house-lined street. The little boy was trying
to run ahead and the woman was holding his hand tighter than he
wanted, trying to force him to keep pace with them.
“Quiet, though.”
Max Blythe was peering at the townhouse that was their target, being
a little more obvious than he should. Jace’s warning elbow in the
side had Max grinning but he quickly turned his head forward. His
dandyish appearance might give the illusion he was nothing but a
dandy, but Jace knew there were few men he’d trust more to stand
beside him in battle.
Max’s carefully
groomed exterior and insouciant air hid a well-trained soldier who
was lethal with a knife. Beware the man who mistook him for easy
prey.
“Problem is we don’t
know if he’s in there. That has to be our first priority.” Jace
was uneasy. It was unlike Reed to give no sign of life. Particularly
when they were on the threshold of culminating the most important,
not to say the most dangerous and final piece of a long and difficult
investigation they’d been working on for almost two years now.
Reed should have
arrived back from Egypt well before this. Then, the night before
last, when some of the Spares met up at Sylvester’s — their usual
tippling spot — Kit pulled Jace aside and told him about the role
several of the Brotherhood had played in getting Reed safely to
London. Kit had been dismayed to hear that Jace and Max hadn’t
heard from Reed yet. Said he had been in such a rush to get those
documents back, it was damn odd they’d had no word from him.
And now, another day
had passed and still no news of him.
“Since we dare not
knock on either front or back doors, lest we be seen by the Vanisher
or his Horde, what do we plan to do?” Max asked. He cast another
furtive look at Reed’s house. “Seems odd that we haven’t seen a
single servant about the place.”
“We’ll have to
watch the house and bide our time to see how best to approach this.”
“My thoughts
exactly,” Max said. “But there’s no cover on this street.”
Jace glanced around.
“Let’s hope we can find a room or house to lease with a view of
his home. Until then, we can station ourselves near that large tree
over there.” He nodded in the direction of a huge plane tree
surrounded by a clump of shrubs, diagonally across and down the
street, just inside the entrance to the park.
“Not the best street
for us to go undetected, is it?” Max scrutinized the area.
Jace agreed. Inwardly,
he cursed Reed’s choice of neighborhood. This was a quiet, back
street. Quieter still because the Season hadn’t begun yet, and they
were going to stick out like sore thumbs, if he was unable to find a
place to rent. There was little activity on this street. Probably why
Reed had chosen it. Perfect place for him to paint in London.
“Right. But what we
want is for Reed to know we’re here. It’s the Vanisher and gang
we’re hoping won’t find us or him. The good thing is that, if
they do, they will be just as noticeable.” Jace looked around for
signs of any one watching them. “I’ll begin looking for a house
to rent.” He looked toward the end of the street where a wooden
cart hawking hot gingerbread was located near the entrance to the
park. The area was so tranquil, the vendor was napping on his little
wooden stool, not even watching for potential customers. “At least
we’ll be able to find something to eat.”
“Want me to take the
first watch?” Max’s offer held a trace of reluctance and Jace
recalled Max had arranged an assignation with a widow he was hoping
to convince to become his mistress. They’d been in Egypt much
longer than expected and his previous one had given up on him and
found a new patron.
“No, that’s fine.
I’ll take first watch.” He increased his pace now that they had a
plan. “If you hang around for another hour, I’ll just go home and
pick up a few things.”
“Going to bring along
the Bear?” Max asked in amusement.
Jace raised a
to run ahead and the woman was holding his hand tighter than he
wanted, trying to force him to keep pace with them.
“Quiet, though.”
Max Blythe was peering at the townhouse that was their target, being
a little more obvious than he should. Jace’s warning elbow in the
side had Max grinning but he quickly turned his head forward. His
dandyish appearance might give the illusion he was nothing but a
dandy, but Jace knew there were few men he’d trust more to stand
beside him in battle.
Max’s carefully
groomed exterior and insouciant air hid a well-trained soldier who
was lethal with a knife. Beware the man who mistook him for easy
prey.
“Problem is we don’t
know if he’s in there. That has to be our first priority.” Jace
was uneasy. It was unlike Reed to give no sign of life. Particularly
when they were on the threshold of culminating the most important,
not to say the most dangerous and final piece of a long and difficult
investigation they’d been working on for almost two years now.
Reed should have
arrived back from Egypt well before this. Then, the night before
last, when some of the Spares met up at Sylvester’s — their usual
tippling spot — Kit pulled Jace aside and told him about the role
several of the Brotherhood had played in getting Reed safely to
London. Kit had been dismayed to hear that Jace and Max hadn’t
heard from Reed yet. Said he had been in such a rush to get those
documents back, it was damn odd they’d had no word from him.
And now, another day
had passed and still no news of him.
“Since we dare not
knock on either front or back doors, lest we be seen by the Vanisher
or his Horde, what do we plan to do?” Max asked. He cast another
furtive look at Reed’s house. “Seems odd that we haven’t seen a
single servant about the place.”
“We’ll have to
watch the house and bide our time to see how best to approach this.”
“My thoughts
exactly,” Max said. “But there’s no cover on this street.”
Jace glanced around.
“Let’s hope we can find a room or house to lease with a view of
his home. Until then, we can station ourselves near that large tree
over there.” He nodded in the direction of a huge plane tree
surrounded by a clump of shrubs, diagonally across and down the
street, just inside the entrance to the park.
“Not the best street
for us to go undetected, is it?” Max scrutinized the area.
Jace agreed. Inwardly,
he cursed Reed’s choice of neighborhood. This was a quiet, back
street. Quieter still because the Season hadn’t begun yet, and they
were going to stick out like sore thumbs, if he was unable to find a
place to rent. There was little activity on this street. Probably why
Reed had chosen it. Perfect place for him to paint in London.
“Right. But what we
want is for Reed to know we’re here. It’s the Vanisher and gang
we’re hoping won’t find us or him. The good thing is that, if
they do, they will be just as noticeable.” Jace looked around for
signs of any one watching them. “I’ll begin looking for a house
to rent.” He looked toward the end of the street where a wooden
cart hawking hot gingerbread was located near the entrance to the
park. The area was so tranquil, the vendor was napping on his little
wooden stool, not even watching for potential customers. “At least
we’ll be able to find something to eat.”
“Want me to take the
first watch?” Max’s offer held a trace of reluctance and Jace
recalled Max had arranged an assignation with a widow he was hoping
to convince to become his mistress. They’d been in Egypt much
longer than expected and his previous one had given up on him and
found a new patron.
“No, that’s fine.
I’ll take first watch.” He increased his pace now that they had a
plan. “If you hang around for another hour, I’ll just go home and
pick up a few things.”
“Going to bring along
the Bear?” Max asked in amusement.
Jace raised a
Similar Books
