“How did you find me?” Violet asked, keeping her voice steadier than she felt. “My brother, I take it?”
“Of course. Reginald has never been subtle, but he is persistent. It took us longer than expected to locate you, regrettably. You were... inventive. However, once we started investigating your acquaintances, we tracked their whereabouts. Your friends were not nearly so discreet as you believed.”
Well, she’d never meant to live in hiding forever. “Good for you.”
He shrugged. “It still took us some time to connect your name,” he continued, as though discussing the weather. “Violet. Very clever. Your third given name. The surname you chose, ingenious, really.” He smiled thinly. “Took me a while, that. Your brother is rather dense in such matters, or we would have found you far sooner.”
Her fingers curled into her palms. “You are gravely mistaken if you believe this will end as you intend. The man you struck is not one to be trifled with.”
“You mean your lover? I must say, even I was shocked at that display of affection. No matter, that doesn’t change the outcome.”
That shocked her. “You’d wed an unchaste woman?”
“Yes, well, you will need to be punished for that, will you not?”
Punished.
Bile rose for the use of that word on his lips. It was hard to fathom, or rather, remarkable to note, how the same word could take on a different meaning depending on the person who said it.
This isyourlife, Violet.
Here, with Drake, no matter the relationship. The underbelly of Brighton. Her flower shop. She refused to allow anyone to strip it from her. And to think she’d nearly fled, once again, rather than stay and make a stand. Well, she’d stay and make a stand!
First, she had to escape.
“You have no idea who this man is,” Violet hissed. “Do you?”
“Oh, we know all about the seven Fury brothers,” Percival said with a wave of his hand, “but we have a more powerful interest in our support.” He cast a disdainful glance over Drake. “Six now.”
Well, a powerful interest would account for this oaf’s confidence. But who would back these cruel fools?
Someone crueler.
Violet clenched her jaw, eyes spitting fire. “And there are eight brothers, you fool.”
His eyes flashed with menace. “You get one pass, Evangeline. Call me a fool again and you will regret it even more.”
He whistled, and four men piled into the plot.
“Drag him away,” Percival demanded. “You know what to do.”
“No!” Violet cried, arms circling around Drake’s neck. They would have to pry her corpse from him before she’d allow them to take him! “What do you plan to do with him?”
“That’s not your concern anymore, Evangeline.”
The men stepped forward, circling them.
Violet tightened her hold on Drake instinctively, curling her body over his as though she might shield him by sheer force of will. One of the men reached for Drake’s arm. Another for his boots.
“Don’t touch him!” The words tore out of her. She twisted, placing herself squarely between Drake and their grasping hands. “Don’t you dare!” They would kill him. They’d already tried several times. If they were separated here today, she’d never see him again.
And she couldn’t never see him again.
She wanted to see him. Always. Always and forever. Life without him would be an impossible void. In fact, Violet couldn’t bear to picture a world in which he didn’t exist beneath the same stars.
Percival sighed. “Do not be dramatic, my dear. You are only delaying the inevitable.”
A rough hand caught her shoulder.
