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There was so much she wanted to say to him, but she couldn’t, not here. Her breath escaped her lips in jittered gasps instead, and she wondered how much money he had stumped up just to get her out of here.
“Five thousand, good,” the man said, standing to his feet.
Five thousand pounds?
Marina reeled, her jaw hanging open. James had paid so much to have her back? It was even more than her dowry!
“You can take her, but be careful what you do.” The masked man backed up with the bag. “One move toward me, and I will shoot.”
Marina recognized the hatred and anger in James’ eyes. The glower was heavy, and a muscle ticked in his jaw as he looked at the masked man then he hastened forward, practically running to Marina’s side.
In silence, he untied the ropes at her wrists and her ankles. The one at her waist was the most difficult to undo, and she went to help him before stumbling to her feet. Turning around, she looked into the darkness, but the masked man had vanished.
“He’s gone,” James whispered. “Come, quickly.”
He took her hand and led her out of the warehouse. Marina was weakened from a lack of food. She hadn’t been given anything to eat all day and just a few sips of water. As she ran, she ended up stumbling in that weakness, and James’ arm came up around her waist to help her.
“James, I’m so sorry, I did stay where you told me to,” she explained in a rush. He never let up with his pace and directed her back to his horse at the edge of the compound. “He struck me.” She lifted a hand to the back of her head and winced. James panicked, turning her around to examine the wound in the moonlight.
“That bastard. He will face revenge for this, I swear.” He took hold of Marina’s waist and lifted her into the saddle even before she could attempt to step up herself.
“How? He’s gone,” Marina pointed out. She didn’t so much care for revenge. “I’m just glad to be away from there.” As James stepped up behind her, he wrapped an arm around her waist. She gave into her longings and embraced him tightly. He seemed to abandon his haste to be away from this place so quickly and held her back, his lips going urgently to her temple to kiss her there. “Thank you so much,” she whispered, “for getting me out of there.”
“I would never have left you there,” he whispered against her temple. “I am only sorry I could not get to you sooner.”
“What of your gambling hall?” she asked, lifting her head as James shifted them both in the saddle, wrapping one arm around her waist to keep her in place as his other hand took the reins and prompted the horse on. “Is it gone? Destroyed?”
“Completely.”
“Oh, James.”
“Do not be sorry for that.” His voice was strong. “I could not care less about it.”
“What do you mean?” She angled her head to look over her shoulder at him, noting the severeness in his expression in the moonlight with his dark blue eyes staring forward at the path ahead of them.
“I would have paid any sum to have you back and seen any building of mine burnt down to have you. Marina, when you were gone… the thought of you being hurt…” He broke off, swallowing hard, so that his Adam’s apple bobbed in his neck.
Wait… does he…?
Marina wondered for a minute if James looked at her as she did him. Was it possible he felt some love for her?
Rather than uttering any more words, he moved his lips and kissed her head again before concentrating on the road ahead.
“Thank the Lord you’re with me again, and damn the business, for all I care.”
* * *
“How is she?” Michael asked from the doorway of the study, looking out across the corridor and toward the sitting room. James couldn’t blame him for standing there for so long; he had done much the same that morning.
Marina was in the sitting room now with her friend, Caroline, at her side. The two had embraced for a long time, relieved to see Marina was back again.
“She’ll recover,” James said with confidence, “she assures me of it. She’s strong.” He smiled a little, thinking of the way she had curled into his arms when they had returned to the house the night before. With confidence, she had said all would be well now. He admired her for it. “Yet the threat is still there. Now this man knows he can get money out of me, so what’s to stop him doing it again?”
“I take your point.” Michael nodded slowly. “What are we going to do then?”
“Hmm.” James shifted his weight between his feet, looking through the two doors to catch a glimpse of Marina as she sat beside her friend, the two hand in hand. The bruises were still traceable on Marina’s neck, and the sight of them made him sick. Fortunately, the knock to the back of her head had only given her a mild concussion, according to the doctor, but James feared how great that strike could have been. Too much weight, and the masked man might have killed her.
“I have an idea,” he confessed as he walked away from the door and moved toward his desk. It was an idea he’d had a few days ago, but with the fire, he’d been unable to put it into action. “We still have debts owed to us. For the next two days, I will visit the men who owe us money.”
