John grabbed her harshly by the shoulders and turned her around. The expression on his face told her that he still cared for her, and she would have been overjoyed if he hadn't looked so completely anguished. "Tell me what happened," he insisted, his face pinched with concern. "Tell me everything."
She quickly told him about the incident in the alley.
"Goddamn!" he exploded, pounding his fist into the wall.
Belle gasped as she saw a crack snake through the plaster.
"And you're sure they said a highborn gentleman wanted you? You in particular?"
She nodded and winced as he shook her. "And also that his arm was in a sling."
John let out a foul expletive. He'd shot his attacker just a few nights ago in the shoulder. With a ragged sigh he limped over to a table with a bottle of whiskey and a glass. He picked up both and then discarded the glass, taking a healthy swig of the liquor directly from the bottle. He swore again and then held the bottle toward Belle. "Want some?"
She shook her head, unnerved by his stark expression. "No, thank you."
"You may change your mind," he said, laughing harshly.
"John, what is wrong?" Belle rushed to his side. "What is going on?"
He looked her straight in the eye, straight into those perfect blue eyes that haunted him every night. There was no point in keeping the truth from her any longer. Not after his enemy had already decided that she was a valuable commodity. He was going to have to keep her close to him now if he wanted to keep her safe. Very close. At all times.
"John?" Belle implored. "Please tell me."
"Someone is trying to kill me."
The words fell on her like an avalanche. "What?" she gasped. She swayed and would have fallen to the floor if he hadn't reached out and caught her. "Who?"
"I don't know. That's the damned part about it. How in hell am I supposed to watch my back if I have no idea what I'm watching for?"
"But do you have any enemies?"
"None that I know of."
"Merciful heavens," Belle breathed, and John had to crack a smile at her extremely ladylike attempt at cursing.
"Whoever wants me dead has realized that you are very, very important to me and isn't above using you."
"Am I?" Belle asked softly.
"Are you what?"
"Very, very important to you?"
John let out a harsh breath. "For God's sake, Belle. You know that you are. The only reason I haven't been following you like a lapdog for the past few days is that I had hoped that my assailant hadn't yet made the connection between us."
Amidst her terror over John's safety, Belle felt a warm glow of happiness at his words. She hadn't misjudged him. "What are we going to do now?"
John sighed raggedly. "I don't know, Belle. Keeping you safe is my first priority."
"And yourself, too, I should hope. I couldn't bear it if something were to happen to you."
"I'm not going to spend my life running, Belle. Or rather, limping, as the case may be," he added wryly.
"No, I can see that you wouldn't like that."
"Damn it!" His fingers tightened around the bottle of whiskey, and he very likely would have thrown it against the wall if Belle hadn't been there to temper his fury. "If I only knew who was after me. I feel so goddamned helpless. And useless."
Belle rushed to comfort him. "Please, darling," she implored. "Don't be so harsh with yourself. No man could do more than you're doing. But I think the time has come for us to seek out help."
"Oh?" he asked derisively.
Belle ignored his tone. "I think we should go to Alex. And Dunford, too, perhaps. They're both quite resourceful. I think they could help."
"I'm not going to involve Ashbourne. He's got a wife now to worry about and a child on the way. And as for your friend Dunford, I don't precisely respect his judgment after tonight."
"Oh, please don't blame Dunford for that. I didn't leave him much choice. It was either come and watch over me or know that I was going to do it on my own."
"You're a fine piece of work, Belle Blydon."
Belle smiled at what she decided to interpret as a compliment. "And as for Alex," she continued. "I know that you saved his life once."
John looked up sharply.
"He told me all about it," Belle said, stretching the truth just a tad. "So don't think you can deny it. And I know Alex well enough to know that he'll have been wanting to repay his debt to you for a long time."
"I don't see it as a debt. I did what any man would have done."
"I disagree. I know many men who won't even go out in the rain for fear of ruining their cravats, much less risk their lives for another. For God's sake, John. You can't do this alone."
"There is no other way to do it."
"That's not true. You're not alone anymore. You have friends. And you have me. Won't you let us help you?"
John didn't answer right away, and Belle let out another panicked rush of words. "It's just pride stopping you. I know that, and I won't forgive you if you… if you die, and only because you were too bullheaded to ask for help from the people who care about you."
He moved away from her and walked over to the window, unable to turn his thoughts from the man who was stalking him. Was he out there, just through the thin curtain? Was he just waiting, biding his time? And would he hurt Belle?
God, don't let him hurt Belle.
A long minute passed, and then Belle finally spoke, her voice quavering. "I… I think you should know that I'm counting on you to protect me. I'll face whatever lies ahead, but I won't do it alone."