Prince of Shadows by Susan Krinard

“You have only to ask around. Surely you’ve already heard some hint of this. Holt’s sudden arrival in town, his behavior in the cafe.” Joseph sighed. “Your Miss Warrington was very adamant in defending him.”

The seeds of doubt had been planted. Whatever Schaeffer’s certainty about his superiority and his ability to win Miss Warrington, he was not a complete fool. If he saw any way to use this knowledge to his advantage, he would take it. He was willing and ready to believe.

“Who is he, then? Is he a wolf researcher, as he claims?”

“In a manner of speaking. But he has had a… troubled past.”

Schaeffer touched his hair lightly, as if to smooth a nonexistent imperfection. “Is Alex in danger? Should we call the police?”

“No! No. That would be a mistake.” Joseph calmed himself, found a chair, and sat down heavily. “His madness is unpredictable. He must be approached carefully, kept at ease. I believe he has a certain affection for Miss Warrington that should make him more malleable.”

Schaeffer stroked the faint lines bracketing his mouth. “Why are you interested in all this? In ‘helping’ me?”

“Isn’t my concern for Miss Warrington enough?”

But Schaeffer’s lip lifted, and Joseph was reminded once again that he was far from a complete fool.

“Very well, Mr. Schaeffer. The reason is simple. I have a score to settle with Kieran Holt.”

“What kind of score?”

“My own business, Mr. Schaeffer. But I will say that he has done harm in the past that must be atoned for, and I am the only one who can bring him to justice.”

Schaeffer shook his head. “I won’t get involved in any kind of… vigilante justice.”

“Such haste, my friend. I have no intention of harming Kieran Holt. But he is a danger to Miss Warrington as long as he stays with her. And as long as he stays with her I can’t get to him, see that he is kept from being a threat to her or anyone else.”

Schaeffer came to stand over him, his composure restored. “And what do you think you can do to help me?”

“Help each other, Mr. Schaeffer. Holt is a problem for you, whether you admit it or not. We both want him away from Miss Warrington. If you perform that task, I will see to it that he no longer stands in your way.”

It seemed that Schaeffer wavered, nagged by doubts or even a touch of conscience. His pride, too, was touched. But at last he nodded, and smiled—a smile as icy as the wind outside the door.

“How do you suggest I go about removing Holt from Alex’s cabin?”

Joseph rose slowly, ignoring the ache in his bones. “I know you to be an intelligent man, Mr. Schaeffer. You have more experience in these matters than an old backwoodsman.” He smiled, as if joking at his own expense. “All you need to do is convince Holt to leave the cabin for a period of a day or two, longer if possible. But you must be careful not to set him off. Be mild and cautious. I have seen what he can do when he is… disturbed. But he can be manipulated. I think you’re good at such games, Mr. Schaeffer.”

The young man might have been offended, but he merely looked at Joseph with unshakable superiority. “I’ll take care of it.”

“And I will do my part,” Joseph said. He rose and extended his hand. “To our alliance, Mr. Schaeffer.”

Schaeffer looked down at Joseph’s thick, callused hand, hesitated, and brushed it briefly with his own. “Allies,” he said. “Until we both have what we want.”

Chapter 10

Alexandra had gone into town without him.

Kieran smoothed out the crumpled paper and let it fall to the kitchen table. He’d spent the night and morning roaming the woods near the cabin, his mind in turmoil. And when he came back, he had found the note.

There was no real explanation of why she’d gone. He knew she was hurting over her father, rattled by Peter’s appearance, though she refused to share her troubles.

She’d gone to talk to Julie, she said. Checking up on Tracy again, and making sure the family had really accepted Kieran’s account of why he’d run, as they seemed to—that they didn’t think him the coward he’d appeared to be.

Pages: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100 101 102 103 104 105 106 107 108 109 110 111 112 113 114 115 116 117 118 119 120 121 122 123 124 125 126 127 128 129 130 131 132 133 134 135 136 137 138 139 140 141 142 143 144 145 146 147 148 149 150 151 152 153 154 155 156 157 158 159 160 161 162 163

Leave a Reply 0

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *