Tangled Webs by Lee Bross Read Free Book Online Page B

filled the docks. India. China. The Caribbean. America, even. They sounded so exotic and wild.
    But going anywhere, even getting to the outskirts of London, took money. It was nice to dream about running away, but without the means, she would not get far. Plus, she was a commodity that
Bones would kill to keep. Becky and Nic, not so much. She could not risk their lives for frivolous thoughts of escape.
    This was her life.
    She shook her head. “There is nowhere.”
    Nic leaned down until his lips brushed across her ear. “What would you say if I told you that Bones has grown so afraid of the Thief Taker General’s ever-expanding reach that he has
cut ties with most of the men in his employ for fear of betrayal? What if I told you I am one of Bones’s last confidants, and I know where he now hides his money? That I can get to it? Where
would you want to go then?”
    Icy fear sliced along her spine. Was he really thinking about stealing from Bones? If he got caught, he’d be killed without a second thought. Bones was swift and cruel with retribution;
Arista had seen it firsthand many times. It was how he ensured complete loyalty among his men.
    “There’s a board in his office, under the chair by the stove. If you pry it up…”
    Arista spun around and covered his mouth with her hand. “Stop.” Her plea came out as a whisper, like Bones himself might hear them talking. Men had been gutted and left to bleed for
far less.
    Nic gently pried her hand away. A glint of excitement shone in his eyes. His lips turned up into an eager grin. “I’m serious, gypsy, I have a plan. We can use Bones’s paranoia
to take what we want right from under his nose. We can do this. Imagine if we took Bones out of the equation. We could have enough money to be one of them.
We
would own them. No one would
ever dare to cross Lady A.”
    A cold breeze blew in off the river, but Arista shivered for a different reason. She had always known that Nic had ambition—he’d risen in Bones’s ranks until he was the old
man’s trusted right hand—but to hear him talk like that, say such things, only solidified what Arista feared. Nic would never give up this life. He loved bringing the rich to their
knees, and he wanted Arista—no,
Lady A
—to help him. She tried to pull away, but he held her fingers in a tight grip. Almost too tight. Arista ground her teeth together and
stopped fighting.
    “Really, gypsy, what do you want the most? Anything. Don’t you want what they have? To go to a party as a real guest? To have a grand home? And carriages and dresses and people to
take care of you? What about your freedom, gypsy? I know how you long for that.”
    She shook her head in denial, but for just a second she had allowed herself to imagine it. The taste was bittersweet on her tongue, because it would never happen. Nic huffed and looked out at
the water. “Why should Bones get everything, when we’re the ones doing the dirty work? We are exposed to the danger and yet we get nothing. It has to stop.”
    If anyone heard what he’d implied…Panic licked at her skin like fire. She glanced around, wide-eyed, afraid someone might hear them.
    The man on the boat seemed closer than before. Could he be in Bones’s employ?
    “Nic.” She tugged desperately against his grip, but he held her firmly. The man in the boat drifted away again, intent on another spot in the water.
    “We can do this, gypsy, together. I’ve been thinking about it for years, and Bones trusts me now. I’ve been talking with someone who can help us, too. It’s the perfect
time.”
    He actually wanted her to help him take over Bones’s operation.
    “Don’t worry, gypsy, I’ll still keep you safe.” Nic ran his free hand up her arm and slid it behind her neck. Instead of the familiar heat of his touch, there was only
dull, thumping discomfort. He urged her head closer, and she stared up into his eyes.
    He was going to kiss her.
    She’d wanted it for so long,