The Robber Bride by Jerrica Knight-Catania

the venue. Gil would wait for her, as always.
    As they rode home, Tom fell asleep. Victoria had never been able to sleep in a carriage, no matter how comfortable. It was rather inconvenient on long trips, but it wasn’t as if she’d be able to sleep now, anyhow. Her body hummed with anticipation. Robbing people made her incredibly nervous, but at the same time, incredibly alive. Every nerve sizzled as she stepped down from the carriage and climbed the stairs to her room. It took all her strength not to break into a run.
    When she was sure Tom was in his room, probably changing to go out again, she darted down the stairs to the carriage. She and Gil sat outside the Randall’s townhome, waiting for Woodmore to emerge. It was late when he finally did. Very late. And Victoria’s bottom had gone numb from sitting for so long. She only hoped her legs would work when it came time to do her job.
    Everything went to plan. Woodmore wasn’t headed to the Great North Road, so they decided to corner him in a quiet, deserted area of Westminster.
    Victoria approached the carriage that carried her prey and swung the door open. Woodmore looked terrified, as expected. Only Victoria didn’t get the same rush from seeing him frightened as she usually did with her other victims.
    Don’t turn soft now, Victoria! He’s just another rich man whose money will go to much better use because of you. “Your money or your life.”
    “I — I don’t have anything,” he replied. This was a bold faced lie. She’d felt the purse beneath his coat while they were dancing earlier that night. Unless he’d spent the rest of the evening gambling it away, it had to still be there.
    “That’s not true,” she blurted out, and then added in a more sinister tone, “is it?”
    He stared at her, possibly trying to figure out if she truly knew he was lying or if she was bluffing to get him to pay up. She hoped he leaned toward the latter.
    Typically, she would have pushed him further into fear by cocking the gun and repeating, “Is it?” But she couldn’t. Damn, but she was becoming soft. And for what? A simpering dandy?
    “Ho, there!”
    Victoria’s blood turned to ice. Oh, Lord. How had Fin found her? How had she not heard the horse’s hooves on the cobblestones? Terror seized her, but there was only one way out of this predicament.
    She didn’t think — she didn’t have time to. Victoria simply began to run. Gil already sat atop the seat of their carriage. Still, there wasn’t time to get into the cab. “Go, go, go!” she yelled at Gil as she sprinted toward the carriage. Gil slapped the reins and the horses began to move. Victoria chased them for only a few seconds before she was close enough to jump onto the footman’s perch. Her muscles tightened as she held fast to the bar. If she loosened them, she would surely go careening to the ground, and at this pace that could be deadly.
    What the hell had Fin been doing there? She could hardly put two and two together, her head was spinning so fast. However, there was only one logical explanation: he had followed her. The implications of this discovery were monumental. If Fin knew, what would he do? Would he turn her in to the authorities?
    No. He may have been upset with her, but that didn’t mean he wanted to see her hung.
    A shiver raced up her spine. Tonight was the closest she had ever come to that particular reality. In two years, she supposed she had fancied herself invincible. But now…now she realized that her hanging could be an eventuality. An inevitability . And for the first time, she was truly scared.

Twelve
     
    Fin watched the unmarked carriage as it sped down the road, out of sight. He could have followed it, and he probably could have caught up to it, but he didn’t. It had been his every intention to do so. Victoria was on the back of the carriage — he was certain of it. But if he caught up to it — if he caught Victoria in the act — he would be forced to deal with