Page 45 of Keeper of Secrets

Turning back, he started toward Chloe, knowing there was so much more to say.He needed to tell her about how he wanted to give her a real future, not just his name.But he didn’t know how to really give so freely, and he was afraid to repeat his father’s mistakes.

But as he rounded the corner, from the kitchen, a man stepped into the hall.“Hello, good sir,” the man slurred.“I’ve lost my way.”

Ryker sighed.He had no time for drunks.“That way and up the stairs to reach the assembly room.”

“Which way, now?”The man looked down both directions, his brow furrowing.

Ryker let out a growl, not wanting to leave Chloe any longer.“That way.”And he started to move past the man who promptly bumped into him, attempting to send Ryker off course.

Ryker didn’t move, the other man bouncing off of him instead.

“Watch it,” he barked back, continuing down the hall.He rounded the next corner, his blood running cold.

Because, by the light of the moon in the open door to another alley, he saw Chloe’s limp form, her arms dangling, hanging over a man’s shoulder.

He ground his teeth and broke into a run.

The other man turned, looking back at Ryker, who recognized him instantly.“Adam!”

Pushing through the door, Adam started down the alley.Chloe’s weight slowed him, as Ryker closed the distance between them.

But just when he thought he’d reached them, he realized that Adam was running straight toward a parked carriage.

The villain reached the vehicle and practically dumped Chloe inside.“Go!”he yelled, the driver snapping the reins.Ryker pushed himself faster, diving for the carriage, just missing the back, as the vehicle lurched forward.

Hanging by the handle, Adam swung himself into the carriage as it started down the street, picking up speed, the wheels rattling over the cobblestones.

Ryker, vaulting himself up from the hard stone street, sprinted behind, following the carriage from the quiet alley onto the main thoroughfare.

But he knew he’d never reach the carriage, not even on the more crowded London streets.

Turning this way and that, he spotted a hack pulled to the side.“Hey!”

The driver looked at him.

He didn’t hesitate.“Twenty shillings to follow that carriage.”

“Twenty!”the man crowed.“Get in!”

Ryker waved for the man to go, hopping into the carriage after it had begun to roll.He’d only just told Chloe he loved her.There was no way he was losing her now.

CHAPTERFIFTEEN

Chloe woke slowly,the rocking motion of movement making her stomach roll.

She opened her eyes, and the back of a man’s legs came into view.Slung over his shoulder as she was, she couldn’t see much else.A door opened, and the man carrying her entered a room, the door slamming behind them.

She couldn’t help it, she winced.

His arm tightened over the back of her legs a moment before he dropped her onto a bed.

She instantly scrambled toward the far edge, unsure where she intended to run but just wanting distance.

His hand shot out, tightly gripping her ankle.“Hold still or I’ll tie you down.”

His rough, stern voice made her freeze, her body curling into the fetal position as a sob pushed out from between her lips.

He stared down at her with hard eyes, his hand so tight on her ankle, she was sure he was leaving bruises.

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