Mistaken Identity (Saved By Desire 3) (21 page)

He would always be grateful to Jess for opening his eyes to the value of true love, and what it felt like to be loved. As a result of her generosity, he now wanted a life of his own. He wanted Jess as his wife. He wanted to be able to go home to her, and watch his children race around the garden. It was imperative to his future; his own survival, that he get the opportunity to keep her in his life. He didn’t want to be cut down in the undergrowth like some wild animal. He wanted to die in his bed, when he was old and grey, surrounded by his loved ones, and able to reflect back on his life with a sense of pride and accomplishment.

It would be impossible to get any of that if he continued to ignore the dangers that surrounded him every day, and spent his life in the shadows.

Jess was his life. She had taken him into her home, shared her body and her bed with him, and worked to wash his clothing, feed him, and keep him warm at night. And she had not ever asked for a blessed thing in return. All she had ever wanted from him was the truth; honesty, and not to be hurt in return. He owed her.

To fulfil that debt to her, he had to rid the country of criminals like Sayers. Future generations deserved a world where there was no hatred, no greed, no malice, no scorn, no derision, no threat or danger from others. For the sake of his and Jess’ future, and the future of their children, Marcus knew he had to keep on fighting with the Star Elite, but in a different way. The world had to get rid of the criminals who used the shadows to their own benefit, and dragged innocent souls into their relentless treachery. Like, Terrence Sayers.

Was it possible for him to have it all? Could he continue to work for the Star Elite, but live a relatively ordinary life with Jess? He hoped so, because if it came down to a single choice, he knew he could never find the strength to walk away from Jess.

Marcus studied the back of the man up ahead, more determined than ever to bring the man down so that he could go back to the woman he loved and begin his future. He glanced around. There was a veritable army of his colleagues around somewhere, but he couldn’t see them. They had to be in the trees with him, hopefully forging ahead in an attempt to intercept the man. Until something turned to his advantage, Marcus had to keep following.

“Damn it,” Marcus growled when darkness began to swirl around the periphery of his vision.

The sense of helplessness that swept through him was humbling, but he couldn’t give up. Not now that he was so close to bringing Sayers to justice. If he escaped, Sayers could crawl back into his sewer; his network of underground tunnels of illegality and would be hidden by his network of co-conspirators. It was time the tide got turned against him. It was time the people he bullied into his evil schemes witnessed just how cowardly he was, and understood just how much he lied to himself, and how vulnerable he was because of it.

If the Star Elite brought down one or two members of his group, in addition to the man himself, those who had been bullied into participating in Sayers schemes would talk. In exchange for protection, and freedom, and the ability to go about their lives without threat, they would work to eradicate the world of people like Sayers. They could be called upon to provide the evidence the Star Elite needed to ensure that not only Sayers, but each and every bully, thug, criminal, murderer, terrorist, rapist, and thief, was gathered up and put behind bars. Not only that but were never allowed out again to taint the world with their warped way of thinking.

Marcus couldn’t ignore the fact that once Sayers was behind bars, he was a free man and could turn his attention toward making Jess his wife. With renewed determination, he ignored his physical discomfort and lengthened his stride.

Jess listened to the silence. The longer she sat in the front garden, the more she began to wonder where everybody was. There had been at least six men racing after Sayers, one of whom had been her brother, but she had yet to see any of them return. There were no shouts or sounds of gunfire. There was no sound at all to indicate that they were anywhere nearby.

She could have been the only person in the world right then, yet she didn’t feel lonely. She felt strong, determined, although incredibly worried about Marcus and Ben. It was a relief to know that they had help from the group of men who had followed him into the woods. She had no doubt that they would succeed in capturing Sayers and put him behind bars where he belonged. Whatever Marcus set out to do, Marcus did. All she had to do was wait for him to come back.

As soon as Lloyd and Carruthers were also made to account for their recent actions, the village of Smothey would be able to return to peace and tranquillity.

Over the past half an hour she had watched the flames inside the house cross the hallway. They were now busy filling the sitting room full of smoke. There wasn’t much in the sitting room worth saving, mainly because it had been the room set aside for the lodgers. All personal effects in there had been removed from the house a long time ago. With nowhere else to put them they had all been boxed up and relocated to the storage shed at the back of the property. So, the house could burn down, and the most precious treasures were safely tucked away out of harm’s reach.

She was so lost in her musings that she screamed when a loud bang suddenly shattered the silence. Her heart pounded as she glanced about warily, and realised just how vulnerable she was. She jumped to her feet and studied the house, but knew there would be no sanctuary there. Unfortunately, sitting in plain view in the middle of the garden made her a visible target.

Before she could decide what to do, Lloyd emerged out of the bushes directly in front of her. For the second time that day, Jess found herself staring down the wrong end of a gun.

“Lloyd, what do you think you are doing?” Jess shook her head in disgust and glared at the man before her. The gun he had trained on her trembled slightly, but she doubted it was from exertion. The man was cold and soaking wet but, from the look in his eye, also balancing on the edge of sanity.

“Get over here,” Lloyd growled.

Jess snorted disparagingly. “Go to Hell, Lloyd. You will have to shoot me before I do anything you want.”

“Don’t think I won’t,” Lloyd challenged.

Outwardly, Jess was cool, calm, and collected. She was trying desperately to act in the same way she had witnessed Marcus behave earlier. Inside, though, she was a seething mass of fury that was struggling to keep hold of her rage.

“So what are you, the guard dog, the idiot, or the man’s runabout?” Jess demanded coldly.

“Shut up, you insolent wench,” Lloyd growled. “I will shoot you if you don’t get over here.”

