The Curious Case Of The Clockwork Menace (6 page)

Bloody hell
. He’d never intended to
truly hurt her. The heat drained out of his face and Garrett took a
step toward her, “Are you all–”

A narrow eyed
glare was all the warning he got. Perry launched herself at him in
a flying leap, her thighs locking around his throat. The momentum
caught him off guard, and she flipped low, sending him crashing to
the mats. Garrett rolled free, narrowly avoiding a punch to the
face, but he didn’t retaliate.

“
Polite?” she snapped. “How about this? Fair warning, sir, I’m
about to incapacitate you.” A knee drove up between his legs, and
he twisted out of the way, taking it to the hip, instead of the
balls.

That did it.
Garrett rolled to his feet with a snarl, fists held up to block the
next punch. She was on him, punching and striking.

The strike to
the balls had been a clear warning. If he was going to back down
with her, then she would make him regret it.

Garrett backed
away, holding up his hand to indicate a cessation. Perry instantly
stilled. He flipped open the top button on his shirt, then dragged
the entire thing over his head and threw it toward the rest of his
clothes. He caught just a glimpse of her face as he tossed the
shirt aside – a frozen, almost hunted look – before she smoothed
her expression.

“
First to cry ‘mercy’,” he warned. Usually their bouts ended
with him giving her a nod and a cheery “good fight.”

As if
understanding the sudden seriousness of the matter, her eyes
narrowed and she moved her right foot back, fists held up in front
of her. A defensive position again, which was interesting. Maybe
she knew she’d been in the wrong?

They went at
it again, hands and feet flying. Garrett caught her foot, locking
it against his thigh.

“
This… is ridiculous,” she snapped. “We barely
argued.”

“
Really?” He twisted her foot, and her eyes widened as she
realized what he was about to do. “And Lynch? That moment in his
office?
‘Trust your fucking instincts,
Perry…’
Would you care to explain that? Or
perhaps you’d prefer to speak to him about it, to tell him how you
think I crossed the line, with a potential suspect?”

“
I–”

The words died
as he took her down. Perry kicked at his grip on her foot, but he
twisted her ankle, forcing the rest of her body to roll with it,
until she was flat on her stomach. She tried to gain her hands and
knees, but he jerked her foot back, dragging her down again. After
a mad scramble, he rolled her onto her back, his legs pinning her
thighs. The second she tried to sit up, he slammed her back
down.

“
I didn’t cross the line,” he snarled.

“
Does Miss Radcliffe think the same?” she shot back hotly,
glaring up at him. “You don’t even know the effect you have on
women!”

Garrett pinned
her, breathing hard. Fuck, she was strong. He fought her as she
tried to break free, but his weight was too much for her, his bare
chest pressed against the leather protective corset she wore. “Say
it,” he demanded. “Say ‘mercy’.”

“
Bugger. You.”

Stubborn bloody chit
. Perry
strained, and Garrett let his grin show as she realized that his
weight was too much for her to shift. He enjoyed every second of
her frustration, until she finally slumped back in defeat, her gaze
dropping away from his, and her breathing quickened.

He certainly
wasn’t letting her go, however. Not until she said the words.

They lay there
for long seconds, breathing almost in unison. He could feel her
chest straining against his. No doubt he was getting heavy, but she
wore that mulish expression he hated so much. It often meant an
argument he wouldn’t win, but this time he wasn’t backing down.

Come on, you stubborn chit. Just say it.
“One little word, my lady peregrine.”

Perry
squirmed. Whatever she saw in his expression made her lips thin as
she collapsed again. “Mercy.” She spat the word.

“
I’m sorry? Did you say something?”

If looks could kill
… Perry’s gaze
incinerated him. “Get off me
. I
concede.”

He could feel
the fight leaving her, the muscles in her wrists slackening. Rather
than straining against him, she softened, his hard body sinking
into hers. He’d always known she was lean and lightly muscled, but
it was somewhat of a surprise to realize that there were faint
curves there, beneath the hard planes of his own body.

