Page 51 of Trapped with the Earl of Sin

Martin stepped back a little as the power of Edwin’s obsession struck him hard. It did not seem to matter what he had said to him, Edwin had not heard a word. He did not want to hear it because it did not fit in with his own little fantasies. This was a man who truly believed that Mary belonged to him.

All Martin wanted was a confession from him, but now he was utterly terrified as the man’s desires flickered right through him. He felt ice cold, and a little helpless too. He truly did wish that there was someone else around, anyone, to assist him with this utter madness.

“Edwin, please,” Martin started, trying a different tactic. He thought that being calm might make Edwin calm down a little. “Please just take a moment to think about what you are doing, and how you are feeling. Please, do not do anything rash. Think about Mary for a moment, and how she will take this. This will not be good news to her.”

All of a sudden, Edwin flicked the gun up once more, this time into Martin’s face.

“Iamthinking about Mary. I am always thinking about Mary. You do not understand at all. In fact, you have been nothing but a problem to me. I think it might be you who has been in the way the whole time. Perhaps it is you who I need to get rid of.”

With that, before Martin could get yet another word out, Edwin did the worst thing that he could—he squeezed the trigger.

CHAPTER NINETEEN

What is that noise?

Susanna had not been sleeping well as it was. She could not shut off her worries that the wedding was in the morning and that Edwin had still not managed to pull off any of his hare-brained plans. Every time she almost drifted off to sleep, images of terrible events occurring flooded her mind and snapped her awake once more.

What if tonight was the night he decided to act out? Before it wastoo late?

Susanna wished that there was more she could do, but without proof that something was going on, she was left hopeless.

As she sat up in her bed, and blinked a few times, she started to hear something outside.

“Iamthinking about Mary. I am always thinking about Mary. You do not understand at all. In fact, you have been nothing but a problem to me. I think it might be you who has been in the way the whole time. Perhaps it is you who I need to get rid of.”

Her blood ran cold.

She knew that terrifying voice all too well. It was Edwin, outside of Mary’s bedchambers, talking about her sister as if he was going to do something to her. It did not matter how utterly scared Susanna was, she knew that she needed to act, and she knew that she needed to do something right now.

Much as she hated the idea of him harming Luke, it crushed her to think that he might do something to Mary. She could not stand it…

What is happening?

But as she pushed the door open, an even more petrifying sight caught her eye.

Edwin had his gun with him, and it was pointed at Martin.

Susanna feared she might throw up.

She rapidly looked between them both, not quite sure what she should do. But as it turned out, she did not need to think. She acted on instinct. As soon as Edwin’s finger pulled that trigger, she leapt in front of Martin in an attempt to save him.

Edwin was not going to hurt him either, not a chance!

The deafening sound of the gunshot reverberated through the hallway. Susanna felt a searing pain in her arm as the bullet tore through her flesh. She collapsed to the ground, her vision blurring as she struggled to stay conscious. Martin screamed and lunged forward, knocking Edwin backwards and out of the way.

“Susanna! No!” Martin’s voice was filled with panic as he cradled her in his arms. “Edwin, what the hell have you done? What is wrong with you?”

Edwin stood frozen, his face a mask of shock and horror. “I did not mean to… I just wanted to scare him,” he stammered, backing away. “This is not how it was supposed to go. I thought… I thought I would be able to convince Luke to leave Mary. I did not actually mean to harm him. I never would have done such a thing. You know I never would have done such a thing… I could not… I would not… I am not that sort of person…”

Martin, his face twisted with rage and desperation, glared at Edwin for only a moment, before he refocused his attention on Susanna. “You tried to kill me, and you almost killed Susanna! That was you. Of course, you could do such a thing.”

“But I did not… I would not?—”

“You would, and you have. You admitted what you did to Duncan…”

Even though Susanna already suspected this, hearing Martin’s confident accusation chilled her to the bone.

Edwin had confessed to what he had done?

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