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He shot a aol-keeper “Does that key work for all the cells on this floor?”

“I-I think so—”

“Give it to round level, and tell the runners atThey’ll knohat to do”

“Yes, Sir Ross!” Eldridge fled with surprising speed for so Ross in darkness

Gripping the key, Ross left the devil’s closet and unlocked the adjoining rooh the hole in the wall, following his brother-in-law’s tracks “Damn you, Gentry,” he reeted his intrusion “When I catch you, I’ll hang you h this”

Breathing hard from exertion, Nick Gentry pushed a swath of daate Cautiously he placed a foot on an outside wall that connected to a neighboring building The as about eight inches thick, and so old that it was cru the top However, it was the only route to freedom Once he , find his way to the street, and then be unstoppable He knew London as no one else did—every alley, every corner, every hole and crevice No one could find him if he did not wish to be found

Slowly Nick proceeded along the wall like a cat, heedless of the possible fall that would see hiround He squinted fiercely, the dense sky relieved by a ht One foot after another; he tried to keep his ht broke his concentration—Sophia Once he left London, he would never be able to see her again Nick did not identify his feelings for her as love, because he knew himself to be incapable of that emotion But he was conscious of a rip in his soul, a sense that to leave her for good would ment of decency he still possessed She was the only person on earth who still cared for him, ould continue to care, no matter what he did

One step, another, right foot, left… Nick shoved the thoughts of his sister away and considered where he would go when he was free He could make a new start somewhere, take a new na, but instead it sank hi act that never allowed him to relax for a minute He eary, as weary as if he had lived a hundred years instead of twenty-five The thought of starting again revolted him It was his only choice, however And he had never been one to wring his hands over what he couldn’t change

Part of the wall cru chunks of ht for balance, his ar equilibriu instinct more than vision to cross the wall in the dark There was little round below, only a few foot patrols crossing back and forth The groups of deather were quickly ushered away It was a mere fraction of the crowd that Nick had expected to protest on his behalf He grinned in ironic appreciation of the obvious wane in his popularity “Thankless bastards,” he muttered

Fortunately, no one noticed the figure poised high above on the prison wall By some miracle of God—or whi Although he could not quite get to the nearest , he found a carved lion’s head jutting fro a hand on the ornamentation, he deduced that it was not real stone but Coade stone, an artificialreal stone was too expensive Nick had no idea if the thing would hold hirabbed at a tattered blanket he had draped over one shoulder and tied it around the lion’s head Jerking hard to tighten the knot, he focused on the , three feet down Good, he thought, it was open, and he didn’t care lass

Holding his breath, Nick gripped the blanket, hesitated for one reluctant e He swung through the open ith an ease that stunned hih he landed on his feet, the runt Swearing, he rose and shook himself off The room appeared to be an office of some sort, theleft open by so through the office and hunting for the stairs that would lead hiround

Two h a door he had found at the side of the building, which had turned out to be a furniture factory Ar-blade and a heavy stick of wood, he kept to the shadows as he moved forward

He froze when he heard the click of a pistol being cocked

“Stay there,” came a woman’s quiet voice

His breath hitched in astonishment “Sophia?”

His sister stood there alone, the gleaaze pinned on him “Don’t run,” she warned, her face tense

“How the hell did you get here?” he asked incredulously “It’s dangerous, and—For God’s sake, put that away or you’ll hurt yourself”

She did not move “I can’t If I do, you’ll run”

“You wouldn’t shoot me”

Her reply was very soft “There’s only one way to find out, isn’t there?”

Nick braced hiainst a rush of utter despair

“Have you no care for me, Sophia?” he asked hoarsely

“Of course I do That is why I had to stop you My husband has come to help you”

“Like hell he has Don’t be a fool! Let o, damn you!”

“We are going to wait for Sir Ross,” she said stubbornly

Out of the corner of his eye Nick saw patrols and a pair of runners co toward them It was too late now His sister had ruined any chance of escape With fatalistic acceptance, Nick forced hiht He would wait for Cannon And Sophia would learn that her precious husband had lied to her It would almost be worth it, to expose Cannon for what he was, rather than have Sophia worship hiht to the gallows”

Chapter 18

Ross was covered in filth by the ti as if he would never be clean again, he climbed into the open air, which was indescribably sweet after the stench inside Walking along the edge of the roof, he found a prison wall that connected to a neighboring building At first there was no sign of Gentry, but then Ross saw the flutter of the dark blanket dangling frorowled in frustration There was no telling how far theover the wall, he tested it with his foot, discovering that it was as unstable as shifting sand At this point, following Gentry’s path to freedoer an option Ross would be damned if he would try a feat that even a circus performer would have rejected Before he could draw back, however, he heard a woround

“Ross?”

His heart stopped as he saw the tiny figure of his wife froe point four stories above her