all these sudden revelations. “Why not bring me here?”
“Because we wanted whoever is trying to kill you to believe they succeeded,” Blade offered, his voice grim. “But now, it’s only a matter of time before news that Gavin Winter has risen from the dead is all over the rookeries.”
Icy dread slid down his spine, wrapped around his heart. “And who do you think is trying to kill me?”
“Jeremiah Jones,” all three of his half brothers said in unison.
Chapter 12
After so many weeks of seeing Gavin every day, suddenly spending each day without him had been a more devastating blow than Caro could have anticipated. To keep her mind from thoughts of him, she went to her work room and did what she did best: she returned to her role as the Sutton healer.
Measuring.
Testing.
Studying.
Replenishing her stores.
These were actions which had once given her great pleasure. Now, they did not even provide comfort. Or distraction. Because all she could think about was Gavin.
A knock sounded at her door, and for a moment, her heart leapt, hoping it was him. But the portal opened and Pen appeared.
“I thought I would find you here,” her sister said, her countenance wreathed with sympathy.
And a touch of guilt, too, Caro thought. She had discovered that her sister’s ailment had been feigned. More of Jasper’s machinations in an effort to keep Caro from spending time with Gavin. She knew he’d been trying to protect her—that Pen and Jasper both had—but that did not mean Caro had entirely forgiven them for their subterfuge. Especially since the nights she had spent singing in the hell had robbed her of precious time with Gavin.
Time she would never be able to regain.
“I am working, Pen,” she said on a sigh, not wanting company just now.
Lonely misery was far preferable to a well-intentioned sister attempting to cheer her. There would be no cheering Caro now. She had lost the man she loved. Worse, he was still in danger, and there was nothing she could do to protect or help him because he no longer wanted her in his life.
“As I see and as you usually are.” Pen slipped into the work room despite Caro’s lack of invitation. “But there is something I thought you should know.”
“What can it be, Pen? I’m in a dreadful mood.”
“You’ve been in a dreadful mood since Gavin Winter left,” her sister observed, her expression knowing. “You fell in love with him, did you not?”
She closed her eyes and took a deep breath before opening them once more. Thinking about Gavin made her heart hurt. “Yes. I did. But I also spent the last few weeks deceiving him, and I expect he shall never forgive me.”
“That is why I thought you should know he is planning to fight Jeremiah Jones,” Pen told her. “Aidan knows all about it. It’s causing quite a great deal of excitement. Everyone is saying Gavin Winter has risen from the dead.”
The pain in her heart turned to ice. “He cannot mean to fight in the state he is in. He is yet healing.”
Pen laid a hand on her arm, giving her a soothing pat. “The match is set for three days hence.”
Why would he agree to such foolishness? To such dangerous recklessness? Did he not have a care for himself?
“I do not understand why he would agree to the match,” she said, struggling to make sense of what her sister had just revealed. “He is in no condition to face an opponent. Indeed, a man in his position should not take such a risk. If he suffers another blow to the head, there is no telling what will happen.”
Dear God. She had to stop him. She had to find him and convince him to stop the fight.
But where had he gone?
“The wagers are being placed, and the odds are not in his favor,” Pen said softly. “Everyone believes Jeremiah Jones will win and that it will be a fight to the death.”
A fight to the death.
She was trembling as violently as a leaf in a wind storm, her stomach lurching. The thought of Gavin fighting an opponent until he breathed his last…it was unthinkable. She could not bear him being injured. Or worse.
“No,” she denied, shaking her head. “It cannot be.”
“The last man Jeremiah Jones fought died the day after the bout,” Pen said. “That is why I have come to you, Caro. Jeremiah Jones is a dangerous man.”
Her mind was made. She had to see Gavin. Even if he did not want