Desire Me More

by Tiffany Clare

  “Any friend of yours is no friend of mine,” Amelia spit out.

  He turned her head to the side to examine her face. She noticed she’d left claw marks over the side of his cheek.

  “He’s not going to like that your face is damaged.” The inspector looked down at the rest of her body. She wasn’t blind to the fact that she wore only a chemise. Thankfully, he didn’t touch her.

  “Please, you don’t want to hurt me. Let me go. I won’t tell anyone I was here.”

  “You say that as if here will be found.”

  She had to believe that Nick would find her. That was, if he was alive. Tears welled up in her eyes. Now she was sick with worry. Sick at not knowing what had happened and feeling helpless in her current situation. If there was one thing she hated in life, it was being made to feel helpless. She needed to focus on escaping. Focus on how she could help herself, not worry herself sick.

  “Where are we?”

  The inspector tsked again. “That’s a surprise.”

  “Do you plan on killing me?”

  “No, I plan on getting paid for bringing you to the man who wants to get back at Nick.”

  So the inspector was easily bought. Hadn’t Nick told her something to that effect? She stored that information away for later—if he could be bought, who was to say Nick couldn’t purchase this man’s temporary loyalty for more money?

  “Why was my brother killed?”

  “A means to an end. It was supposed to look like Riley did it. The situation and timing were perfect. But I misjudged him. Want to know how?”

  She nodded, trying to keep him talking as she twisted her hands in the rope.

  “Didn’t realize Riley was so well connected with the bobbies. Called an investigation into my actions, he did, and my work. Had to run, you know. I need to get back at him for that. I had a good thing set up in London. Was making decent pay as an inspector and even better pay keeping thugs off the streets, and from causing trouble for the businesses.”

  It seemed she was asking the right questions now, for he was giving her information that might solve the mystery of why she’d been kidnapped.

  “How did my brother die?”

  “Picked a fight and started a brawl at a whorehouse. I had no hand in killing him. Not directly, anyway. We had men inside that made sure he didn’t survive the beating he got.”

  “What was your purpose in trying to pin my brother’s murder on Mr. Riley?”

  “Riley had an old debt yet to be paid.”

  “I’m sure he has the funds to pay any debts outstanding.”

  His gaze snapped to hers. She stopped moving immediately, not wanting to draw attention to the fact that she was trying to free herself.

  “So innocent, yet not. How long have you been Riley’s mistress? You played it well, pretending to be his secretary. You almost had me fooled.”

  It wouldn’t do her any good, arguing with him, so she didn’t respond to his question and instead asked, “Will you please let me down? I can’t feel my hands.”

  He shook his head. “Wasn’t born yesterday, Miss Somerset. I know you’ll run. Or at least attempt it, and I don’t want to hurt you. Not yet. Not unless you make me.”

  Amelia looked around the sparse room. “You can tie me to the bedpost. Please, I can’t feel my arms.” Which was partially true. But more than anything, she needed to put herself in a better position.

  “I’m as good as dead if you get away now.”

  “I promise not to run,” she easily lied. Tears flooded her eyes again, making her seem all the more sincere. “Please tell me what will happen to me?”

  “Don’t much care. My pay on this job is enough to start over in another city.”

  “Then explain to me why this man wants to get back at Nick.”

  “Not really any of my business. I just do the job I’m given, take my pay, and move on to the next job. Though if you think about it, it’s obvious that getting back at Riley has something to do with this chunk of land.”

  The inspector had given her two valuable pieces of information.

  First, he had confirmed that a man wanted to get back at Nick. That could only be Shauley. The second had been the way he’d indicated the cabin as part of the lands. So this must be the groundskeeper’s house she’d seen on the property drawings. That put her a mile down the road and in the woods from the house, not that there was anything back at the house that could help her. But it also put her a couple miles from the town and the inn, so she’d have to run east as soon as she found a way out of here.

  “This is all Mr. Shauley’s doing, isn’t it?”

