Page 136 of To Catch A Rogue

"I am going to rip Balfour's lungs out through his mouth. He should survive it. Then I think I'll take my time with the rest of him."

Byrnes winced. "Want some help? I can hold him down."

"What about Ava?" Kincaid demanded, looking haggard. "You promised we’d get her back."

"Her and Malloryn," Ingrid added.

He looked around at the rest of the room. The rage within him was intense, but these were his people now. And Kincaid would be there for him if that were Gemma.

"We’ll kill Balfour," Gemma promised. "One day. We have to rescue our own first."

Obsidian fought his way down off the edge. He wasdhampir. All the darkness swirled within like a hurricane, but he had not come all this way just to lose control now.

Breathing hard, he nodded, just faintly. "What do we do about Balfour? He’s expecting me to make a move against Sergey."

"That’s it," Charlie suddenly said.

They all looked at him, but the young man’s eyes were racing, and he raked his hands through his hair.

"I know how to do it," Charlie said, locking eyes with Lark. "I know how to rescue Malloryn, kill Sergey, get Ava back, and ruin Balfour."

"How?" Kincaid demanded.

"Simple sleight of hand," Charlie replied, and then added, mostly for Lark, "Remember the Oldgate job?"

"Watch this hand," Lark whispered, her eyes lighting with sudden understanding, "and not this one. It's perfect."

"Dangerous," Blade said, because he'd been the one who planned the job. "We ain't in London anymore, children."

"Anyone care to explain for those of us who haven't spent half a lifetime picking pockets?" Byrnes growled. "Some of us preferred to stay on the right side of the law."

"Since Balfour is so keen to see the Prince of Tsaritsyn dead before the tsarina can announce his wife as her new heir, that's exactly what we're going to do." Charlie flashed him a wicked grin. "Kill the prince in exchange for Ava, and use the uproar as a distraction while the rest of us rescue Malloryn."

"A walk in the park then." Byrnes grimaced.

"The only problem is," Charlie said, looking at her. "We can't do this alone."

* * *

Lark eased openthe scrolled iron gate that led to the courtyard in the heart of the Grigoriev Palace.

A shadow dissolved out of the darkness, the flicker of a torch reflecting back off iron. Nadezhda by the look of it, scattering small pieces of meat across the yard. Dozens of cats flocked to the beautiful woman, pouncing on the scraps she threw from the chipped porcelain bowl in her hand.

"You are well?" Lark asked.

Hints of Tatar heritage showed in the woman's strong features. Her hair fell in thick, glossy dark brown waves down her spine, and her brown eyes were almond-shaped. The faintest of scars across her throat revealed where her vocal cords had been cut."Thank you for your help."

"I hardly did a thing."

Nadezhda smiled."Nobody has ever spoken up for me before. You did more than you can imagine. You convinced the Crippled King he still had a conscience."

And now she needed to do so again.

"Let us hope it’s still there."Lark nodded to the other woman."I need to speak to him."

"He's in the catacombs. This way."

She followed Nadezhda beneath the arch and ducked down the stairs into the ancient ancestral vault that held the bodies of countless Grigoriev princes, guarded by the legion of cats that prowled along at their heels.