froze, halting her progress. Her pulse spiked and, for a second, she thought to see white spots dance in front of her eyes.
Or…rather…snowflakes.
Blinking, Caroline glanced at the tiny crystals as they swirled around her, slowly drifting downward. When had it started to snow?
Raucous laughter from up ahead drew her attention. After all, there were more pressing concerns at the moment than the weather.
Glancing over her shoulder, Caroline could no longer make out the children’s home in the distance. The two men walking toward her, slowly revealed specific characteristics as they drew closer.
Too close.
Both looked a bit unsteady on their feet, their clothing disheveled and dirty. One wore a heavy, woolen hat pulled down to his brows while the other constantly scratched his chin. Neither, however, looked confidence-inspiring.
Of their own accord, her feet began to move backward. Caroline had no idea where to go. Panic slowly seeped into her being, and she had to try several times to swallow the lump in her throat. After all, these two looked nothing like the utterly irritating, but still relatively decent thief she’d made the acquaintance of on her last outing.
Perhaps this was a sign that she simply ought to stay indoors!
Out of nowhere, a shadow appeared and moved behind her, his hands settling on her shoulders.
Caroline could have screamed. She almost did and, by all means, should have. Unfortunately, though, her scream of terror somehow got stuck in her throat. It probably couldn’t make it past that annoying lump that had resettled where it wasn’t wanted!
Two large hands propelled her from the street and into a dark alley.
The only good thing about her new situation was that she was finally out of the blasted wind. The bad thing was…well, quite obvious!
Twisting out of the man’s grasp, Caroline whirled around…and then froze when her gaze fell on his tall, cloaked stature and the familiar black mask. “You?” she exclaimed, not certain if it was mere surprise or an accusation as well.
A teasing grin came to his lips as he approached her. “You’ve caught someone’s attention,” he told her before briefly glancing over his shoulder. “They’ll be here soon.”
Caroline swallowed, her mind racing with what to do.
For a reason she could not name, she had to admit that the masked man’s presence made her feel…better? Of course, he was a thief, and he’d had the audacity to try and steal the money for the orphanage. However, she couldn’t, in all honesty, say that she…feared him.
He annoyed her. That much was certain.
“What will you do, little mouse?” he asked as though to prove her point. His dark gaze held hers as he ventured closer, now barely an arm’s length away from her.
“Stop calling me that!” Caroline snapped, dimly aware that she was focusing on the least important problem at hand. It was also the one most easily solved.
Or at least reacted to.
Towering over her, the masked man held her gaze, the smile finally gone from his lips. “You should not have gone out on your own.”
Caroline gritted her teeth. “I didn’t have a choice.”
He nodded as though he knew what had called her out into the night. “Whether you had a choice or not does not matter,” he told her as though she did not know. “Everything we do has consequences.”
Caroline felt the sudden need to slap him for this kind of condescension. “How dare you—?”
Her voice broke off when the two men from the street came sauntering into the alley, their voices echoing off the buildings around them. “Hey, pal, care to share the lady?”
“Yeah, I’ve never seen one so fine,” the other remarked on a burp.
Caroline flinched as though they’d slapped her. Panic, as well as the need to empty her stomach, shot through her and she found her gaze move to the one man who had thus far done nothing worse than irritate her.
Perhaps…
“Will you let me help you?” he whispered as he moved closer, one hand reaching out to grasp the fur-lining of her cloak. For a long moment, his eyes beckoned her forward, then he gave a sharp tug, and she tumbled toward him, all but falling into his arms.
Swallowing, Caroline held his gaze. It would seem she didn’t have a choice. Or at least not much of one.
And so she nodded.
*
As his little mouse lay in his arms, Pierce could have easily forgotten the world around him. She felt heavenly, warm and soft, and he could not help but trace each little puff of air that left her lips, drifting