  A proud smile lifted the inspector’s lips, though it was a bit too frightening to call a smile. “See? I knew you were smart enough to eventually figure it out.”

  “How can he have the funds to pay you for kidnapping me? Mr. Riley can pay you a decent sum more.”

  “Don’t be so sure.”

  “Then why didn’t he buy the manor house if he didn’t want Mr. Riley to have it?”

  The inspector shrugged as though that wasn’t a matter for him to worry about.

  Could that be the only grudge Shauley had against Nick? The manor house seemed so trivial and worthless as a reason to resort to murder and now kidnapping. This obviously had something to do with their childhood. With the school they’d attended.

  “What are Shauley’s plans for me? Surely he told you something.”

  “Didn’t bother to ask. Don’t really care. You’re pretty enough and all, but not my type, and certainly not Shauley’s type.”

  The thunder of what sounded like a hundred horses shook the little cabin. The windows rattled and the old wood door shook in its hinges. The inspector stood and pulled out a pistol that had been hanging over the back of the chair. He pointed it at her temple, and Amelia thought for a second he was going to pull the trigger.

  “Not a sound,” he said. “Or I’ll be handing you over with a bullet lodged in your head.”

  She nodded and sealed her lips, biting back a sob that wanted to escape her. She wasn’t sure whether or not he would kill her; and that wasn’t a chance she was willing to risk.

  The inspector went over to the window and pulled back the dark burlap that covered the glass so he could look outside. He cursed and closed it quickly, obviously needing to seal off the evidence of light from the cabin. He leaned over the rustic table and blew out the lamp, just to be sure there was nothing but darkness in the cramped room.

  Amelia felt the cold steel of the pistol head against her arm and bit her lip to keep her trembling still. As she promised, she didn’t make a sound. But she did send a prayer up that it was Nick on the other side of that door.

  The horses came to a stop, and she could hear their snorts and neighs.

  The only sound on the inside of the cabin was her labored breathing. The inspector was like a ghost when he moved away from her. She didn’t hear him moving about. There was only the one door, so whoever was on the other side was either going to come in, or the inspector would attempt to go out.

  When the door flew open, it was Shauley standing at the threshold.

  “What in hell is she doing trussed up there?” Shauley demanded from the inspector.

  “Didn’t have anywhere else to tie her off.”

  “She’s not a bloody horse, though I’m sure she plays the brood mare well.”

  Amelia wanted to scream as Shauley charged toward her with his knife out. She closed her eyes when he was a handspan from her and was surprised to find herself falling to the hard floor. He’d cut the loops that had held her to the hook dangling from the ceiling. She curled her feet under her and pushed herself into a kneeling position. All that mattered now was that she had a better chance of running, and she would find whatever advantage she could.

  Shauley turned a chair around and sat astride it. “Give me the pistol,” he said to the inspector, who handed it to him without dispute. Shauley pointed the crude piece of metal at her
head. “I want nothing more than to shoot you, but I’m afraid you’ll make better collateral alive.”

  “And what do you need collateral for?”

  “Safe passage. I know one man who can give that to me.”

  “Why did you go to the trouble of kidnapping me, then?”

  “It’s the easiest way to get his cooperation, don’t you think?” She wanted to argue, but he was right. “Did you know Nick tried to have me arrested in London?”

  “I can’t understand why, unless it’s for the murder of my brother.” She couldn’t guard her tongue any longer. If was going to kill her, he’d have done it already. And she believed she was worth more alive than dead to him.

  Shauley stood and cuffed her across the face with the back of his hand. Amelia tasted blood in her mouth. “You’re very bold for having no say in this matter. I said I needed you alive, but that doesn’t mean I can’t hand you over bloody and broken.”

  Amelia pinched her lips closed and turned away from both men. Now it was a matter of waiting for them to strike a deal. She hoped that was soon, because she couldn’t stay in this cabin with either of these men for much longer.

