Love's Last Kiss, page 26
“Yes.” She touched his arm and smiled at him. “Try not to worry. I know this city well. I’ll be fine, and I’ll meet you before ten.”
“Good.” He hated the fact she’d have to walk alone in the dark.
She kissed him again until his phone buzzed with a text from Calum.
Go.
Kade unlocked the door and breathed in the fresh, humid air laced with the scents of gardenias and boxwood. Since it was summer, they had at least another two hours of sunlight.
She touched his cheek and disappeared down the stairs.
Exhaling like a wounded beast, he closed the door and went back to the kitchen window. Outside, he saw Leonato talking to… Nate?
Nate and Leonato spoke, with raised voices, for six minutes. Then, with a dismissive wave, Nate walked away.
Kade checked the new text from Calum.
She’s gone.
At nine p.m., Rose slipped through the back door into her kitchen. She was grateful that she hadn’t had time to lock the door when they’d left earlier.
She’d hidden her box in a place where no one would ever find it. And since she had a bit of time before meeting Kade, she’d hurried home to feed King George.
On the table, she found her mother’s sweatshirt. She’d come home before hiding the box to make sure Timmy hadn’t left her a message on the house phone. It had been so hot, she’d taken off the jacket and forgotten to grab it when she left.
The sun had set, but the light from the cemetery allowed her to move around without turning on any lamps. As soon as she filled the bowl with cat food, King George appeared through the kitty door. His white fur was dirty, and she wished she had time to wash him. No, she wished she could bring the cat with her. Having King George would go a long way to settling Timmy down once he realized they were leaving town.
She snagged the photo off her fridge and slipped it into her back pocket when the house phone rang with an unknown ID. She didn’t answer it until she heard a familiar voice on the answering machine.
She picked up the receiver and said, “Harry?”
“Rose.” Harry’s firm voice carried through the line. “I just spoke with Timmy, and he says you’re going on a grand adventure tonight. Is everything okay?”
She almost laughed at that statement. But sometimes the irony was just too painful. “Everything is fine.” She crossed her fingers. “Timmy is being released tonight. He’s just excited.”
“I see.” Harry paused, and she heard his heavy breaths, as if he was walking quickly. “How is Magnus? Has he been bothering you?”
She glanced at the clock. She had forty minutes before meeting Kade and needed to get going. “He’s always bothering me. But it’s nothing I can’t handle.”
She prayed that would be the truth once she exchanged the box for the money.
“All right.” Harry sighed. “I’ll be in touch.”
“Thank you, Harry.” She squeezed the phone because she realized this might be the last time she’d speak to him. She and Kade hadn’t discussed all the details, but her new life might include leaving Harry—the only person who’d ever cared for her—behind. Tears welled, and she stared at her dingy kitchen with her second-hand apron, tote bag filled with bills, and King George who snarled at her because he hated phones.
Everything was happening so quickly, she’d hardly had time to think through all the ramifications of what she was about to do. “Harry, I don’t know if you know this, but I appreciate everything you’ve done for me and Timmy. I honestly don’t know how we would’ve survived without you.”
“It’s going to be okay, Rose.” Harry cleared his throat. “I need to go. I’ll see you soon.”
Although she knew that wasn’t true, she said, “I hope so.”
Once she hung up, and checked King George’s water bowl for the last time, she slipped out of the kitchen door. She debated locking it but didn’t want to make things more difficult for Calum. If someone wanted to steal her bills or the costumes she wore at the club, they were welcome to them. Besides, everyone she loved was waiting for her elsewhere.
The sun had set, and the clouds hid the moon, making her surroundings appear bleak. Thunder rolled in the distance, and the smell of ozone filled the air.
Once she checked her perimeter and decided no one was following her, she took off.
She ran, as fast as she could through the city she’d once loved, toward Kade.
She ran as fast as she could toward the man she loved.
“Is Rose here yet?” Kade dug through his gym bag, grateful that the Fighter’s Hole was empty. Except for Vane, who leaned against a locker, arms crossed.
