Page 54 of Trapped with the Earl of Sin

Martin could not allow the emotion to overwhelm him, otherwise it would swallow him up whole. He had to push thoughts of Susanna to the side for the moment. He had to be confident that Mary could care for her.

Hehadto keep strong.

He needed to do the right thing.

“She is hurt,” he continued. “But I think she will be fine. We have to find Edwin. Now. Before he can shoot anyone else.”

Luke’s eyes widened in shock and then hardened with resolve. “Where is he?”

“Last I saw, he ran off down this way,” Martin replied, already moving again, with Luke at his side. “But I am not sure where he has gone.”

As they sprinted through the winding corridors of the mansion, Martin filled Luke in on the situation after what felt like a lifetime of holding it all inside.

“Edwin has been obsessed with Mary for years now…”

“As in he loves her?”

“Right,” Martin gasped. “He thought if he could get rid of you, he would have a chance with her. He has been planning this for a while.”

“He wanted to hurt me?”

Martin could understand why Luke was so shocked, but he was not done yet. “Well, he confessed to killing Duncan to clear the way. Susanna and I… we have been trying to stop him from hurting you, but tonight he has gone too far… He came to your room with a gun and then charged towards Mary’s bedchambers as well…”

“That is insane,” Luke said, shaking his head in disbelief. “We need to end this before he hurts anyone else. I always knew that Edwin was a little dodgy and involved in strange things, but I did not think he was dangerous like this.”

Martin nodded, his jaw set. “He is armed and dangerous. We have to be careful. If he did that to Duncan, there is no telling what he will do to anyone else. He already fired that gun once…”

“I will not let him fire it again,” Luke declared grimly. “He will not be allowed to do this again. It is all far too much.”

They reached the end of the hallway and burst through a set of double doors that led out into the garden. The cool night air hit them like a slap, and they paused for a moment, scanning the grounds.

“There!” Luke pointed towards the old shed near the edge of the woods, where a shadowy figure was slipping inside. “I can see him.”

Without a word, they both ran towards the shed, their footsteps pounding against the grass. As they approached, Martin could feel his heart racing. They had to be smart about this. Edwin was desperate and unpredictable, and now he had Luke by his side—the man Edwin wanted to target the most.

They reached the shed and paused outside, catching their breath. Martin motioned for Luke to stay quiet as he carefully pushed the door open, peering inside. The interior was dark, but he could make out Edwin’s silhouette pacing back and forth.

“Edwin,” Martin called out, his voice steady despite the fear gnawing at him. “It is over. You need to come out. You cannot keep behaving like this. Everyone knows what you are doing now. Thishasto come to an end.”

Edwin whirled around, his face contorted with rage and desperation. “Stay back!” he shouted, brandishing the gun. “You do not understand! This was supposed to be different. Mary was supposed to be mine. Tonight was going to be the night that I made her mine.”

Martin stepped inside, his hands raised in a placating gesture. “Edwin, think about what you are doing. You have already hurt Susanna. Do not make this worse.”

“You do not get it!” Edwin’s voice cracked, his eyes wild. “I did everything for her. I got rid of Duncan because he was in the way. He was the one stopping me and Mary from being together, and now you and Luke… you are the ones stopping her from seeing that we belong together.”

“Edwin, you are wrong,” Luke said, stepping behind Martin. “Mary does not want this. She does not want you. Hurting us is not going to change that.”

“Shut up!” Edwin screamed, waving the gun erratically. He did not even seem surprised to see his cousin joining the fray. “You do not know anything!”

“Edwin, please…”

“Luke, I am sorry. I know that you are my cousin, but that changes nothing. You do not deserve Mary—no one does. She is supposed to be mine. She has always been mine.”

Martin glanced at Luke, then back at Edwin. They had to get the gun away from him and fast.

“Edwin, listen to me,” Martin said softly. “You are not thinking clearly. Put the gun down, and we can talk about this. We can help you.”

For a moment, Edwin seemed to waver, his grip on the gun loosening. But then his eyes hardened again. “No. No more talking. This ends now.”

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