niall, who threw it to Rhys, who placed it carefully into the back of the cart he was driving. Rhys then deftly flicked the reins and guided the cart out of the yard.
“Where is he taking her?” Emmeline whispered quietly as she turned away from the blanket covered object lying motionless in the back of the cart beside her bag.
“To the coroner,” Niall replied honestly. “She has to be examined and certified dead. The men there know what to do with her.”
Emmeline nodded but swiftly forced all thoughts of the poor woman’s family, and the grief they would feel when they were told the awful news about their loved one. Instead, she focused on stepping onto the mounting block Niall nudged toward her. Seconds later, she found herself staring down at the ground several feet away, battling with a bone-deep terror.
“Just hang on and let me do the rest,” Niall urged as he tucked her boot into the stirrup closest to him. “You are good to go.”
Emmeline’s cheeks blushed furiously. Daintily, she tugged her cloak around the bare flesh of her legs and prayed to God it would stay in place throughout the journey. Eventually, tense and on edge, Emmeline followed Niall out of the yard. As she passed the open maw of the barn door, she peered into the darkness, but was surprised to note that the shadows were empty. There was no sign of Oliver or any of the other men of the Star Elite. They had all melted into the shadows and had simply vanished.
Shaking her head in disbelief, Emmeline dutifully tugged her hood higher to cover her features a little more, and began to pray for it to be all over sooner rather than later.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Many hours later, a stiff and very sore Emmeline studied the ground beneath her horse with a regret that came from her very soul. She had never wanted to cry so much in her life, and suddenly struggled to contain the urge to refuse to get off the animal who had walked practically all day with very little rest and absolutely no objection whatsoever. It was only the thought that the animal might need to be rid of her that forced her to try to dismount.
“Where is the mounting block?” Emmeline whispered.
“There isn’t one,” Oliver replied after a brief search for it. “Here. Let me help you.”
He studied her beautiful face. Even with her hair uncharacteristically askew, she looked beautiful. Exhausted but stunningly pretty. So much so, he edged closer to her without having even realised he had moved.
Within seconds, Emmeline found herself standing before him, this time on knees that shook for an entirely different reason. She clutched at Oliver’s arms fiercely for a moment while she willed herself to remain upright.
“Stop laughing,” she growled when she saw his lips twitch.
“You have done a wonderful job,” he assured her. “Especially for someone who is not used to riding.”
“That has to be the most arduous day I think I have ever endured,” she muttered. “I don’t think I have a muscle that doesn’t ache.”
Oliver grinned. “You wait until it all catches up with you tomorrow.”
Emmeline rolled her eyes. “Can’t wait,” she murmured ruefully, but doubted her discomfort could get much worse.
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“Come on in,” he urged softly.
Oliver tucked her hand in his and tugged her gently toward the huge house standing in resplendent glory at the side of the large stable block. It overlooked a large lake at the rear. The left side of the property faced the stable block leaving the right side facing the village, which was nearly two miles away as the crow flies. There was, most importantly, no earthly possibility of anybody venturing anywhere near the house without being noticed by the men who would, somehow, be keeping watch all day every day.
“We weren’t followed?” Emmeline asked as she sauntered after him.
“No. They did try but the first time we doubled back we lost them,” Oliver assured her. “They were heading in the wrong direction that last time we saw them. That gives us an advantage because we have effectively now disappeared. They have no idea where we have gone so we are free to talk and plan.”
Emmeline frowned at him. “What day is this?”
“Wednesday. We move on Smidgley tomorrow. For now, we are going to have something to eat and then get an early night. We need a good night’s sleep because we have a long day tomorrow and a journey to the Red Lion to undertake.”
“Smidgley then has to go to gaol. Will you sleep at all?”
Oliver grinned at her. “Do you intend to fall asleep on me then?”
“No, why?”
“Well, you are going to be coming too so will have to come to the gaol with us as well. Look on the bright side, I doubt even Smidgley would follow you to the county gaol. It is about the safest place for you to be,” Oliver replied. “However, it does mean we have another long and arduous day ahead of us.”
“I don’t mind staying here,” Emmeline offered, painfully conscious of the conversation she had overheard yesterday. “It is really rather beautiful, isn’t it?”
“It is,” Oliver agreed, but that’s all he agreed to. “But no, you are coming with us.”
For all intents and purposes, they were like any other ordinary couple taking an evening stroll around the garden, albeit still wearing dusty cloaks they had worn all day. There was no urgency to their stride, no furtive looks as they scoured the area and, more importantly, no tension. For the moment at least, they both savoured this moment of normality. Neither of them seemed inclined to want to break the silence. It was a brief moment of unity, of togetherness, in a world that was mired in turmoil and confusion. It was a time that they could be themselves, a man and a woman, alone, together, simply enjoying each other’s company.
