Unending Devotion (Michigan Brides #1)(61)

Lily frantically scanned the nearby stumps and then she scrutinized the smattering of houses that edged the town.

“Don’t worry. I’ll figure out something.”

Even as the words left her mouth, she prayed that she hadn’t told her sister a lie, and that she hadn’t helped her sister to escape only to put her in the worst danger yet.





Chapter

18



A thud at the front door woke Connell out of a deep sleep.

He sat up, the heavy layer of blankets falling away. The frozen air of the unheated bedroom rolled over him and seeped through his union suit like a winter storm.

A glance out the frosted window revealed the darkness of night. And yet his internal alarm told him sunrise was not far off—maybe two hours until the first hint of light.

Who would possibly have need of Stuart at five o’clock in the morning?

The door rattled.

Suddenly fully awake, Connell’s fingers went to his knife, every nerve in his body alert. He swung his legs over the edge of the bed. The rusty frame creaked under his weight.

Was someone trying to break in?

His heart slammed against his ribs. He stood and made his way across the bedroom and down the narrow stairway. His bare feet turned to ice against the frozen floorboards. Even though he tiptoed, each step squeaked.

At the bottom, when he reached the door, he stopped and held his breath.

He could hear nothing but the distant howl of a wolf. Had the intruder heard him and gone away?

“Stuart” came a muted voice on the other side of the door.

“Lily?” Was it Lily? What was she doing out at this time of the morning?

In a flash, he sheathed his knife and swung open the door.

There stood Lily, without a coat, shuddering and hugging her arms across her chest. Next to her a young woman huddled into Lily’s coat almost as if she wished she could disappear.

At a shout from Dead Man’s Hill, both girls glanced over their shoulders, their eyes wide with fear.

His gut wrenched with anger. He didn’t need to ask Lily what she’d done. It was clear. Her unusual acquiescence to his and Stu’s plans, the silence of the night before, the hesitancy.

She’d been planning the escape. She’d intended to leave without any of them knowing it.

Even the kiss. It had been a good-bye kiss. He was certain of it.

And now, what had happened? Had she been hurt? Why was she turning to them now, unless something had gone wrong with her plan?

At another shout, this one nearer down Main Street, she shuddered. “We need a place to hide and fast.”

Before he could speak, she pushed past him, dragging Daisy in her wake. “Hurry. Close the door before Carr’s men see us.”

Fear swirled with the anger roiling through his stomach. “What in heaven’s name do you think you’re doing?”

“Shh.” She peered over her shoulder to the blackness of the night. “They’re already out looking for us. They know we’re nearby.”

He clicked the door closed as quietly as he could. Then he grabbed hold of her arm and pulled her toward him. “Are you crazy?” His voice was a harsh whisper.

She squirmed under his grip.

He gave her a shake. “You could have gotten yourself killed.”

A man’s voice called out from across the street, and she jumped. Daisy gasped and grabbed Lily’s arm. Lily quickly slipped her arm around Daisy and pulled her against her side.

Footsteps drew nearer and paused in front of the door.

They huddled together, not daring to move or talk or breathe.

Heavy breathing came from just outside.

Connell could only shake his head in frustration.

His mind conjured images of Lily in the hands of one of Carr’s bouncers. Even worse was the thought of what Carr would do to her if he ever caught her. He’d witnessed the bloodied faces and bruised bodies of shanty boys who’d faced Carr’s brass knuckles.

After several long moments, the footsteps moved toward the front window. Light from the searcher’s lantern spilled through the window.

They shrank against the door, flattening themselves so that the light couldn’t touch them. Except for Daisy’s shaking, they stood in frozen silence.

Finally, the light and the footsteps moved away.

Next to him, Lily’s body slackened.

“You should have waited for me,” he whispered.

“And get you and Stuart into trouble?”

His heated response died.

The warmth of her breath hovered between them. “No. This was the best way. I’ll take the full blame for Daisy’s escape. Neither of you will have to suffer now.”

“I was willing to help you, Lily.” At least that’s what he’d told himself over and over. But would he have carried through with the plans Saturday night? Would he really have been willing to sacrifice so much—even his life—if needed?

“I know you were willing,” she whispered, leaning into him. “But you and Stuart wouldn’t have been able to get her. Not your way. You would have only gotten yourselves killed.”

“You could have gotten killed too.”

“But I’m willing to die for her. She’s the only family I have.”

“She won’t have anyone if you’re gone.”