Scoundrel Ever After (Secrets and Scandals)

by Darcy Burke

  Saxton scowled, but nodded his assent. “We’ll be waiting for you and if you take too long, we’re coming in after you with a bloody army.”

  Ethan appreciated the support. He opened his mouth to say something and was surprised to find a lump in his throat that he simply couldn’t speak past.

  Carlyle stood. “Then we’re ready.” He tucked the missive into his coat. “Lockwood, you’ll get to the Brazen Bride within the hour. Jagger—pardon, what the hell do we call you?”

  “Ethan is fine.” His voice sounded cracked and dry. He coughed as he got to his feet, eager to get to Audrey now that the moment was at hand. “I know the stakes.”

  Everyone else got up and moved to leave. Lydia Lockwood touched his hand. “Mr. Locke.” She shook her head. “Ethan. Please bring Audrey back safe.” She swallowed and nodded. “I know you will.” She gave him a wobbly smile that was probably as much to fortify herself as it was for Ethan.

  He took her hand between his. “If I don’t bring her back, you’ll know that I’m dead.”

  Lydia nodded and stood on her toes to kiss his cheek. “Don’t let it end that way,” she whispered.

  Ethan turned and walked past Jason, who clapped him on the shoulder again and said, “See you soon, brother.”

  “Ethan, I’ll walk out with you,” Carlyle called, following him from the drawing room.

  They moved through the hall and a footman let them out.

  Carlyle turned when they were outside. “You’re not going to wait to hear that we’ve arrested Jimmy, are you?”

  “No.”

  Carlyle nodded grimly. “How will you get Miss Cheswick out?”

  “I still have a contingent of loyal men. I’ll collect them first. With their help, I’ll hopefully be able to convince those at the Cup and Burrow that I’m not the enemy.”

  “That Jimmy is.”

  “Yes.”

  Carlyle walked toward the street. “You think they’ll just let you walk out of there with Miss Cheswick?”

  Ethan didn’t want to contemplate the alternative, but he had to. He fell into step beside Carlyle. “If they don’t, you’re going to have to go in after her.”

  “Understood. Hopefully, we’ll get Jimmy and you’ll extract Miss Cheswick.”

  “We both know things rarely go as planned—which is why contingency plans must be prepared.” Ethan withdrew an envelope from his coat. “Will you have this delivered to Bow Street?”

  Carlyle accepted the missive. “You’ve plotted quite thoroughly.”

  He had to; there were too many variables. “Just promise me that no matter what happens, you’ll make sure Audrey is safe. You owe me, and that’s the only thing I want.”

  Carlyle pressed his lips together. “I’ll never forget what you did for me and Jocelyn. You have my word that Audrey will be safe.”

  Ethan relaxed, but only slightly. Until he saw with his own eyes that she was whole, he wouldn’t be free of this hellish torment.

  AFTER MANAGING TO take a small amount of sustenance at Gin Jimmy’s raucous “luncheon,” Audrey sat in the corner of his reception room, with Marie at her side. She’d hoped she’d be allowed to return to her dismal closet, but Gin Jimmy had ordered them to sit and keep him company while he discussed business matters with his men. They were gathered around the garish table and spoke low enough that Audrey couldn’t hear them.

  “Ye know ye won’t be leavin’ the Cup an’ Burrow?” Marie asked her.

  Audrey looked askance at the woman, noting the smirk twisting her reddened lips. It was becoming increasingly difficult to remain silent. At the best of times, Audrey liked to talk and at the worst, she rambled in an attempt to mask, and perhaps settle, her nerves. She pressed her lips together to keep from asking why. The woman was just trying to provoke her.

  “Whether Jagger comes to get ye or not, ye won’t be leavin’. ’Course I’m hopin’ Jimmy doesn’t kill ’im. That’d be a real shame.” Her voice had taken on a dreamlike quality.

  Audrey bit the inside of her cheek to keep from talking to Marie, though she burned with questions. This was a glimpse into Ethan’s world. But did she really want to see it?

  Marie tsked. “Do ye talk at all? Heh, maybe not. Jagger wasn’t much for talkin’ anyhow. Leastwise in the bedroom. Or wherever.” She gave Audrey a wicked look. “Jagger ever take ye to ’is bed? Or anywhere else?”

  She stared at Marie, appalled at her prurient curiosity. “That’s none of your concern.”