“No.”
Kade glanced at the clock on the wall, then at her pink backpack on the ground. “She’s late.”
“Don’t worry. She’ll be here.”
“You don’t have to do this, Vane.” Kade pulled out a clean tank top and yanked it on over his gym pants.
Once Leonato had left the parking lot behind Juliet’s Lily, Kade had run to his apartment and gathered everything he needed—which wasn’t much since he had to carry whatever he packed along with Rose’s backpack. When he’d met Vane and Calum in Johnson Square, they’d made a few changes to the plan. Changes that Kade agreed with, but changes that meant they needed more help than he’d originally thought.
Kade had never been great about asking for help and was even worse at showing gratitude. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to or wasn’t grateful. He just hated owing others, and he was tired of being a pawn in other men’s chess games. Then there was the fact that he never knew how to say thank you. Tonight, hopefully, he’d find the words.
“I know I don’t have to do this,” Vane said. “Just like Nate and Pete didn’t have to help either.”
“Your buddies still don’t know about your part in this play?”
“No. And—”
“I know.” Kade tucked his street clothes into his gym bag. “You’d like to keep it that way.”
Vane ran a fist over his chin. “Rose doesn’t even know about the fight. She will not be happy when she finds out.”
“I couldn’t tell her.” Because Kade hadn’t wanted to ruin their afternoon. If his plan tonight didn’t work, those hours might be the last they’d ever have together.
“This is so fucked up,” Vane said with a sigh.
“Yep.” Even though Kade would do anything to help Rose exchange that box, the moment Magnus touched Rose in the hospital he’d sealed his fate.
There was no way Kade could allow Magnus to hurt Rose without retribution. “I need to stay focused on the plan. Win this fight. Grab Rose’s money. Get her and Timmy out of town. Without the Fianna finding out.”
A simple plan with lots of opportunities for error. The story of his life.
Vane dropped onto the bench in the middle of the room. “Will Hezekiah give Rose the money and let her go?”
Kade picked up his weapon from the bench, slipped out the clip to make sure it was full, and slammed it back into the gun. Of course the magazine was full. He’d just needed to triple-check. Since this was a private fight, they didn’t have to worry about metal detectors or security guards or weapons checks.
He handed the weapon to Vane. The brother would hold it until after the fight. “Maybe.”
Vane snorted. “And if Hezekiah betrays Rose? Will you kill him too?”
Kade started taping his hands. “If I have to.”
With his mood tonight, he’d kill every man in that room who threatened the plan.
“According to Calum, Magnus has been taking steroids.” Vane leaned forward, his elbows digging into his thighs. “Magnus will come after you with everything he’s got, if for no other reason than his pride. We both know what wounded pride does to a man.”
Yeah. Kade knew all about the danger of men with vulnerable egos. He finished taping his hands. “Let’s get this done.”
Vane shoved Kade’s weapon into his back waistband and slipped on his black field jacket that matched his black combat pants and T-shirt. Kade had to give the brother credit. With his long brown hair tied behind his neck, Vane looked like a badass Green Beret.
Kade shook out his arms and left the room. It was time to take care of Magnus.
It was time to save Rose.
CHAPTER 25
Rose entered Johnson Square and collapsed on a bench beneath a gas lamp. Her lungs hurt and her calves ached. When this was over, she needed to hit the gym.
She took a few deep breaths and checked her watch. She was late. It had taken longer than expected to run to Johnson Square. She’d spent so much time looking over her shoulder, worried about being followed, she’d even knocked over a trash can.
The street lights threw shadows everywhere, and she inhaled deep breaths of humid air that reeked of mildew. Thunder rocked the sky and a raindrop hit her cheek.
Please don’t be an omen.
“Rose.” A man’s voice came behind her.
She turned to see Nate Walker coming toward her. She took a step back. Kade had told her about the help Nate and Pete had given them. Despite having worked with Nate at the club, she didn’t know him that well.
