by Wells, Nancy
When the door opened, he coughed twice, signaling Elliot, who was hidden behind an old building along with an army of constables and Bow Street Runners, to be ready.
He and Shane were escorted inside by a bald man whose face was pox-ridden and who had black teeth. The man’s level of hygiene was as nonexistent as the rest of the place. Drug addicts were lying unceremoniously every few feet from one another.
“This way,” the bald man said, pointing to a closed door.
He was afraid to see the state of Margaret after spending time in such a place, surrounded by such low life people. He did not want to think about the possibility of abuse, but the probability was high under current circumstances.
The bald man opened the door and pushed them inside. He stumbled and looked back when he heard the door being locked from the outside.
“I was expecting to see you a little earlier. I have to say, I am a bit disappointed by the mighty brothers, who caused me so much loss.”
A man no older than twenty with shoulder-length, black, curly hair and gray eyes was perched on a large chair in the center of the room. A nude woman was sitting on his thigh with her chest rubbing against his face, while another was sitting between his open legs with her mouth close to his crotch. It was evident from their dilated pupils that they were high on drugs.
“Where is she?” he deadpanned.
He was trying to hold back the anger bubbling inside him, but it was getting harder with the way the criminal was smirking at them. If he had met this person under other circumstances, he would have never believed him to be capable of running this place. The man was as handsome as a devil could get and was probably the only clean thing in the whole place.
“Relax, Mr. Simon,” the man drawled. “We will get to your precious cargo, but first I want to know about you and your counterpart.”
Russell knew that the man was trying to waste his time and time was the only commodity he was lacking. He only needed proof that Margaret was alive and unharmed, then Elliot would enter the establishment with the constables lying in wait. They could not risk exposing the cavalry until he was certain that she was in this place and not being hidden in some other hellhole.
“Give me proof that she is unharmed, and I will play your game,” Shane said, smirking.
Russell ignored the lechery that was happening before his eyes and focused his attention on the man who was looking them up and down, taking their measurements and looking for a crack in their armor, but the man was going to be disappointed when he realized that they were not the type of people to give away their emotions when they were on high alert.
“You are good,” the man chuckled. “It has been a long time since a worthy opponent faced me. These addle-brain fools are tiring sometimes.” The man pointed to the men at his back. “Now, if you want to see her, you have to give me something in return.”
Russell had already anticipated such a request from the criminal. If his experience at his job had taught him anything, it was that criminals were always looking for people who could be bought with money. This criminal would be gravely disappointed to know that Russell was not the type of person who could be bribed by the likes of him.
“What do you want? I have no patience for beating around the bushes. Be blunt with what you want and hand her back to me,” Russell demanded.
The man stood up from his chair, pushing away the girl from his lap while Shane pressed his palm against Russell’s hand, trying to hold him back from attacking the man. The more time he spent in this place, the more he was getting worried about her safety.
The girl fell on her bottom with a thud and whined when the man turned his back on her. She was obviously not in her senses, otherwise, she would not have crawled on her hands and knees after the man who whispered something to one of his guards and then turned back towards the girl.
“I want you to take back the letter of resignation you submitted and look the other way whenever my people try to sell my product on the streets,” the criminal said, sitting on his haunches near the girl. “I get the revenue and you will get the girl.” He patted her head and kissed her on her forehead. “Do we have a deal?”
Russell became aware of the fact that this man was no small criminal. He might look young, but he already had connections in the department where he served. Only a select few people were aware of his resignation. If the criminal knew about his resignation, then that would mean that he was working with someone who was corrupt. His first impulse was to take back his resignation to hunt the corrupt person, but then he thought of Isabella and their child. He could not put their lives at risk. He had to change his lifestyle for the people he cared about.
The man was brushing the hair of the girl with gentle hands. It almost felt like he cared for the person who was kneeling before him like a dog. The man whispered something in her ear and then stood straight. The girl crawled towards one of the guards who handed her the drug she was obviously addicted to.
“I want visual proof that she is unharmed,” Russell said. “There will be no talk of a deal unless I see her.”
The man came back towards his chair, whistling and with a relaxed pace. The man did not look towards him until he was back on his chair and the other girl sat back between his legs. The man leaned his head down and started kissing the girl on her lips.
He was about to take a step towards the couple when he heard shuffling of feet in a corner. He saw Margaret followed by the guard who shared words with the criminal a few moments ago. She was held back by a hand on one shoulder by the guard while she sobbed hysterically. He was desperate to know if she had suffered physical abuse at the hands of these nefarious people, but he could not run towards her unless he wanted to tip off the criminal about the level of affection he held for her.
“She is only in shock,” the man snickered, reading his expressions. “The upbringing of a proper lady does not involve exposure to such debauchery.”
Russell looked from her to the man who was leaning back in his seat with his eyes closed while the woman at his feet sucked his manhood. Margaret started to whimper, and his head turned back towards her. She might not have suffered physically, but the mental distress was still brutal enough to cause her harm.
