Beauties of the Beast (The Yellow Hoods, #4): Steampunk meets Fairy Tale Read Online Free

hands up. “Look, let’s start over. I don’t know who you are, but I’m just trying to help the little lady. She was coming up and—”
    LeLoup laughed. “Do you really think you were about to have your way? You’re an idiot to risk your doom by underestimating her. She’d have beaten you to within a kiss of your last breath.”
    “I hardly think a little girl—”
    “Ah, Monsieur, you are indeed an idiot. But, where are my manners? I’m—” and nothing else came out of LeLoup’s mouth. His eyes darted around before landing on Tee.
    She frowned and stood up slowly. “He’s… Andre LeLoup,” she said, her expression of one of complete bewilderment. “He… He’s the one that shot my friend… the friend who is dying right now.” Tee growled, the fury returning to her eyes.
    “Wait,” pleaded LeLoup, speaking to her rage. “No, back. Go back in!”
    The driver looked at Tee and then LeLoup again. “You can talk with the crazy man, I’m going.”
    Tee glanced at Elly. “If I don’t get her to Costello soon, she’ll die! Please.”
    “Costello…” repeated LeLoup, dropping his pistol arm as he suddenly remembered his conversation with Franklin. He’d completely forgotten about the boy and his henchmen. He gazed about, and was wondering which direction they were in when the cart driver whipped out a flintlock rifle from under his seat. 
    LeLoup spun and shot over the man’s shoulder, the wind slapping him in the face. “Now, please, if you would be so kind ,” he said, showing his teeth, “clean your little mess that I see piddling off the bench seat, and take yourself for a walk. I hear exercise is good, particularly for those of such blessed girth.”
    After wiping the bench seat and cart floor with a rag, the man hurried off in the direction he’d come from.
    Putting the Liar away, LeLoup approached Tee slowly. She stared at him, confused. 
    “Tell me how best to help you get… Elly… into the cart,” LeLoup asked nervously.

    Elly stared lazily at the painting on the ceiling as she enjoyed the sounds of an angelic choir. Morning light poured in through two large, open windows. The red and gold curtains had been drawn aside, probably by the monk that had been keeping an eye on her. 
    Before she could really wonder about where the monk had ventured off to, she heard it—Tee’s distinctive footfalls, blazing a trail down the marble corridors. Excitement built in Elly until finally she saw Tee burst through the doorway. For a moment, Tee was a blur of red, until Elly could see she was in the red and gold colors of the abbey.
    For all of their thirteen years, they’d been best friends. Before they’d been able to talk or walk, they’d had each other. They had overcome everything together, including the secrets that had most recently threatened to tear them apart, along with Franklin’s betrayal. When LeLoup had shot her, Elly’s greatest fear had been what would happen to Tee if she died. 
    Elly winced in pain as she tried to sit up and failed. Tee leapt to Elly’s low bedside and buried her head beside Elly, her long black hair everywhere. Tee wrapped her arms around Elly, and with a choked up voice asked, “How… ah… how are you feeling?”
     “I’m okay,” replied Elly weakly. “Good thing we have the no dying rule, right?”
    “Yeah,” replied Tee, crying.
    Elly carefully wrapped her arms around Tee, pushing through the pain. “You saved me. We’re okay now.” Tee hugged Elly harder, her body shaking. Elly couldn’t understand her incoherent mumbles, but there was a weight and pain in her voice that she didn’t recognize. “I’m okay, you saved me,” Elly kept repeating. As the seconds passed, her anxiety crept up. “Tee? Are we okay?” 
    Elly felt her gaze pulled to the doorway. Slowly, a mysterious form stepped into the room. Her blood ran cold as she recognized LeLoup. When she’d last seen him, at the other end of his triple-barreled pistol just