Garrett let go
of her wrists, lifting himself off her. He hovered there, however,
the muscles in his biceps flexing effortlessly. “We’re not finished
with this discussion.”

Then he pushed
up onto his knees, kneeling over her. Her thighs were trapped
between his. She didn’t like it, her expression carefully blank as
she levered herself up onto her elbows.

“
Get dressed,” she said. “I’m not arguing with you in these…
circumstances.”

Garrett rolled
his eyes. The men often fought bare-chested. Clothing could get
ripped or torn in the bouts, and Lynch kept a tight rein on uniform
expenses. It also gave your opponent nothing to hold onto. “Christ,
it’s not like you haven’t seen a man with a bare chest before.”

That earned
him a searing look. “It’s indecent.”

“
I often am.”

“
You wish to discuss what happened today, with all these
vulnerable areas showing?” Perry gave him the sweetest, evillest
smile he’d ever seen. “Besides, perhaps you should save such a
treat for Miss Radcliffe.
She
might appreciate it.”

Garrett rolled
to his feet. He didn’t offer her his hand, turning to snatch up his
shirt, and drag it over his head. Miss Bloody Radcliffe. It was
starting to make the vein throb in his temples. “Anyone would think
you a jealous wife. What is it about Miss Radcliffe that riles you
so? Do you know her?”

“
What
?”

He glanced
over his shoulder and let the shirt fall over the broad mass of his
chest. “You didn’t like her the moment you met her.”

“
I’m a trained investigator, Garrett, and she’s the understudy
of a missing actress. You tell me where my mind was going with
that!”

“
You’ve dealt with suspects before. You’ve never been like
this.”

“
Maybe I’m not the one with the problem with Miss Radcliffe.”
She flung the words in his face, then turned and yanked at her
coat, wincing slightly as she tried to fit her right arm through
the sleeve.

He could have
taken exception to her words, but he watched the way she favoured
her arm. She’d never admit it, but it was hurting her, and now that
he’d let out the force of his anger, it was finally burning low,
like oil poured on a fire several minutes beforehand. Watching her
struggle with her leather coat didn’t make it easier to hold onto
his fury. He couldn’t shake the feeling that if he hadn’t been so
angry – if he’d controlled himself better – then she wouldn’t be
hurt.

Fuck
.

Garrett
stepped up behind her, catching hold of her wrists.

“
What are you doing?” Perry demanded.

“
I wrenched your shoulder, didn’t I?” He stroked his hand over
her right shoulder. “Let me ease the muscles.”

Perry subsided
with a growl, letting him draw her arms behind her in a stretch.
Tension hardened the line between her shoulder blades, as if she
didn’t quite trust him so closely behind her.

“
Relax.” Garrett slid his hands up her arms, forcing her
shoulders to drop and giving the tight muscles there a
squeeze.

“
I thought you were angry with me?” She tipped her head
forward as he dug his thumbs into the smooth line of her trapezius.
With every circle of his thumbs, tension dissolved in the muscle,
and she made a faint murmur of pleasure.

Garrett let
out the breath he’d been holding. He knew how to melt a woman
beneath his touch; he’d have never realized, however, that Perry
was just as vulnerable as any other woman to that particular
ministration. She made such a strong case of being just as capable
and tough-natured as the rest of the Nighthawks, that he’d rarely
seen a softer side to her.

“
I’m still angry, but we have to work together.” And it was a
mild rasp along his nerves now, not a blazing inferno. A good fight
was almost as physically relaxing as a hard fuck. The same sleepy
lassitude rode through his body. “I’m angry that you thought I
overstepped the line with Miss Radcliffe. I know where that line
exists. I smile and flirt a little, because it puts female suspects
or witnesses at ease.” He clapped his hands over her shoulders and
dragged her close enough to whisper in her ear, “Perhaps you should
attempt such an approach. There’s a reason I handle most of our
interrogations. You can catch more flies with honey than
vinegar.”

“
Is that what this is?”

