She was really starting to hate the silence that immediately engulfed her.
Oliver prised his eyes open and did his best to ignore the churning of his stomach. The stench of chloroform still clung to his nostrils, threatening to render him unconscious again. He tried hard not to breathe too deeply not least because he suspected he was going to throw up if he did. There was nothing he could do about the low groan that escaped him, though.
“Ah, you join us at last,” a somewhat sarcastic voice drawled.
Oliver eyed the room he was in but couldn’t see anything. The solitary candle on the floor before him encased him in faint light but did little to deter the darkest of shadows that still clung to the corners of the room. Oliver didn’t speak. With nothing more than a flexing of his muscles, he tried to move his arms, but was too tightly restrained to even twist them.
“What do you want with me?” he growled.
“Why do you think you are here?” the man asked by way of answer.
Oliver sighed in disgust. “If I knew I wouldn’t bloody ask, would I?”
“I hear you have been involving yourself in matters in Rigley Row in London,” the man began.
“Really? What makes you say that? Unless we have met before in Rigley Row?” Oliver countered.
“You are here to pass a message on to your boss, Sir Hugo.”
Oliver snorted. “Give him the damned message yourself. I am not your bloody messenger boy.”
“But I want you to take the message for me but tell your colleagues as well. Although the message I am about to give you is for your employer, Sir Hugo, it involves all of the men who work for the Star Elite.”
Oliver took the time to ensure that he didn’t even blink when he heard the name of the clandestine organisation in the War Office only a few people knew existed.
Sir Hugo certainly wasn’t lying when he said the hierarchy were corrupt.
“Make sure he is conscious enough to pass the message on,” that deep masculine voice suddenly rapped with brisk efficiency.
Oliver only briefly caught sight of a flash of movement to his right. He turned his head and watched a door open seconds before a burly man slid through it and promptly disappeared into the shadows within the room. Oliver found out soon enough who the man was when a large fist slammed into the side of his head. Stars immediately danced behind his eyes. He hissed a breath as pain exploded in his head but forced his eyes open so he could glare malevolently at the thug who yanked his head back until it was tilted at a cruel angle.
“Leave him,” the boss ordered.
The thug immediately released Oliver, who clenched his teeth and stared pointedly at the floor. He refused to give his attacker the advantage by searching the shadows for him.
“We need him to be able to pass a message on to Sir Hugo.”
“Like I have already said, go and tell him yourself, or are you scared of him? Why don’t you go and tell him what you want him to know directly? Are you afraid that he is going to put you behind bars?” Oliver challenged.
“Silence!”
Oliver snorted but dutifully did as instructed. He sensed movement behind him but didn’t bother to look over his shoulder. Because he knew he was being watched, he was unable to try to loosen the tight rope around his wrists. All he could do for now was sit still and wait for this to be over.
“Tell Sir Hugo that we have had enough of him getting involved in our – organisation. We know all about this Star Elite, and if he, or you, think you are going to thwart us then remember we have friends in high places. Friends who are, let me say, considerably higher than anybody Sir Hugo knows.”
Oliver snorted again. He lifted an arrogant brow. “Are you telling me that you think there is someone higher than the King of England? Sir Hugo has the King’s ear, don’t forget, or should I ignore that just so you can feel a braver coward?”
Oliver tensed when the thug stepped out of the shadows again. This time, though, he didn’t slam another heavy fist in his face. He hovered menacingly nearby, effectively issuing a threat as real as any other Oliver might receive.
“There are people who are far more influential than the King of England,” the voice replied.
“Really.” Oliver did his best to sound as bored as possible. “Well, I hope your friend is very influential because he is going to have to pay a lot of people a lot of money to keep you out of gaol. Do you really think that I am not expendable? Do you really think that Sir Hugo will allow you to kill any of his men, or hurt them, and not do anything and everything possible to ensure that justice is served? Do you really think that you can snatch innocent women off the streets and not face justice for it, or their deaths? Don’t lie to me, Smidgley, we all know it is you and that brother of yours. This stupid shenanigan is nothing but a silly game designed to make you feel braver when you challenge me.”
“We are not going to kill you,” another voice drawled from the opposite corner of the room.
Oliver realised then that the brothers were most definitely rattled. “If you are as well connected as you claim, and your friend can get you off the hook so easily, what is this all about? Why do you feel the need to warn Sir Hugo off? Why not just go about your business and get on with your lot, comfortable in the knowledge that nobody is able to do anything to stop you?”
A heavy silence fell over the room. He suspected the brothers were motioning to each other and that neither of them had truly thought the implications of what they were doing through properly.