  The magistrate wanted to call off their search, as the conditions were not ideal for the horses, and traipsing through the woods in full night was likely to cause someone harm. But Nick pushed onward, refusing to give up on Amelia. He’d promised to keep her safe, but tonight he’d failed her.

  After checking the manor house, and finding nothing, they had headed back to the village strip and looked in every place near the main road that Shauley and Inspector Laurie could have hidden. They even tried locating the carriage the innkeeper’s wife had described. They’d met nothing but dead ends, and there had been no sign of Amelia.

  She’d been gone for hours at this point. And he didn’t know if he should extend his search beyond Highgate. Landon rode up next to him. His friend had stayed at his side all evening and didn’t complain about being out when the first rays of the sun shot through the sky.

  “What do you want to do?” Landon asked.

  They were walking the horses back toward the inn, though Nick doubted he’d stop searching. He was just trying to work out Shauley’s plan. “We didn’t leave any stone unturned. I don’t know where they could have taken her.”

  “I was so sure he’d be at the manor house.”

  “Do you want to head back there? Check it one more time? It’s possible he was hiding in plain sight, but we missed him in the dark.” Landon motioned toward the lighting sky. “The day ahead is on our side.”

  Nick rubbed his hand through his hair, wincing when he brushed against the cut at the back. He looked at his friend long and hard. “The manor was the only place that made sense to take her.”

  “Care to enlighten me as to why?”

  “It was a place from my childhood.” A place the instructors of the school had brought them to commit their sins when the earl wasn’t in residence.

  “Shauley and I attended school in Highgate. We used to skip our instructions and hide . . . I’ll be damned. He’s at the fucking cabin.” Nick mounted his horse and tightened his thighs around the animal, propelling it forward at a quicker pace. He shouted back to his party, “He’s at the Caldon Manor cabin.”

  Why in hell hadn’t he thought to look there in the first place? Landon was right; Shauley was hiding in plain sight.

  No one questioned him. And though many of the men were tired and their horses were growing weary, they didn’t hesitate to follow his lead. Nick rode at a breakneck pace; his only worry was getting to Amelia before anything happened to her.

  Amelia’s head was throbbing, and her eyes felt like they’d had sand thrown at them. She could barely keep awake, and she felt herself nod off, only to jolt awake the next second. She wasn’t sure how long she’d been at the cabin, but she could see the sky lighting up outside through the thin curtain that covered the small window.

  The inspector had left a while ago, though she couldn’t say precisely how long because she was too focused on trying to keep awake. If she fell asleep, they could move her. And then she’d be at a greater disadvantage, should she have an opportunity to escape. She knocked her head back on the wall, trying to keep it up and keep alert where she was crouched in the corner of the cabin.

  Shauley was ignoring her, reading a newspaper at the table situated in the middle of the room. He hadn’t said much to her since he’d first arrived, but she held out hope that he didn’t intend to hurt her more than he already had.

  She wished the inspector were here; he was slightly easier to talk to, and if she didn’t start talking, she was apt to fall asleep where she was crouched. Amelia rubbed her eyes with the side of her hands, which were still bound. She wasn’t sure she had the strength to stand on her own, but she might have to do so if the gritty feeling in her eyes didn’t cease.

  “Is the inspector off to make a bargain with Mr. Riley?” Her mouth was dry, and her voice gravelly.

  “You’re not at liberty to ask anything of me,” Shauley said without lifting his head from his paper.

  “Why do you hate Nick so much? He told me you were once friends, but friends don’t turn on each other.”

  Shauley spun around on his chair and studied her a moment. “Told you, did he?”

  “He did. And about the depravities at the school.” She wasn’t sure if she’d said too much, but she needed to stay awake and talking was the only thing keeping her mind active. “He won’t make a deal with you. Not after the trouble you’ve caused us.”

  Shauley stood and came toward her faster than she expected. She tried to shrink away from him, but he didn’t hit her. He ripped a strip of her chemise from the hem and held her legs down by kneeling on her when she tried to kick him away.

