Page 83 of Temptress in Disguise
The fool. When would Lydia wake from her stupor?
“I’m not leaving Hartford Hall,” Melissa protested, while Uncle Jeremiah remained silent and hid behind Aaron. “You’ll have to kill me.”
“Very well.” Mr Adams didn’t seem to care if Melissa lived or died. “Shoot her, Lydia. Take aim like I showed you. She killed your father and stole what’s yours. She deserves to pay with her life.”
Lydia’s hand shook as she straightened her arm and pointed the pistol. She swallowed deeply, trying to muster the courage to end Melissa’s life.
“Please don’t,” Naomi whispered. Despite her selfish actions, Lydia was still her sister. “Melissa will come with us.” Three people had a better chance of disarming the devil. “She’ll hang for fraud if she remains here.”
“Shoot her.” Mr Adams was growing impatient. One slip of his finger on the trigger and her life would be over.
Lydia’s hand shook. “Edwin, you promised it wouldn’t come to this. You said no one needed to get hurt.”
“Do it now, Lydia, or I’ll leave you here with them.”
“No! Wait! I’ll come.” Melissa came to stand beside Lydia. “I shall take my chances. Please. Put the pistol away.”
Satisfied, Jacob Adams firmed his grip on her throat and dragged her out through the front door. The pain of him crushing her windpipe was nothing compared to the distress she saw in Aramis’ eyes.
One curse after another left her husband’s lips. He pinched the bridge of his nose before calling, “I love you.”
* * *
Aramis clutched his chest. It felt as if his heart was being stretched to impossible lengths. Pulled so tightly it would invariably snap. While he had Naomi in his sights, he could breathe through the pain. But then the coachman flicked the reins, and the crunching of carriage wheels on the gravel tore the devil’s own roar from his throat.
“As God is my witness, I’ll kill Adams if he harms one hair on her head.” He clenched his jaw, his fists, every damn muscle. “This is my fault. I’m to blame. I should have dealt with him ten years ago instead of behaving like a coward.”
Aaron stepped in front of him, blocking his view of the drive. “Removing yourself from a distressing situation is a sign of strength, not cowardice.” He gripped Aramis’ shoulders, his fingers digging into the tense muscles. “Pull yourself together. Naomi needs you thinking clearly, not wallowing in regret.”
“I let that bastard take my wife.” The pain was like a vice crushing his chest. “I let him leave while I watched like a prized clown.”
“As did I. We couldn’t risk him shooting her.”
“You hate her.”
“I don’t hate her. I hate liars and deceivers. I hate people who use others for their own gain.” He grabbed Aramis’ cheeks in a pincer-like grip and forced him to focus. “You can’t blame me for not trusting her, but she loves you. She left with that bastard to save you taking a shot to the chest. For that, I mean to ensure she is in your arms before nightfall.”
“How?” He tried to fight the hopelessness, the fear of loss.
“By using the talents we honed on the streets.” Aaron slapped him hard on the cheek. It was the shock needed to bring him to his senses. “You must use love as a strength, not a weakness.”
Aramis rubbed his jaw. “Says the man who avoids female company like the plague.”
“This isn’t about me. Adams needs money, and he wants retribution. He will kill Melissa and Naomi unless we find them. Now think. Where might he go?”
He considered the options. Adams mentioned the coast but would avoid the main thoroughfares. He knew they would catch him before he reached the first turnpike. He’d not manage three hostages and board a boat without drawing undue attention. He needed somewhere to hide. Somewhere to punish Melissa without fear of interruption.
“Croft Manor is empty and some distance from the road. Holland’s house is but five miles from here.” They had destroyed the letter left by Miss Cooper. Adams had no idea they’d visited the house.
“Good. He won’t be expecting us.”
“Holland?” Jeremiah Grant said. “Henry Holland?”
Aramis turned to see Jeremiah lingering in the doorway, as pale and useless as a ghost. “What of it?”
“Melissa was friends with the man for many years.” There was an edge of bitterness in his tone. “I suspect they were lovers at one time. She used to visit him at Croft Manor.” Jeremiah sneered at that. “There was some sort of disagreement after she married my brother. She received a letter from Holland a year ago, saying he wished he’d never met her and was moving abroad.”
Aramis wished he’d never met Melissa, too.
