Page 45 of Veiled in Stars and Silver
He flashed her a reassuring smile. “Aye, love. Don’t worry about me,” he lied.
Put it aside like everything else.Yes, Smee was his friend. But so were so many others he’d killed. His first mate’s death was only another casualty for the cause. He hated thinking that, but there was no other way. If he thought too hard about the horrible things he’d done over the years, he’d sit down on this roof and never get back up.
He blocked it out. Closing himself off. Saving it up for the time when he could rip Pan limb from limb.
He’d enjoy every moment of it.
Wendy clutched her elbows, shaking. Her updo had come undone and her damp hair pressed against her shoulders. Her lips had become blue. The biting cold wrapped its icy tentacles around them. Sopping as they were, it was dangerous. He shrugged out of his damp overcoat, placed it over her trembling form and rubbed her arms. The frigid chill seeped further into Hook’s muscles.
“I h-hate being wet all the time,” Wendy said through chattering teeth. He noted with pleasure how she leaned into his warmth. He’d relished kissing her.
He’d relished it a lot.
Shit, not now, he thought as his body roused. They were in danger of freezing to death. “We need to get indoors,” he said. “We can acquire a change of clothes from your family once we are inside your home, yes?”
She let out a disconcerting laugh. “My uncle has the dagger. If he sees me dressed this way, he’ll shoot me, then you, then me again.”
Hook frowned at that, her words grounding him. “That doesn’t sound like a very loving uncle.”
Her face became serious. “We have to be careful. We must take him by surprise.”
“You’re saying we aren’t going to knock on the door and ask him for the dagger?”
“He took it from me. If we try to retrieve it, he’ll treat us like thieves.” Her voice shook a little. She bit her lip, and she gazed at him with wide, fearful eyes.
Hook’s own worry was building at her response. He’d never seen Wendy truly afraid of anything. “You think he can take both of us?”
She shut her eyes briefly, taking a slow breath. “Uncle Reuben will have the dagger in his room. His window is on the east side of the house. We need to be quick and whatever you do, don’t let him get his hands on a gun.”
She rose into the air, still in his overcoat. He wondered if she was wearing it to hide that outrageous dress, or if it served to warm her a tad. Either way, he enjoyed seeing her in his clothes.
“Right,” he said. “You retrieve the dagger. I’ll distract Uncle.”
He followed her around to what he assumed must be the window to Reuben’s room. Wendy rubbed her hands together, her brows drawing downward, but turned to Hook and nodded. He leaned in, cupping his palms to stare in through the glass. A man sat in his nightcap reading a book.
Hook glanced at Wendy. “Ready?”
Two knives were clutched in her fists and she looked deadly solemn, as if preparing for battle. She nodded again.
He backed up, then sent a flying kick into the window. It gave under his boot and he crashed inward as the glass shattered.
Reuben’s head jerked up, eyes wide and blazing. He rolled and, in one swift movement, yanked a revolver out of his nightstand. Shit. He was fast. Hook lunged as the man turned it on them. He caught the man’s fists with his hook and yanked it toward the ceiling as an explosion sounded. A harsh ringing pierced his ears.
Plaster rained down from the gunshot. He managed to get his hook around the trigger guard of the revolver and jerk it from Reuben’s hands. Murder shone in the other man’s glassy eyes. He responded by slamming a fist into Hook’s gut that knocked him to the floor. The world spun and pain rocked Hook’s abdomen, his cheek pressed into the worn carpet, and for a moment, he thought he was going to puke.
Reuben’s raging gaze turned on Wendy, who was crouching next to a safe twisting the dial. She threw the door open and grabbed the dagger out of it.
“So, my niece runs away, then returns to steal from me,” Reuben growled.
She stood, whirling to face him, both hands behind her back. She moved cautiously, as if her uncle were a beast about to charge at any moment. “I only want my dagger, Uncle. Let us go and we won’t bother you again. You have my word.”
“Then who is going to pay for my busted window and clean this wretch’s guts off the floor?” He reached up and pulled down the saber hanging above the headboard of his bed.
Hook tried to rise, but Reuben drove his heel into his stomach, causing him to grunt and fall back. He pressed the blade against Hook’s throat.
Knocking a man down and killing him. That was Hook’s move. He supposed this was the universe catching up with all of his black deeds. He relaxed, accepting this fate.
There was a click, and his eyes jolted over to Wendy in surprise.
