Arch’s eyes were narrowed and radiated worry. He wasted no time in slitting the binding in Tom’s mouth. “Where’s Victoria?” he asked as he moved behind Tom to cut his hands loose.
“Being driven south of Provincetown.” Even though Theresa and Splash hadn’t exactly said so, Tom had surmised that south was the only direction the carriage could take her from the northernmost part of the Cape. Rather than being seen with Theresa, Tom guessed her accomplices had landed in North Truro, the next town to the south. He suspected that’s where they would return to murder Victoria, a more secluded area where they would draw less suspicion.
“My horse is out front.” Arch was none too gentle in his sawing, and the rope bit into Tom’s flesh. But he didn’t care. He just wanted to be free as fast as possible. He knew Arch sensed it.
The rope fell away from Tom’s wrists, and he flexed his fingers as Arch moved to his left leg. “You go to the steamer. Tell Nathaniel everything and stop Theresa.”
“Theresa’s behind the attacks?”
“She wants Nathaniel for herself.”
Arch nodded. “Her father is brutal. Pompous. Conniving. I wouldn’t doubt he’s pushed her into going after Nathaniel.”
“She’s brutal too.”
With one leg loose and Arch working on the second, Tom heard footsteps on the stairway. He took the knife from Arch. “We have company.”
Arch straightened.
“Hide behind the door,” Tom whispered, cutting his leg loose and jumping to his feet. He fought back a wave of dizziness but positioned the knife behind his back. “I’ll lure him toward me. You attack from behind.”
The door swung wider. And Tom got his first look at Splash, a short man with bulky arms and bruised knuckles that told Tom he was a boxer. At the sight of Tom free of his bindings, Splash grinned, revealing several broken and missing teeth.
“I see you’ve been busy while I’ve been gone.” Splash unsheathed his knife and pointed it in Tom’s direction with a deftness that left Tom no doubt this man was good at what he was hired to do.
“Very busy.” Tom stepped toward the window. Then he swung Arch’s knife out front.
At the sight of the weapon, Splash’s eyes widened. He didn’t have time to react before Arch picked up the chair that Tom had abandoned. In one swift move, his friend smashed it against Splash’s head.
The man crumpled to the floor, and his knife skittered toward Tom.
Tom scooped it up and tucked it into the sheath where his own knife had been before Splash had disarmed him. Then he started toward the door. Without slowing his stride, he passed Arch’s knife back to him.
“Are you sure you don’t want me to come with you?” Arch asked as he rolled Splash over and began to bind his hands. “Your head wound looks serious.”
“I’ll be fine,” he called over his shoulder.
“Spoken like a man in love,” Arch said, the hint of smile in his voice.
Tom didn’t reply. He sprinted down the hall, took the steps three at a time, and thundered across the lobby heedless of the stares he was drawing. Once outside, he found Arch’s horse loosely tethered to the hitching post.
It wasn’t until he was galloping at top speed out of Provincetown that Arch’s words began to bounce around his head. A man in love.
Tom hadn’t wanted to admit to himself the depth of his feelings for Victoria. He’d tried so hard to deny them. But the rampaging of his heartbeat and the throbbing of anxiety wouldn’t let him ignore how he felt any longer.
He loved her with all of his body, soul, and strength. He didn’t care that they were from different worlds. He didn’t care that theirs was a love that wasn’t meant to be. If he reached her in time, he wouldn’t waste another second in telling her the truth. He wanted to be with her. Forever.
*
Victoria awoke to the swaying of a boat, sunshine pouring over her and blinding her. For several long moments, her groggy mind refused to focus. The squawk of a seagull beckoned to her, but she relaxed to the gentle back and forth movement and the caress of the sea breeze on her face. She was tired and didn’t want to awaken.
For a second she almost allowed herself to escape into oblivion. But then the nightmare of all that had happened hit her like cold sea water, and her eyes flew open with a start. She found herself flat