Page 21 of The Rake’s Absolutely Devilish Reform (The Notorious Briarwoods #4)

A jax strode through the darkness like a devil come out of hell. His brother Zephyr was on his right, his younger brother Achilles on his left, Jean-Luc was just behind, and Hector?

Hector watched from the shadows, assessing the situation. Hartigan Mulvaney stood with him.

Lord Fitzhubert had no idea what was about to happen to him, but as the man stepped out of the house of the brothel and headed out into the night, Ajax pursued the man through the warrens of London.

They already knew where he’d go. They’d followed him before. And he had a route.

They were prepared this night to teach the man a lesson.

They went like a pack of wolves pursuing its prey. And the prey had yet to realize that it was being hunted.

Fitzhubert wandered until, at last, he turned left down a small alley. Ajax smiled to himself. This was going to be sweet. So incredibly sweet. No one trifled with his family. No one hurt a Briarwood. Anyone who tried, well, they found out quickly the results of such endeavors.

Ajax strode up across the muddy, unlit street, grabbed Fitzhubert by the collar, whipped him around, and then head-butted him.

The crack of pain that went through Ajax’s skull was nothing. He loved it. He reveled in it. He savored it. Most of the world did not see him as the brightest Briarwood. He was a man of muscle, massive, a god in some ways.

Yes, he’d always been there to support his family, to support his brothers, and he always would. He was more than happy to use his muscle in this particular cause. After all, that’s what muscle was for.

And Hartigan Mulvaney had trained him to know exactly how to use that muscle. And the good Mr. Mulvaney was in the wings in case things got out of hand.

Mr. Mulvaney knew where to take bodies in the center of London. So did Ajax, though generally he tried to make certain that murder did not occur. It was beneath him, after all. If he was skilled enough in his trade of violence and aggression, he could make certain that whoever he needed to rough up never transgressed again.

After he’d dealt with a man, all Ajax had to do was give one quick look and all would be well.

Fitzhubert staggered back for a moment, groaned, and closed his eyes as blood spurted from his temple. The head was a devilishly dodgy bit, after all. It loved to leak blood. Ajax smiled, raised his hand, and wiped the red plume that had sprayed onto his cheek.

“What the blazes?” Fitzhubert demanded.

Hector strode out of the shadows then. He stood by Ajax and whispered, “You sent men to attack me. You were not brave enough to do it yourself, as opposed to us. You see, we have the courage of our convictions. We are not afraid to face the demons in our lives. And you, sir, you are not a demon, but you are definitely beset by them. And we are going to exorcize you.”

Fitzhubert gasped and began to shake his head wildly. “No, no. It is all a misunderstanding. They weren’t supposed to harm you. Not really.”

Hector let out a slow rolling laugh and Ajax beamed. He loved it when his brother played cat and mouse, when his brother took the bit in his teeth. Hector was a master of charm, of danger, and of a strong left hook.

“Come along then, Fitzhubert. You can explain it to us,” Ajax called as he dragged the man into a small building on the street that they had prepared.

Ajax dragged the man with such force, Fitzhubert stumbled on an errant pile of bricks and nearly went down.

Behind them, he heard Mulvaney shut the door.

They were all alone now.

Fitzhubert looked around, his eyes wild. “I’m a lord. You can’t do this.”

“We are lords too,” Achilles pointed out. “It’s amusing that, isn’t it? When you play with lords, you best be prepared to have them play back. You’re used to bullying other sorts, aren’t you, Fitzhubert?” drawled Achilles.

“Just to let you know, that sort of behavior is getting men killed in France. So it’s best you get an education right now,” Zephyr said with a dangerously jolly tone.

“Mais oui,” Jean-Luc declared, “You best learn, my lord, that you cannot do what you’ve done. You do not have impunity in this country or in any other. There are consequences for one’s actions, don’t you know?”

Hartigan Mulvaney stood to the side and said, “String him up.”

And with that, Hector took a step forward, grabbed Fitzhubert, and hoisted him aloft.

Ajax grabbed the hook which swung from a long rope.

“No,” Fitzhubert called. “You can’t!”

Ajax positioned the hook in the man’s collar.

“Right, Hector. Now you tell us what you want done.”

“Forgive me,” Fitzhubert begged. “Forgive me. I made a mistake. It was an error.”

“Yes, it was,” Hector said calmly, but then his eyes narrowed. “I know what you were going to do when you married her. Men like you? You were going to crush her. You were going to abandon her. And she’s suffered enough in this life. Her father was just trying to do the right thing by her, and you were going to take advantage of him because he didn’t know what you could do. He didn’t know the sort that you are. I do. And we’re going to give you a chance, Fitzhubert, just a small one. But first, you’re going to have to suffer because all change comes from suffering. And perhaps if you suffer enough, you will be able to emerge from the ashes Phoenix-like into something new. And we will happily assist if that is the case. But first… The fire.”

“All right, Ajax,” Hector added. “Go ahead.”