“
What?” He tried to peer at her expression.

“
Forget it.” Perry scowled and moved away from him, his hands
falling from her shoulders. “I never said you weren’t good at what
you do, and I’m well aware of my own limitations, thank you very
much.”

She’d looked
uncertain though. There’d been something there that he couldn’t
quite read, and he’d long considered himself an expert on women.
Perry however, was outside the realms of what he knew. She always
had been.

Perry picked
her over-shirt off the hook on the wall and slid her arms into it.
When she looked up, there was no trace of whatever he’d seen on her
face, but he knew he’d not forget it.

“
No,” he said slowly. “But you intimated that I stopped being
professional.” He could still hear the crack of the lecture Lynch
had given him all of those years ago, when he was a
novice.

She arched an
eyebrow.

“
Fine,” he snapped. There was no point arguing with her
anymore. “We’ll agree to disagree. But next time, you can handle
Miss Radcliffe.”

“
Perhaps I will.”

The sound of
her words followed him through the door, which he slammed, just a
little.

CHAPTER
FIVE

SOME WOMEN -
like Perry - looked ghastly while crying.

In others, it brought only a rosy bloom to already creamy
cheeks, and made the limpid pools of their ey
es look even bluer. Of course, Miss Radcliffe was one of the
latter group.

Perry sank
into the chair opposite the woman, well aware that Garrett was
watching from the door, with his arms crossed over his chest.

Next time, you can handle Miss Radcliffe
, he’d snapped. It hadn’t been an idle threat.

“
So tell me about the flowers,” she suggested. An uneasy
sensation made her stomach squirm. She hadn’t been handling this
case well at all, and Miss Radcliffe wasn’t to blame for that. And
whilst she genuinely felt sorry for the blonde actress, Perry knew
she wasn’t very good at handling grieving people. That was more
Garrett’s forte than hers. Easy for him to say you could catch more
flies with honey, but he had a natural charm she could never hope
to mimic.

Miss
Radcliffe’s eyes kept flickering between them, as though even she
could sense the tension. It was utterly humiliating.

“
Red roses,” Miss Radcliffe sniffled into her delicately
patterned handkerchief. Her message had arrived by pneumatic
tube
that morning,
requesting a word with Garrett. “Two dozen of them. They
always arrived for Nelly before her big shows.” A wave of wetness
coursed down her cheeks as she looked up, her eyes betraying a hint
of fear. “They arrived for me this morning with a note. I haven’t
let anyone touch it, but it’s the same person who’s been sending
them to Nelly. Do you think...? Do you think it’s the man who took
her?”

Garrett strode toward the flowers in their vase, and examined
the note. “
‘For your upcoming debut as
lead. I look forward to it, my dear. You shall be a shining jewel
among the masses.’
“ He flipped it over,
but there was nothing on the back.

“
It could simply be an admirer,” Perry said awkwardly. Should
she reach out and pat the woman’s hand? Such a display was
uncomfortable but Garrett often touched people. It put them at
ease.

“
But they knew I’ve been offered the lead.” Miss Radcliffe
suddenly flushed, as though realizing how that sounded. “Just until
Nelly’s back. Mr. Fotherham said the show must go on. How could
someone know that? Only the theatre staff are aware. They don’t
have time before tonight’s show to change the playbill!”

Perry made a
decision. “Even if it is the abductor–” She was loathe to call it a
murder, until Nelly turned up in one way or the other, “–both
Garrett and I shall be in attendance. Nothing’s going to happen to
you tonight. And... And Garrett shall see you home safely
afterwards.” That would help this situation, wouldn’t it?

Garrett had
been correct. For whatever reason, Miss Radcliffe’s mere presence
made Perry uncomfortable in a way she’d rarely experienced before.
Was it jealousy? Of what though? Miss Radcliffe’s simple ability to
be utterly charming, stylish and clearly well-bred?

She’s exactly what you tried to be as a young
girl
, a voice whispered in her
head.
And what you failed at.