Nibsy’s brows went up. “Wouldn’t it be better to let Kelly know? It might put him back in his place.”
“No. Let him wonder. Let him worry about his weaknesses and who his enemies might be. The more uneasy he is, the more vulnerable he’ll be,” Dolph said, but even as he spoke, he couldn’t help wondering how much he was talking about Paul Kelly and how much the words were a warning to himself.
THE TOMBS
Halls of Justice
The city’s Halls of Justice, better known as the Tombs, were a layer cake of depravity. The top floors housed the petty criminals—pickpockets, green game runners, and other less violent offenders. The farther down you went into the building, the worse the prisoners became. By the time you reached the second floor, you were among robbers and murders, and the ground floor held the worst of all—runners for the local games, shyster lawyers, phony bondsmen, and of course the city’s police, who were so deep in the pockets of ?Tammany that justice was only a word they tossed around like the latest dirty joke.
Harte had spent a night there not long after his mother left him. Locked in a cell with grown men, he’d been helpless to do more than survive the night huddled in the corner, fending off unwanted advances the only way he knew how—with magic. For that to work, though, he’d let them touch him, skin to skin.
He’d made it through that night, but he hadn’t left unaffected. After that night, he’d understood exactly what people were capable of.
Even now, safe as he was, staring up at the ornately carved columns and window lintels designed to look like some ancient Egyptian burial chamber, he felt as soiled as the building’s once-white facade. He could only imagine what was happening to Esta.
My fault. He’d pushed her to go into the dance hall, even when she’d clearly been worried. He’d goaded her over dinner—an act for Jack, but one he’d enjoyed a little too much because of what she’d done during the performance. And then he’d left her behind. Now, because of him, she was in the prison that still haunted his dreams. And he had no idea how to get her out.
But he needed her out. If he was going to stop Jack from finishing his machine, avoid the future Nibs had planned, and get around Dolph, he was going to need her help.
The night he’d spent behind the walls of the Tombs, he’d sworn to himself that he would never be put in a position where he was that helpless ever again, and for the most part he’d held himself to that. Until now. Somehow, in the span of one night, everything had gone ass over elbow.
He let out a string of curses under his breath that would have embarrassed a prison guard.
“I knew you had a rougher side underneath all that polish,” an amused voice said from behind him.
Harte turned to find Esta dressed with a ragged coat covering her evening gown. Her hair had mostly fallen and the black feathers that had adorned it the night before were broken or tilted at haphazard angles. The shock of seeing her there, safe and whole, sent such a wave of relief crashing through him that, before he thought better of it, he had his arms around her, crushing her to him, barely conscious of how she was pushing away.
It was only the smell of the coat that brought him back to his senses. It reeked of sweat and onions and stale tobacco. As he let her go and took a step back so he could breathe, he felt suddenly aware of how impulsively he’d reacted to seeing her. How dangerous it would be to let himself forget everything that was at stake.
“What are you doing here?” she asked.
“I’m rescuing you,” he said, knowing exactly how absurd the words were even as he spoke them. She was standing there, right in front of him. And now she was smiling. She clearly didn’t need to be rescued. “How did you get out?”
“I told you that day you tried to lock me up with those stupid handcuffs of yours—there isn’t a lock I can’t crack.”
He frowned, trying desperately to regain his footing. “That was a risk, using your affinity in there. Someone might have noticed,” he said, cringing inwardly at how stupid he sounded.
“I didn’t. Use my affinity, I mean. I’m good enough without it. Once I got out of the cell, I traded the necklace for this coat and then lifted this.” She held up a visitor’s pass. “They’re not exactly the brightest bunch, you know?”
“Desperate people rarely are.”
She wrinkled her nose slightly as she pulled the filthy coat tighter around her, completely hiding her dress. “Did you make any progress with Jack?”
That’s all she has to say? “You aren’t going to ask why I left you?”
She blinked at him, her brows bunching. “I didn’t know you did.”
“Yeah.” Harte squared his shoulders, daring her to complain about his choice. “I went with Jack when the police raided the ballroom. He was interested, and I didn’t want to lose him. I left you,” he challenged.
Her brow furrowed, but only slightly. “That’s good, if you got something from him.”
It wasn’t the response he expected. “It is?” She should have been angrier. She should have been furious with him for leaving her. He would have been.
But she never reacted in any predictable way. It was maddening.
She rolled her eyes. “I’m not some wilting violet, Harte. You should know that much about me by now. If the situation was reversed, I probably would have done the same.”
“You would have, wouldn’t you?” he said, reminding himself of all the reasons he shouldn’t trust her.
“What?” she asked warily.
“Where did you go last night?” he asked. “When you left me with Jack.”
“I told you, I had to powder my nose.”
She played you beautifully. That was what Nibs had said. How much was she still playing him?
“You were gone long enough to powder your entire body,” he said, crossing his arms over his chest. “Try again. And this time, try without the lies.”
“You don’t trust me? I thought we were past this.”
He huffed out a sound of disbelief. “You don’t trust me, either, or you’d tell me what took you so long to get back to us. Were you meeting someone?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she said, and she turned to walk away, but he snagged her wrist and pulled her back.
“There’s too much at stake for any more lies between us. I came here to rescue you today,” he said softly, trying a different approach.
Her expression was closed off, distant. “I didn’t need you to rescue me.”
Frustration had him wanting to lash out at her, but he held it in. Kept himself calm. This was too important to make any misstep because of his ego. “That isn’t the point. I came.”
“But why? You’ve been trying to get rid of me since Dolph sent me. This would have been a perfect opportunity.”
“Because I can’t do this without you. I need you to hook Jack, but I need to know whose side you’re on.”
“I’m with Dolph,” she told him, her brows furrowing. “Just like you’re supposed to be.”
“Are you? Or are you with Nibsy?”