Jess pointed to her house. “Look at that,” she seethed. “It is my home burning down. I have nothing left. Don’t think for a second that I give a damn whether you pull that trigger or not. Believe me, when I tell you that I have bigger problems than you. I don’t care if you are Sayers’ right hand man, his lackey, his turncoat, or just a buffoon with a gun. Sayers has gone.”

Lloyd flinched. “Gone?” He glanced around the gardens as though he expected Sayers to pop up at any moment.

“Yes, he ran through those woods. It seems that your boss has abandoned you.”

“I don’t work for him,” Lloyd countered.

Jess knew from the look in his eye that he was lying.

“No? So how did you know his name is Sayers then?” Jess challenged. “Around here, the man is known as Mr Gillespie.”

Lloyd stared at her.

She suspected he was trying to think of a way out of the mess he found himself in, but she wasn’t prepared to allow him that luxury.

“Oh, come now. Everybody knows that you are more criminal than Sayers. He is a thug from London, but you are a mere thorn in everybody’s side.”

“Shut up,” Lloyd growled. “You know nothing.”

“I know you assault women in their homes,” she challenged. “I know that Marcus works for the War Office, and has seen you committing crimes.”

She pursed her lips to stop any more words spilling forth. She didn’t want to tell the man that Marcus had already notified his boss that the magistrate in the area was corrupt. Lloyd would then understand just how hopeless his situation was. When he realised he had nothing left to fight for, he was likely to become reckless and stupid. 

Lloyd’s eyes narrowed spitefully, and he slowly cocked his gun.

Jess refused to allow him to see just how worried she was. Not after what he had tried to do to her the last time she saw him. This time, she was stronger, more capable, Lloyd just didn’t see it.

“Everybody knows what you have been doing. If you think that Marcus and his men won’t bring your little empire down you are sadly mistaken. They are on to you, and will put you, and Carruthers, behind bars where you belong. Everyone around here sees you as nothing more than a joke. You have twisted the law to suit your own purposes for the last time, though, Lloyd, and you and I both know it.”

“I said shut up!” Lloyd shouted.

Jess shook her head. “You are done telling me what to do.”

“I have done nothing.”

“Oh, come now,” she interrupted. “Are you trying to tell me that you have been running around in the woods with men firing at each other, and have not seen or heard a thing? Where is Carruthers, by the way?”

Jess knew from the shifty way Lloyd glanced around the garden that she had hit on the truth. She then realised there was no sign of the man’s associate. Wariness immediately made her tense. She glanced around but couldn’t see anyone else.

“Where is he? Have you lost him?” she murmured quietly. She listened but couldn’t hear anyone creeping up behind her.

“You were in those woods firing at Marcus and his friend weren’t you?” she murmured when Lloyd didn’t reply. “Did Marcus shoot your right hand man? Are you now all alone in the world, Lloyd?”

Lloyd stared at her for a moment. He then seemed to come to a decision and lost all pretence of innocence.

“What of it? Yes, I was there. I have been helping Sayers. He pays well. Why shouldn’t I? God knows, the pay for being the magistrate around here isn’t much,” he said. 

“That’s because you don’t do anything,” Jess countered.

“I have seen your brother stealing pheasants.”

“Prove it,” Jess challenged. “You and I both know that you don’t have any evidence. After all, if you saw him with them, why didn’t you stop him?”

She knew then that Lloyd hadn’t seen Ben doing anything illegal himself. Someone else had. She fell silent for a moment while she thought over what Marcus had told her.

“I think that you have wanted Ben out of the house for an entirely different reason that had nothing to do with your lecherous interest in me,” she murmured thoughtfully. “Sayers was trying to get the house to himself, wasn’t he? That cottage across the village wasn’t enough for him. He didn’t like the fact that Ben and I were living in the house as well. We were too close, and could see something we weren’t supposed to see.”

“He needed some more room. That cottage is too small,” Lloyd challenged. “He said I could have you if I got rid of your brother.”

He shrugged. In spite of their situation, his lecherous gaze slid the full length of Jess’ body.

Rather than show her revulsion, she tipped her chin up and lifted a snooty brow.

“So, you were going to press false charges against Ben, to get him out of the house. Then Sayers was going to take over my house, as well as Mr Grant’s cottage. You would then circle the houses at night to make sure that nobody ventured close enough to see what they were up to.”

Lloyd shrugged unconcernedly. “It has worked well with the cottage,” he said calmly. “That is until your boyfriend messed it all up. Ben and that friend of his have been poking their noses into all sorts of things. It’s about time they were made to stop.”

“So pointing a gun at me stops them, does it?” Jess shifted and braced herself.

She didn’t like the look that swept over Lloyd’s harsh features and suspected that if he were going to make a move, he would soon. She studied the area around them surreptitiously while she tried to decide what to do if he did launch an attack.

“You are perfect bait,” Lloyd murmured smoothly. “Get over here.”

“Go to Hell,” Jess snarled.

She threw herself to one side, and onto her knees. Immediately, she was swallowed up by the deep undergrowth that had once been the front garden. Once there, she clambered on all fours deeper into the camouflage. She glanced back, but couldn’t see anything except for bramble and bushes. She knew exactly where Lloyd was, though. His footsteps grew louder as he ploughed his way through the unrelenting branches.

Panicked, Jess patted the ground until she found a heavy branch that had fallen off one of the trees. Testing its weight, she clasped it tightly and stood up.

Lloyd was busy studying the trees, and never knew what hit him on the back of his head. He went down without a murmur.

Jess watched him fall, and immediately released her hold on the branch. She picked up Lloyd’s pistol and then, with tentative fingers, began to pat Lloyd down in a search for more weapons. Once he had been tied securely with his own jacket, and his boots removed to prevent him from running away, Jess settled down to keep watch over her captive and wait for Marcus to come back.