| |
Drake hadn’t even had breakfast the next morning before Constable Graham arrived at his front door to inform him that Jacob Lindon had finally been apprehended. Some of Ness’s men had found him at one of the pubs they’d been watching, and although he’d apparently put up quite a fight, they’d taken him into custody.
He shrugged into his jacket, donned his hat, and ordered his coach to be brought around. He’d planned to speak to the family doctor, a man he’d known his entire life and trusted implicitly, about getting Danbury committed this morning, but all that could wait. He wanted to look into the eyes of the bastard who’d disrupted his life so completely.
The tables would be turned this time. Lindon would no longer be able to hide behind his mask and henchmen. Drake would be in complete control of the situation, and he felt he needed that after the chaos of the last few days.
Half an hour later, he arrived at J Division and found Ness waiting for him in his office.
“I thought you’d come as soon as you heard,” Ness said with a grim smile. “I held off on questioning him. I knew you’d want to be here when I did.”
“Are you certain it’s him?” Drake asked as they headed to the room where Lindon was being held.
Ness shrugged, his blue eyes twinkling. “I think so, but perhaps we should have Heather come down here and identify him, hmm?”
Heat scalded Drake’s face at his friend’s gentle ribbing. He hated that his feelings for her were still so easy to read. He cleared his throat. “I think we should. Perhaps if he sees that she’s here, that she intends to testify against him, he’ll just make it easy on us and confess.”
Ness scoffed, knowing as well as Drake did that Lindon wouldn’t confess to anything. “I’ll send for her if you want. We do need her to make an official statement about her part in the Citizens Committee and what Lindon forced her to do, especially the threats he made toward her if she didn’t comply.”
For the first time since she’d tearfully admitted that she was part of the Citizens Committee, Drake allowed himself the fleeting thought that perhaps Heather really had been in danger. Maybe that bastard really had threatened to kill her if she didn’t get as much information from Drake as she could.
But she’d never asked him anything.
“Get her down here,” Drake said, ignoring the way his heart leapt at the thought of seeing her again. “It’s time I listened to her story myself.”
Ness grinned and instructed a passing constable to go and personally escort Heather down to the station.
With that matter finally settled, Drake focused on the matter at hand. Time to finally meet his nemesis.
He pulled open the door to the interrogation room and finally found himself face-to-face with the leader of the Citizens Committee.
Jacob Lindon looked up as Drake entered the room, his face shuttering as he recognized him. He was a handsome, dapper man, with dark hair and bright green eyes. Even before he said a word, Drake could see how Heather had been drawn in by him, a thought that enraged him even more.
Had she loved this bastard? Did she love him still? Was that why she’d refused Drake’s proposal?
Drake took the chair on the other side of the table, dimly aware of Ness behind him. That was good. He might need his friend there to stop him from killing Lindon once he opened his mouth.
“Jacob Lindon, I presume?” Drake growled. “We’ve met, but the last time I saw you, you were wearing a mask.”
Lindon smiled, showing no hint of nerves. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. I’ve never seen you before in my life.”
Drake clenched his fists, forcing himself to stay calm. He wouldn’t give Lindon the satisfaction of knowing how angry he was. “Let’s dispense with all the lies, shall we? We have at least three witnesses who are willing to identify you as the man who organized the warehouse bombing that caused two deaths. Not to mention that I recognize both your voice and your vest as belonging to the man who held me prisoner in the cellar of the Citizens Committee headquarters for two days earlier this week.”
The smirk on Lindon’s face dropped somewhat, as did his relaxed pose. “If Heather Fields is one of your witnesses, I think you should consider the source. That lying bitch can’t be trusted, as I’m certain you know by now.”
“You threatened her,” Drake gritted out. “You said you’d kill her if she didn’t help you.”
“Is that what she told you?” Lindon shook his head with false sympathy. “Was that before or after she fucked you?”
“Shut your mouth. You don’t get to talk about her that way,” Drake snapped, anger simmering within him. The more he looked into Lindon’s cold green eyes, the more he believed Heather’s story. He remembered suddenly the way the bastard had strangled her while threatening to kill her if Drake didn’t give him the information he wanted. The fear on her face had not been feigned, and Lindon hadn’t been holding back. She’d had bruises around her throat afterward.
Before Drake could give in to his rage, Ness stepped forward, wisely taking the focus off Heather. “The two men we have in custody, the ones you were so worried about that you took the assistant police commissioner hostage, have told us everything. We really don’t need anything else from you; we were just giving you the chance to confess.”
“I’m not confessing to shite,” Lindon snarled.
Drake pushed out of his chair and strode from the room, knowing that if he didn’t, he’d kill the bastard. Every time he looked at Lindon, he thought about how helpless he’d felt during his captivity, how the man had mocked him and threatened Heather.
