He glanced at Irene. “We’ll take Miss Harlowe to the hospital, identify a desperate case, a man who’s going to die soon, and let her give him the final blow. I’ll carry her myself. Hell, I’ll hold the dagger for her, but I believe that killing a dying man would be easier on Miss Harlowe.”
She flashed another fleeting smile. “Yes, it would be.”
“Ravenhill?” Graves’s smug tone would have earned him a speech if I hadn’t been in Irene’s bedroom.
“It’s a good idea.”
“What about Knight?”
“I will not go to war with the Moon Court.”
He growled, and his teeth lengthened.
“However.” I raised my voice to interrupt his noises. “I’m going to start a negotiation.”
His hair grew and reached his shoulders, something I found disturbing. “That’s not what I asked.”
“I won’t put lives at risk. A conflict is the last resort.”
The muscles in his neck swelled, but after a few deep breaths, his hair and teeth shortened. Werewolves were so emotional.
“Fine.” Graves stretched out his arm to shake my hand, but I ignored it.
“We’ll leave in a few hours.”
34
CAUGHT AGAIN
Irene
Weakness plagued me to the point I couldn’t sit straight in the carriage as Graves, Alex, and I drove to the hospital.
Graves held me up with a steely arm around my waist. His body was feverish, and warmth radiated from him. Since my muscles ached, fatigue brought me to lean against him. Alex stared at us with deep annoyance, if his frown was any indication. Our bond was also strained. He was upset.
I inhaled. “I don’t think I can use my power to detect auras.” Talking required too much effort.
“You won’t need to.” Alex inched closer to me, which surprised me. “I asked Mrs. Talbot to do quick research on the cases at the Royal London Hospital. There’s a criminal dying of an infection. An old acquaintance of mine. He worked for Riley before he disappeared. I interrogated him a while ago, but he was as useful as a blunt knife. If he weren’t dying, he would be hanged.”
I wouldn’t enjoy killing him, but I didn’t want to die either.
“Here we are, Miss Harlowe.” Graves gathered me in his arms and carried me out of the carriage with ease.
The lights from the hospital added a warm touch to the austere, squared building, but dread chilled me, and I shivered.
“Are you cold?” Alex started to remove his coat.
“No, I’m not. Graves’s body is so warm I’m quite hot.”
I must have said something wrong because he shot an incendiary glare at Graves so intense that I was surprised the werewolf didn’t shout in pain.
Graves and Alex ignored the front door and rounded the corner. The breeze ruffled my hair and carried the smell of burning coal, but I caught a whiff of carbolic acid as well.
“It’s this window.” Alex worked on the latch of a ground-floor window with a pair of shiny tools, and after a click, it opened.
He hadn’t forgotten his thieving skills.
“Move aside, Ravenhill.” Graves shifted my weight in his arms, sinking his fingers into my aching ribs.
