The Bride of Devil's Acre by Jennifer Kohout Read Free Book Online Page A

to clean up,” he added, glaring up at his boss. “Taking that off now will only make matters worse.”
    Jacqueline nodded. Slowly stretching out her arms, she offered him her wrists.    
    Finn sawed through the rope and peeled the raw hemp from her wrists. Behind him, Devil swore softly as fresh blood seeped from the open wounds.
    Jacqueline bit down on the gag still in her mouth to keep from crying out. She tasted blood, the inside of her cheeks rubbed raw from the cloth. Her wrists burned, but she ignored the pain to wrap shaking arms around herself. Gentle hands helped gather the ruined halves of her dress, pulling them closed and tucking the blanket more firmly around her.  
    “Stay here,” Finn ordered, seeing the girl fully covered. “I’ll be right back.”
    Jacqueline nodded and reached under the hood. When a quick hand shot out and grabbed her wrist, she gave a startled cry.  
    Finn’s painful grasp had startled her. He released his grip slowly, his hand poised to intervene should she try to remove the hood. When her hand reappeared, it was to offer Finn a bloody bit of lace.  
    “I’m sorry,” Finn whispered, his voice heavy with regret as he accepted the gag and tossed it aside.
    Finn turned to Devil. “This is your fault!” he said, his eyes hot.  
    Devil’s eyes narrowed. Despite what some may think, he was not responsible for all the evil in the world.  
    “I believe the man you’re referring to lies dead,” Devil said, tempted to give Carver a kick for good measure. Bloody hell. What was he supposed to do now?
    “Aye, he was the instrument,” Finn said. “But you set this in motion.”
    Devil scrubbed at his face with his hands. “I never intended for this to happen.”  
    Jacqueline listened to the soft, indistinct murmur of distant voices. Her body was on fire, pain beating a steady tattoo in time to her heart.  
    Devil locked eyes with Finn, the muscles twitching in his clenched jaw. Finn stared back at him, unflinching, his fists at his sides, waiting.  
    Devil darted a look over Finn’s shoulder, the first niggling of doubt stirring his conscience. Carver lay on his side, a pool of blood quickly cooling beneath him. The girl was curled up against the wall; she’d pulled her knees to her chest and wrapped her arms around her legs. Her dress was ruined, and there was blood everywhere.
    He couldn’t see her face, he realized, and thought that perhaps that was a very good thing.  
    “I didn’t know he would come back,” Devil offered. As far as excuses go, even he knew it was weak. “I ordered him away.”
    “You should have kept a tighter leash on the man,” Finn said. They all knew how Carver worked.  
    “He had his uses,” Devil said.
    “He should never have been around the girl to begin with!”
    Devil’s eyes snapped back to Finn’s face and narrowed. “I didn’t have a choice.”
    “Yes, you did,” Finn insisted.
    “You would have had me abandon the plan?” Devil asked.
    “Yes!” Finn took an aggressive step forward.
    “And we would have been one vote short!” Devil had seen how narrow the call had been.
    “What’s one vote next to this?” Finn demanded, spreading his arms and taking in the room.
    “One vote?” Devil asked. “Is that what you see this as coming down to?”
    Finn was silent.
    “Let me remind you just how many people depend on me, on us,” Devil said. “If that bill had passed, everyone in St. Giles would have been displaced. And where do you think they would go?”
    Finn slipped his hands into his pockets, averting his eyes.
    “I did what I had to do,” Devil said. Devil’s Acre and the people who called this place home were his, his to protect.
    “Aye, at the expense of an innocent girl,” Finn said, softly.
    “If that’s the price, then I’ll gladly pay it,” Devil said. One pampered life was nothing compared to what would happen to the men, women, and children living in Devil’s Acre if that bill had