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James pulled on the reins of his horse, urging the animal to stop in the thick darkness. It was a lonely part of London town, this far out on the perimeter. Here, there were warehouses and old buildings, long disused. He’d passed an old brewery and two meat houses, neither of which had life within them.
He was certain of the address as he stepped down from the horse and wrapped the reins around a fence post nearby. It might have been a lonely place, but that was certainly the way Marina’s abductor would want it to be.
Taking the bag of money off the saddle, he looked at his surroundings. He’d followed the requests exactly in the letter, not wanting to risk Marina’s life by disobeying. He’d not told the constables, and when Michael had offered to come and watch from a distance, James had refused. For one thing, Michael wasn’t well enough yet. Mostly though, James did not want to take the risk. He didn’t know what the abductor would do if he saw Michael.
Turning his back on the horse, James held tightly to the leather bag in his hand and crossed the open yard toward the warehouse the abductor had specified in his letter. A candlelight bobbed by an open door, showing James was in the right place. By the door, two men stood, apparently unaffected by the chill in the air, for they had stoic faces though their hair was ruffled by the cold wind.
What was strange to James was that they were content to show their faces. Clearly, they didn’t fear being recognized.
Perhaps the masked man has hired them for this task alone. That would mean it will be hard to identify him through them.
James cursed inwardly as he approached. He was a few steps away when one of the men raised his hand.
“Stop.”
“I’m here to see –”
“We know,” the first man said again and stepped forward.
“Then step aside.” James’ darkened voice seemed to unsettle the man a little, for he fidgeted where he stood.
“Drop the bag. I have to search you for a weapon.”
James did as he was told and held out his arms, forcing the frock coat to hang wide on his frame. The man stepped forward and searched him, checking all his pockets but finding nothing, he nodded his head forward.
“Go in.”
James didn’t need to be told twice. He grabbed the bag from the earth and hurried through the door of the warehouse.
At first, he saw nothing but the darkness that could have been never-ending. His feet walked through damp puddles on the stone floor, the only thing he could use to direct himself in the darkness. As he walked, a light appeared on his left, and he made his way toward it. In a chamber of the main warehouse, there was a candle lit and placed on a table.
James stumbled on the sight revealed by that candle. The masked man, completely dressed head to toe in black, was standing very still, his hand gripping a pistol he held down by his side. To his left, Marina was in a chair, fastened tight with so many ropes they pulled against her gown.
“Marina,” James whispered, and her green eyes shot up to meet his own through the dim light.
CHAPTER19
Marina’s nerves grew as James stepped out of the shadows. Any relief she might have felt at seeing him was hampered by the way the masked man beside her gripped to the pistol.
“No further forward,” the man warned, his voice deeper than before. It struck Marina he was using a fake voice to avoid being recognized. James abruptly stopped, his boots splashing in the puddles in the warehouse beneath him. His hand gripped to a bag so tightly, his knuckles were white, and his eyes darted between the masked man and Marina constantly, never resting on either of them for long.
“Drop the money.” The masked man gestured with the pistol at the ground between them.
“Are you not going to tell me why you are doing this?” James asked, slowly placing the bag on the ground.
“You know well enough. The money…” The masked man’s face turned toward it.
“You should earn it like a decent man, rather than kidnap my wife to get it.” The way James had called Marina his wife had her stiffening in her seat. She couldn’t remember hearing him say it before, and if he had done so, then it was certainly not with so much possessiveness.
She longed to be with him alone, far away from here, somewhere safe.
“We do what we have to,” the masked man muttered harshly. “Kick the bag over to me.”
James kicked it with fervor. It landed at the masked man’s feet where he dropped down to look inside. When James took a step toward Marina, the man lifted the pistol, aiming it straight at James.
“Don’t move,” he warned. James held himself still, his eyes on Marina.
