He handed the butler his coat and pinned the nearest guard with his furious gaze. “What has happened?”
The guard shifted uncomfortably. “It’s about the girl, sir...”
“Yes?” Roger snapped, but he didn’t need the man to complete his sentence. He already knew what had happened. Suppressing the urge to shoot the incompetent bastards, he pushed past them and strode up the stairs, throwing open the door that led to Bridget’s room.
As he’d suspected, the room was empty.
Closer examination showed that one of the windows had been busted out, allowing a chill breeze to rush in and flutter the curtains.
With a snarl, Roger strode over and inspected the broken glass lying all over the carpet. Since it lay inside the room, someone had broken the window from the outside.
Bridget hadn’t escaped on her own. No, someone had broken her out.
And Roger only knew one man who made a habit of running across rooftops, stealing children. He whirled around, glaring at the guards who’d sheepishly entered the room behind him. “How could you let this happen? You only had one job! To watch over a stupid little girl.”
The larger one, Preston, shook his head sorrowfully. “I was stationed right out ’ere in the ‘all, like you said, sir. I never ’eard a thing.”
“What can we do, sir?” the other one, a mean little bulldog with beady eyes named Otis, asked. “We want to help you get her back.”
Anger surged through Roger. Those bastards! His younger stepbrothers had been a thorn in his side for decades. He’d always believed they were somehow behind his father’s death, then they’d targeted his businesses, and now Prometheus had taken his whore.
Adrian had Gabriel, so Roger was almost certain he was the one behind the ridiculous mask, but he couldn’t shake the feeling that they could all be in this together. He always suspected they’d acted as one to kill his father. He’d let this go on for far too long, and the time had come to stop them once and for all.
“They took what was mine,” he told Otis and Preston, making no effort to control his fury. “I think it’s time I take what belongs to them.”
Otis swallowed nervously, obviously confused. “Who, sir? I don’t know what you mean.”
“Since the two of you have lost Bridget, I have a new job for you,” Roger explained. “I want you to watch the homes of Adrian and Morgan Strathmore. They both have wives. I want you to wait for an opportunity to get one of those bitches alone. When you do, I want you to take her. Bring her to the warehouse by the docks, send word to me, and then wait for further instructions. We’ll see how they like it when something of theirs is stolen.”
Preston nodded jerkily. “Of course, sir. We won’t fail you this time, I swear.”
“You better not,” Roger said darkly. “You know what will happen if you do.”
From the looks on their faces before they hurried away, they did.
Chapter Twenty
