Shed fight for him. Wouldnt she? Honestly, she didnt know. She would never stand by and allow someone to hurt him, but to fight for his affection ... Well, once again she needed to remind herself that nothing could come of a relationship between the two of them. She could argue against it until she was blue in the face, but the simple fact remained that she liked himenough that she had taken to researching for information on couples from different social spheres. Cinderella and her prince didnt count, but that story had started somewhere and gave hope to every poor little girl who had ever heard it.
So if Griffin King thought he could ignore herand the fact that he had practically propositioned herhe was wrong. That he treated her like that hurt. It was demeaning, and she didnt know if she could forgive him for it. Did he think he could talk to her like that just because she didnt behave as he thought girls should?
A few weeks ago, she never would have dreamed of doing something dangerous just to get a fellows attention. In fact, she would have mocked any girl who behaved so stupidly, and yet here she was, hatching a plan that would hopefully help Jasper and stick in Griffins craw. Not just to get his attention, but to rub his face in the fact that she was who she wasand he had helped make her this way by setting her on the path to amalgamating the two sides of her personality.
Are you certain I cant talk you out of this foolishness? Emily asked a little later as they sat at the table near the window and ate their splendid meal.
I am. Words now gotten back to Dalton that the Duke of Greythorne is in the city and asking about him. Dalton wont expect Griff to keep company with a girl like menot for long, at any rate.
Emily made a face at her crude talk, but it was true, and Emily knew it just as Finley did. I still dont like it. We really dont know anything about this Dalton character other than what little you and Griffin found outand all you discovered was that he has a fondness for tough girls.
Finley took a bite out of a cucumber sandwich. She chewed and swallowed before saying, Thats all I need to know right now. Ill find out the rest when I get inside. Ill have my portable telegraph device if I need to contact you.
You will contact me. I want to hear from you every three hours if this fool plan works.
She put on her best placating expression. That might not be possible, Em.
A pale finger jabbed the air in front of her. You listen to me, Miss Finley Jayne. You make it possible, or Im coming to get you.
Finley couldnt help but grin. She loved having a friend, especially one that cared so much for her welfare. All right, fine. But save your worrying for when I catch Daltons attention. He wont bring me into his gang immediately. So why dont we concentrate on the fight tonight, and you can worry about me being in Daltons clutches when the time comes? You do know I can pound most grown men senseless, right? I mean, I can fight. In fact, she liked it. It had been part of her darker nature before, but now that she had brought the two halves togetherthough she still had a lot of work to do on sorting herself outit was simply part of her.
I just hope Dalton doesnt have any abilities of his own. Emily chewed on her thumbnail. Id rather we not have any surprises.
Finley had thought of that herself. If I think its too dangerous, Ill run. I promise. Now can we talk about tonight? I have to win a fight, and then I have to deal with Griffins wrath. She grinned. It is a good plan, isnt it? Daltons bound to notice me, and if I can get into his gang, I can get to Jasper. You know Griffin and Sam will hate the fact that we managed to do what they couldnt.
It was obvious that Emily tried to fight her smile, even though it was futile. Her pink lips parted, flashing straight white teeth. They will at that, lass. They will at that.
Jasper expected that Dalton might put a watchdog on him when he went to collect the first piece of the disassembled device. What he hadnt expected was that Mei would be that watchdog.
He was certain Dalton had sent her to taunt himto taunt them both. They were alone, and in any other circumstances, they could escape to safety. But Dalton could kill her with that damn collar, and there was nothing Jasper could do to help her. Wasnt as though he could shoot the thing off her, even if he had his guns.
If only he could find Miss Emily. Shed know what to do. But if shed heard the rumors about him, she was just as likely to tell him to bugger off.
Exactly what does this device do? Mei asked as they navigated the darkness, which was the cellar at ODooleys, with only a feeble hand torch to light their way.
Danged if I know, he replied, mentally counting out in measured footsteps to the correct spot. But its important enough that Dalton hunted me down to find it.
Not for the first time, he cursed himself for taking the blasted thing at all. He had deliberately broken it down into components to buy himself time if this sort of situation ever arose, though he really hadnt thought it through. It was only because Dalton didnt want to draw attention to himself that he didnt send Jasper after the entire device in one night. Some of the locations were going to require stealth, as well as unlawful entry. Jasper had to remember exact locationsit wasnt as though hed drawn a map. He was relying on memory.