Nate stood a few feet away and shoved his hands in the front pockets of his jeans. He’d secured his long blond hair behind his neck and wore a black motorcycle jacket over a black T-shirt. He seemed larger than she remembered. Tall, muscular, and intimidating. Just like Kade and Vane, Nate filled the space in front of her with his enormous physical presence. “It’s okay.” He took his hands out and held them up, surrender-style. “Calum asked me to meet you here.”
“Where’s Kade?” She hated the tightness in her voice. But something felt… off.
“He’s waiting for you.”
“Where?”
“Across the street.” Nate pointed toward the iron gate that protected Doom’s alley. “Calum asked me to meet you here and take you to him.”
“Kade never mentioned this.” She shivered and wrapped her arms around herself. “Okay.” She sighed. “I’ll go with you. But if anything seems hinky, I’m running. Got it?”
He smiled, and his green eyes glittered in the lamplight. “I wouldn’t have it any other way.”
He turned and walked through the garden square, and she followed. When they reached the street, he offered his arm and she took it. They crossed the street, and he waved to the horse-drawn-carriage driver who glared at them. Once on the sidewalk, they headed toward the iron gate.
Nearby, Calum Prioleau, in a blue seersucker suit, texted on his cell phone.
When he saw them, he slipped his phone into his jacket pocket. “Thank you, Nate.”
“You’re welcome, Calum. Call me if you need anything else.”
“I will.”
“Good luck, Rose.” Nate nodded at Calum and then walked back toward the garden square.
Once Nate disappeared, Calum said, “Nate doesn’t know about Doom or Vane’s involvement.”
“I won’t say anything.” Besides, she was probably never going to see Nate again. “Calum, why are the plans changing? I don’t like change.”
“I know. But you’re going to have to trust me.” Calum gave her a small smile. “Now, did you hide the box?”
“Yes.” She paused as the church bells rang, signaling ten p.m. “Where is Kade?”
“In Doom.” Calum led them through the alley Rose had exited from the night before.
“I don’t understand. I thought we were meeting in Johnson Square.” She looked around the alley as she thought of something else. “Where is Samantha?”
“Samantha is parked near the children’s hospital.” Calum opened the door, and they went down a set of stairs. As they descended, the air got cooler and danker. “I have Ivers waiting to take you and Kade to the Isle of Grace as soon as you make your trade.”
“But Timmy—”
“Kade and I decided it would be better for you two to make a quicker getaway. Samantha will take Timmy out to the Isle to meet you. Once you leave, I’ll text Doc Bennett and he’ll head to Mamie’s Café. I promise you that we will keep Timmy’s health a priority as we figure this all out.”
“Thank you. I’ve been very worried about that.” She sighed in relief. The realization that she was losing control of this situation was making her anxious and irritable. Yet, at this point, her only choice was to go along. “I hope Timmy doesn’t get upset. He’s expecting me to be with there with Samantha.”
“Samantha will take care of him. I trust her completely.”
Once they went through the metal detector, which wasn’t turned on, they entered the large, empty space. Without the spectators, Rose had a better view of the area.
The floor had old planking around the perimeter, but the center consisted of packed dirt and sand. Random lightbulbs hung from rafters above them. The walls appeared to be original rough-hewn beams and stone. Eighteenth century, if not earlier.
Calum turned on a spotlight that illuminated the pit, and she inhaled deeply. The other night, she’d not noticed the floor-to-ceiling frescoes on the walls. Although chipped and stained with mold, the designs peeked through. A Liberty Tree on one wall. On another, two sentences from Shakespeare’s Sonnet 116.
LOVE ALTERS NOT WITH HIS BRIEF HOURS AND WEEKS, BUT BEARS IT OUT EVEN TO THE EDGE OF DOOM.
“Wow.” She walked to the wall and ran her fingers over the painted word Doom. “Who did this?”
“The Sons of Liberty.” Calum turned on another spotlight that wiped out the lingering shadows. “The original Tondee’s Tavern, owned by Peter and Lucy Tondee, was once above us until it burned down. The Sons of Liberty met here in secret. British soldiers above ground, rebels below.”
