The Charleston Chase (Phantom Knights Book 2) by Amalie Vantana Page A

I was curious as to how many people were in the
room. “I may not know the answer to your riddle, but I know the
solution. Kill him.”
    There was a loud groan, a shriek, and a crash.
Taking that for the signal and running into the room with both of
my pistols in my hands, I stumbled over an overturned chair. As my
stomach smacked against a table, someone ran into my back. It was
Charlotte. Righting ourselves, we turned toward the only movement
in the room.
    Martha’s ample form was seated in a chair, the
barrel of a gun pointed at her head. A man stood behind her with a
knife sticking out of his arm. Another man was on the floor, and
Rose was standing with her pistol pointed at the man beside Martha.
Relief flooded my mind seeing Rose unharmed.
    Martha’s eyes widened for a moment
when she saw my face. Her right hand that was hanging down at her
side turned and she opened her palm to reveal a sharp hat pin. As
Rose threatened the man holding the pistol against Martha’s head, I
shook my own slightly. If Martha stabbed him, she would run the
risk of being shot before he went down.
    The man with the gun was defiant, refusing to give
up his hostage, knowing he would be harmed once he did. He did not
wear the snake ring, nor did he have the accent that told of the
men who had murdered the man I was going to marry when I was
sixteen. The old pang of grief no longer struck me when I thought
about Ben, but I was as determined now to find all the people
connected in his death as I was when he died in my arms.
    This man was after Guinevere for something other
than her being Ma belle, or the Danish speaking men were hiring
Americans to join them in their hunt for Guinevere. Either way, she
was not in Charleston.
    Seeing the only possible way out of the situation, I
stepped forward. “We know for whom you search, but she is not here.
She has deserted Mrs. Abbot and moved to Boston, left nearly a
month ago she did.”
    His eyes brightened with suspicion. “Why should I
believe you?”
    “Because I was the one to put her on the ship,” I
said, holding his gaze. “Now, I am willing to make a bargain if you
are.” He still looked suspicious, but also a bit relieved. “I will
give you her direction in Boston, and in exchange, you will release
Mrs. Abbot and never bother her again.”
    “You presume much,” he said with a laugh.
    “I never presume, for that is a sure way to get
oneself killed.”
    After a moment of holding my gaze, he smiled.
    “Put away your pistols, men,” I said to the
team.
    They looked at me as if I had gone mad, but they did
as I instructed. When they had put their weapons away, the man
lowered his. I pulled a small card from my pocket along with a
small pencil, and after writing out an address, held it out. He
lowered his own weapon, but kept it in hand as he stepped toward
me. He took one end of the card, but I held the other.
    “If you so much as set foot on Queen Street again, I
will know, and next time, you will find that leniency is not
something that I repeat.”
    He inclined his head, so I released the card. He
left his companion behind as he departed the house.
    Martha leaned back in her chair, pulled a book off a
small table beside her and began fanning herself and laughing. “I
do declare, Raven, that you have enough audacity for a bevy of
rogues.”
    “From the keeper of the white phantom I take that as
a compliment,” I replied.
    She barked out a laugh. “No one is the keeper of
that girl, she keeps herself, make no mistake.” She leaned her
large body forward, appearing eager. “Where did you send that
scoundrel?”
    Grinning at her, I said, “The Old North Church.”
    She barked out another laugh, and I felt a moment of
harmony with Martha. It would probably be the only moment ever for
I was a Phantom, and she was the chaperone to a member of the Holy
Order. Informing the team to await me outside, I picked up the
overturned chair and set it before Martha. Seating myself, I