And again.

He did it until his mind was incensed until there was nothing but blind rage to keep his muscles moving. If he stopped, he feared he would collapse from the enormous strain.

“Cease this at once!” The first officer, accompanied by another, banged on the bars again. Their voices were small in comparison to Ben’s shouting, and when he threw the bed again, they nearly toppled to the floor.

“What’s happening here?” The sound of the inspector’s voice was enough to stop him. “Ben? What are you doing?”

Before his legs claimed him, Ben fell against the bars to keep himself standing. “You must let me out.”

“What?” Marceau appeared incredulous. “Ben, I can’t do that.”

“You can,” he huffed, “and you will.”

The inspector leveled his gaze. “I can’t.”

“Madame Leone,” he huffed again, trying to catch his breath. “Remi…she’s in danger. Right now, right this second. I need to go to her.”

His eyes widened a fraction. “How can you know?”

“It’s her uncle. He’s behind it all.” Ben could feel his second wind coming on. “I need to go to her. Now!”

The inspector raised an eyebrow. “Do you have any proof of this?”

“Yes,” Ben sputtered. “If you let me out and I get to her in time, I will give you proof. You have my word.”

The inspector was silent for a moment longer, and then he was walking away. The other two officers followed him without another word.

“Her blood is on your hands!” Ben yelled, straining his already sore throat. “You coward! You’re all cowards!”

Ben was on the ground again when keys clinked against his iron bars a few long moments later. He looked up, meeting the inspector’s piercing eyes.

“I hope you’ll spare me the guilt. I have a soft spot for Madame Leone,” Marceau said.

The door of his cell opened wide, creaking in the dark of the gaol. After days locked up inside the small room, it felt good to step outside of his cage, but his relief was short-lived. He needed to get to Remi.

“Thank you,” Ben said. “I will.”

“Where will you go?” asked Marceau.

“Home,” he said. “It’s the only place I know she might be if he hasn’t gotten to her yet.”

Marceau nodded.

“If she’s not there, then I’ll…” He didn’t want to think about the worst, let alone consider it. “I’ll search the entire island until I find her.”

“I will dispatch some of my men to the Cuvilyés’s home and to your manor.”

“And my footman?”

The inspector sighed. “I will bring him along. You’d best get a move on. I left my horse out front for you.”

“Thank you,” Ben said. “I’m forever grateful.”

Ben started down the hall and stopped suddenly when the inspector called after him. “Monsieur? I need not remind you, do I?”

“Of what?”

“The law, sir! The law!” Marceau shouted.

Ben understood but knew he could not promise he would not hurt Arnaud. If a single hair was out of place on Remi’s head, the man would pay dearly.

REMI

Remi stirred against the brush of a warm hand against her cheek.

The soft snaps and pops of the fire crackled in the background, the sound soothing her as she turned beneath the sheets. A pair of brown eyes watched her.

“Wake up, Remi.”

“Ben?”

He smiled. “You’re tired.”

She agreed with a silent nod, a sob bubbling out of her. Sadness overcame her, and he pulled her close. “I feel broken.”

“No,” he said against her hair. “Bent, perhaps, but never broken.”

“Why is this happening?”

Ben’s hand ran soothingly down the length of her back. She felt wet, her clothes suddenly clinging to her body. The sound of the fire was replaced by the whipping winds of a cold storm raging overhead. They were a mess of tangled limbs, embraced by four dark walls with only one exit. A grave, a cell, another room she could not escape.

“Why does anything happen?”

“I don’t know,” she said.

“Will you give up?”

Remi shook her head lightly. “Part of me would like to.”

“Do you know what will happen then if you do?” Ben’s embrace hardened, and his hands stopped at her waist. She looked up into his eyes, now devoid of life. The fire in him extinguished. Her heart sank.

“You will die,” she breathed. “And I will die.”

“Is that what you want?” His lips moved, forming the words slowly. Like Leith, his lips turned blue, and the impression of a rope deepened into a purple bruise around his throat.

“No.”

“Then you must wake up.”