But Dalton wasnt stupid. He wasnt going to sit back and let Jasper be lazy about it, and he wouldnt put it past the outlaw to punish Mei over every delay.
He counted out the right steps, pivoted on his heel and faced the rough brick wall. As soon as he saw the patch, he knew exactly where to use the mallet and chisel hed brought with him for this bit of business.
When theyd first stolen the thing, Dalton had been as excited as a kid let loose in a sweetshop. That was how Jasper had known how important the device was.
Obviously he had overestimated his own importance where Dalton was concerned. Dalton hadnt cared if Jasper bolted or not. What he cared about, apparently, was the device. And now Mei was paying the price for Jaspers mistake.
If he got them both out of this mess alive it would be a miracle.
Hold this, please. He handed the torch to Mei. She took it and immediately held it at exactly the right angle for him to work. But then, it always seemed as though she had a knack for knowing what people needed. He didnt know if it was a talent exactly, but she just seemed to intuit the right thing, all the time.
Crouching, Jasper applied the chisel to a seam between two bricks and gave it a hard tap with the hammer. Bits of mortar crumbled and fell to the dirt floor. When hed hidden the piece in this wall, he hadnt had the time nor the inclination to put it back exactly the way he found it. Hed patched it up so that it could be easily accessed if he ever needed it but stand up to scrutiny at the same time.
It took a few minutes to chisel a hole big enough to stick his hand in and draw the part out. He had packed it in a small box to protect it from dust and rodents. As he pulled the rough wooden box from the wall, he could hear the dull roar of the crowd abovea bunch of bloodthirsty men and women feeding off each others aggression. Were Griffin and Sam there yet? He knew they would come. Would they think the worst of him when they saw him? He knew better than to hope that somehow they wouldnt notice him.
God, he hoped Emily and Finley werent with them. He had a soft spot for each girlespecially Emilyand the idea of being less in their estimation ... Well, it hurt.
He opened the box and unwrapped the paper inside. This particular section of the devicewhich looked like a crown of tuning forkswas exactly as he remembered. In the back of his mind, he realized hed been hoping to find it destroyed, so Dalton wouldnt be able to use it.
Is that it? Mei asked, leaning over him with the lantern.
She smelled of cherry blossoms, he thought. He could close his eyesjust for a momentand pretend they were somewhere else. Instead, he nodded, shoved the crown back into the box and rose to his feet. Part of it. Do you have the sack?
Is that it? Mei asked, leaning over him with the lantern.
She smelled of cherry blossoms, he thought. He could close his eyesjust for a momentand pretend they were somewhere else. Instead, he nodded, shoved the crown back into the box and rose to his feet. Part of it. Do you have the sack?
He could feel her confused gaze on him as she gave him the leather pouch. No doubt she wondered why he didnt look at her, why he was so curt. But if she did have a talent for knowing what people needed, shed know that right now he needed to put some distance between them, because the last thing he needed was to fall in love again when both their lives hung in the balance. Love was what had gotten him into this mess to begin with.
With their bounty in the sack, Jasper gestured for her to walk in front. There was nothing he could do about the bricks and mortar dust on the floorthat would be someone elses mess to clean up.
No one was around to see them as they slipped out of the cellar opening. The crowd was louder up herethe fights being held in a nearby room. They exited into the vestibule, where spectators waited like a herd of cattle to be allowed inside. Little Hank was waiting for them by the door and corralled them toward the main hall. Apparently Dalton wanted them to stay for the fight, as well. Tarnation, there went any hope of Griffin not seeing him.
There was a bit of a commotion as the nights fighters were brought in. These braveor insane, however you wanted to look at itscrappers would be put in a ring against each other and machines in a last man standing sort of event. Killing your opponent wasnt encouraged, but it wasnt against the rules, either. The only rule was that to win, you had to be the only fighter left alive and conscious. It was nasty and brutal and not at all the sort of thing Mei should seenever mind that she had been the one to teach Jasper the Chinese martial arts.
He turned his head to watch the parade of fighters, because it was less painful than looking at Meis pale but pretty face. Tonights contenders were a hard-looking lot of criminals and thugs ...
Good God! He exclaimed.
Meis head whipped around. What?
His heart was beating hard against his ribs, and his breath seemed to have caught in his throat. One of the fighters had looked straight at him and winked.