“Forgive me. Forgive me,” Fitzhubert called.

Hector cocked his head to the side.

Ajax swallowed. He prayed to God that Hector would not forgive Fitzhubert. Hector was perhaps the best of all the brothers, the most humane and the kindest. But Fitzhubert had come too close to getting to destroy the woman that Hector loved.

Hector knew it and so, much to Ajax’s relief, his brother gave the lord a slow smile. “Oh, I will forgive you, Fitzhubert. I promise that I will not think of you again. But I do not think that my family will be able to forgive you. Now, I wish you the best of luck.”

Hector turned and strode to Mulvaney, who gave him a nod. Hector would stay and watch, but he would not be allowed to fight lest he go too far and kill Fitzhubert.

Ajax laughed slowly and cracked his knuckles. Achilles and Lord Zephyr came up on his sides.

“Now, boys, no shallow graves today,” Mulvaney instructed in his lilting accent. “Give him a taste of his own medicine.”

Ajax hauled his fist back, and he let it fly.

Lord Fitzhubert was terrified but handled it with a strange sort of stoicism that actually surprised Hector as he swung from the hook.

He seemed to accept his fate and that this was what it had all come to.

And Ajax, well, Ajax let fly.

And his younger brother Achilles was prepared to as well.

Hector allowed a few blows to be brought in, but a sinking sensation hit him. This wasn’t right. Bloody hell, how he wanted to watch Fitzhubert be beaten to a pulp.

“You feel it, don’t you?” Mulvaney said in his lilting accent.

“What?” Hector demanded.

“You aren’t like him. You can’t do it,” Mulvaney replied simply. “So stop them. Be the man that you are. Be more than just an animal. Be more than driven by your compulsions.”

Hector swallowed. “I thought you would—”

“What?” Mulvaney queried, folding his arms over his broad chest. “Be a beast? Of course, I’m a beast, but I’m the most dangerous kind of beast, the most terrifying kind. I know how to unleash myself and when to stop. And this is my lesson for you right now. Know when to stop.”

Hector drew in a shuddering breath.

“Cease,” Hector called.

Ajax swung around and looked at him. “You can’t be serious.”

“Look at him,” Hector prompted. “He understands.”

And with that, Hector strode forward. His cousin and his brothers backed away.

He locked gazes with Fitzhubert. “You don’t have to be like your father, you know? You don’t have to die in a puddle of misery and brandy and shame.”

Fitzhubert blinked, his eyes alight with some new fervor that Hector had not seen before.

“I never thought it possible,” Fitzhubert rushed. “But I see now.”

Hector arched a brow. “Explain.”

“I can either die in the ash or I can rise from it.” Fitzhubert let out a low sob. The sound of a man who had hit the bottom of despair and shame and now could see that he did not need to remain there if he had the courage to choose differently. “How is it possible that you are all like this?”

Hector drew in a steadying breath, stunned by the pain he could now see in the other man. A pain that had been hidden until now. “Because of my mother,” Hector replied. “Because of my father, and because we have each other. I understand you have no one. And so that’s why you are like this. But you don’t have to be like this anymore if you don’t want to be. What do you want? Do you want to die like a dog or live like a man?”

And much to Hector’s surprise, but also his gratitude, something changed in Fitzhubert’s face.

“I want another chance,” he rasped. “I want a chance to be more than every single ancestor in my past. I want to be more than just a lineage. More than just my father’s son, fated to die early and broken.”

“Then you shall be,” Hector said. “Take him down.”

Ajax growled with frustration but did as his brother asked.

Hector locked gazes with Fitzhubert. “You need to leave. You need to leave this country. And you won’t come back, but you will write to me, and you will tell me how you are doing. And I will hope that you do exactly what you say. But know this, if you don’t, there is no corner of the world where you can’t be reached. No shadow where you can’t be found. So I ask you to shine the light upon yourself so that the shadow no longer rules.”

Fitzhubert’s face twisted with grief. “I have been a villain for so long. My father was a villain too. But I see all of you together? And…”

“And you want that,” Hector surmised, his own heart full of regret for the boy who had not had love or a family to teach him.

“It would be easier to crawl back into misery,” Fitzhubert lamented. “And self-hatred. I could blame you for all of this. But you’re not to blame.”

Mulvaney began to applaud. “You begin to understand, and the change has started. If you understand that you are responsible, then you can make it better too. Come along.” Mulvaney waved his hand to the man. “Let me find you a ship.”

Hector marveled as Fitzhubert and Mulvaney headed out onto the streets.

And he had a feeling that this was the beginning of something. The beginning of a magic worked on someone that only Mulvaney could work. Because Mulvaney had seen broken men rise and helped them to do it.

Hector felt the darkness lift off his soul because he did not know if he would be able to live with himself for what he had been about to do. For what he’d been about to allow his brothers to do too.

They were more than that.

They were greater than that because Briarwoods didn’t destroy people.

They freed them instead.