Reckless Desire

by Rebecca King

  “I wondered how long it would take you to get here,” Sayers mused suddenly. Even though he kept his gaze trained on the men in the chairs, Joe knew he was talking to him.

  Joe sauntered into the room, aware of the cadaverous looking coachman closing the door behind him. He didn’t hesitate or bother to look back. Whether either man knew about Kerrigan or not Joe couldn’t be sure, but he didn’t bother to look for his colleague. He had to just hope and pray that Kerrigan was in the room somewhere, or could gain entrance quickly if needed.

  “Eustace,” Joe murmured with a nod to the elder gentleman. “Sayers thinks you are a valuable man.”

  “He wants me to set some of his stolen jewels for him,” Eustace murmured. “He has also been stealing my clocks and using my business for his crimes. He thinks it will make him a legitimate businessman.”

  “I know,” Joe replied with a sigh. “How long have you known?”

  “A few days before I disappeared,” Eustace replied. “I suspected Donaldson was up to something when I noticed a clock I had put up for display had vanished. He claimed he didn’t know anything about its disappearance. Then I went back to the workshop one night and found him working in there, packing things that didn’t need to be packed. To stop him doing anything in my name, I took my tools and put them into my drawer at home. I told Donaldson to get out of the flat and stay away from the business because I didn’t need his services anymore. Everything changed.”

  “Let me guess,” Joe mused, keeping his gaze trained on Sayers. “Donaldson became defensive, threatening, and wanted you out of the shop. You were then accosted on the street, tied up here, and then they started to tell you that Marguerite was married to him.”

  Eustace’s gaze sharpened, in spite of his swollen and bruised face. “You know? God, please tell me she isn’t married to that bastard?”

  “No,” Joe replied. “It isn’t for the lack of trying on Sayers behalf here, but your daughter is nothing if not resilient. She finds him abhorrent. She is going to marry me instead.”

  Eustace gasped, but Joe ignored him. Instead, he turned his attention to Marcus.

  “We will get you out of here,” Joe replied. “Marcus?”

  “Ah, it appears that your friend is a little out-of-sorts right now.” Sayers snorted disparagingly as he looked at his captives.

  Ben swore at him. When Sayers lifted a hand to strike him, Joe stepped forward.

  “Touch him and die,” Joe snarled. “Marcus?”

  At first, Marcus didn’t appear to have heard him. Joe wondered if he had been beaten unconscious, or if he was just asleep.

  “Marcus?” Joe shook his shoulder when he still didn’t answer.

  Marcus jerked and mumbled something unintelligible.

  “Whosa?” Marcus grunted.

  “It’s me, Joe,” Joe replied. “Are you ready to leave?”

  “Yes,” Marcus replied with a hiss.

  “It seems that your er, guests, don’t want to be here any longer,” Joe said when he turned to Sayers.

  Sayers had yet to stop pacing around the room in random circles. “I won’t worry too much seeing as I know everything about you all, and your Star Elite connections to the War Office.”

  “Well, I am afraid that Reg has been stopped from helping you. It hasn’t been a very good night for you, has it, Sayers? I mean, first, you lost your magistrate. He is busy trying to put out the fire that is wrecking his house. Then you lost one of your traitors. He is dead with a knife in his back right now, so he is never going to be able to help you again. By the way, we have known about him for a long time. We have told him what we want him to know. We know that he is going to bring anything he learnt to you, so I wouldn’t rely too much on any information you received from him. We are, after all, a clandestine operation, and don’t take kindly to people who double cross us.”

  “You work for the War Office?” Eustace suddenly interrupted, his eyes full of hope.

  “Yes, we do. We are Sayers’ worst enemy, and here to clear the streets of his kind.”

  “You will have to take me dead because I won’t come with you alive,” Sayers countered.

  “Well, that can be easily arranged,” Joe retorted. “I mean, you don’t appear to have anybody here but the coachman, do you?”