“You will pay for this,” he threatened, refusing the warning squeeze of his brother to his hand.
The man gestured towards the guard with one hand without opening his eyes. The guard squeezed her shoulders to painful degrees until she cried in pain. The criminal did not take well to his threatening.
“Do we have a deal?” the man asked.
He knew it was not a good thing to further increase the animosity between himself and the criminal, but his brain had stopped working properly when he saw a child getting hurt before his own eyes. He was coiled like a viper, ready to strike at any moment.
“I will never stoop so low as to make a deal with someone who harms a child,” he said in a dangerously calm voice.
The criminal looked at him sharply when a sudden gunshot reverberated in the room and the guard fell to the ground with a thud. Russell turned the gun in his direction, but the man held the woman before him like a shield. Russell contemplated shooting the girl too, but his conscience would not allow him to harm innocent bystanders.
“Filthy coward,” he yelled. “Hiding behind a woman.”
At that moment, he felt arms around his torso and a trembling figure wrapped around his front. He looked down at Margaret who had run towards him when the guard was killed at his hands, but he had not paid her any attention.
The gun left his fingers when he returned the embrace of a scared child and rubbed her shoulders soothingly. He was trying to calm her down when he heard shuffling of a large number of feet and then a gunshot, but he did not get hurt because, at that moment, Shane stood before him and got hit by the bullet from the criminal’s gun.
“No!” he yelled.
Margaret was taken away from his hold by Elliot and his hands shot out to catc
h his falling brother. The constables apprehended the criminal while Russell caught his brother before he could hit the floor and held an ashen face in his hands.
“Do not die on me, Shane!” he yelled. “I will not allow it.”
Shane smirked weakly and then closed his eyes. Russell shook his brother and slapped him hard across his face, but Shane did not wake up. He picked up his brother in his arms and ran towards the exit like a madman, pushing away anyone who stood in his way.
* * *
Isabella was waiting anxiously for his return at the duke’s residence along with her mother and Philip. She knew his first stop would be this place and she could not wait for him even for an extra second. She was eager to see the two most important people in her life. She was confident Margaret would be unharmed because she believed in his promise to her mother. He would not let any harm befall her sister.
She heard a commotion coming from outside the house and ran outside to meet him. The smile vanished from her face when she saw an unconscious man in the arms of a similar face. For a moment, she feared the worst had happened and he was the bloody figure in the arms of his concerned brother, but then he looked at her and she instantly knew that he was unharmed because he was the only one who could make her heart beat faster with only one look.
“Bella!”
Her attention was diverted to her sister who was sobbing hysterically and was running towards her. She took long strides and met her midway, wrapping her in her embrace while her mother and Philip came near them. She checked her sister’s body with her hands, looking for any outward sign of harm, but found none. Her sister remained intact outwardly which was the only good news at that moment.
“Let me hold my child too,” her mother said weepily.
Isabella let go of her sister and her mother held her in her arms. Mother and daughter wept in each other’s embrace and Isabella could not hold back her own tears too.
Philip wrapped his arm around her shoulders, bringing her close to him and provided the support she was in desperate need of at that moment. She looked up towards Philip and saw moisture gathering in his eyes too. He truly cared for them as his own children.
“You are truly a blessing for our family, Philip,” she said. “If it were not for you, we would have lacked fatherly love in our lives.”
Philip looked down at her and the tears that were held back for so long trailed down his face. He kissed her on her head and smiled down at her. She had just given him the status of her father. It was more than the old servant had hoped to hear. The most beautiful thing about that moment was that she meant every word because at that moment, it was the first time she did not feel like the daughter of a monster. That man was only responsible for bringing her into this world. Her true father was the one who raised her and protected her from harm all her life.
“You are both very precious to me too,” he said.
She smiled back at him and then looked towards her mother and sister who were talking with one another, but she could not hear their voices. When her mother and sister were finished with their conversation, her mother looked up at them.
“Isabella can stay if she wants, but I am taking Margaret home,” her mother said. “My daughter’s state of mind is far more important to me than offending the duchess’ hospitability.”
Her mother was giving her the option to either stay with the man who was the love of her life while his brother’s life hung in the balance, or she could return home with them and look after her own sister. It was not an easy decision to make, but in the end, her sisterly love prevailed over everything else. Margaret was her sister and she would remain by her side, in the same manner, Russell was standing by his brother’s side.
“I am coming home too,” she said.
Philip squeezed her shoulder, appreciating her decision. She left with her family without looking back. Family came before anything else in this world and it was the lesson she had learned from the same man who stole her heart. Russell’s care for his brother and his adopted father had made her realize the importance of family.
* * *
Late in the evening, a caller came knocking on the door of Lady Isabella’s house. There was no need for a calling card beforehand because the caller did not need permission to meet his betrothed. No one stopped him when he entered the house and went straight to knock on his intended’s door.
