Fiona could no longer pay attention to what they were saying. Winters’ grip continued to tighten around her throat and everything seemed to go still, her vision going dark at the edges. In a matter of moments, he was going to choke the very life out of her. The Strathmores were still several yards away, and she didn’t think they could get to her in time. She squeezed the knife in her hand, glad that some of the feeling had returned and her fingers were able to tighten around it.
She’d never thought she’d ever want to hurt anyone, but knowing that this was the man who’d bought her and then put her in a brothel to be used in unspeakable ways, and of all the other children who’d suffered as she had, the choice seemed suddenly clear.
It was him or her, and she had too much to live for, too many children yet to save.
With the last of her strength, she released the rope. Then she twisted, rose up, and stabbed the knife as deeply into the Earl of Winters’ chest as she could.
He released her in shock, clutching at the knife, and she fell from the chair, landing on the floor in a painful heap.
She vaguely heard Morgan shouting her name, but the shock of it all finally hit her, and her world went black.
* * *
MORGAN RUSHED TO FIONA’Sside, kneeling beside her on the dirt floor, cradling her in his arms, still stunned by her incredible strength and bravery. “Fiona,” he whispered, his lips brushing her temple. “Fiona, darling. Wake up.”
Behind him, his brothers were grappling with Winters, who was bleeding profusely but still fighting. He knew they had things well under control. All that mattered to him at this moment was this woman whom he loved so deeply.
After a few endless moments, she finally stirred and blinked up at him, her green eyes awash with pain and confusion. “Morgan. Are you all right?”
He choked on a laugh and hugged her to him even more tightly. Leave it to Fiona to be most concerned about him, even after everything that had happened. “I’m fine, darling. How are you? Did he hurt you?”
She slowly shook her head, tears filling her eyes. “Thank you so much for coming for me. I knew you would.”
“Of course, I came,” he whispered. “I’m only sorry that it took me so long. I was worried...” He still couldn’t believe they’d gotten to her in time. In his heart, he’d been certain that he’d be too late, that he’d lose her as he’d lost Anne.
Pulling away from him, she painfully pushed herself to her feet. He stood as well, seeing that his brothers were now standing over Winters, who lay still in a pool of his own blood.
“Did I kill him?” she asked, her voice hollow, her eyes haunted.
Adrian strode over to her, his face fierce. “You did. But don’t you dare feel bad about it. He would have killed you if you hadn’t. You did what you had to do.”
She let out a choking sob and threw herself into his brother’s arms, and Morgan watched helplessly as Adrian comforted her in a way it didn’t seem that he could.
She’d obviously heard that he’d killed his stepfather. How could she ever love him now, having learned the very worst there was to know about him? She’d probably be disgusted.
Luke sighed and clasped him on the shoulder. “Give her a little time,” he murmured. “It’s going to take a while for her to process all of this.”
Morgan gave his older brother a grateful look, knowing he understood his feelings all too well. He also suddenly realized that perhaps she was having just as many doubts as he, having had her secret revealed as well. Though a part of him had known that she’d probably been one of Adrian’s rescues, it still hurt him deeply to know what she’d been through, how strong she must have been to overcome such a thing.
All he could do now was make sure that he showed her that it didn’t matter. If she could accept him and all of his demons, he could definitely accept hers. Now he just had to convince her of that.
“Why don’t you get her out of here?” Luke continued, staring down at Winters in disgust. “I’ll get ahold of Inspector O’Brien. He’ll want to talk to her eventually, but that doesn’t have to happen tonight. She’s been through a lot. I’m sure right now she needs food, a bath, and a good night’s sleep.”
Morgan nodded. “Yes, I’ll make sure she gets all of those things.”
Lucien met his gaze, his own eyes sad. “I didn’t know it was you who killed Winters until very recently. I always thought it was Adrian, and he always thought it was me. I feel terrible that you dealt with that alone all these years.”
Morgan dropped his gaze. “I didn’t mean to do it. He was threatening to throw me from the tower, and I pushed myself away from him. He lost his balance and went over the edge.”
“You saved Adrian and me from who knows how much more abuse,” Luke said fiercely. “It was you or him. And I’m very glad that you were strong enough and smart enough to make sure it wasn’t you.”
Luke embraced him tightly, and some of the pain and guilt ebbed away. He supposed that he couldn’t very well convince Fiona she’d done the right thing when he was still holding on to so much guilt himself.
“Thank you,” he told his brother. “I think I really needed to hear that.”
Nodding, Luke stepped away. He glanced over at Fiona, who was still sobbing into Adrian’s shoulder. “Don’t let her feel bad either. She’s a wonderful woman. I like her for you, brother. I like the thought of you together very much.”
“Me, too,” Morgan said fervently. Now if only he could convince her that it was a good idea as well.
