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“Somewhere you’ll never find him.”
He turned his head to look for Ben but barely got a glimpse down the alley before Calvin grabbed him by the front of hisshirt, raised a fist, and grinned. “This is going to hurt real bad so brace yourself.”
It did hurt. By the time they tossed him amongst the garbage at the end of the alley, the pain was so intense, not a single thing on him didn’t throb. His eyes were swelling shut, blood filled his mouth, and after three attempts to crawl to his knees, he collapsed in water or piss, he wasn’t sure which, and waited for the pain to go away as Calvin and Harvey placed bets on how long it would take him to give up and die.
Voices he didn’t recognize filtered in. Someone other than Calvin and Harvey was in the alley. Long minutes passed before whoever was there left and Harrison’s goons gave him one last kick to the ribs before walking away, their voices growing distant.
He had no idea how long he laid there and couldn’t see a thing by the time he heard Ben’s voice.
“Holy shit! What the hell did they do to you?”
Ben rolled him over and lifted him. “Aaron, can you hear me?”
He managed to croak a weak, “Yes,” before trying to sit up. Ben helped him and once he was leaning back against the side of the building, he tried to pry his eyes open. “Where the hell were you?”
“Trying to find a way in. The damn door didn’t have a handle. I tried to pry it open but finally gave up. I found a window on the other side of the building and was trying to find a way up to it but without a ladder, it will be impossible.” He looked down the alley. “Did you find Betsey?”
He nodded. “Yes.” He exhaled a deep breath. “He won’t let her go.”
“Like hell, he won’t.”
“She made another deal with him.” When Ben started to protest, he held up his hand to stop him. “He took Samuel from her. She hasn’t seen him since she got off the train. She agreed to stay with him if he let me and Samuel go.” He turned his head andspit blood. “But then those bastards threw me out, laughed when I asked about Samuel, and beat the hell out of me.”
“Damn it.” Ben sat back against the wall and sighed. “What do we do now?”
Aaron knew what he wanted to do but ending up hanging for shooting all three of those bastards did Betsey or Samuel little good. “We go find the sheriff. Harrison seemed to think they wouldn’t do anything to him but I can’t believe that. Once they hear he’s holding Betsey and Samuel against their will, they’ll have to look into it.”
“Why did he think they wouldn’t do anything?”
“Apparently he’s popular around here. An outstanding citizen, according to Harrison.” Aaron sighed. “Maybe he’s right. The law around here might not do anything to him. From what I’ve seen, Harrison is rich and owns a theater. He might be influential enough they’ll think we’re lying or he’s paid them to look the other way when trouble knocks on his door.”
“Then we need a plan.”
They sat in silence until Aaron’s body went numb. “What we need is help.”
“What sort of help?”
“The only kind we have this far from home. Help me up.”
Ben helped him to his feet and wrapped one arm around his waist. “You want to clean yourself up before or after we talk to the sheriff?”
“After. I don’t want to leave Betsey with that bastard any longer than I have to.”
Chapter Twenty
She wasnumb by the time she was escorted back to the monstrous house Harrison lived in. The fact Agnes wasn’t there to help her undress was the first clue something wasn’t right. She’d been locked in as she always was but for once, the house wasn’t quiet as a tomb. Something was happening. Loud bangs and knocks echoed through the walls and the occasional shout made her already frazzled nerves worse and caused her stomach to ache.
Betsey walked to the window and looked out, wondering where Aaron and Samuel were. Fear Harrison hadn’t been true to his word and let them go was gnawing at her conscious and had been since they’d led Aaron out of her dressing room at the theater. The sick feeling growing in her gut told her Harrison had lied. That she’d bartered away her life for nothing and now that she was seeing another side of Harrison, she trusted her gut instincts more than she did him.
The sun was sinking below the horizon and the city glowed dimly outside her window, the street lamps barely throwing flickers of amber light across the road. Movement at the side of the house cast long shadows across the grass. She couldn’t seewho was there, but judging those shadows, it was several people. She watched those dark shapes move in and out of the light for nearly ten minutes before she saw someone come down the front steps. From their stature, it was a woman. She was carrying something Betsey couldn’t make out until the woman stopped and turned back to the house.
“Samuel?”
Betsey’s blood rushed through her head so fast she was dizzy by the time she tried to get the window open. The woman turned back to the sidewalk and started walking and Betsey’s heart beat frantically as she struggled with the window. “Samuel!” She beat on the glass, slapping her palms against it while shouting his name, pushing on the window to try and get it open.
Harrison had lied. He hadn’t given Samuel to Aaron like he’d said he was going to do and if he’d lied about that, had he lied about letting Aaron go? They’d already tried to kill him once. Had she blindly stood there while Calvin and Harvey led Aaron to his death?
Tears blinded her as she struggled with the window and her sobs drowned out the sound of someone coming into her room. When she was grabbed, her arms pulled away from the window, she screamed, jerked her arms back and swung at the person behind her.