  “I’m guessin’ no then. Too bad for ye.”

  Audrey glared at the beauty. “Ethan is not going to die, and I’m not going to stay.”

  Marie’s eyes crinkled at the corners as she laughed.

  Audrey turned her chair away from Marie. She didn’t want to endure her taunts, at least not to her face. A boy dashed into the chamber and went straight to Gin Jimmy. He handed him a piece of paper and Jimmy opened it immediately. The conversation at the table slowed.

  Audrey found herself leaning forward anxiously. She could tell the message was somehow important, given the creases lining Gin Jimmy’s wide forehead.

  He stood from the table and gestured to some of the men. Then he addressed the boy who’d brought the note. “Fetch Perkins and Bird. They’re to watch the prisoner, along with the men I leave in this room.”

  The boy tore off. Gin Jimmy strode over to where Audrey was sitting and pinned her with a malevolent stare. She clutched the seat of her chair for something solid to hold on to.

  “Yer man wants to see me. Seems he’s sorry about everything and wants to resume his place. He says I can do whatever I want with ye.”

  Audrey couldn’t keep her jaw from hanging open. Marie’s laughter raked her spine. Gin Jimmy’s eyes twinkled with merriment. “’E did recommend I return ye to yer house, so as not to provoke the upper crust. But I don’t know . . .” He tapped his stubby forefinger against his lips. “Ye’d make an awfully fine addition to me stable, and then Jagger could enjoy ye whenever ’e liked.”

  He leaned down and bared his teeth at her. “Except Jagger won’t be here to enjoy ye. I’m going to bury my knife in his gut and pull out ’is entrails. Then I’m going to force ’em down ’is throat. Question is, should I do all of that in front of ye?” He glanced at Marie. “What do ye think?”

  Marie smiled at him, but Audrey detected an underlying quiver. “Whatever would please ye most, Jimmy.”

  Jimmy nodded. “I’ll have to think on it. In the meantime, ye sit tight, Miss Cheswick. And don’t miss me.” He flashed a smile, revealing a gold tooth. Then he spun around and addressed everyone. “If Miss Cheswick isn’t exactly where I left her when I return, I’ll burn the place down with the lot of ye locked inside.”

  He quit the room with more than half of his men trailing behind him.

  Audrey slumped in her chair. Every bit of resistance leaked from her frame until she felt like a bag of hollow bones.

  Perkins and Bird came into the room. Bird waved at her before joining the men at the table. Audrey strained to hear what they discussed, but only caught intermittent words: Jagger, guards, common room, kill.

  Had Ethan really told Jimmy to dispose of Audrey at his own discretion? It was wholly feasible that Jimmy had lied to frighten her. She couldn’t believe Ethan wouldn’t care what became of her.

  “I’m sorry for ye,” Marie said softly. “But Jagger doesn’t stay too long with any woman.”

  Ethan . . . he wouldn’t cast her aside. Not when he’d declared his love and proposed marriage. She couldn’t contain herself any longer. Maybe she just needed to hear the words, even from her own mouth. “I think it was Shakespeare who said thieves could not be true to one another, but Ethan is true to me. He loves me and we’re going to be married.”

  Marie’s mouth gaped open. She snapped it closed and patted Audrey’s knee. “Ye poor dearie. Is that what he told ye to spread yer legs?”

  Audrey opened her mouth to retort, but realized he had told her those
things before he’d made love to her. But no, that wasn’t the reason he’d said them. It wasn’t. “It’s not like that.”

  Marie’s gaze was condescending, and her tone was thick with pity. “Jagger’s not one of yer Society lords. Ye said so yerself—thieves have no honor.”

  Audrey didn’t want to hear anymore. She folded her arms across her chest and tucked herself into as small of a silhouette as possible.

  She wasn’t sure how long she sat like that, but it seemed an interminable length. A commotion sounded from outside the room. Audrey leapt to her feet in fear.

  The door swung open and several men strode inside. They looked similar to the men who’d risen from the table. Every one of them had drawn a pistol or some sort of blade.

  “Ho there, lads!”

