Escaping from Houdini (Stalking Jack the Ripper #3)

by Kerri Maniscalco

Thomas and I had spent two grueling days traveling from Bucharest to Liverpool to board the Etruria before it set out for New York. We’d found creative ways of stealing kisses on our journey, and each secret encounter flashed through my mind unbidden—my hands in his dark brown hair, his lips igniting flames along my skin,

What morbid creatures we were, craving danger and mystery in place of happily-ever-afters.

Blood smeared across the tablecloth and Mrs. Prescott’s bodice, the color as dark as my churning emotions. Miss Prescott was dead. I could neither process it nor will my heart to harden and be of use. How could this be?

I wound my arms around his neck, bringing him closer, getting lost in the rhythm of both the sea and our kiss. Even on the coldest night, he could ignite a fire within me. I worried that one day the blaze might consume me entirely.

“I’m in favor of hiding in your chamber for the remainder of the week.” A smile twitched across his lips as I raised a brow. “Drinking, kissing, debauching ourselves until we arrive in New York.” He sighed dreamily. “You must admit, we’d be safe from the murderer. Deliriously happy. And both of those options are much better than standing over cadavers.”

“Magic is science. It’s simply a fancier term for showing people the impossible is attainable.”

“Our bargain remains yours to take. I have a feeling you’ll think of it differently soon enough. After all, murder is just another form of sleight of hand, is it not?”

There is no greater show of power than continuing to live when you’d like nothing more than to lie down and let the world fade.

“I love when you look at me that way.” I searched his eyes. “How?” “Like you might possibly love me in the same extraordinary way that I love you.”

“Miss Audrey Rose Wadsworth, conqueror of my soul—you are an absolute fiend. You’d like to flout tradition simply because of your need for my body.” He held a hand over his heart. “I swear I have never loved you more.”

I covered my mouth, trying to contain my gasp as recognition shot through me like an arrow. No matter how or why, I knew one thing for certain. The girl onstage was my missing cousin, Liza.

We women could be called creatures, if only the men who said such careless words accepted our claws were fearsome things when we decided to scratch.

I create chaos, and you fabricate order from it. We’re not so different, you and me. We both have a core that’s built of science, only different outward expressions of it.”

“He will neither harm me, nor come between us, Cresswell. I don’t care what sort of illusion he tries casting. My heart is yours, no sleight of hand will steal it.”

“Which will you lose before the week is through? Your heart? Your head? Perhaps you, too, will lose your life, your very soul.”

“Normal is overrated.” Cassie nudged me toward the bar. “Extraordinary is unforgettable.”

“Be cautious with who you give your heart to. And be even more wary of those who seek to steal it.”

Thomas had every reason to question me, though I wished more than anything he could see the truth: I’d never hurt him.

“Don’t think I’ve gone and done the valiant thing, now, Miss Wadsworth. I’m still the same scoundrel you met a few days ago.” A bit of mischief was back in his eyes. “I simply want to steal you right out from before him.”

I knew there was no one who possessed enough magic to spell me away from Thomas Cresswell.

“If you wish to go, I’ll never make you stay. I might not do and say the proper thing all the time, but I do know that I love you enough to set you free.”

“I love you, Wadsworth. No matter what or who you choose, I always will.” He leaned in and pressed his lips to my cheek. “If you’ll excuse me, I must try and sort out the playing cards.”

There was no world I wanted to live in where Thomas Cresswell wasn’t a part of it. No matter the odds stacked against us, I’d fight for him until I drew in my last, shuddering breath. Even in death I’d never stop coming for those who threatened my family. Because that’s what Thomas had become. He was mine—I’d chosen him just as he’d chosen me, and I’d defend him with everything I had. Our friendship had caught fire and blazed with something powerful and untamed. Something I’d been foolish to ever doubt.

I love you, I thought, rallying against the blackness. More than all the stars in the universe. In this life and ever after. I love you.

Together Thomas and I had burned bright as a shooting star, and flew apart just as fast.

“Our work will always be important to each of us. But you have my heart wholly, Wadsworth. No matter what. The only way that will be taken is in death. And even then I will fight with every piece of me to hold your love near. Now and forevermore.”