Page 34 of Betrayal from Beyond
Kara hesitated. Not many people were aware of the significant role they had played in destroying the organization. She nodded.
The engineer looked grim. “Be careful, then. The only thing that pushes Petra harder than a bid for attention is a quest for revenge. She is a champion grudge holder. She will go to any lengths to triumph over an enemy.”
Kara’s mouth thinned. “I’ll go to any lengths to protect my family.”
“Let’s hope we catch her tonight, then. Otherwise, you might have to.” He leaned forward to peer out the window again. “It’s growing dark. We’ll have to stop soon. The carriage won’t be able to go much further.”
The streets were narrowing, and growing shabbier by the moment. Kara could easily imagine Petra prowling among them, looking like prey but hiding a predator’s heart.
True to Preston’s prediction, the carriage was forced to slow and come to a halt. The four of them disembarked. Niall stayed close, and Kara was grateful that he never considered the notion to ask her to wait here. Wooten would have liked to, she could tell, but he’d also come to respect her skills. He merely shot hera pointed glance before gathering his constables around Preston so that they could be given the lay of the land and whispered instructions.
The men melted into the night as Wooten returned to them. “We’ll give them a few minutes to get into position.”
Kara sniffed, catching the sharp tang of turpentine in the air. “There’s a gin still nearby,” she said, low. “We’d best wait a little further on.”
They moved to the next street, where the stench in the air shifted to the scent of urine and rotting garbage.
“Just a few moments. We don’t want to give Tom too much time to think,” Preston said. He pointed ahead. “We need to turn down that alley.”
Soon after, Wooten gave the signal, and they followed Preston to the mouth of the alley. It was a narrow, dark, and noisome maw. “Keep just to the right of the center,” he warned them. “It’s a bit clearer there and there is less of a chance of traps—or rats. When I stop, you stop—and hold your silence.”
Though there was still a bit of light in the sky, it was completely blocked by the surrounding buildings. It was dark as night in the alley. Kara stepped carefully, and they all did an admirable job of not sounding like a regiment threading through a needle. She caught sight of the end, faintly lit by the flicker of nearby firelight. They were halfway to it when Preston stopped.
“Mouse,” he said quietly. “Come out of there.”
Everyone waited.
“I know you are there.”
Silence.
“Mouse,” the engineer said in a warning tone.
From a darker shadow that Kara had not even realized was a doorway came the sound of a slight, shifting movement.
“Evenin’, guv.” It was a child’s voice, thin and high. “What’s all this, then? Bringin’ a party to ’is nibs?”
“You might say that,” Preston answered wryly. “Run along and tell him it’s me coming, will you? There’s no need for him to slip out the back.”
“Sorry, guv. ’E ain’t put me on watch duty tonight.”
“Whyever not?” Preston sounded genuinely surprised.
“’Is nibs has been holed up in his rooms, last couple o’ days. Stickin’ close to home.”
“And his visitor too, I suppose? The woman?”
“Aye, I reckon she’s why ’e’s sticking close, eh?”
Kara winced at the child’s worldly tone.
“Well, I’ll pay you to go and let him know it’s me coming. Go on, now.”
“A penny now and another later, eh, guv?”
Preston growled, and the child laughed. Another shifting sound echoed in the dark, then the slap of bare feet moving rapidly away over the cobblestones.
“Let’s go,” Preston said. “Move quickly, and if there are men gathered around the taverns, put a bit of swagger into it.”
