“Wait, where are you going?” Jack asked.
“I’ll see her off in a hansom then join you in searching each room.”
Delicate fingers wrapped around his forearm. “Clay, you shouldn’t do that. If there’s danger then let the other men look for an intruder.”
He shook his head as he pried her fingers off his arm. Then he lifted her hand to his lips and kissed her knuckles. “I’ll be fine. I know all the best hiding places.”
“Let me help you,” she said.
His gut cramped at the idea of her being harmed by some disgruntled patron or dirty copper. “Absolutely not. This is not up for discussion, Florence.”
“I’ll meet you in the cellar,” Jack told Clay before hurrying out.
Clay began leading Florence to the door. “You’re going home and you may not return until I’m certain it’s safe.”
“That is ridiculous. No one wants to hurt me. I can help search for whoever—”
“No.” Once over the threshold he towed her down the corridor, not slowing his pace. The sooner he got her to safety, the sooner he could breathe freely again. “I won’t allow it. You must leave. I will contact you to let you know when you may return.”
“What if you don’t find anyone? Does that mean I may return tonight?”
“Not tonight.” As much as he wanted her in his bed he wouldn’t chance it.
“So it could be weeks before I see you again. Is that what you are telling me?”
He stopped on the stairs and maneuvered her until her back was against the wall. Placing his forehead to hers, he cupped her jaw with both hands. “I’ll not risk your safety. Not today, not ever. Don’t ask it, because I cannot allow anyone to hurt you. It would destroy me.”
Her jaw fell open as her chest rose and fell with her labored breath. They seemed to pause a moment while the weight of what he’d said settled between them. “Oh, Clay.” She pressed up and kissed him swiftly, her lips warm and insistent, reassuring. She was here, right here, safe with him.
And it needed to stay that way. He couldn’t let the dark ugliness from his life ever bleed into hers. “Come along,” he said after breaking the kiss.
In a few minutes they reached the back door. Kid Johnny was on the floor, slouched against the wall with some ice on his head, a few other men gathered around. “One of you fetch a hack,” Clay said to the group standing around. One of the boys nodded and took off out the back door. “You all right?” Clay asked Kid, who was actually twenty-five but looked more like sixteen.
Kid winced as he frowned up at Clay. “I’m sorry, Madden. Guy got the drop on me. I heard a noise in the alley but couldn’t see anyone. I went out to investigate and he clobbered me.”
“Don’t worry about it,” Clay said. “We’ll find him. I need to see her off first. Then I’ll return and get you settled at Anna’s.”
“Clay, what if I—” Florence started, but he held up a hand to stop whatever she was about to say.
“Answer is still no. You’re going back uptown, princess.”
Chapter Nineteen
Clay and Jack turned over every chair, looked in each corner. They searched cabinets and closets. Under beds and behind curtains. No room was missed, from the cellar to the attic. Yet, no intruder was found.
They had even checked the patrons on the casino floor. No strangers were present, no one who would need to fight his way inside. All were paying members.
It made no damn sense.
Clay stood on the balcony, Jack at his side, and watched the familiar throw of the dice, the twirl of the wheel. Men laughed and clapped, champagne and spirits flowing freely. All was normal in the Bronze House tonight, if one didn’t consider the guard clubbed over the head two hours ago.
“He could’ve escaped,” Jack said. The former boxer’s arms were crossed over his chest, anger evident in the heavy set of his shoulders. Clay knew Jack took the security of the Bronze House seriously, and his friend was upset over the breach. “Or not even come inside. He might have attacked Kid and run off.”
Clay didn’t believe it. Random acts of violence were rare in this world. Most violence had a purpose, even if that purpose made sense only to the perpetrator. “Why bother?”
“Scouting the place? Finding out what our security looks like for a break-in later?”
A tactic some criminals employed. “Perhaps. Or he might’ve been doing something in the alley he didn’t want Kid to discover.”
“Doubtful, but that would explain not sticking around.” Jack pounded a fist against the railing and the wood shook with the force of the blow. “I don’t like the not knowing. A thief, he breaks in and we catch him. Someone sneaks onto the floor and we bounce him. The mystery of it doesn’t sit well with me.”
“Me either. But he’s definitely not inside. And no one’s been in or out in two hours.” The dealers had given free chips to anyone wishing to leave during the search. That had kept the patrons happy and occupied while Clay and Jack tore the place apart.
“Do you think it’s related to Bill?”
Clay had considered that, but attacking one of the Bronze House’s employees didn’t seem like Bill’s style. “I’m not ruling it out but unlikely he’d bother. He’d rather come after me, not Kid.”
“True. And everyone here knows him. He wouldn’t be stupid enough to try to hurt you.”
“Not to mention he threatened to tell Duncan about Florence’s visits here. I’d expect that before he attacked the staff.”
“A disgruntled patron, then?”
“We’ve had our fair share of those.” Clay dragged a hand down his face. “I couldn’t point to one that stands out as the culprit, however.”
The sound of boot heels signaled the arrival of a female. Not the one Clay hoped, of course. Florence had been sent home directly after the discovery of Kid Johnny’s injury. And Clay wouldn’t allow her to return until he was certain this attack wasn’t a prelude to more violence. No matter how much he ached for her.
“Did you find whoever hurt Johnny?” Anna asked as she approached.
“No,” Clay said. “We didn’t find anyone inside the building.”
Anna came alongside them, her face pulled into a frown. “That doesn’t ease my worries.”
“Or mine,” Jack said.
“We will remain vigilant,” Clay said. “It’s all we can do at this point. How’s Kid?”
“Just peachy.” Anna’s mouth curved into a smile. “The doctor left an hour ago. Kid now has seven beautiful women fluttering around him and offering to play nurse. Don’t expect him to recover anytime soon.”
“Just send me all the bills.”
“Oh, I will.” She glanced over his shoulder. “Where is your intrepid sidekick, the lovely Miss Greene?”
“I sent her home.” For her own good. He would have liked nothing more than to curl up in bed with her right now. Pleasure her until he forgot all about intruders, corrupt coppers, Duncan Greene and the other myriad worries that plagued him on a daily basis. Worse, this separation could last days. Weeks. If there were more random acts of violence within these walls, he couldn’t allow her to return.