Seeing Danger (Sinclair and Raven #2)(85)

Dev raised a hand as he heard voices.

“My brothers are going to make you very sorry you ever took us.”

“I'm already sorry,” a male voice muttered.

A partition half obscured what was going on in the rest of the building, yet Dev had heard Somer's voice clearly and knew she was close.

“Yes, and our sister Essex knows how to make you sick with herbs, and Eden, our other sister, will probably shoot you with her gun.”

This time Dorrie was speaking and he couldn't help but smile. They were, it seemed, in one piece and tormenting someone.

“Be quiet and get down here so I can put you to work!”

“We already know how to pick a lock!”

“I ain’t teaching you ’ow to pick locks. I'm teaching you to go into houses and steal fine things.”

Rounding the partition, Dev saw the twins sitting on a tall cabinet, swinging their legs while a man stood below them wringing his hands.

“Look.”

Following Lilly's finger, Dev noted a group of children standing at the rear of the room bending over a table. They were shackled together by metal cuffs and long chains. They had found the missing children, it seemed, but before he dealt with them, he would deal with the man before him.

“My brothers are big and mean with no front teeth and hands as big as a cow pat.”

“Dev!”

Holding up his hands as the twins saw him, he stalled them as they stood up and prepared to launch themselves off the cabinet. He waited for the man to turn, and then planted his fist in his face. “Now you can jump,” he said, holding out his arms.

He heard Lilly's sweet laughter as they flew through the air at him, their faces alight with excitement.

“We've had an adventure!”

“Weren't you afraid?” Dev's words were muffled as he kissed and cuddled them.

“At first, and then we knew you'd come for us so we turned it into an adventure!”

Cam took Dorrie and tossed her into the air, then gave her a hug. Dev watched his eyes close briefly as the little girl wrapped her arms around his neck, and knew that like he, the tension inside him had finally eased.

He turned to find Lilly, but she had left his side to go to the other children. He followed after he had found the key to their chains on the man, who was just coming out of the stupor Dev had put him.

“’Ello, Lilly.”

He watched the children smile at her, and she back at them.

“I'm very pleased to see you, Timmy,” she said, patting the head of a little boy. “Is everyone well?”

“Fink so. Finnegan ain't a bad man, just got caught up with him.”

“Who's him?”

Lilly kept the children talking while Dev released the chains around their ankles.

“Dominus. Heard tell he's nasty piece, so I heard Finnegan say, but we ain’t never seen him.”

“Go and question the man now, Devon. We need to learn all we can about who is behind this business. If it is Danderfield, then he must be stopped.”

He ran a finger down her cheek and then went to do as she asked.

“What's your name?” Cam was pulling the man to his feet when he arrived.

“Finnegan.”

His chin was starting to swell from the knock Dev had given him.

“You took something that was very dear to us, Mr. Finnegan. To realize that your little sisters were kidnapped by God knows who and taken to God knows where was a torture that I assure you I have no wish to ever repeat!”

Dev felt the bite of anger return as he said the words out loud.

“I-I… They were not meant to belong to anyone.”

“Pardon?” Dev lifted one eyebrow at the stuttered words.

“He said—”

“Yes, Dorrie, I heard thank you, love. Perhaps you and Somer could now go and help the others to release the children.” Dev gave Essie a look, and she quickly took her little sisters in hand.

“Let me get this straight, Mr. Finnegan,” Dev said, his eyes once again steady on the man quivering on the seat before him. He knew Cam's expression was equally as fierce as his, because Finnegan's eyes were darting between them. “You were taking only children with no family ties for your endeavors. Whatever those endeavors are.”

“Y-yes.” He nodded rapidly, looking like he was bobbing for apples.

“Then why were our sisters taken!” Cam snapped.

“Th-the men who took them found them alone, and as we needed only two more, he took your sisters.”

“For what purpose?” Dev questioned.

Finnegan looked from him to Cam, then dropped his eyes to his hands, which were twisted together so tight that his knuckles were white.

“Dominus wants to start a thieving gang and take out any opposition, so that he runs all the children on the streets of London. But these children were for more specialized work. Breaking into the houses of the gentry and stealing things.”

“Dominus?”

“That's the name he calls himself.”

“Master,” Dev said softly. “Dominus means master.”

“Danderfield would be just the sort of man to do something like this to my mind.”

“He's a nobleman, this man who calls himself Dominus. But I don't know his real name, only followed the instructions he gave me.”