Olivia Twist(54)

Love? The word smashed into his chest like a cannon ball. Who was he kidding? Every street kid knew love was nothing but a myth. But to have her by his side—to know she was his—would be enough.

Brom tugged on the leash as they neared the boys’ hide-out, and reality intruded into Jack’s fantasies. Olivia would never leave the orphans behind, or her uncle for that matter. He let Brom go and watched the dog run the rest of the way, his dreams sinking as irretrievably as a coffer full of treasure in the ocean. He couldn’t support them all.

A low growl followed by a rapid succession of barks reverberated from the orphans’ building. Jack and Olivia ran for the boarded-up window as Jack handed her the brolly and pulled a knife from the holster at the small of his back. His heart pounding against his chest, he jumped through the opening.

And stopped cold. He double checked his surroundings to verify he was in the right place. Situated around the holes in the floor, groups of children huddled together for warmth around broken lanterns and candelabras. Twenty or more sets of eyes stared transfixed in Jack’s direction.

Olivia whistled, and the new hatch door opened above them with a long creak. “Brit! What in the world is going on?” she hissed.

The boy hesitated for a moment, likely debating whether to ask for the password. Jack took a few steps back and shot the kid a warning glare, effectively loosening the boy’s tongue. “It’s all right, Ollie. These kids are here to pledge themselves to the Dodger.”

A heaviness like a lead weight settled on his lungs. This was not a result he’d anticipated when he asked the Hill Orphans to spread the word that the Dodger was their new kidsman. But he should have. If he hadn’t been so blasted eager to impress the girl standing beside him, he could have predicted this and headed it off.

“They’re tired of bein’ bullied by Monks and his gang, and they want yer protection.”

When Jack looked back, all the kids in the room were staring at him like he was a knight come to slay the dragon. He sheathed his knife and swiped his sweaty face with an open palm. What the devil was he supposed to do with twenty orphans at his beck and call?

A small, familiar hand grasped his shoulder. He looked into Olivia’s trusting eyes and came back to himself. If she believed in him, he could do anything—even if it meant donning a suit of armor and wielding a sword.

Suddenly, a crash of broken glass sounded overhead, followed by a heavy thunk, and then screams.





CHAPTER 16


Lower the plank!” Jack’s voice carried over the yells and clamoring feet above them. Seconds later, the board hissed over the edge and hit the ground with a bang. Olivia sprinted up to the second floor, closely followed by Jack and Brom. Her heart slammed in her ears as she met Brit’s wide eyes.

“Help me with this,” the boy pleaded as he struggled to raise the makeshift ramp.

After dragging the board up and locking the hatch, Olivia scanned the room. All the kids were gathered in a tight circle, staring at the floor. Glass shards glinted against the dark wood, a fist sized hole punched through a nearby window.

Jack elbowed a path through the cluster of boys and bent to pick up the object of their fascination. Chip made his way to Olivia’s side, his blue eyes brimming with tears, and she hugged his thin shoulders. When Jack stood, he held out a large rock, a piece of folded parchment tied to it with a string. He strode over to the lantern, eighteen boys in his wake, all talking at once.

“What does it say?”

“Read it!”

“Who’s it from?”

“Someone’s gonna bloomin’ pay,” Archie grumbled as a cold wind blew through the shattered panes, ruffling his bright hair. But his freckles stood out around his ashen mouth and Olivia saw the fear dance across his face. She clasped his shoulder and gave it a squeeze. This was their home, their only safe haven in an insane world, and no one had ever breeched its boundaries. Until now.

Jack strode over to the piecemeal table and everyone, including Olivia, followed him. Each movement, from lighting the candles on the table to flicking out his coat as he sat, conveyed confidence. In the richest households of London, he displayed a relaxed poise, but this was something more; a swagger, scraped from paths of iniquity and cemented in his rise above those detrimental years to become a prince of his domain.

Jack lifted a hand, and the boys hushed their chatter.

Olivia watched as he flattened the note, his eyes scanning the words before he read them aloud, his tone deep and emotionless.

“To the one who claims to be the Artful Dodger.” A corner of his mouth kicked up at the implied slur to his street name.

“Meet me at midnight three nights hence, on Blackfriars Bridge, or one orphan will disappear for every night you stand me up. Come alone. Let’s settle ownership of the Hill once and for all.”

Jack folded the letter in half and then half again, making it a tight square before he glanced up and said, “It’s signed, Monks.”

The room fell dead silent. Not a whisper of fabric or a shuffle of feet broke the quiet. Wide-eyed boys blinked like little owls, first at Jack, then at each other. Chip squirmed at Olivia’s side, and she relaxed her hand where she’d been digging her fingers into his shoulder. The vilest thug to run the streets of London since Bill Sikes, and her blasted half brother, was challenging the man she loved . . .