"Where are we going?" Emily asked. She knotted her hands together in her lap over and over again.

"I'm still trying to figure that one out. Didn't exactly have a place lined up when your father hit me. I don't think my old landlady held my room after five months in Newgate." He glanced at her. "You don't have to stay if you don't want to. I can let you get out anywhere and you can tell your father I forced you to come with me."

"No. I want to come."

"Why? Your father wasn't wrong about the ring or how I got it, hell I just told you I spent time in gaol. You stay with me and your life ain't going to be all sunshine and rainbows."

"I know. That's why I came with you."

Her voice was cold, determined. Kit didn't dare take his eyes off the road a second time since driving in the dark wasn't his strong suit, but he struggled to understand her. Why would someone who had grown up with everything — money, family, a nice house — throw it all for him when he didn't even have a roof over his head? The bruise forming on her cheek gave him some of the story, but he wondered what the rest of it might be.

It wasn't the time to think about it, though. Kit needed to find somewhere to go and, more importantly, somewhere to hide the motorcar. A dark green Rolls Royce wasn't a common motorcar in London and the police would be looking for it and him. Not only would they be after him for the theft of the ring and the motorcar, but for kidnapping Emily. They'd never believe she went with him by choice.

With most of the people he knew still trapped behind bars thanks to the rat, George Phelps, Kit had few options and places to turn. There was only one person he would trust to help him and with a good place to hide a stolen motorcar.

Rob Cunningham's garage.

The garage was used as a front for the other work Rob did, but it came in handy when they had a stolen motorcar. He could hide the Rolls Royce from watchful eyes and have somewhere to hold up until the heat died down — if such a thing was even possible under the circumstances. Rob could give them a bed for however long they needed, and it paid to have someone with their ear to the ground. If Mr Masters got too close, he would know.

"Why did you help me?" Kit asked, driving through the streets towards Rob's garage. "You've known me for less than two weeks and I ain't someone people like being around."

"I didn't think you deserved to be in gaol. Father had it out for you the moment you ran out into the road. You dented his precious motorcar, the thing he cares about more than anything else. More than me. He let you stay with us until he could find something to use against you."

"Still, that don't give you enough of a reason to put your life on the line. I could be a murderer for all you knew."

"Are you?"

"No. Never had to go that far." He cleared his throat. "You let me take the motorcar because you know how much it would upset your father, didn't you?"

Kit looked at Emily, who offered him a small shrug of her shoulders. She turned her head from him to gaze out the window, the dark bruise forming on her cheek being a stark contrast to her pale skin and the shock of red, curly hair. He curled his fingers against the steering wheel, a wave of anger coursing through his veins.

Part of him wanted to turn the car around and go back to the Masters' house. He might not have had to resort to murder before, but there was a first time for everything, and Mr Masters didn't sound like someone who would be missed. Kit couldn't do that, though. All that mattered was getting a bed for the night so he could clear his head and plan what their next moves were.

Revenge could wait, at least for a little while.

They reached Rob's garage in complete darkness. Kit pulled up in front of it and turned off the engine, leaving Emily in the car. He walked up to the front door and rapped his knuckles against the wood as hard as he could. Rob was a light sleeper and Kit had known him to sleep through anything.

"Rob! Open up!"

"Alright, I'm coming!" Rob's voice was muffled through the wood. The lock clicked, and the door swung open, revealing Rob in a crumpled shirt and trousers with his hair sticking up at one side. "Jonesy? Where you been? I thought you'd been nabbed again."

"Not quite, I'll tell you later." Kit took his cap off and raked a hand through his hair. The initial excitement of his escape had started to wear off and the familiar ache from the bruises started to appear. "We need somewhere to lie low."

"We?"

Kit gestured to the Rolls Royce. Rob whistled, stepping through the door and approaching the car.

"Where'd you get a Rolls Royce? Hell of a motorcar, but someone's got to miss it."

"That's why we need somewhere to hide."

"You and the motorcar?" Rob took another step towards it. He turned his head to look at Kit, his eyes widened in surprise. "Who's the girl?"

"Her name's Emily. She came with me. I didn't take her."

"Never said you did. Bring the car into the garage. You can stay with me and then I want the full story in the morning."

Rob walked away, opening a set of double doors that revealed the garage. Kit nodded. He climbed back into the car and looked at Emily. She chewed on the skin of her thumb, looking out the window at Rob, who watched them both with his arms crossed over his chest. Kit could understand her nerves. Rob was the sort of person people would openly avoid in the street; he had a face for trouble.

"He's alright, and he's letting us stay. We ain't going to find anywhere better this time of night. 'Specially not with this."

Emily nodded but didn't say anything, and Kit wondered if she was having any regrets about going with him. If she did, she didn't say and just sat in silence as he backed the motorcar into the garage.

~~~

First Published - February 4th, 2024