  “There are three guards around here somewhere,” Ben grunted through swollen lips.

  “It doesn’t matter,” Joe replied. “Feel free to scream if you want to, Terrence, but I doubt they will be of any use to you.”

  Kerrigan suddenly appeared in the periphery of his vision. He landed a volley of punches on the coachman, who fell backward into piles of straw and packing boxes. The toppling mess knocked over several candles, which immediately caught light. When the coachman tried to stand upright he staggered and fell over again. The tails of his cloak flickered too close to the hungry flames and began to smoulder seconds before flames began to appear.

  Kerrigan lifted his gun and took aim. The coachman fell before the rest of his body was engulfed in flames. Kerrigan watched the man fall then trained his weapon on Sayers. Joe knew his colleague would shoot Sayers if he moved or threatened anyone. Strangely, he did neither. Nor did he make any attempt to stop Joe from hurrying over to the bound men, and releasing their ropes.

  “We need to get out of here,” Joe murmured around a cough.

  The smoke was already thick and cloying. Joe began to suspect that Sayers was waiting for the smoke to become thick enough to provide him with cover so he could leave them in the burning building. Unfortunately for him, neither Joe nor Kerrigan were prepared to allow that to happen.

  “Take him down, Kerrigan,” Joe snapped.

  He didn’t have to wait long before Kerrigan took a shot at the gangster. Sayers stumbled beneath the force of the shot and looked down at the growing pool of blood in his midriff. He looked confused, as though disbelieving it was his blood. He still didn’t speak. Nor did he look up. Kerrigan, aware that the shot would bring about his eventual death, lowered his weapon and turned his attention to getting his colleagues free.

  “Marcus, we need to go,” Joe snapped.

  When Marcus didn’t appear to hear him, Joe suspected that he would have to carry his colleague out. He eyed the Marcus’ lifeless body while he frantically considered their options. They would be lucky if they got out alive if they waited for him to regain consciousness enough to be able to move by himself. Still, Marcus was tall and solidly built.

  “Marcus?” Joe determinedly shook Marcus’ shoulder and kept on prodding until Marcus jerked and tried to shake him off.

  Suddenly, Marcus woke up and, in a wild frenzy of kicking and flailing arms, tried to attack Joe.

  “Marcus, it’s me,” Joe cried, horrified at just how little effort it took to control his weakened friend. “Let’s go.”

  “Joe?” Marcus peered at him through swollen eyes.

  “Marcus. I need your help to get out of here,” Joe said. “You have to stay awake for me. I need you to walk.”

  Marcus immediately began to stumble to his feet. Once he was upright, he wobbled and stumbled, and had to cling to Joe for support for a few moments, but he remained on his feet.

  Thankful, Joe slid the man’s arm over his shoulders and took most of his weight as he led him over to the door. Ben was mobile, thankfully, and hurried to the door swiftly followed by Eustace.

  The fire took hold swiftly and was nipping at their heels by the time they left the room. Joe paused briefly to look back but couldn’t see anything beyond flames and smoke. Unless there was another entrance, Sayers was now trapped. Nobody bothered to look for him given his lack of respect for other people’s lives. They knew he was going to be dead within the hour anyway, if not by the fire then because of his wound.

  Relieved to be able to leave the man to his fate, everyone made for the back window Joe and Kerrigan had used earlier. Somewhere outside, the sound of muffled shouts could be heard amongst sporadic bursts of gunfire.

/>   “We have to go this way,” Kerrigan snapped. “We can’t go back.”

  With little choice, Kerrigan, Ben, and Eustace, all climbed out of the window.

  “Right throw your leg over, Marcus, and lower yourself to Kerrigan.”

  Thankfully, Marcus did just that.

  “I am nearly out of shot,” Jacob cried. “Hurry up.”

  Joe paused and shot at one of the guards who appeared around the side of the timber building. He then turned to help Marcus out of the building.