  Audrey recognized that voice, but she almost didn’t realize it was Ethan. He was immaculately garbed, but more flamboyantly than she’d ever seen him. His coat was a vivid blue and his waistcoat a bright green and bronze. His cravat was intricately tied and sported a glimmering diamond within its crisp folds. He carried a walking stick with an ornate handle and his hands were covered in gaudy rings. His ink-black hair was coiffed so perfectly that he would look at ease in any ballroom in London. His gray gaze swept the room with superiority as if he were the king instead of Gin Jimmy.

  She lunged forward, intending to protect him, but he shot her a quelling stare. She’d seen him look cold before, but his eyes held a frigidity she hadn’t witnessed. It chilled her to the core.

  “Ye got a lot of cheek strollin’ in here so brazen-like,” Perkins said, his pistol pointed at Ethan’s chest.

  “Why? I’ve always been welcome at the Cup and Burrow—for far longer than any of you.” He glowered at Perkins and, flanked by two of the burliest men Audrey had ever seen, strolled toward the dais. He climbed the stairs and turned, the men he’d arrived with still clustered about him.

  Audrey looked at the men who’d moved out from the table and were now staring at Ethan with their weapons drawn. Why hadn’t anyone shot him? Was it because he’d brought his own soldiers? She looked at them—at least ten men—and wondered where he’d found them. But she knew. They were his soldiers. He was nearly equal to Gin Jimmy in terms of status in this world.

  Marie let out a hiss of breath beside her. She’d also risen. “There’s no one like Jagger. In bed or out. Jes’ look at ’im.”

  Audrey suppressed an urge to drive a sharp elbow into Marie’s side. She didn’t want to hear about Ethan’s prowess. She couldn’t deny, however, that he was the most attractive man she’d ever met, and that even now amidst the danger and what Marie had said about him, she was drawn to him like no other.

  “Listen up, lads.” Ethan’s voice commanded the room. “I don’t know what Jimmy’s told you, but I had to leave London to avoid being arrested.” There were a few murmurs. “Thankfully, there will not be any charges and I am a free man.” He grinned widely and there were cheers from his men—and from a few of Jimmy’s.

  Audrey sagged with relief, glad that at least that threat had passed.

  Ethan’s smile faded and his features hardened. “But I’m not really. None of us are. As long as Jimmy runs things, none of us are truly free. Tell me, what did he threaten if anything happened to his hostage?”

  One of Jimmy’s men stepped forward. “He’d lock us all inside and burn the Cup and Burrow to the ground.”

  Ethan studied the jewel-encrusted handle of his walking stick for a long moment. When he looked out at the men once more, he seemed to pierce each of them with a direct stare. “And what do we know of Jimmy’s threats?”

  “They always come to pass.” Marie’s voice jarred Audrey.

  Ethan glanced in their direction, but he didn’t acknowledge Audrey at all. “Very true, Marie. Why don’t you come up here with me?” He smiled encouragingly.

  Audrey’s stomach turned and ice shot to her extremities. She backed her knees against the chair for a modicum of support.

  Marie sauntered to the dais. When she climbed up beside him, he pointed to one of the pillows.

  She kneeled on a round, purple cushion and sat back on her heels. She looked like a dog doing her master’s bidding. Then she cast Audrey a haughty glance. Audrey felt sick.

  “If you prefer Jimmy’s style of dictatorship, then by all means do his bidding,” Ethan arched his brow in challenge, “if you can. Or, if you’d prefer the freedom to choose your own jobs and whether you want to risk your life on any given day, follow me.”

  “Does that mean you’re going to be our leader?” a young man asked, his pistol drooping in his grip.

  Ethan angled his body toward the criminal who’d spoken. “No. I’ve no wish to lead. I only want to be left alone.”

  Audrey’s chest expanded. She’d thought for a moment that he meant to take over Gin Jimmy’s place. He’d marched in here so confidently and the men clearly admired and respected him. She could see his importance and what his position had to mean to him.

  One of his men standing at the foot of the dais turned and looked at him. “Ye should be our leader.” He pivoted back and raised his arms. “Who here wants Jagger as our leader?”

  All of his men shouted their agreement, and at least three or four of Jimmy’s men joined in. The others looked around, doubt etched in their worn and battered faces.

  Marie leaned forward and wrapped her hand around Ethan’s knee. She gazed up at him longingly. Audrey moved forward without thinking.

  Bird was at her side in a matter of seconds. He slid his arm around her waist and pulled her toward the door. “I don’t care what anyone says. I’m followin’ Jimmy’s orders.”

