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“No—”

“He’s right,” Esta said. “You can’t kill him now.” Not without dooming me. “Unless you know?”

Harte kept the gun still aimed squarely at Nibsy’s chest, but his mouth went tight. He shook his head.

“Then you can’t,” she said. “As much as he might deserve it.”

Harte’s features hardened, and Esta watched as he waged a battle within himself that she understood too well. Deciding, Harte tossed the gun to the side and punched Nibsy once more, viciously, squarely in the nose.

Nibsy wasn’t laughing anymore. He wasn’t even moving. But considering she was still there, Esta figured he’d survive. Harte’s stormy eyes were burning with fury as he drew back his fist again.

“Leave him,” Esta said.

But Harte didn’t move off Nibsy’s still body. He seemed frozen, his hand clenched into a fist, ready to strike.

“He’s not worth it.” She was trying to help Jianyu up from the floor, but with the agony of the bracelet cutting into his wrist, he wasn’t exactly steady on his feet. “I need your help.”

That seemed to be enough to have Harte hesitate and lower his fist. He climbed off Nibsy slowly, reluctantly, and got to his feet. He started to move toward her, but Jianyu held up his hand.

“The cane,” Jianyu said through clenched teeth. “The papers as well.”

Harte pried the cane from Nibsy’s hands and then scooped the leather folder from the table, tucking it securely inside his coat. Then he helped Esta get Jianyu up from the floor.

Harte hesitated at the door, turning back to look at Nibsy’s unconscious body. “It’s a mistake to leave him.”

“Probably,” she said.

“He’s not going to stop, Esta.”

“I know.” But there was nothing they could do. Not yet. First, they needed to get out of the Strega without any more problems. They needed to save their friend. “Jianyu is more important right now. He’s bleeding pretty badly, Harte. And I can’t get him down the steps alone.”

Harte cursed when he finally noticed the blood dripping down Jianyu’s hand. “It’s worse,” he said softly, and the worry was clear in his expression.

“What is it?” she asked.

He shot her a dark look. “Later.”

As they descended the steps, they heard voices growing louder, closer.

By the time they reached the bottom of the staircase, Jianyu was no longer writhing. He was almost able to walk on his own. But at the bottom of the stairs, a familiar face stepped into their path, blocking their escape.

STUCK

Bella Strega

When Logan Sullivan had realized that James wasn’t going to do anything about John Torrio and Mock Duck brawling in the Bella Strega, he’d done what any sane person would do. He’d hidden behind the bar and waited for the goons who followed James to deal with the threat.

It took longer than he expected. As the barroom had erupted into chaos, people seemed to realize that James had already left. It hadn’t taken long before they started leaving as well. Marked and unmarked alike, few seemed willing to be drawn into a Bowery brawl that didn’t benefit them, and in a matter of minutes the only people left were the Five Pointers and the Hip Sings, tearing the whole place apart.

Which worried Logan. He hated the damn saloon, but it was the one safe place he’d found in that godforsaken version of the city, and James was the one shield Logan had against the dangers of this stupid time. But if James wasn’t going to stick around, neither was he. The first chance he had to get the hell out of there, he did.

But if the arrival of Torrio and Mock Duck had been a surprise, finding Esta descending the back stairs was a complete shock.

“Logan?” Her mouth parted. She didn’t exactly look happy to see him.

“Esta.” Her dark brown hair was shorter than he’d ever seen it, and there was a sharpness to her features that he didn’t remember her having before. She’d always been confident and brash, reckless and impertinent, but now there was also a calmness beneath it all. A sureness that went beyond simple confidence. He wasn’t sure he liked it one bit.

For a second, though, he was too surprised to do anything but stand there like a complete moron, staring at the group of intruders who had clearly just come down the back steps. Along with her was Darrigan, the damned magician who had twisted Esta’s loyalty and made her betray the Professor and their team. They were helping the Chinese guy, who didn’t look so good, down the steps.