Life had taught her that you couldn’t count on anybody but yourself.
For five precious minutes, she allowed herself to relax, feeling the tension in the back of her neck slowly drain away. But that was all she allowed herself. When the big grandfather clock out in the hallway struck midnight, she pushed herself to her feet, then went to the locked drawer in the corner. Opening it, she pulled out Prometheus’s mask and cloak.
Three days had passed since her first successful rescue. Molly was adjusting well, and she still had four empty to beds to fill before the orphanage would be at full capacity. She knew she couldn’t save all the children, but as long as Brookhaven had empty beds, she was going to continue the work that Adrian had started.
Besides, the prickle of danger had made her feel alive for the first time in longer than she could remember. She loved her work, but sometimes the long monotonous days drained the very heart and soul out of her. She cleaned, cooked, answered a thousand questions, bandaged small cuts and scrapes, and gave hugs and kisses, but she had no one to really talk to, no one to share her burdens with. At least not since Adrian had found Vanessa.
Tears stung her eyes, and she blinked them rapidly away, stunned. How long had it been since she’d cried? Years. She didn’t have time for emotion, but... she missed her friend. She’d been sincerely happy that he’d found someone, and she’d grown to love Vanessa like a sister, but they were busy with their own lives now, especially now that they had baby Anne. Although they occasionally stopped by to visit the children, and Adrian continued to put money in Brookhaven’s account, everything had changed.
Squaring her shoulders, she shoved the mask and cape into a small carpetbag and made her way through the huge, quiet house. Slipping out the kitchen door, she headed across the garden to the street behind the house where she’d flag down a hack.
She hadn’t made it a dozen yards when a shadow separated itself from the tree in front of her, and a man stepped into her path. Her heart leaped into her throat, only to subside at the sight of the mask and cape similar to the ones in her bag.
“Adrian,” she whispered. “You scared the life out of me.”
He took her hand and pulled her back toward the house, stepping into a pool of light that spilled out from the kitchen. Before she could say anything else, he pulled off the mask, revealing Adrian’s face, only without the tracery of scars that made her friend so distinctive.
“Mr. Strathmore,” she said in confusion, realizing this was Adrian’s twin, Morgan. Though she’d met him a few times and had taken care of his infant daughter after his wife’s death, she didn’t really know him at all and couldn’t imagine what he’d be doing here at this time of night.
Dressed as Prometheus, no less!
A sinking feeling took root in the pit of her stomach.
“Hello, Mrs. Bohannan,” he said quietly. “Do you mind if I ask you a few questions?”
She shook her head, an unease of a different kind growing within her. Adrian’s scars somehow made him approachable. Though he was handsome and of noble birth, he’d never made her feel beneath him in any way. This man, however, was so gorgeous with his inky-black hair, ice-blue eyes, and perfectly formed features that she always felt a little tongue-tied in his presence.
Morgan sighed and ran a hand through his thick hair, mussing it a bit, which was, if anything, even more attractive. “Someone has been masquerading as Prometheus,” he said bluntly. “For the past two nights, I’ve been haunting the East End, hoping to catch the bastard in the act. But it finally occurred to me that if whoever he is truly knew anything about what my brothers and I have been doing, he might think to come here.”
Did he suspect her? Unable to read him at all, she tried to subdue her racing heart. The thought crossed her mind that she should simply come clean about her activities, but he seemed so angry.
What right did he have to be angry? As far as she knew, he’d never donned the mask himself until the last two days. And he hadn’t used it to help people; he only intended to stop the person who was actually trying to make a difference in the world.
She lifted her chin, determined not to make things easy for him. “I don’t know who the new Prometheus is. And I don’t care. All I know is that children are being brought to me again.”
His blue eyes widened in surprise. “You mean, someone is actually rescuing children and bringing them here to you?”
Damn it!She’d given him information that he didn’t have, and in doing so, she’d made herself even more of a suspect.
She crossed her arms stubbornly. “I really don’t feel comfortable talking about this with you outside in the middle of the night. If you’d like to come back tomorrow, we can discuss it then.”
A frown settled on his handsome face. “What are you doing out here this late anyway?”
“I don’t answer to you. I don’t even have to answer to Adrian.” She glared at him, daring him to dispute it. Though Adrian owned the orphanage and gave it monetary support, he had never interfered with the day-to-day operations. Even if he did, she wasn’t beholden to him after hours, and he’d be the first to tell his brother that.
Morgan sighed and scrubbed his hand over his face. “You’re right. I just don’t like the idea of someone playing at being Prometheus. It’s not a game, and I don’t want either of my brothers to be harmed by this.”
“You’re the ones treating this as a game!” Anger suddenly erupted out of her, anger she hadn’t even realized she’d been holding onto until this very moment. “The three of you only care about those poor unfortunate children when it suits you! Whoever has donned the mask now knows that children are being raped and abused in the most heinous ways every single day. I’m happy that Adrian has found some happiness, but that doesn’t mean that there isn’t still a need for Prometheus.”
“Mrs. Bohannan,” he murmured, reaching out and putting a placating hand on her shoulder, obviously shocked by her vehement response. “I didn’t mean to upset you. Do you think we don’t know that this ugliness still exists? But we can’t save everyone, and why is it incumbent on us to try?”
She shrugged his hand away. “I know that you can’t save everybody. But you can save one child at a time.” She blinked rapidly, refusing to give in to her threatening tears. “Do you think that Molly, the little girl Prometheus brought to me three nights ago, doesn’t deserve a chance at a normal life?”
“Molly?” Morgan’s eyes lit up. “Can I speak to her? Maybe she knows something that will help.”
“No!” she snapped, realizing that once again, she’d said too much. “As I pointed out, it’s the middle of the night. I am not going to let you wake up that poor child and interrogate her. She’s been through enough!”
“I didn’t mean right now,” he snapped back. “I can come back tomorrow.”
