Runaway (A New Adventure Begins - Star Elite Book 4) Read online

  “So why do you know all about the kidnappings?” she shouted, flailing her arms wildly when she released the iron railing only to lose her balance.

  Jasper couldn’t tell her that without telling her about his work for the Star Elite. Thankfully, his other colleagues had found them, and were now steadily approaching from Molly’s left, but that only seemed to unnerve her more.

  “Look, let’s get you somewhere warm and dry. I can even take you to the magistrate’s office if that helps to ease your suspicions,” Jasper reasoned.

  Molly was already shaking her head again. “I am not going anywhere with any of you.”

  Her terrified gaze darted to the men who were walking toward them. They all had taken a severe beating. Their blood-stained shirts, torn clothing, battered and bruised faces was enough to make anybody who saw them take a wary step backward. Before she could even turn her gaze back to Jasper, he darted forward.

  Molly, determined to fight for her freedom, immediately clambered over the railing, only had forgotten how slippery it was, and how cold she was. Her numbed fingers couldn’t hold on and she found herself struggling to retain a grip on the icy iron. She hung perilously over the river for a few seconds before she plunged into its icy depths.

  CHAPTER FOUR

  Molly gasped when the first shock of icy water hit her. She opened her mouth to scream. It was the worst thing she could do because all she managed to draw in was the chilly fluid of the deadly Thames. It engulfed her already cold skin and stole what remained of her warmth. Her mind went blank. All she could do was feel the pain that coursed through her. It felt like a thousand tiny needles slamming into her all at once. It pierced every inch of her tender flesh, threatening to suck the soul right out of her.

  A part of her wondered if this was what death felt like, this helpless void of blackness that was suffocating. She couldn’t breathe, even though she had already been spat out onto the surface of the tumultuous water. It was its icy grip that rendered her helpless to the tumbling fury of the raging current which dragged her away from the dubious safety of the riverbank and the men on it. It engulfed her numbed limbs and clawed her into the steady flow of seawater heading back out to the ocean. Molly looked helplessly at the riverbank fading rapidly and could do little but look pleadingly at Jasper. She wished she could call out to him, but each time she tried the raging motion of the tide sucked her under. Flailing her arms, Molly began to fight to break free of the tormenting river and prayed that she would live to see another day.

  Jasper raced to the railing. He cursed bitterly when he saw her disappear beneath the surface of the water but not reappear.

  “She is drowning,” he growled to Niall.

  “Do you want me to go?” Niall offered.

  Jasper shook his head. He was already yanking his jacket off. He tugged his boots off and threw one long, lithe leg over the rail. Without even glancing at his colleagues, he dived head first into the water. The shock of it was enough to take his breath, even though he was braced for it. Within seconds he struggled to think beyond how cold and how painful it was to be surrounded by such frigidity, but there was little he could do now.

  Jasper forced himself to kick until he broke free of the surface. He scoured the capped peaks for sign of her, but Molly still hadn’t reappeared. Around his legs, the Thames continued to tug him to his doom, but he refused to surrender. Panic slammed into him when he realised just how much danger he was in, and he wasn’t encumbered by skirts like Molly was.

  “Can you see her?” he shouted to Niall.

  “She is further down,” Niall called.

  Jasper shook water out of his eyes and looked in the direction Niall was pointing. He struggled to remain above the surface long enough to focus, but eventually saw her several feet away.

  “Down there,” Callum shouted when Jasper surfaced once more.

  Jasper flopped onto his back, shook water out of his eyes and looked in the direction of Callum’s pointed finger. He flopped back over and began to swim and kick his way over to her. It was mostly the tide that dragged him to her side, but it didn’t matter. What mattered most to Jasper was that he did eventually reach her. Just as she was about to be sucked under again, he hauled her back to the surface and clamped one long arm around her waist. When he tried to kick, though, his lack of ability to feel anything made it impossible. His strength had started to evaporate in the warehouse yard because of the ferocity of the battle he had fought. There just wasn’t the strength left to get them both through the strong current to the safety of the riverbank where they needed to be.

  “I need rope,” Jasper shouted before the current tugged him beneath the surface once more.

  Molly clung to his arm and tried to kick only to wince when their knees slammed together. Jasper tugged her closer and was shouting something to his friends on the bank, but she had no idea what it was. Everything passed by her in a blur of confusion she couldn’t find a way out of. It was as though the notorious London smog had taken route in her brain and refused to budge. She struggled to remember who she was. She struggled to remember who he was, and her life lay in his hands right now because he seemed to know what to do more than she did.

  “We are going to die,” she choked in horror.

  “No. We are not,” Jasper bit out. “Just keep hold of me. I can’t get us out of here, but the others will help.”

  “It’s on its way,” Niall shouted.

  “I need something now,” Jasper yelled.

  Oliver ran down the bank alongside them as they were swept down the Thames and through London. Eventually, Callum reappeared but Jasper was unable to get him and Molly close enough to the riverbank to catch the rope Callum threw them.

  Molly knew she was hindering him. He was still holding her tightly but each time he tried to surge forward to catch the rope he was yanked back by her. She didn’t mean to hold him back. She just couldn’t move as swiftly as he did because of her skirt. She was helpless, and they both knew it.