  Inside, loud popping noises were interspersed with the sounds of beams crashing to the floor. Joe knew it was only a matter of time before the entire building collapsed. The heat at his back warned him that the flames had already reached the room they had just left.

  “I cannot believe you are here,” Eustace murmured, horrified yet relieved at the same time.

  “I am alright,” she whispered.

  She turned to Joe, who was helping Marcus stumble closer to the river. The entire building behind them began to groan. Windows exploded, showering glass everywhere. The flames were visible now, licking the side of the building.

  “Look!” she cried in horror. “Someone is trapped inside.”

  They all turned to look at a darkened figure standing in an upper window. He appeared to lift his arms as though pressing on the window frame. In that second, the building began to rumble as the beams collapsed and the entire structure fell in on itself. Debris and flames began to roll toward them.

  “Get in the river!” Joe cried.

  Marguerite hesitated. She couldn’t swim and looked down at her skirt in dismay. Embers from the fire were already threatening the material of her dress. She knew that if she stayed where she was, death was inevitable. She had to jump.

  With thick, acrid smoke choking her lungs, she took a deep breath, turned to look at Joe but, before she could jump, was pushed by Kerrigan.

  Assured that she was safe, Joe jumped in after her. The icy water stole his breath as it encased him. He quickly surfaced and sucked in a huge gulp of air. Blinking water out of his eyes, he shook his head and looked around for her. Flickering embers began to appear on the water’s surface all around him, some of which were large enough to keep burning. Joe battled his way through them, struggling to see the person he most wanted to see.

  “Marguerite!” he cried, his heart pounding in his ears.

  His entire world slammed to a halt. Panic threatened to engulf him as he swam in a circle, desperate to find her.

  “Marguerite!”

  The darkness seemed to engulf him as completely as the water he was in. One minute passed. Then two. Three more. Eventually, Marcus burst free of the surface several feet away, one arm wrapped around Eustace. Together the men slowly made their way toward him. Joe swam around in a circle again looking for Jacob. To his horror, there was no sign of Marguerite or Ben.

  “Marguerite, she has gone,” he burst out, his voice full of fear.

  Sucking in a deep breath he ducked beneath the surface but it was too dark to see anything. Defeated he had to surface, his hopes dashed when he saw no trace of her still.

  “Marguerite!” He called again and again.

  The current in the river was strong, threatening to drag him away from the banks and down river. He wondered if that was where Marguerite had gone.

  “Stay close to the side,” Joe ordered Marcus when he reached him. He knew his colleague wouldn’t have the strength to fight such a strong current in his condition. Thankfully, Ben surfaced and began swimming around in search of Marguerite.

  Together both Joe and Ben began to dive beneath the water in search of Marguerite.

  CHAPTER TWENTY

  Marguerite’s lungs burned but this time for an entirely different reason. She was blind to everything. Trapped beneath the water’s surface, she struggled to kick free of her skirts to propel herself to the surface. The tide of the river dragged her further down with each passing moment. The urge to take a breath, even a small one, was so strong, so instinctive, that she had to battle with herself more than the water. She knew that if she were to succumb, that breath would be her last, and this water would be her grave.

  She tried to tug her skirts up so she could get her legs free, but there was too much material and too many undergarments. She couldn’t gather enough material up to make any headway to the surface.

  Suddenly, hands grabbed her. She had no idea where they came from, or whose they were, but they appeared out of the darkness and yanked her up. The faint sensation of surging through the water left her stupefied, but within seconds she was free of the surface and wrapped in a strong hold which kept her upright.

  Heart pounding, she looked over her shoulder, expecting to see Joe. To see Ben was a relief and a disappointment at the same time.

  “Thank you,” she whispered.

  “Thank God we found you,” Ben gasped fervently.

  “Where is he? Where is Joe?”

  Joe burst free of the water and drew in a huge breath of air. His lungs ached from having to hold the air for so long. His fear was absolute and all-encompassing now.

  “Joe!” Ben called.