  Ethan’s face darkened. He strode from the dais toward Audrey and Bird. Bird put a dagger to her throat. “Don’t come any nearer.”

  Ethan drew the handle of his walking stick up to reveal a long, vicious blade. He raised his hand to throw it.

  Audrey shouted, “Don’t!” She didn’t want him to kill again. Not even for her.

  Ethan’s voice ground between his teeth, deceptively soft, but with a rasp that betrayed his emotion. At least to her. “He’s going to kill you, Audrey.”

  Audrey craned her neck to look at Bird. “Let me go. There’s no need for anyone to die.”

  “Kill ’im!” someone shouted, though it wasn’t clear who the “him” was.

  Audrey fought to keep her shaking body still as the tip of the knife pressed into her flesh. “Then he’s no better than Gin Jimmy, is he?”

  “I’ll second that!” Boomed a familiar voice. All heads turned to see Gin Jimmy reenter with an even larger band of men than what he’d left with. “Jagger’s no better than me. ’E don’t even come close.” His gaze settled on Ethan with cold fury.

  Bird’s grip loosened as he pivoted to look at Gin Jimmy. Audrey took her chance and slipped from his grasp. Ethan reached out and pulled her against him, her chest crashing against his. He wrapped his arm around her and held her tight.

  She breathed in the familiar scent of him: spice, sandalwood, and something indescribably Ethan. He was safety. He was shelter. He was home. She snaked her arms about his waist and turned her head to look at Jimmy.

  The vicious criminal’s laugh filled the room. “How quaint.” He walked toward Audrey and Ethan, his blue eyes like cold glass. “Tell yer men to hold. Else we’ll have a battle on our ’ands, and I don’t think ye have enough might to win.”

  It was true. It might’ve been a balanced fight, but Jimmy had returned with too many men. Ethan and his gang were outnumbered.

  Ethan glanced at his men, who’d assumed a battle-ready position with their weapons at the base of the dais. He tightened his grip around Audrey. “There’s only one deal I’ll make.”

  Jimmy scrutinized them, his gaze lingering on Audrey. “Aye. I figured as much. Yer men can escort her out. But ye stay.”

  “No!” Audrey moved her body so she was shielding Ethan. “Let us both go. We’ll leave London. We
’ll leave England!” She’d say or do anything to appease him, though her heart knew he would never agree.

  Jimmy smiled at her, but it wasn’t pleasant. “I can’t let Jagger go. He failed me, ye see. And I gave ’im everything I ’ad to give. He was like my son.” His gaze hardened and moved from her to Ethan. “Say yer good-byes then.”

  Jimmy stalked toward the dais and motioned to his men. They shadowed Ethan’s gang and drove them toward the door.

  Bird grabbed Ethan’s knife out of his hand with a wicked grin. He also took the bottom part of the walking stick and sheathed the blade. Then he tossed the implement to Perkins.

  Ethan turned her around in his arms. “Audrey. My love.”

  She grabbed the lapels of his coat. “I won’t leave you.” Tears streaked from her eyes.

  He wiped at her cheeks with his thumbs while he cupped her face. “You must. It’s the only way you’ll be safe.”

  “Don’t ask me to do this.” She could barely speak past the rawness in her throat.

  His eyes chilled for the barest moment. “I’m not asking you.” His grip grew fierce and his fingers tangled into her hair. “My beautiful, brave Audrey. The time I spent with you was the happiest of my life. I will cherish every moment forever. Death will not part us. I’ll be with you always.” He touched her chest. “In your heart.”

  Audrey clutched at his neck as a sob escaped her.

  He leaned down, his mouth against hers “Shhh. Don’t cry for me. I wasn’t meant for more than this. You were my greatest gift, a boon I never deserved, but shall be ever grateful for. Now, kiss me so that I have the taste of you on my lips when I meet my maker.”

  He crushed his mouth over hers with sweet savagery. His fingers dug into her scalp and his other hand wrapped around her back to pull her tight against him. She opened for him, meeting his tongue in a frenzied need to have as much of him as she could. But it was bittersweet for she knew it would never be enough.

  Something pulled at him, but he resisted. He broke their kiss and pressed his cheek against hers. He whispered beside her ear, “I love you,” and then he was gone from her, dragged away by Bird and another man.