  I am going to drag him to his death as well. Molly knew it was fact.

  “Let me go.” Molly began to kick and squirm against his hold, not least because she knew she had dragged him into the mess they now faced. He couldn’t do much of anything while clinging to her, and she couldn’t find the will to release him, but she knew she must, mostly because she couldn’t bear to have his death on her conscience.

  “No. Stay with me,” Jasper argued.

  “Let me go,” Molly protested.

  She tried to prise his arm from around her only to find him tightening his grip so much she was plastered against him. Everything he was suddenly became her. Each breath he took revitalised them both. Every time he kicked, he kicked for them both. There was nothing either of them could do except part and both die. Together, they stayed strong. Eventually, they began to work together to fight the raging current and get close enough to the bank to try to grab the rope Callum threw them. When they missed, Jasper swore. He watched impatiently as his friend re-coiled the rope. By the time Callum had thrown it again, Jasper barely had the strength left to tug his arm free of the water and try to grab it.

  “Damn, I have missed it again,” he snapped.

  “Its hopeless,” Molly whispered.

  “No. It isn’t,” Jasper retorted firmly. “It is never time to give up. Die trying but don’t ever give up.”

  Molly wanted to find the strength to keep kicking but her legs simply wouldn’t move. She knew she was a dead weight against him. Over the last couple of minutes, she had been aware that Jasper had grown colder. The fine traces of warmth she had felt in him only a few moments ago had vanished completely. Now it was difficult to know who was the coldest. What Molly did know with more certainty than anything she had ever known or felt before in her life was that she was costing this man his life. She had to make him release her, no matter what it took.

  “Don’t give up,” Jasper pleaded when he saw the look in her eye.

  He knew the
second their eyes met that Molly wasn’t ready for an asylum. She was as sane and normal as he was. Whatever had gone wrong in her life, she knew exactly what it was, but was defeated by it for some reason only she could comprehend. He was also shockingly aware of the moment she made the decision to let go of him and surrender to the river’s demands.

  “No!” Jasper made a grab for her when she pushed away from him.

  “Get to the riverbank. You will survive,” Molly urged, her voice fading as she was dragged further away from him.

  Molly had no choice but to lie back and stare blankly up at the sky overhead. She had no idea what had come over her or why she should contemplate doing such a thing as boldly facing death in this way. There was something so alive about the man who had jumped in after her that stood in stark contrast to just how dead she felt that made Molly realise that she couldn’t live with her conscience if she was responsible for killing him. She knew that giving him a chance at life was the right thing to do, even if it cost her hers.

  In her youth, Molly had had hope, the promise of a brighter future, choices and a chance at happiness. Now, thanks to the greedy laziness of a distant relation, Molly knew her choices had vanished. Her brighter future had been taken off her and she had been cast cruelly into a life of servitude for a relation she didn’t really like very much. Edith refused to even treat her like a person. With Edith in her life, Molly knew her life, or choices, would never be her own. She would never achieve anything, go anywhere, do anything, or be anybody. If she did fight to get free of the water, where would she go? Back to the miserable single room in a grimy lodging house she hated and even that was a temporary arrangement because her funds were dangerously low. She was going to be lucky if she could afford to eat next week, and with no more work in the offering, there was little she could do to fix her problems.

  Jasper watched her float away with a gnawing horror that struck him deep in his soul. He knew then that if he let her go then she would float away and he would lose her forever. The raging tide would suck her down. She would be free of whatever burden she carried, but he would be forever burdened by her demise. He couldn’t live with the dark stain on his soul that he would carry with him wherever he went if he didn’t save her.

  She won’t be a part of my life either, Jasper thought desperately but with no idea why he should want this feminine stranger, however beautiful she was, to be a part of it.

  He was mired in a world of thieves, liars, scoundrels, cut-throats and abusers who inhabited the parts of society the Star Elite fought daily. Molly didn’t belong in his world. Even so, Jasper knew deep inside that she could bring light to his world of darkness. She could bring something more than danger and death. She could bring a life, happiness, love, hope – if only she lived.

  Renewed determination made him kick his way to the surface when he was dragged under once more. Thankfully, when he did break free of the water he saw Oliver a little further downstream in a small rowing boat. He was floating in the middle of the river directly in their path so that he could hoist them aboard when they drew near.

  “Where is she?” Oliver called when he looked at Jasper and saw he was all alone.

  “I don’t know.” Jasper swirled around in the water, kicking his feet to keep himself on the surface. When he couldn’t see her, pure terror struck him. He dived beneath the murky water but was encased in a darkness that was suffocating.

  Jasper pushed free of the surface again and sucked in air and watched Callum climb over the railing and dive head-first into the water.

  “Where is she?” Jasper asked Oliver.

  “Over there.” Oliver pointed to something closer to the riverbank. Callum was already with her, pushing her toward Oliver. By the time Jasper reached the small boat, Molly was already aboard. Jasper, with little strength left, was tugged aboard and was swiftly followed by Callum. Together, Callum and Oliver then rowed everyone to the shore.

