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Chapter 22
LoudbuzzinginJarvis’sears came first. Then a sharp headache. It took him a great deal of effort to peel open his eyelids.
What in the devil is going on? Where am I?
Jarvis leaned on his elbow and encountered a cold, rock-hard surface. He struggled to sit up, but his entire body felt like a single bruise. He groaned and scrambled to lean his back against the icy wall. He tipped his head back, and the cooling surface had a calming effect on his buzzing head.
Jarvis squinted in the pitch-black darkness but he still couldn’t see anything. His head still ached, so it was difficult to concentrate. How had he gotten here?
Jarvis stood with great effort, his legs barely able to hold him, and leaned his shoulder against the wall. He slowly walked around the room, shuffling his feet, trying to determine its size and his surroundings.
One corner, second corner… the door.
It wasn’t a big chamber, and it was bare. There were chains on one side of the wall, which made Jarvis wonder why he wasn’t shackled.
Thank God for small mercies.
Jarvis sat back down, trying to think how he’d gotten here in the first place. He was at the Kensington ball when a dead woman was found in one of the rooms. Then Hades came along with all of his goons and took the body. It was so strange. He wondered if this had actually happened or if it was part of a dream. Why would Hades be in a peer’s townhouse?
Then Hades had left, and the wind roared, carrying the candlelight away. Or was it part of his imagination, too?
Jarvis had trouble discerning truth from fiction.
Why had he gone to that ball, anyway? Didn’t he refuse to attend society events? Jarvis tried to think, making his head hurt even more. He relaxed and took a deep breath. Who could have imprisoned him? Perhaps it was the Shadows. He had disobeyed their orders. Was it possible this was the price of defiance? Somehow, he doubted it.
But why had he been out that night? Right, he’d wanted to find some incriminating evidence against Kensington. That was why he’d been in his study! He was snooping through Kensington’s desk when Olivia interrupted him and—
Oh, Lord! Olivia!
He had spent the night in her room and promised to come and see her father first thing in the morning. What time was it now? What day was it?
Jarvis stood, rushed toward the door, and started banging. “Let me out!” he yelled.
It might not have been the smartest thing to do, but he was lucid. He had full use of his limbs, and adrenaline suppressed his headache. He would be able to fight off whoever had him locked up.
Jarvis wasn’t certain how he’d gotten to this place, but he probably hadn’t seen the attacker coming. Now, there was only one point of entry. This blasted door.
He banged on the door for a minute before he got tired, and his vision started blurring.
All right, maybe he had overestimated his abilities and his health due to the sudden rise in adrenaline while thinking of Olivia. He was weak and dizzy.
But Olivia needed him. He’d promised to marry her when he left after their night of passion. And he had to make it back to her first thing in the morning.
Finally, he heard the sound of footsteps outside the door. Light peeked in from the crack between the door and the floor. Jarvis took a few steps away from the door and got in a battle stance.
The door creaked and opened, but before Jarvis could react, a bright light blinded him, causing him to take a few more steps back and shield his eyes.
“You’d do best not to try to stand, toff,” said a gravelly, menacing voice from behind the torch. “It is much too easy to knock you down.”
Jarvis unshielded his eyes and squinted at the tall, dark figure holding the torch.
Hades.
Behind him, two equally large men flanked the doorway.
“What in the devil am I doing here?” Jarvis’s voice was hoarse, as if from disuse.
“Answering for your sins.”