The door was opened by the person he wanted to see every day for the rest of his life. He did not wait around for small talk or courtesies and captured her mouth with a hard kiss. He conveyed all his emotions, which were beyond words in that one kiss. His love, sorrow, grief, happiness, melancholy, joy, protectiveness were evident to anyone who witnessed that scene at that moment and as it happened, more than one person witnessed the intimate moment. Her mother, sister, Philip, and few maids were all gathered in her room because Margaret insisted on staying with her sister and the rest of them followed her there.
“I love you beyond what words could describe, my Siren,” he said, touching his forehead against hers. “Never make me go through the same hell again.”
He was wearing his heart on his sleeve. He did not mind that he was making himself vulnerable to her once again. She might not be aware that his brother had confessed to everything he had done, and she was free of the bonds Shane had put around her, so she might turn him away once again. She had thrown his love in his face once, there was a chance she would do the same thing again, but he had reached his breaking point. He could not wait for her to return to him. He would fight for her love to his last breath even if she turned him away again and again.
“Never leave me again,” she responded. “My love for you can surpass any hurdle life throws my way, so long as you stay by my side.”
He kissed her again and again, his heart not satisfied with one kiss. He pushed her against a nearby wall and was about to slide her dress off her shoulders when her mother cleared her throat from behind him and he was brought back to reality. He chuckled against her mouth, realizing the grave mistake he was about to make.
“Forgive me, madam,” he said in a voice laced with humor. “I seem to have lost my manners.”
He turned around reluctantly, not wanting to look away from her, but he was helpless in the face of the spectators he had. Her mother had an amused expression on her face, her maids’ mouths were hanging open, Philip was glaring at him angrily, and Margaret gave him a thumbs up when his gaze fell upon her. He tried unsuccessfully to suppress the urge to roll his eyes, but old habits die hard, and this particular habit was the one he picked up from his father when he was three-years-old.
“We can see that,” Philip drawled.
He met the gaze of Philip and saw distrust at its peak. It should have bothered any other person, but he found it comforting because the distrust suggested that Philip did not remember the child he had saved, and he would rather be seen as the confident man than a scared little child in the eyes of the man who considered his betrothed his daughter. It also meant that she had someone who would not hesitate to give him a beat down if he hurt her unintentionally in the future. It was a refreshing thought to know that someone cared for her enough to confront him.
“Apologies for my rudeness,” he said with a straight face.
He was trying his best to remain stoic and to not laugh or crack a smile, but the way Margaret was smirking at him was jeopardizing his plan. It was evident to Margaret that he was trying to impress Philip and was not sorry for his behavior. That child was going to land him in trouble with her mother and Philip.
“You do not seem apologetic to me,” Margaret said.
Isabella hid the bubbling laughter behind a fake cough, but he was not successful in achieving the same feat. He laughed loudly, telling everyone just how much he meant the words he uttered before. Philip narrowed his eyes and was about to respond, but her mother came to his rescue.
“How fares your brother?” her mother asked.
It was evident to all
in the room that her mother was changing the subject and fortunately for him, no one, not even Philip pointed it out. Every member present in the room was more than happy for the quick thinking of the mistress of the house. Otherwise, he was bound to be embarrassed in front of his future in-laws by his young sister-in-law.
“The bullet hit him on the shoulder, so he is not in mortal danger,” he said. “The physician suggested bed rest for few days.”
The mention of his brother brought back all the painful memories and the difficult decision he had arrived at after thinking for a long time, but it was not the time nor place to disclose his decision. When his brother had rested for a few days, he would tell him his final decision.
“That is good news,” her mother said.
Isabella was happy for him. His brother clearly meant a lot to him and she was glad to know that fate was not taking away his shadow image from him. Shane was a vital part of his life and it was evident to everyone who saw them together. Only a select few people were fortunate enough to have a brother who would sacrifice his own life to save them.
“Mother, I believe Mr. Simon wants to be alone with Bella,” Margaret said innocently.
Isabella was glaring at her sister, but her sister was not looking her way, aware that she was not happy with her comments. She noticed that he was not at all offended by her sister’s commentary. If his looks could be believed, he was enjoying the rude remarks more than anyone else in the room.
“You seem well now, Lady Margaret,” he said cordially. “I meant to ask about you too but was distracted by other things.”
Isabella silently groaned, knowing too well that her sister was not going to let this one slide either. Her suspicions were further confirmed by the mischievous glint she saw in her sister’s eyes before she opened her mouth.
“We saw the things you were distracted by,” her sister said happily.
Her mother pinched Margaret discreetly on her bicep, ordering her to stay quiet without letting anyone else know that she was reprimanding her daughter, but her sister had other things on her mind. Margaret whined audibly and rubbed her hand theatrically, letting everyone know about what transpired just a few seconds ago.