  It took far too long to reach the shore as far as Jasper was concerned. He was shivering and so numb he struggled to breathe properly. Molly’s skin had gone a horrible shade of blue. He touched her and murmured her name, a little alarmed that she didn’t respond.

  “Molly?” he persisted, shaking her shoulder.

  The feel of her icy skin was worrying. Jasper had only ever felt someone that cold when their life had long since been extinguished. The thought of Molly dead was so disturbing that Jasper hauled her into his arms and cradled her against him as they returned to shore. He had no idea why he felt so compelled to do so but he promised himself right there and the that he would do everything he had to do to keep this woman, Molly, safe. He would do whatever it took to keep her free of the clutches of whoever and whatever had driven her to such extremes. When he found the person or persons responsible, he would make sure that they would never be able to ever do anything like this to anybody else – whatever it was.

  Molly blinked owlishly at the man hovering protectively over her. She had never felt so foolish in her life; foolish and awkward. There was little she could say about her own stupidity, and that was what she had been, to herself but also to him and his colleagues; stupid. Falling into the river had been an incredibly stupid thing to do. One that had put not just her life in incredible danger but the men’s as well. Her mind couldn’t work beyond the fact that she could very easily have killed him. She knew that when she did eventually shake off the icy chill that had taken hold of every inch of her being, she would apologise.

  Jasper stared blankly at the riverbank. It was damned hard to get his mind to work at all. Until he looked at Molly and their gazes met.

  “Are you all right?” he whispered, relieved that she was now awake.

  Around them, his colleagues worked with several locals to get the boat to the shore. Men stood on the riverbank holding blankets. A carriage was already pulling to a stop in readiness to take them somewhere drier.

  “I think so,” Molly whispered. “Why did you do that?”

  “Because there is no way in Hell that I am going to allow anything in this damned city to drive someone like you to do something so desperate,” Jasper replied.

  “But you could have been killed,” she argued.

  “I am no hero,” Jasper warned with a grin. “If I thought you were going to drown me then I would have let you go.”

  Molly smiled, despite the guilt she carried. She knew he was lying. His actions had proven it. He had been determined to rescue her, even if she hadn’t wanted rescuing.

  Jasper watched the activities on the riverbank. It was quite striking that only an hour ago he had been quietly contemplating leaving the Star Elite. The long, dark and lonely nights trawling the back streets of London for thugs, thieves, cut-throats and undesirables who usually crept out during the night-time hours had started to take its toll. While his friends and co-workers would always be a part of his life, Jasper wanted something – more. More time to himself. More ability to enjoy some of the daytime hours rather than having to sleep through them. More time to be able to make his own choices in life rather than be forced to go where the job took him. More importantly than anything else, he wanted less danger. He didn’t want to end his nine and twenty years in some seedy back alley with his throat cut by a knife he had missed, or a mistimed blink of an eye. He wanted to live, damned it. He wanted a life.

  It appears with someone like her, Jasper mused as he looked back down at the woman in his arms and felt an emotion he had never expected to feel begin to take root in his chest. Molly felt so right pressed against him that all he could do was hold her closer.

  “What do you mean ‘someone like me’? You don’t know me,” Molly murmured after several long moments of tense silence.

  She struggled to hear him through the loud hissing noise in her ears when he began to speak. All she could do was stare at his lips as they moved. Despite the noise, the world and the still raging river behind them had faded into the deeper recesses of her conscious. Inwardly, she would be ver
y glad if she never set eyes on the damned Thames ever again. Lying scandalously in this stranger’s arms as she was, though, it was difficult to find the will to move or care about anything other than him - Jasper. This was the safest she had felt since her arrival in the city a few long and horrifying weeks ago, but it wasn’t just his protection that drew her. It was him. His quiet strength. His fierce determination. His good looks. Everything about him called to something deep within her. She couldn’t deny it or ignore it because it had been strong enough in the river to make her put his life, his welfare, before hers and she wasn’t a heroine. His welfare had mattered more than anything to her. Now that she came to consider it a little more closely, it had nothing to do with the guilt of being responsible for another person’s death that made her release him. She had let him go purely because she had wanted to protect him. He mattered. In a strange kind of way even that was difficult to comprehend and brought her a conflicting set of emotions she knew she had to consider more closely just as soon as she was alone. Right now, she focused on what he was saying to her.

  “You are young, innocent, and could have died in that river,” Jasper replied as if she didn’t know that already. “What are you running from?”

  Molly blinked at him. It was difficult to know what to tell him, not least because she had no idea who she was running from.

  “I don’t know what he wanted from me,” she said honestly and stopped to smile her thanks at Oliver, who was draping blankets over their shoulders.

  “He seemed very determined to get you,” Oliver murmured.

  “I don’t know why. I don’t have anything or know who he is.” Molly blinked. Suddenly, out of nowhere, a huge well of tears sprang to life. She glanced about them at the tiny boat they were in. “Oh, dear.”

  “What?” Jasper prompted when he couldn’t stand the sight of that solitary tear trickling down her beautiful face any longer. He wiped it off, but it was swiftly replaced by two more. “What is it?”