She moved around the room to see a faded image of an early colonial flag with vertical red and white stripes and a blue field with eight-pointed white stars. She knew, thanks to her mother, that this was a rare design of the Rebellious Flag.
She breathed in the stale air and met Calum near the fourth fresco, where someone had painted AUGUST 10, 1774.
“In 1774,” Calum said, “the royal governor, James Wright, issued a proclamation forbidding the citizens of Georgia to gather and openly talk about their grievances. On August tenth, thirty men met secretly in this room and adopted eight resolutions affirming their loyalty to the king but also demanding their rights as British citizens.
“They also condemned the Intolerable Acts the king placed on Massachusetts. These men sent these resolutions to the other colonies. Eventually, as things worsened between the Crown and her colonies, these men—still meeting here in secret, along with the Sons of Liberty—elected delegates to the First Continental Congress. In 1776, they held the first public reading of the Declaration of Independence.”
She traced the date with a finger. “That happened in this room?”
“Yes.” Calum went to an electrical panel on the wall and flipped a switch. A horrendous screech filled the room.
She held her hands over her ears. “I’m sure the Sons of Liberty didn’t listen to music that made their eyeballs bleed and burst their eardrums.”
He smiled and flipped the switch again. The deafening death-metal music turned off, leaving the room in a heavy silence.
“Calum?” She moved to the center of the pit and did a slow circle. “Where is Kade?”
“Preparing, I hope.” A round, bald man in a tan suit came through the metal detector, followed by a thuggish man wearing a dark suit. They both stayed in the shadows near the edge of the pit.
Calum came forward and held out his hand. “Welcome to Doom, Hezekiah.”
They shook hands and separated. But when Calum and Hezekiah came toward her, all the air rushed out of her lungs. “Harry?”
Harry, the man she’d known all of her life, bowed his head. “It’s so good to see you again, Rose.”
His familiar voice sounded sincere, almost regretful. So much so that she had to rub her eyes before asking, “What is going on?”
Harry gave her a small smile. “It’s a long, tragic story. A story I worked hard to keep you out of… until your cousin Magnus made that impossible.”
She looked around the room, almost expecting to see her parents and Isaac, until Harry touched her arm. “Rose? Are you alright?”
She couldn’t answer because she’d lost the ability to form words.
“I know this is confusing.” Harry took her wrist. “But I swear to you, I did this to protect you and Timmy.”
Hearing Timmy’s name shook her out of her stupor. She yanked her wrist from Harry’s grasp and rubbed the skin that his warm fingers had touched. “I don’t understand. Why are you here?”
Before Harry could respond, Kade appeared from one of the alcoves.
“Rose?” He dropped his gym bag and her pink backpack near a wall and hurried over to her. He’d changed into gym pants and a tank. “Are you alright?”
She gripped his arm. “This man is Harry. But he’s also Hezekiah Usher.”
Kade’s gaze narrowed on the Harry. “What the fuck is happening?”
“A long-awaited reckoning.” After that simple statement, Harry stared at Rose for a moment. A moment that stretched out like the time it would take for all the stars to die and fall to Earth. Finally, he said, “Every time I see you, Rose, you look more like your mother. Although you have your father’s hazel eyes.”
She gritted her teeth. How could Harry—her parents’ best friend—be Hezekiah Usher?
Kade gently removed her fingers from his arm and held her hand, almost as if worried she was going to launch herself at Harry. Which was a distinct possibility.
Harry continued speaking, as if completely unaware of the emotional bomb that had sucked the air out of the underground room. “I met your parents while attending Yale. The three of us remained friends until their deaths. That’s why I’m here. To make things right.” He checked the clock on the wall and asked Calum, “Where is Magnus?”
“Late,” Calum said.
Harry whispered to his thug, and the larger man left Doom through the metal detector. Once he disappeared, Harry shifted his gaze back to Rose.
