Brazen and the Beast (The Bareknuckle Bastards 2)

Shame flared at the words and Whit looked away. “That’s not true. I couldn’t keep you safe.” He stopped, thinking of the night they’d run. “I couldn’t keep my mother safe. And I can’t keep Hattie safe.”

Devil sighed. “Ewan is an ass, but he’s always been the smartest of the three of us. And he’s always known where our weaknesses lie.” A pause, and then, “I thought I was like the duke.”

Whit’s head snapped up at the confession. “You’re nothing like him.”

“Most days, I know that. And here is what I wish you could see.” His amber eyes glittered with frustration and insistence. “I wish you could see that the Mad Duke of Marwick is threatening your happiness for the second time in your life, and this time you have something far more devastating on the line.”

Hattie.

“And I wish you could see that you didn’t simply punish yourself in the last few days; you punished Hattie. And worse, you made her choice for her.” He reached a hand to his brother’s shoulder. “You are more than our savior.”

Whit closed his eyes, remembering the night they’d run. “I could barely move. You should have left me.”

“No.” Devil came to his full height. “You were one of us. Ewan came for us all that night. Ewan, who is lost, and the duke, who is dead, and it is time for you to realize that without you, Grace and I would be nowhere. It’s time for you to realize that without you, the Rookery would be nowhere. The men wouldn’t have jobs and the women wouldn’t have pride and the children wouldn’t have lemon ice every time we have a ship in harbor. And that’s you. I didn’t build that. I was too angry and too vengeful. You built it. Because you’ve always looked out for us. And you shall always be the best of us.”

The words hung between them, until Devil added, “Henrietta Sedley might be the best woman the world has ever seen, but don’t for one second believe that you are not her equal.”

You made me your equal.

Hattie’s words, full of awe.

Whit’s own disbelief.

“I can’t convince you of it,” Devil said softly, wrapping his hand around Whit’s head and pulling him close, until their foreheads touched. “And, sadly, neither can she.”

Whit took a deep breath. “I can’t keep her safe.”

“No.” Devil shook his head. “It’s the worst truth. But loving them is the best.”

Loving Hattie.

“I’m sorry to break up what looks like a beautiful moment, but we’ve a problem.”

The brothers looked up to find Annika crossing the rooftop, tall and blond, her coat billowing in the wind and her brow furrowed like she was in the midst of an Oslo winter.

“Nik!” Devil said, releasing Whit from his grasp, turning with a wide grin on his face. “You will not believe the rumors I’ve been hearing.”

Nik’s didn’t look to him. “I don’t care.”

“I hear you’ve a new friend.”

The Norwegian stilled and looked to Whit, pleading in her eyes. “Tell him to shut up.”

Whit couldn’t help his own smile, welcome after the events of the last few days. “Where were you twenty minutes ago when he came up here? I would have liked for him to do the same.”

“One of the boys told me you brought a certain fast driver up to the roof to show her the stars last night,” Devil said.

Nik cleared her throat. “It was to make amends for your fledgling criminals stealing her gig in the first place.”

Understanding dawned. Nik and Nora. Not that Whit could blame the woman before him—if Nora was anything like her friend, she was irresistible. But first things first. “You tell the lady that I’ll remove the wheels from every one of her vehicles if she doesn’t learn to drive with more caution.”

Nik rolled her eyes and shot Devil a look. “Was it Brixton? That boy needs to stop running his mouth.”

“It wasn’t Brixton, as a matter of fact,” Devil said, casually tapping the end of his walking stick against his boot. “And you needn’t be embarrassed; I only mentioned it because Felicity and I have found ourselves on that roof more than once.” He looked to Whit. “Perhaps you should bring Lady Henrietta up there.”

The idea of bringing Hattie to the rooftops and laying her bare beneath the stars was devastating.

Whit scowled at his brother. “You’re an ass.” He looked to their second, resisting the urge to gape at her bright pink cheeks. “What’s the problem?”

Gratitude flashed in her eyes. “We’re to have forty able-bodied men on the docks tonight, to help with unloading.”

Whit nodded.

“But there aren’t forty to be had,” she said. “There aren’t four.”

Whit wasn’t concerned. Not yet. But he was puzzled. “What’s that mean?”

She waved a long arm toward the docks in the distance. “It’s quiet on the docks.”

“Because Whit bought all the boats,” Devil quipped. “I’ve already had a word with him about it. We’re getting it sorted. What do you know about tinned salmon?”

Nik’s brow furrowed in confusion for a heartbeat before she shook her head and returned to the matter at hand. “That’s not why. There’s no one to do the work.”

Devil gave a little huff of laughter. “That’s impossible.”

“I swear to you it isn’t,” Nik said. “There’s no one working the docks. There are no hooks to be had. And we’ve ninety tons of ice melting in the hold every moment we think about what might or mightn’t be possible.”

“I’ve seen dockworkers all day,” Whit said, lifting his chin toward the warehouse across the street. “They’ve been in and out of Sedley, collecting their pay.”

“Be that as it may . . .” She reached into her coat, extracting a piece of paper and extending it to Whit. “There are no men to work the cargo on the docks. And if I had to guess, I’d say you’re the reason why.”

He took the letter.

Beast—

Congratulations on your new business.

Good luck finding men willing to work for you.

I await your reply.

Yrs, etc.,

Lady Henrietta Sedley

Future proprietress, Sedley Shipping

Whit gave a little, shocked laugh and looked to Nik. “Where’d you get this?”

“Sarita says she nailed it to the mast of the Siren not an hour ago.”

His brows knit together. “What is the Siren?”

“One of your new haulers.”

“Impossible. She hasn’t left the warehouse since she arrived.”

“Seems she has.” She raised a brow in the direction of the note. “We found it flapping in the breeze, virtually the only sound on the docks.”

Those docks were full whenever there was a ship in berth, men flocking, knowing there was money to be had for anyone with a strong back and a steady hand. He looked down at the note. “No hooks to be had?”

Nik shook her head. “Nowhere. We’ve our men—but nowhere near enough to empty that ship as quickly as we need tonight.”