Slave To Love
Chapter Twenty Five
There was the sound of a struggle and someone falling to the ground.
Peering back around, Myles was relieved to find Jack still standing and Bobby and Dimitrius had joined the fray. D was securing Capono's hands behind his back with rope. There was no way the blackguard was going to be able to talk himself out of this one. Once the Marshals finally arrived, they would cart him off to jail and hopefully throw away the key. Lord Thomas, however, lay on the ground. From where Myles was standing, it didn't look like the man was moving. What had happened when he'd turned away? Had Jack been able to get the gun away in enough time or had he… gone through with it?
"Please…" a soft sob echoed throughout the quiet room. "Please…"
Jack stared down at the man he'd wrestled the gun away from. The gleam in his eyes was desperate as he clung to Jack's pant leg and pleaded with him to put an end to his misery. "No." Sue would hate him if he let her father kill himself. In fact, he would hate himself just as much if he'd let the older man pull the trigger.
"She'll never forgive me. I can't face her after what I've done."
"He's talking crazy, Jack," Bobby muttered as they shared a glance.
Jack was beginning to think the same thing, but Thomas believed that he'd done something so terrible that he'd decided the only way he could deal with the repercussions was to end his life. There was more to the story than they were being told. "What have you done, John?"
They never received an answer. The man immediately broke into heavy, heart-wrenching sobs that shook his entire frame until his grip loosened and Jack was able to pull his leg free. Whatever he'd done, John Thomas had found it unforgiveable in his daughter's eyes. But Jack knew of Sue's kind forgiving heart. It wasn't in her nature to hate others. And when they finally found her, they would prove it to him.
"Why do I have the suspicion that what he's talking about has something to do with you?" Jack hadn't even noticed that Bobby had left his side until he heard the familiar accent of his best friend. Manning had stalked over to Capono and grabbed the weaselly yabbo by his shirt and hauled him to his feet. But the anger in the Aussie's voice and his threatening one did nothing to dissuade Capono. In fact, that smug grin returned now that adequate air was moving through his lungs. The sight of it made Bobby's stomach turn and bile rise to his throat. He kept himself in check though, despite his wanting to rip the drongo limb from limb. "You'd better start talking, mate. Because what I do to you will tickle compared to what the Marshals will do once they get hold of you."
He received no verbal response. Only a wider grin.
"Where's Sue?" Jack asked, his stare hard and cold enough to form icicles on his lashes.
"Dead," was the simple answer they were given.
Bobby choked up tighter on the man's collar, enjoying how the color drained from his face. "Wrong answer. We know she was here. We know she's alive. Who took her?"
Capono glared back at the tall Australian and shook his head in defiance. "I don't have to tell you anything."
"Well someone had better start explaining!"
All eyes turned toward the doorway of the west entryway. Twelve men stood there, armed with rifles in their hands and pistols on their hips. The band was led by a small man with wrinkles marring a once youthful face. His eyes were like cold blue steel as they moved about the room, taking in the sight of all the guest who still lingered.
"If you are not directly involved in the situation, I suggest you leave." Or be arrested. He didn't say it outright, but it was certainly implied and no one waited around to see if the threat would be acted upon. Even the Hamilton's staff retreated until it was only their master and young mistress remained.
The Marshals seemed content with that as they approached the small group, their arms still at the ready.
"Marshal Kenner," Jack addressed the old man with a sense of openness that eased the frisson of tension in the room. Then he smiled, "Wes."
"Hudson," the man replied, removing his hat to smooth back the little bit of hair that remained on the top of his head. He clapped the young man on the back with the familiar touch of friendship. His eyes then moved to Bobby and D respectively, each of them gaining a nod. "Manning, Gans… It's been a long time." Yet this was not the time to exchange pleasantries. "Your boy said you needed our assistance. He was a bit sketchy on the details, though. Care to tell me what this is all about?" He eyed Capono as he struggled against his bounds, but paid little attention to him. His focus was on the broken man sprawled out on the floor.
"This mad man destroyed my daughter's evening!" Lord Hamilton claimed, his regal appearance back in place now that a Colt wasn't being aimed at his face.
Wes held up a hand to silence the pompous man. There were more important things going on here than just a ruined party. "What's going on, Jack?"
Jack began the story with Sue's first kidnapping, explaining how Bobby and Myles had found her in Hayden's clutches and subsequently bought her freedom and brought her to his home. He went on to tell him about what Sue had endured while in Hayden's "summer home"—the way she and the other girls were treated, their living conditions, what they were forced to learn—and explained how he'd sent her back to her father, the man lying on the floor.
"Someone took her again from her home. She was here. We're sure of it. But now she's gone again and Capono knows of her whereabouts." The man in question snorted a laugh and shook his head. Just for that, D twisted his arm a little harder than necessary.
"But what about him?" Wes asked about Lord Thomas. The man was now up in a sitting position with a heavy blanket draped over his shoulders. His hands were shackled in front of him, but from the look in his eyes, there wasn't the possibility of him trying to run.
"It's all my fault…"
"He's been saying that for a while, now," Bobby told him, glancing back at his bride-to-be. Her eyes were filled with tears as she stared at the broken man on the ground, tears that he had the urge to chase away with a tight embrace.
He watched as she broke away from Myles and Lucy, her steps slow and calculated. He reached out for her, but she merely shook him away and moved over to their prisoner, no judgment in her eyes, only her normal curiosity.
"Lord Thomas?" she called gently to him, crouching down to his eyelevel.
It took a moment for his eyes to reach hers. When they did, she was taken aback by the emotion running through them. Lord Thomas was fighting not just an internal battle with himself, but a war. "I've lost her."
"We'll get her back," she promised, even though she had no right to do so. Still, they would make certain those responsible would surely pay for their actions.
He shook his head, his lower lip quivering. "She's not mine to have anymore."
Tara asked him what he meant by that, but he refused to answer. He merely gave a shake of his head, dismissing the rest of her questioning. Climbing back to her feet, she watched the older man as his words sank in. His empty eyes focused on Capono one last time before he lowered his head with all the shame he felt.
Then it hit her with a sudden gasp. Wide-eyed, she glanced between the two prisoners, unable to believe what she'd just concluded. But there was no other explanation. "You sold your own daughter?"