“Exactly.”
“It’s so easy that Spenser would be taking a cut of whatever is shipped out through his warehouse, just as the men here are taking a cut when it’s delivered. I mean to follow this Hedgehog trail a little further,” Ray said. “Especially now that we know Tony is involved. I can keep close to him.”
Merinda nodded. “And Benny and I will stay near Ross. Pretend like we’re going through with setting off this trolley explosion near the convention.”
“How are you going to stop it?” Jasper asked.
Merinda shook her head. “Of that I am not quite sure.” She swatted at Benny’s arm. “But we’ll think of something, won’t we?”
Benny nodded.
Ray took Jem’s hand and tugged her toward the main street. “I’ll see Jem home,” he said with a nod to Jasper, who turned in the direction of the lodging house.
Merinda and Benny had already lapsed into a debriefing of the evening’s activities, and Ray wondered if they would ever find their way back from under that streetlamp.
He playfully nudged Jem’s shoulder and inclined his head in Merinda’s direction. “I’ve never seen her so… attentive.”
Jem smiled. “I’m sorry she hit you.”
“I deserved it, Jemima,” Ray said, pulling her into his side. “At least somebody is looking out for you.”
“I can look after myself! Look at how I found you this afternoon.”
They fell into silent rhythm, Jem clearly made happy just from his nearness. At one moment leaning her cheek against his shoulder, the next slowing her steps and stalling his rhythm with a tug of his arm so that silence unfurled about them and the pesky end to their moonlit journey was delayed.
Too soon, they neared the intersection of Wabash and Monroe and the bright lights of the Palmer House.
“You could stay here with me, couldn’t you?”
Ray shook his head. “Now that I know Tony works for Hedgehog, I want to stay close. Hedgehog has my address at the flophouse. Besides, you’re safe with Merinda, and I don’t want to leave Jasper there on his own.” He laughed. “One of my strongest skills is blending into rooming houses with abhorrent conditions.”
Jem nodded her understanding. “But I will see you tomorrow.”
“I am sure of it.” The hotel was in view, and as they neared it, he leaned against the brick, pulling her to him. Being nearly the same height, it was difficult for him to tuck her head under his chin, so he settled for pressing his lips to her forehead instead.
“It turns out I am quite adept at criminal activity,” Jem boasted, relishing the stolen moment.
“Quite.” Ray affirmed. “And yet… ”
“You’re going to reprimand me, aren’t you? For being here. For… ”
Jem loosened herself from his grip, and now they leaned side by side, shoulders brushing.
“I’m never without words,” Ray said. “Except when it comes to you. You take them all from me. And now I’m in this horrible city living in the seediest working men’s hotel and unable to get rid of the stomachache I’ve had worrying about you and that terrible note. Just leaving you… ” He tapped his cheek, the one emblazoned with Merinda’s fist, while his eyes stared at her ruefully. “Dragging you with me to see Hedgehog and whatever horrible activity he is… ”
She laughed, truncating his sentence. A bitter note undercut its usual chime. “You’re always going on about that window. The one that never fully shuts. How you mean to find someone to fix it and replace the glass. But the truth is you don’t want it to shut. You need that sliver of open air coming through. You need an escape route—something that will allow you to sneak away. Oh, don’t look at me like that. You know I am right.” Her voice reached a heightened, emphatic whisper. “But there you are, standing there, reprimanding me for taking the same opportunity. For wanting the same adventure.”
“You make it very difficult.”
“I don’t intentionally do so.”
“I fell in love with an independent woman. I fell in love with a girl who isn’t afraid to take a risk and bound into the night.” Ray grimaced, reaching and brushing a curl from Jem’s forehead. “But that was before I realized what it would be like if she bounded into the night away from me.”
“Ray… ”
“Jem, I feel like I am at odds. I love you for who you are, but the thought of you hurt or scared or playing Silent Jim amidst crates of explosives… ”
“It wasn’t so bad,” she said softly.
“I have to help Hedgehog tomorrow,” he said after a thoughtful moment. “I still think there is a wonderful story here, Jem! Another nail I am collecting for Montague and Spenser’s coffins.”
“I want to be a part of it,” she said, expectation starring her eyes. “All of it.”
He kissed her then. Uncaring who saw. Uncaring that she was in trousers and vest while her bowler hat hung limply in her hand. “I want you to be a part of it too.” He just wasn’t sure how to let her be a part of it without risking her life.