For the next twenty minutes, he paced the back hallway, his guilt rising. He still didn’t understand how Heather had let herself get involved with Lindon, but he no longer believed she’d been a willing participant in his own kidnapping.
Finally, Ness joined him, looking somewhat harried. “I’ve moved him to a cell and officially charged him with kidnapping and murder,” he said as he gestured for Drake to join him back in his office.
“Thank you,” Drake said shortly. “I shouldn’t have gone in there with you. I’m too close to this. I just felt like I needed to look him in the face.”
Ness waved a dismissive hand. “He infuriated me too,” he admitted. “If he’d talked about Jocelyn that way, I’d have ripped his head off.”
A huff of a laugh escaped Drake despite his guilt and anger. “Tell me honestly, Ness. You heard her story. Do you think Heather’s telling the truth?”
Ness nodded shortly. “I do. She’s just a sweet girl who made some bad choices.”
Shoving a hand through his hair, Drake let out a deep sigh. “I didn’t listen to her. I was so cruel.”
“It’s not too late to fix things,” Ness said kindly. “If you want to.”
“That’s just it,” Drake admitted. “I’m not certain I do.” The feelings he had for Heather terrified him, especially now that they’d been tested. He didn’t think he could go through such pain again.
Before Ness could reply, a soft knock sounded at the open door behind them.
Ness cleared his throat and stood, giving Drake a sympathetic look. “Miss Fields is here, sir. I’ll let the two of you talk.”
Wincing internally, Drake pushed to his own feet, finding Heather standing nervously in the doorway. From the look on her face, she’d heard at least the last part of his conversation with Ness.
“You sent for me?” Her voice trembled, but she squared her slim shoulders and met his gaze, refusing to be cowed. Her courage humbled him once again.
“Come in,” he murmured, shutting the door behind Ness and then rounding the desk to take the chair Ness had vacated.
For several minutes they simply stared at each other, and Drake found himself eagerly drinking in the sight of her. It seemed like it had been years instead of hours since they’d last seen each other.
“We have Jacob Lindon in custody,” he said at last. “Ness and I just finished interviewing him.”
She swallowed convulsively. “That’s good. He’ll finally have to pay for his crimes, and the O’Briens and I can finally go home.”
“Yes. I believe you’ll be safe now.” He reached for a pen on Ness’s desk, twirling it between his fingers just to keep from reaching for her.
“Is that all?” she asked, her brows furrowing.
“Of course not,” he muttered, knowing he was going about this all wrong. “After talking to Lindon... I just wanted to give you a chance to explain yourself.”
Color rushed to her cheeks, and for the first time since he’d met her, he realized she was angry. “I already tried to do so, but you wouldn’t listen.”
He cleared his throat, feeling like the biggest ass who’d ever lived. “I’m willing to listen now, Heather. I want to understand how you got involved with the Citizens Committee, how you didn’t see what Lindon was right away. How you could have... given yourself to him.”
“Are any of those questions pertinent to your investigation?” she asked, her voice wooden. “I already answered them once, for Inspector Ness. What good would it do for me to tell my story again? There’s nothing I can say that can heal this gulf between us. You said as much as I was approaching the door.”
Bloody hell. I can’t do anything right where this woman is concerned.
Drake sighed. “I don’t know what I’m doing, Heather. All I know is that I already miss you.”
Her big blue eyes filled with tears, but she blinked them rapidly away. “I miss you too, but even if we were to work this out, all the reasons why we don’t suit remain. I think it’s time for us both to admit that what we shared in the cellar can’t survive. But I’ll never forget you, Drake.” Choking back a sob, she spun and left the room, leaving Drake staring blankly after her, his heart twisting in his chest.
* * *
AS SOON AS HEATHER left Drake, she ducked into the women’s loo, struggling to keep from completely breaking down. The hardest thing she’d ever done was reject Drake’s overture of forgiveness, but the moment he’d started talking, she’d known it was the only thing she could do.
Taking a deep breath, she moved to the sink and splashed water on her face, washing away her tears and cooling her overheated cheeks.
It can never work. He doesn’t think you’re good enough for him.
She told herself that over and over until the emotional storm passed, then dried her face and stared into the mirror, stunned by how wan and pale she looked.
Of course, you look terrible. You just walked away from the man you love.
The thought stunned her, but she wasn’t sure why. No matter how hard she’d tried to fight it, no matter how many times she’d told herself that a true relationship between herself and the marquess’s son could never work, she’d still held a tiny kernel of hope in her heart that it would.
I love him. I’ll never stop loving him.
When she was a child, she’d dreamed that she’d meet a handsome prince, that she’d be swept away from her pitiful life into one of beauty and romance. She’d believed that happily ever after existed, that nothing could ever destroy true love.
But sometimes the obstacles between two people were unsurmountable. None of her storybooks had ever prepared her for the fact that sometimes love just wasn’t enough.