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I was deafened by cheers, all of it coalescing to a shrill ring. Patrick drank his whiskey, and his stare robbed me of breath.

He smiled. I smiled, too, more widely than I ever had. And he took me up in a kiss in front of everyone, giving in to whatever enslaved us right there on the countertop.

Sound came punching back, full of joy. The barriers between me and Patrick, between me and Kenton Hill, seemed in that moment entirely surmountable. We would break into Belavere City and free our loved ones. We would take down Lord Tanner, and I would never need to live in fear again. All problems could be rectified.

That evening was colored gold. It glinted from every corner, every eye. Patrick led me to a table with his brothers, Scottie, Briggs, and Otto, and I blushed as Donny made countless inquisitions about what Patrick and I had been doing upstairs all day.

“Playing checkers, were you?” he asked while the others jittered. “Cards? You can tell me if my brother don’t know how to keep a woman entertained, Nina. I’ll keep it in confidence.”

Finally, Patrick kicked the leg of Donny’s stool sideways. His brother went sprawling onto the floor, and the others broke into hysterics. “Fuck me, Pat! I was only askin’.”

“Ask her again,” he said. “I dare you.”

Donny sensibly kept his mouth shut.

The crowd eventually thinned, patrons tipping their caps or waving to me as they left. The night grew late when I saw Theo and Polly across the room again, still seated against that bay window, drinks untouched, expressions unchanged.

Theo stared a hole right through me, though his eyes flickered more than once to Patrick’s hand on my knee.

“I need to help my mother in the kitchens for a while,” Patrick said into my ear, and I resisted the urge to try to drag him upstairs.

“I can come,” I replied, turning toward him. Donny and Gunner were already standing, bidding the others goodnight.

Patrick shook his head. “No need,” he said. “But I’ll be at your door later.” He pressed a kiss to my cheek. It could have been a gentlemanly gesture, except for the way he lingered, except for the words skating across my skin. “And you’d better let me in. I might break my neck crawlin’ in through that window.”

I laughed and let him leave without argument. I watched him rebutton his waistcoat and follow his brothers behind the bar, all while two pairs of eyes lanced me from afar.

It seemed there was a conversation that wouldn’t keep till morning.

CHAPTER 51NINA

I excused myself, muttering about fresh air, though the excuse wasn’t necessary—Scottie and Otto had taken their leave, and Briggs was, by that hour, sagging over the table.

The moment I stood, so did Polly and Theo. I warned them away with a glare. How would it look for all three of us to exit at the same time, with no chaperone?

They let me slip through the doors first. A few smokers and liquor-numbed gawkers said my name as I passed over the stoop, and I smiled politely. They paid me no mind as I crossed my arms over my chest, started down Main Street, then took a sharp turn down the alleyway that bordered Colson’s.

There were no floating lights here. Nothing but rats and a vicious chill. I hadn’t thought to bring a coat.

I heard their footfalls before they came into view. Polly and Theo stuck close to the walls, tucking their hands away from the cold as I did.

Polly’s face seemed stricken. Theo’s roiled with something I tried not to notice.

“We should make this short,” I suggested, my voice low and careful.

Theo rolled his eyes. “We’ve been here longer than you, Nina. Trust me, at this hour, there isn’t a single one of them that will manage standing on two legs, much less notice our absence.” His voice was clipped.

I sighed. “Whatever it is you wish to say, Theo, say it.”

Theo’s eyes flashed, and I immediately regretted my tone.

“Congratulations,” he said, and it might as well have been a slap to the face. “You made quick work of it.”

I frowned. “Quick work of what?”

“Of making Colson fall in love with you. Even if it took a landslide to get the job done.”

I blinked once, twice. “You thinkIcaused that landslide?”