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.But all thoughts ceased when he heard a scream come from the house.Eli acted on pure rage by jumping from his hiding place and charging forward.Dimly he was aware of his men following, of them engaging the guard dogs.All he was concerned about was getting into the house and finding Avilon.One man with a scar on his face jumped into his way, and he swung his fist up as hard as he could.He barely registered the jarring impact that shook his shoulder.All his attention was focused on the front door.And then it swung open just as he reached it, and Avilon fell into his arms.* * * *“Are you crazy?” Avilon screamed at him.She dangled over the shoulder of one man, her hands tied over her head.She tried kicking with her feet, but the man held her legs tightly and slapped her on her rear.“Let me go!”The men didn’t seem to be afraid of walking in daylight where anyone could see them, but then again, there really wasn’t anyone walking around at dawn.By the time they got to where they were going, she felt nauseous from the blood rushing into her head.Her captor walked up to a house, crossed the porch, and knocked on the door.She struggled again when she heard it open, but he suddenly threw her off his shoulder, and she landed hard on her right side.Pain lanced through her body, causing her to curl into a fetal position.But before she could assess just how badly she was hurt, a hand yanked her upward, and she stared into Eugene Behr’s cold, dark eyes.He dragged her inside, through a foyer and into a room decorated in dark mahogany and cherry leather.He pushed her into a chair and then sat behind his ornate desk.“My men lost track of you earlier, but now that I have you, I’ll ask you one last time.Where is your sister hiding my daughter?” he asked without preamble.“There’s nothing you can do that will make me tell you anything,” she all but spat at him.He reached into a drawer and pulled out a revolver.Avilon’s eyes widened.“There are certain things I’m exceptional at,” he stated as he leveled the barrel at her.“One is making money.Another is my determination at getting my property.”“People are not property.”“Of course they are.Those who have money”—he gestured to himself—“will always be able to buy the future of those who have none.” And he pointed to her.“Then shoot me,” she told him calmly.He stared at her, eyes narrowed as he assessed her.Avilon felt peace descend over her, because as much as she wanted to jump up and run out of the room, away from this crazy man who now held her very life in the palm of his hand, she knew any sudden move wouldn’t be the smartest decision.For a brief second, Eli and Jason flashed through her mind, and a bittersweet ache hit her heart.She would have liked to have that family they talked about.And then he did something unexpected.Eugene Behr lowered the gun.He looked over her head as another man walked in.One of his thugs, she thought.They talked in low voices, and then Behr shot her a small, evil grin before rushing out of the room, leaving behind his guard dog.That grin worried her.Had they happened to find where Ellis had been hiding Amelia? Was he rushing, right now, to grab her sister and take Odette? Behr had taken the gun.Perhaps she could outrun the hulking brute he’d left behind.It was worth a try, even with her hands tied in front of her.She waited for a few moments, let the man relax a bit as he came to the wrong conclusion that she wouldn’t cause him any trouble.As soon as he began to sit, she darted for the door.A second later, he caught her around the waist and swung her around.She screamed as she crashed into the fireplace, her hand landing on the poker.Instinctively she grabbed it, and as he spun her around, she rammed it down onto his foot.He let her go as he gasped, grabbing the poker that had pierced through his shoe, but she didn’t waste any time escaping.She flew from the room and headed to the front door.Just as she opened it, she saw Eli.With a cry of happiness, she flew into his arms.* * * *“I think he found her,” she babbled into his shoulder.“He left after Poker Boy came to tell him something.Ellis has to go save her.”“Shh,” he said, stroking his hand down her long hair in a soothing gesture.“Amelia is here, and Ellis hid Odette.Wherever Behr went, it wasn’t to them.”For the first time, she looked around and saw the remnants of the fight between Eli’s men and Behr’s.Then she saw Amelia rushing at her, and she stepped out of Eli’s arms to embrace her sister, taking a step back at Amelia’s impact.“Come on,” Jason said as he appeared at the bottom of the porch steps.A small trickle of blood came from the corner of his mouth.“Let’s get back to the club.We can figure everything out there.I’ve got the men rounding up Behr’s dogs to take to Scannell.”With Eli and Jason surrounding Avilon, and Ellis holding on to Amelia, they trudged back to the club.They made an incongruous band as they marched past early morning traffic, hackneys whisking by as people traveled to whatever jobs they held.Women wearing aprons and with scarves around their heads hurried by, and men with shovels and buckets walked up and down the streets, cleaning up the manure.Such mundane pieces in a city that seemed to breathe its own uniqueness [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

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