  “I’ve had about all I can take of you.” Shauley held up the strip of her chemise and wrapped it around her mouth before she realized what he was doing. She tried to scream, but it was muffled with the cloth stuffed in her mouth and wrapped around her head where he knotted it.

  “Much better,” he said and went back to his paper.

  Amelia was back to trying to stay awake. Her head bobbed every time she nearly lost her battle with her body.

  She swore she heard horses in the distance. She’d heard them last night too, but they hadn’t come close to the cabin.

  When Shauley stood to peer out the window, she knew her ears weren’t fooling her. She pushed her knees under her and pressed her back against the wall to try to stand. If she could make a run for the door and throw it open—she tested her hands, hoping they could grasp the knob and turn it—she might be spotted.

  Shauley picked up the pistol from the table and stared in her direction. “Stand, and I won’t hesitate to shoot you.”

  She slid back down the wall, tears tracking down her face.

  “If you’re not in the same spot I left you when I get back, I’ll make sure you can’t walk. And I promise you, a broken limb or two is going to feel a lot worse than the bump we gave you on your head.”

  Shauley slipped out the front door, leaving her alone. All Amelia could think was that the threat of a broken leg was better than ending up somewhere unfamiliar. A place that was farther from Nick. She pushed herself up against the wall. Pins and needles ran up and down her numb legs, so she waited a minute as the feeling came back to them. This might be her only opportunity to get free.

  Though they tried to be quiet as they approached the cabin, Nick knew it was impossible not to hear the dozen horses that were surrounding and filling the woods. They’d found the carriage used to kidnap Amelia, but no horses, which meant they’d either mounted up and taken Amelia to a new location, or . . .

  He told himself for the millionth time that hurting her would serve no purpose to either man. They’d taken her for ransom; that much was obvious. And that meant they needed to ensure her safety to some degree.

  Shauley wasn’t a stupid man; he would have had a contingency pl
an in place, had his plan gone to shit with the murder of Lord Berwick, and it had.

  The closer they got to the cabin, the more anxious he grew. He drew the pistol he kept on him when he traveled but had never found reason to use. Today might be an exception.

  Nick dismounted a hundred meters or so from the cabin, wanting to blend in with the forest so he could approach undetected. The closer he got, he told himself, the easier it would be to get to Amelia and take her to safety.

  Shots rang around the woods, and Nick was forced to take shelter behind a tree. Someone yelled; another of Nick’s party shouted, “In the tree line.” The report of shots going off sent hundreds of birds to the sky, almost blackening the morning. Nick took the distraction as an opportunity and sprinted toward the cabin entrance, pistol at the ready.

  When the door flew open, Amelia let out a muffled scream and fell forward into his arms. “Amelia. Thank God,” he found himself uttering as he caught her.

  The crack of twigs behind him had him spinning around, taking aim. The inspector held a rifle, and Nick didn’t hesitate for a second as he yanked Amelia down to the ground behind him and shot Laurie through the chest. A moment of surprise shaded the inspector’s face before he fell to the ground, his chest moving up and down in a whistling breath. Landon broke into the clearing just then with three other men, surrounding the downed inspector. Nick nodded to his friend and turned back to his only concern. Amelia.

  He’d found her. She was safe. Her face was bruised and there was blood in her hair, but she was alive. And Nick felt a stab of tears in his eyes.

  He dropped his pistol and stripped out of his jacket. He wrapped it around Amelia as he cut through the rope binding her wrists and carefully untied the knot of cloth at the back of her head. She sobbed and buried her head in his chest. He rubbed her back, letting her cry out her relief and fear. Giving him enough time to compose himself before he had to face the rest of the men who had assisted him.

  When she stopped shaking, he helped her put her arms through the sleeves in the jacket and buttoned it up in the front.

  Once she had calmed, she tried to stand but couldn’t seem to get her legs under her. Nick lifted her in his arms and carried her toward his horse. He sat her up in the saddle and pulled himself up behind her, keeping her body cradled tight against his, her legs over to one side so she could wrap her arms tightly around his middle.