Sound of Madness A Dark Royal Romance - Maria Luis Page 0,136
survival, unfortunately.”
“You bastard!”
A cruel smile touches my lips. “Don’t worry, they called me much, much worse.”
Though the pistol trembles in his grip, his dark eyes narrow to slits of rage. “I’m going to ask you this only once—where are the bodies?”
Stopping beside Barker, I touch my boot to his shoulder and roll him onto his back. His lids are closed, all the color gone from his face—but he breathes. I feel the rise and fall of his chest under my sole. He’ll wake with a hell of a concussion but still have his life. And he’ll go back to those two girls of his, his debt to Holyrood paid off in full.
“Did you hear me, Priest?” Marcus barks. “Where are the bodies?”
Without ever turning away from him, I step backward. “Already buried.”
“Where? Where did you—”
“All except for one that is.” Another backward step.
His mouth falls open and I hear only his harsh rush of breath when he slides his forefinger over the trigger. “Who? You tell me which one of my men you have or I’ll rip your blasted heart out. Do you hear me?” He follows me as he speaks, storming across the chambers to keep the distance between us tightly knit—and I let him.
Closer Marcus.
I retreat.
Come closer.
He advances.
On my periphery, I spot my brother on the move and purposely scuff the soles of my boots against the brick to muffle the sound of his stride. Back I go, back I move, and all the while, Marcus never removes his finger from the trigger.
A little more.
Just a little . . .
“You coward! You brought me here to the fucking underworld of London and now you run when—”
The words turn strangled when he spies Guthram’s bound feet.
Disbelief chases rage across his ashen features. The pistol follows me south as I drop to my heels and put a hand on Robert Guthram’s shoulder.
“You may recognize my guest,” I murmur, kicking up my chin so that Marcus stays in my line of sight. “Since he is, obviously, the reason that you’re here in the first place.”
“You—you—”
“You’re in a bit of a conundrum, aren’t you, Commissioner?” I smile, slowly, and reach for the sack covering Guthram’s head. Pulling it free, bit by bit, I reveal the rope still tied over his mouth and his bloodied nose. At the sight of his son, Guthram’s struggle begins again. I return my gaze to Marcus. “You could kill me, if you wanted.”
The gun inches closer.
“The problem with killing me,” I continue, flattening my hand on Guthram’s chest to keep him still, “is that you’ll never know where poor Kendrick is. That’s his name, right? He had a devil of a time saying much of anything after I was through with him.”
The commissioner’s roar hits the back of his clenched teeth.
“Tough choice, isn’t it?” Raising my brows, I lean over Guthram to make sure the rope is snug between his lips. “You kill me for your old man here or you find out where Kendrick is being held. You can’t have both.”
“Why.”
Steadily, I meet his stare. “You know why, Marcus.”
His lips peel back angrily and the gun collides with my browbone. “I know what you can do, you bastard. Anytime in the last seven months you could have taken the damned bounty off your own head.”
Oh, I’d thought about it.
Every fucking night, every bloody day—but it wouldn’t have mattered in the end. Because while I can hack my way in, I can’t convince the people of Britain that I’m not worth the thousands of pounds that the Met’s commissioner put on my head. In a time where people are struggling to carry on, the green that comes with turning me in is a first-class ticket to a better life.
“It has to come from you,” I edge out, despising the fact that I’m forced to grovel, “or it’ll mean nothing at all.”
The pistol digs in, canting my head at a sharp angle that makes me see red. “So, what you’re telling me is that your life is in my hands.”
I grit my teeth. “Kill me and you’ll only kill yourself, Marcus.”
“Take the rope off him.”
My stare catches on Guy, who’s moved stealthily to a few paces behind the commissioner. Don’t shoot, I want to shout. Jesus Christ don’t shoot. Until Marcus rings in to remove the bounty, he stays alive or this—every risk we’ve taken—will all be for nothing. Rowena nearly died to see me go free and I can’t . . . fuck.