The man carrying her dropped her when he'd reached his leader. Jade staggered to her feet. She rubbed the sting in her jaw while she stared at her adversary.
The look in those eyes was chilling. 'I understand now why you were given the name Ice,' she heard herself say. 'You don't have a soul, do you, Lady Briars?'
Jade was rewarded by a sound slap across her face. 'Where are the letters?' Briars demanded.
'Safe,' Jade answered. 'Do you really believe stealing the letters back is going to save you? Too many people know what you've done. Too many…'
'You fool!' Briars shouted. There was such strength, such cruelty in her voice that Jade suddenly felt
as though she were facing the devil. She resisted the urge to cross herself. 'I will have those letters, Jade. They are my proof to the world of all the glorious feats I've accomplished. No one's going to deny me now. No one. In years to come, the world will realize what my Tribunal was able to accomplish. We could have ruled England, if I had chosen to continue with my work. Oh yes, I will have the letters back. They will be kept in a safe place until the time is right to reveal my genius.'
She was mad. Jade could feel the goose bumps on her arms. She tried desperately to think of a way to reason with the woman before she finally came to the conclusion that the crazed woman was beyond
any kind of reason. 'If I give you the letters back, will you leave Caine alone?' she asked.
Lady Briars let out a high-pitched snicker. 'If? Don't you have any idea who I am? You can't possibly deny me, Jade.'
'Oh, I know who you are,' Jade replied. 'You're the woman who killed my father. You're the woman who betrayed her country. You're the foul creature who was born from the devil. You're the
demented…'
She quit her tirade when Briars hit her again. Jade backed up a space, then straightened her shoulders. 'Let Caine go, Briars, and I will get you the letters.'
In answer to that promise, Briars turned to one of her cohorts. 'Lock our guest in the back room,' she ordered. She turned to Jade then. 'You're going to be the bait, my dear, to get Caine here. He has to
die,' she added in a singsong voice. 'But only after he's given me the letters, of course. Then I shall kill you, too, little Jade. Your father was the true traitor, for he turned his back against me. Me! Oh, how I wished I could have been there when his son died. You will have to make up for that regret, dear, dear child, by dying slowly by my hand… Get her out of here!' Briars ended in a near shout.
Jade felt like weeping with relief. They hadn't taken Caine after all. He would come for her, she knew, and there was still danger… but he was safe for the moment.
She actually smiled to herself when they led her to her temporary prison. They believed they had her now. They mustn't tie her hands, she thought to herself. Jade started whimpering so that her captors would believe she was frightened. As soon as they opened the door, she rushed inside, then collapsed
on the floor in the center of the room, and began to cry.
The door slammed shut behind her. She kept up her wailing until the sound of footsteps faded. Then she took inventory. Moonlight filtered in through the gray filmed window. The opening was a good fifteen feet up. There was only one piece of furniture, an old scarred desk with only three legs, and they
certainly knew she wouldn't be able to reach the window even if she stood on top of the desk.
Yes, they thought they had secured her inside. Jade let out a little sigh of pleasure.
She pulled the special clip from her hair that she used for just such an occasion, and went to work on
the lock.
Because she was in such a desperate hurry to get to Caine before Briars' men did, she wasn't as quick
as she would have been under calmer circumstances. It took her a little over ten minutes to work the
lock free.
It was pitch black inside the warehouse proper. Even though Jade was certain Briars had taken all her men with her, she still made her exit as quietly as possible. Jade was completely disoriented when she reached the street. She ran in one direction for two long blocks before she got her bearings and realized she'd taken the wrong way.
Jade was in absolute terror now. She knew it was going to take her another fifteen minutes to reach home. While she ran, she made several fervent promises to her Maker. She gave him her word that she would never lie or steal again, if he would only keep Caine safe. 'I know you gave me those special talents, Lord, and you know that once I give my word, I won't break it. I won't follow in my father's path, either. Just let me live long enough to prove myself. Please, God? Caine needs me.'
She had to stop when the stitch in her side intensified. 'If you'll only give me a little added strength,
Lord, I won't use blasphemies either.'
Odd, but the stitch in her side faded. She was able to catch her breath, too. That last promise must have been the one her Maker was waiting to hear, she decided.
'Thank you,' she whispered as she picked up her skirts again and started running.
Jade didn't stop again until she reached the street their town house was located on. She kept to the shadows as she made her way toward the steps. When she spotted three men littering her stoop, she started running again. The men weren't in any condition to waylay her. They looked restful too, in their forced slumber.
Caine had obviously come home.
Jade couldn't remember the number of men Briars had with her. She began to fret again. Should she sneak in by way of the back door or should she boldly walk into the foyer and try to confront Briars
once again.
The question was answered for her when Caine's bellow reached her.
'Where is she?' Caine roared through the door.
The anguish in his voice tore at Jade's heart. She pulled the door open and rushed inside.