  Joe swirled around in the water to look at his friend and cursed with relief when he saw two heads, one of which was wonderfully familiar.

  “Thank God,” he whispered when he reached her.

  In spite of the surrounding water, he hauled her against him and kissed her. There wasn’t time to say, or do much else. Determined to get her to safety before the tide caught them all, Joe held her firmly against his side and propelled them closer to the riverbank.

  “We need to let the current take us downstream. There should be somewhere we can get ashore down there,” Ben called.

  Nobody protested and allowed the currents to carry them away from the burning building. The further they got away from it, the more silent it became. Eventually, the only sounds that could be heard were the distant sounds of the city somewhere off in the distance and the gentle lapping of the water.

  “Here should do it,” Kerrigan called. He pointed to a small, narrow strip of land which appeared to lead to the back of some dry docks.

  “I can’t kick,” Marguerite cried. “My legs are wrapped up in the material of my dress again.”

  Joe, already exhausted, was struggling to battle the currents to get her ashore.

  “Take it off,” he snapped. “It’s got to come off, Marguerite. If this current tears you away from me, you can’t save yourself.”

  “How? There are buttons down the back,” she cried.

  She had never had even an inkling of a yearning to learn to swim before. Now she was glad of it. She hated the water, and never wanted to go anywhere near it again after this.

  “Where did you get that from?” she cried when Joe clamped a knife between his teeth.

  “Hold on to me, and don’t let go,” he ordered. He began to cut at the material of her dress with his knife. He didn’t care how expensive her dress was as her legs were free and she could help him get through the water and onto dry land again.

  The men, with only themselves to account for, were already wading ashore. Ben, having realised Joe’s struggle, stayed knee deep in the water, ready to assist. But Joe had to get them there first. With Marguerite clinging to him it was difficult.

  “Now kick,” Joe ordered.

  Marguerite felt the cold rush of water steal all trace of warmth from her skin and watched her now ruined dress float away. At least her legs were free now, though, and she was able to kick as Joe had instructed.

  Minutes later, they stumbled ashore, exhausted but at least alive.

  Once free of the gently lapping waves, they collapsed and lay together while they fought for breath.

  Marguerite stared at the stars in the sky. It looked so tranquil, so calm and peaceful that it seemed to be an entirely different world away from the one she was living in right now. She could only hope that tonight saw the end of it, and she was now able to
resume her old life.

  Do you really want to? A small voice whispered tauntingly.

  If she was honest, no she didn’t want to. It was dull. It was boring. It was mundane.

  It lacked Joe.

  Aware that he was looking at her, she turned her head to study him.

  “Are you alright?” he murmured gently. One hand lifted to cup her cheek and flick several loose strands of wet hair out of her face.

  She nodded. “Are you?”

  “I am now,” he replied huskily. “God, when I thought I had lost you-”

  “I couldn’t get free,” she replied.

  Joe nodded. He sat up. He didn’t want any distance between them right now and hauled her across the small distance to settle her in his lap. Once she was there, he tightened his arms around her and simply held her close to his heart while he stared out across the water. It was so calm that it betrayed no hint of the hidden dangers that lurked beneath. It was a bit like Sayers, really. On the surface, all was perfectly normal. Beneath the shadows lurked an entirely different danger that could suck the life right out of any innocent person who ventured too close and didn’t have their wits about them. It belonged only to those who had grown up around it and knew it well enough to live with the dangers it brought them.

  “Has he gone?” she whispered.

  Joe knew she was asking if Sayers was dead. “I am afraid so,” he replied.

  “Good,” she said with no trace of regret.

  “You are not sorry that he hasn’t faced prison?” Joe looked down at her.

  “No, I am not. I hope he stays in those ruins with the soot and the ash where he belongs. He doesn’t deserve a proper funeral. He is nothing more than a sewer rat, and that is speaking ill of the dead.”

  “Well, we are still alive, and can now put him behind us. He won’t bother you or your father ever again,” he assured her.