Rory felt her heart miss a beat. In her concern for Zeke’s safety, that was a possibility she had not considered. But she rallied. “Oh, you don’t know the Bertelli brothers. They can talk their way out of anything. No one can look more innocent than Tony, not even when he’s been up to the worst mischief. And as for Angelo, if he starts off on one of his stories about his many uncles, aunts, and cousins, O’Connell will be damned sorry he ever broke into my warehouse.”
Zeke smiled a little, some of his tension easing. Rory wished she felt as confident as she sounded regarding the safety of Tony and the other two boys. She tried to put the fear from her mind, bending down to examine Zeke’s bandaged arm.
She was relieved to discover the wound had not broken open again. She worried about the possibility of infection and fever, but Zeke’s brow was cool to the touch.
“How are you feeling?” she asked.
“I’ve had better days,” he murmured, but he seemed less concerned with his wound than staring upward at the crisscross of rigging that connected the balloon to the load ring.
“No way at all to steer? Then what was all that talk at Delmonico’s about establishing a mail service? It wouldn’t do much good sending a letter to a fellow in Albany only to have it wind up in Canada.”
“My father was working on that very problem before he died. He had planned to do some experimenting with rudders and sails, possibly even a small engine.”
“An engine. That’s a comforting thought,” Zeke said glumly. “Anything besides just a puff of air to keep us from plummeting. How long do we have to be up here?”
“Not long. I just want to make sure we get far enough away to be safe. After we land in Jersey, I figure you can surrender to the authorities there and set about proving that you didn’t kill Stanley Addison.”
“But I did.”
“What?” Rory froze, certain she hadn’t heard him right. A shadow seemed to pass over Zeke’s face, his eyes intent as though no longer seeing her or the balloon, but focused inward on some darker image.
“I did kill Addison, as sure as if I plunged the knife into his heart myself. I knew there had been threats, but I never took them serious enough. I should have cautioned Addison more strongly.”
“You can’t blame yourself for that,” Rory said. “Mr. Addison was a politician, wasn’t he? Pressing hard for some drastic reforms and making accusations of corruption. He must’ve realized the dangers.”
“He didn’t realize anything. His head was stuffed too full of starry-eyed dreams, notions about honor and fair play, expecting the whole world to be the same. He didn’t know any better. But I did.”
Rory stroked the hair back from Zeke’s brow, wishing she could as easily caress away the bitter self-reproach from his eyes. “It’s no good thinking about it now. You’ll only make yourself crazy when you should be trying to rest.”
“I probably should. I’ve never been so damned tired in my life. But I don’t think I’ll ever be able to rest again until I find Addison’s killer. Just five minutes alone with the bastard—that’s all I ask.”
“Do you have any idea who the murderer is?”
Zeke nodded grimly. He proceeded to tell her about a weasel of a man named Charles Decker, his connections with the corruption of Tammany Hall, the threats he had made. Zeke figured that Decker had O’Connell working for him, along with the two thugs who had attacked Zeke beneath the El tracks.
When Zeke finished up his tale by explaining how the same two characters had trailed him to Rory’s flat, knocked himunconscious and abducted him to the brothel, her eyes flew wide in astonishment.
“What in the world were you doing up on the roof?”
Zeke looked a little embarrassed. “I always used to sleep on the roof when I was a kid. I could handle the height as long as I didn’t get close to the edge and look down. Last night it just got a little too hot in your apartment.”
Too hot, Rory wondered, or too crowded with memories, the echoes of Tessa’s bitter words lingering in the air.
“I noticed the parlor window left open,” she said. “But I would never have dreamed of looking for you up on the roof. I just thought—” She was unable to keep the hurt and the disappointment she had felt out of her voice. “I thought you had just gone away.”
“Without saying good-bye to you, Aurora Rose?” The warm way he pronounced her name made it sound like an endearment. “I would never do that, though you would be better off if I did. My sister Tessa was telling the truth when she said that I tend to ruin all that I touch.”
“What nonsense.”
“Is it? Look at this trouble I have dragged you into.”
“Let me tell you, sir, I am very good at getting myself into trouble without help from anyone else.”
Her feigned indignation was meant to provoke his heart-melting grin. But instead of lighting up with amusement, his dark eyes remained somber.
“I am serious, Rory. Tessa made me think about how selfish I was being. It would be better if I didn’t see you again.”
“What! No more chasing me through the streets?”
