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“She will not sit comfortably for a week.”
Thinking of his own wife, Elijah wholeheartedly agreed. A week might be too generous, in fact. When he caught up with her…
Well, first, he was going to deal with the villain.Thenthey were clearly going to require another talk about reckless behavior.
Chapter 36
Josie
The Dark Walk was deeply shadowed and not well lit, unlike most of Vauxhall’s pathways. The sounds were also muted by the shrubs and trees, though that also had something to do with distance as they moved away from the main activities. Instinctively, the three of them bunched together, moving a little slower and more cautiously down the path than how they had entered it.
“Where did he go?” Mary whispered, looking around nervously.
Josie tightened her lips, shaking her head. They had already lost sight of him, and if they reached a point where the path divided…
She hurried her steps, moving ahead of Lily and Mary, who she could hear scrambling to catch up.
There were several nooks and small courtyards along the path, and Josie only glanced into each of them, confirming they were empty before moving on. Behind her, she could hear Mary muttering imprecations at how fast Josie was moving—with her shorter legs, she had to work twice as hard to keep up.
Drawing to a halt before the entrance to the next courtyard, Josie gasped when she looked in.
He was there, the man who had attacked her, standing in the center of the courtyard next to the sculpture fountain, with gun drawn and a baffled expression.
Before either of them could say anything, Mary slammed into her side, clearly not having expected Josie’s abrupt halt.
“Two of you?!” The man cursed, his eyes rolling heavenward. Out of the corner of her eye, Josie saw Lily come to a halt, several feet away from them. She could not see her friend’s reaction clearly but saw her stepping back several feet. The hedges gave enough cover, the man did not see her. Shaking his head, he gestured at Josie and Mary. “Come in here.”
“I would rather not, thank you,” Josie said, but the moment she started speaking, he was already lifting the gun. If it had been only her, she might have tried to run, but she could not risk him shooting into the hedges and hitting Mary or Lily.
“Come. Here.” This time, he growled the order.
Mary’s hand found hers, and their fingers wrapped around each other. Slowly stepping into the courtyard, they stayed as far away from the man as possible.
“Move over there.” He pointed at the far side of the hedges, away from the entrance they had just come through and a possible escape. There was another gap in the hedges behind him, another way into the courtyard without having to push through branches, but that was unreachable to them as well.
“Witless females.” He growled again in frustration. “Now, what the devil am I supposed to do?”
The lethal ire in his voice chilled Josie’s blood. He had expected Elijah to come running and got her and Mary instead. Mary’s fingers gripped hers tighter. His gaze hardened.
“Good thing there are two of you. You.” He pointed the gun at Mary. “You are going to go back out there and tell her husband she has been kidnapped, and he is to await further instruction.”
“What further instruction?” Mary asked, not moving from Josie’s side.
As much as Josie appreciated her friend’s bravery, she also wanted to kick Mary. This was a chance for her to save herself! She needed to take it. The fewer hostages he had, the better. Josie squeezed Mary’s fingers tighter, in a grip that should have been painful, but Mary ignored her, acting like a flibbertigibbet, her voice rising higher as if approaching hysterics.
“When will you send it? How will he receive it?”
“He will receive it later when I figure out how to send it, you ninnyhammer. Now, go!” Lifting the gun again, he aimed it directly at her head. “Or I will shoot you and leave you here to deliver the message if someone finds you in time.”
Squeaking, Mary released Josie’s hand and fled. She was quite the little actress. Josie did not believe for one second Mary was as hysterical as she pretended to be. Frightened, even terrified, yes, but none of them were the types to lose their heads in a dire situation. Acting as he expected might keep them all alive for a little longer. The man tilted his head, clearly listening to Mary’s rapidly dwindling footsteps as she hurried away.
Josie stared at him, mind racing. Mary and Lily were safe. She did not want to be kidnapped. Elijah and Rex would be on their way at any moment. All she had to do was stall.
“What are you doing here?” It was the first question that came to mind.
“I’m here to kill your husband.”
“No!” She pretended to be shocked, though voicing a denial was certainly no strain on her acting abilities. The very idea this man might succeed in his mission sent pain streaking through her, as well as anger and determination that he fail his mission.
