One Penny Surprise (Saved By Desire 1)

“Go to hell. You will not get anything from me,” she ground out, more determined than ever to return the money to Peter now and be done with it herself. “If you want money, sort it out yourself.”

“Damn you, you little witch,” Clarence snapped. He stepped forward with his hands outstretched.

Luke had seen, and heard, enough. Filled with disappointment that she had lied to him, he lunged toward the older man but was too late. He grabbed at thin air and turned around just in time to note which direction he disappeared in before the smog swallowed him. With nothing more than the clip of Poppy’s boots on the cobbles to guide him, Luke gave chase.

Poppy’s heart raced with terror as she ran and tried to work out where she was. The smog was too thick to see much of anything. The shadowed outline of the shops weren’t familiar enough to her to give her any bearings. She had no idea which way she should go. In spite of being almost cloaked by the surroundings, she had never felt more vulnerable in her life. Fear nipped at her heels, to the point that she struggled to contain her panic as she blindly hurried through one street after another, and in doing so became more and more lost and disorientated.

A gasp escaped her when she caught sight of something black flicker in the shadows to her right and instinctively hurried in the opposite direction. Unfortunately, she soon found that led to a shop doorway. Panicked, she visibly shook as she turned around and tried to find some way of finding out where she was. Should she try to go back to the coaching inn? If she did that she would then have to leave again at some point because her coach had already gone. She couldn’t wait there for the coach tomorrow because Clarence would undoubtedly go back there to look for her.

“You can’t hide from me, Poppy. I know you are here somewhere. I will find you and you will give me what is mine. I won’t have you stealing from me,” Clarence warned. His voice was muffled but still horribly close. A scream hovered on her lips but was silenced firmly by a large palm that was suddenly slammed over her mouth. She sucked in a breath. Her eyes popped wide, but she slumped with relief when she recognised the voice that growled in her ear.

“Shh. Don’t make a move,” Luke ordered. He hauled her bodily back into the shop doorway and moved in front of her to shield her from view. As soon as she realised it was Luke, she remained perfectly still and waited for Clarence to speak again.

Luke felt her slump against him and couldn’t stop himself from sliding a comforting arm around her waist. Although the man had accused her of stealing, there was just something about the way she had touched her cheek when he had asked her if anyone meant her harm that haunted him. Whoever this Clarence was, the venom in his eyes when he had looked at Poppy had been malevolent. He suspected now that the person who had hurt her had been the man who had accused her of theft, but did that make Poppy a thief?

He slid his hand down to capture hers when he felt her physically trembling in his arms and leaned down to whisper in her ear. “Follow me. Don’t let your boots click too much on the ground and don’t speak. Hold my hand and stay close.”

“Where are we?” she breathed into his ear.

Luke d

ipped his head toward her ear.

She shivered when the warmth of his breath swept over her cheek. She instinctively turned toward him. Their lips hovered tantalisingly close. Was he going to kiss her again? Her heart skipped a beat. She waited.

Luke mentally swore when his body hardened. Just having her this close was enough to make him forget where they were. He couldn’t forget they were in a vulnerable situation although he couldn’t be entirely sure if it was a physical or emotional vulnerability. Either way, this was neither the time nor the place to kiss her again no matter how much he wanted to.

“Let’s go,” he growled and ushered her onto the path before she could object.

Her disorientation was the only way he could be certain that she wouldn’t try to run away, and he had to use it to his advantage in every way he could so led her quickly toward the safe house.

Poppy had little choice but to follow him. The fog added to the fear that made her jump at every shadow. It didn’t help that as they walked along, the fog would suddenly part and someone would suddenly loom toward them so swiftly that they had to dodge sideways to avoid bumping into them. Thankfully, none of the people who appeared were Clarence, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t around somewhere. She knew that if she had been alone she would have collapsed in a quivering heap by now, and she was suddenly immensely grateful that he had followed her, and he was right beside her.

“Luke,” she whispered, desperate to ask him where they were going.

“Shh,” he replied. He paused only long enough to listen for carriages before he guided her carefully across the road. Silence remained with them as they made the journey through the confusing myriad of streets that eventually led them to a quiet, middle-class residential area.

“Look, thank you for your help but I demand to know where we are,” Poppy gasped. She was becoming fearful of where he intended to take her. When he didn’t answer she slammed to a stop in the middle of the pavement and yanked her hand out of his, determined that she wasn’t going to take another step until he answered at least one of her questions. Aware that the more they walked the quieter their surroundings had become, she realised just how vulnerable a position she was putting herself in by blindly following him anywhere.

“We are going somewhere safe,” Luke replied.

“I won’t go another step until you tell me who you are,” Poppy declared firmly. She yanked her hand out of his when he tried to tug her into motion again.

“Look, I am not going into any of that while we are in the middle of a street where anybody can overhear us,” Luke sighed. His exasperation grew when she merely looked back at him blandly and refused to budge. “We are just going somewhere where we can talk without being disturbed.”

“We could do that back at the coaching inn. We don’t need to go anywhere else,” she replied. “I demand you take me back there this instant.”

“I can’t,” Luke said.

Poppy sighed in frustration and wondered briefly whether she should just take her chances and try to find her own way back. Now that she was alone with him she realised just how stupid she had been to allow him to guide her through the streets because she was completely lost - still. She felt vulnerable, alone, and afraid, and it was the very worst place she could be because she now had to rely on the enigma that was Luke Brindley to guide her to safety without even knowing if he could be trusted. She couldn’t lose sight of the fact that she had just asked him the same question she had asked several times before, but he had yet to give her a straight answer. However, he expected her to trust him and answer his questions.

Luke saw the doubt in her eyes and shook his head in disgust. Although she looked relatively innocent, he couldn’t forget that many a decent man had been taken down by an innocuous looking lady. He wasn’t prepared to be one of them. Although Poppy didn’t look like a brazen thief, looks could be deceiving.

“You need to come with me,” he declared coldly. It irked him to have to force himself to be stern with her, but he did because that was his job.

Poppy’s stomach flipped. She took a wary step back as she fought the panic that threatened to overwhelm her at the ruthlessness on his face.

“No, I don’t. Thank you for your help so far, but it is time I was leaving now,” she stammered. She tried to turn around and hurry into the smog but barely got further than three steps before her bags were suddenly yanked out of her hand. Her cry was loud as she whirled around. Her eyes were wide with fear and anger.