He had to believe Blackstone wanted to stop the bastard.
If his boss was merely trying to cover up his brother’s crimes, Sebastian knew he could kiss his job goodbye.
Deciding he’d cross that bridge when he came to it and for once give someone the benefit of the doubt, he left Scotland Yard in another hack and headed to Mayfair, where Blackstone shared a townhouse with his brother.
Sebastian would have to tread carefully. He had no idea whether Danbury would be there or not, and he certainly couldn’t talk to Blackstone about this if he was. Instead, he’d just update his boss on what he’d learned about the key as his reason for showing up at his home even though that wasn’t at all proper procedure.
He was still mulling through it all when he arrived at Blackstone’s imposing brick townhouse, and it didn’t escape him that it was just one block away from Postman’s Park. However, everything he’d been thinking came to a crashing halt when he recognized Jocelyn’s carriage sitting out front.
Blood rushed in his ears as he leaped out of the hack, paying the driver without conscious thought, his entire focus on the fact that Evelyn was here, with the Blackstones, one of which he was almost certain was a murderer. Moreover, her coachman and footman were gesturing at him to approach. Oh, this was bad, very bad.
What the hell was she doing here?
Striding over to the carriage, he met the footman’s nervous gaze. “Thomas, is it?” he asked.
“Yes, Inspector, but how do you know my name?” The strapping young man looked completely flabbergasted.
“It’s my business to know such things,” Sebastian said impatiently. “Now, what in the devil is the countess doing here?”
The man didn’t pretend not to know what he was talking about, but the coachman, Jarvis, added his voice. “We don’t know, Inspector, but she said that if she hadn’t come out in half an hour, we was to go in after her. Sir, we have no weapons or authority in a nobleman’s house, so it seems most providential that you have come.”
So she knew it was dangerous. She knew, and she went in anyway.
He’d severely underestimated her desire to see her sister’s killer brought to justice.
“How long has it been?” he asked, already striding toward the front door.
“Twenty-five minutes, sir,” the footman called after him. “We were getting nervous.”
“I should say so.” Sebastian attacked the brass door knocker and, for good effect, rang the bell as well. When the butler opened the door, Sebastian flashed his warrant card in the man’s face and strode past him before he could say a word to deny him. He threw open several doors that led off the hall, finding them empty, until the fourth one brought him into a sitting room that held Danbury and Jocelyn. The relief in her eyes when she saw him told him everything he needed to know. Behind him, he heard the butler bellowing for help.
“What are you doing here, Ness?” Danbury demanded, his dark eyes snapping with fury.
Sebastian ignored him and strode directly to Jocelyn, pulling her to her feet and stepping protectively in front of her. He was both angry at her for coming here and grateful that she was all right. If anything had happened to her... He hated to think of what he’d do.
“I asked you a question!” Danbury strode toward him, and Sebastian saw that the evil inside him was very close to the surface. Whatever Jocelyn had said to him, it had hit a nerve.
“I don’t answer to you,” Sebastian fired back.
Danbury laughed, a deep, braying sound with a hint of madness. “Well, you do answer to my brother, and he is not going to appreciate that you forced your way inside our home.”
“I’m protecting Lady Aston.” Sebastian pushed open his coat, revealing his revolver. “So I suggest you get out of our way.”
“What are you protecting her from?” Danbury demanded, that wild light growing in his eyes.
“I think you know,” Sebastian said coldly, his patience wearing thin. Violence seethed right below the surface. All the months of trying to figure out The Viper’s identity, and now here he stood, and there wasn’t a damn thing he could do about it. He almost wished the bastard would attack him.
“Do you think you’re here to arrest me?” Danbury raised a brow, his voice dripping with disdain. “I’ll have your job for your insolence.”
The bastard was only a few feet away, so close Sebastian could see the sweat breaking out on his high forehead.
“I don’t give a damn about my job,” Sebastian snarled. “I should kill you now for what you’ve done.”
“If you touch a hair on my head, it will be you on the gallows, not me,” Danbury smirked.
Sebastian’s fist struck the smug bastard’s jaw before the thought had even truly taken root in his mind. Danbury stumbled backward, a murderous look in his eyes, but before either man could do more, Blackstone’s voice rang furiously through the room.
“What is the meaning of this!” Blackstone stood in the doorway, flanked by two burly footmen, his expression wintry. “Ness! Explain yourself.”