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The woman stops and turns, making eye contact with me for the first time.
She stubs out her cigar hastily.
“Well look at you, sweetheart.” She catches my chin and yanks it up, making me wince. “You’re going to incite a brawl.” A sharp glance at Mother Superior. “Virgin?”
“She’s had only one man.”
The woman hums, tilting my face side to side. “With a face like this, the men won’t care, will they? How much?”
“A hundred thousand.”
The woman’s eyes widen briefly. “I would have agreed to that price if she was still innocent, but I’ll have to knock the price down to seventy-five, since she decided to be a naughty girl. Nonetheless, she’ll return my investment in the first month.” She winks her false eyelashes at me. “It’s going to be a busy one. You’ll call me madam from now on. Take her to the south parlor and clean her up.” I’m scooped up from behind by a set of hands, from a person I can’t see, and I’m being dragged from the room, when I hear a commotion coming from somewhere in the building.
“Mercy.”
I choke back a cry. That’s Griffin’s voice. He’s here.
He found me.
The madam studies her fingernails, wiggling them in the lamplight. “Oh dear. I’m guessing that’s the one man she’s had.”
“How did he find us?” hisses Mother Superior at the captain. “Get out there and stop him.”
The captain doesn’t seem to be listening, however. His terrified gaze is glued to the doorway where I can sense Griffin is standing. I just know he’s here because I already feel safe. The set of hands beneath my arms go limp and I hear a thump. I twist around from my place on the floor to find Griffin holding two guns, one pointed at Mother Superior, the other at his captain. Mother Superior has dropped her arm in shock, but starts to take aim at me again now.
Griffin cocks his gun and she freezes.
“Drop the weapon now. Don’t even think about drawing on me, Captain.”
Slowly, the captain removes his hands from his jacket and puts them up.
“Mercy,” Griffin says raggedly. “Are you hurt?”
“No. No, I’m fine.”
His eyes close briefly, a prayer on his lips. “I’m going to get you out of here, angel baby.”
“Angel baby?” A snickering soldier appears behind Griffin, appearing to be guarding his back with a raised gun. “Did I really just hear that come out of your mouth?”
“You’re goddamn right you did. That woman right there is my life.” With cold fury in his eyes, he splits a look between my abductors. “And you two tried to take her away from me.”
The captain turns and jumps through the glass window, leaving shattered shards in his wake and I jolt with shock. The madam curses. I know from walking into the building that we’re only on the second story, probably not high enough to kill the captain, but surely the impact will cause him serious injury.
“Coward,” Griffin spits. He lowers one of the guns and holsters it, keeping the other trained on the elderly nun. “There’s nowhere he can go where I won’t find him. The same goes for you, Mother Superior.”
“This is all a big misunderstanding,” the nun titters. “You don’t think I could be capable of something like this.”
Griffin ignores her. “Come here, Mercy,” he rasps, helping me off the floor with his free hand and tucking me into his warm side. And I watch in complete shock as Mother Superior runs for the broken window, clumsily climbing onto the sill. “No,” I cry, reaching out for her. “Please, don’t—”
She falls backwards through the opening.
I scream and press my face into Griffin’s chest.
Astonishment still has me in thrall when the madam walks over to the window and peeks out. “Well. He made it. She didn’t.” She turns to Griffin with a raised eyebrow. “I don’t suppose you’re accepting offers for the redhead?”
“I’m more than happy to send a third person out the window, man or woman,” he grits out. “If you’re lucky, I won’t burn this place to the ground.”
“Noted.” The madam nods at me. “It’s hard to come by the love of a good man. Hold on to that one.”
“I will,” I breathe, turning in Griffin’s arms. “If he’ll still have me.”
“If I’ll still…” He kisses my forehead hard. “Mercy, I would have scoured the earth to find you if it took me to my dying day. You are my woman. I will never draw another breath where I’m not thinking of you at the same time.”
A chorus of whistles comes from the doorway.
I peek one eye out from behind Griffin to see a group of soldiers watching us with interest, fondness…and surprise. “Look who’s the fool over a woman now,” one of them drawls, drawing laughter from his friends.
“Damn right I am,” Griffin breathes, kissing my mouth with devastating possession. “Proud of it.”
