Page 26 of The Milliner and the Griffin Rider

Another man seized her from behind, trapping her arms against her side as he held her back against his chest. When he spoke, she recognized his voice. Gannon.

“Well, well, well,” he said, looking at the bound Sage. “Two for the price of one.”

Twelve

“We need to get her quiet quick,” one of the men said to Gannon. “We’re not far enough out of town here. If anyone hears and comes to investigate, word of our location could get back to the Duke’s squad.”

“I’m afraid it’s too late to prevent that.” The steely voice made Chloe slump in relief.

Harrison had come.

Two enormous, fully grown griffins leaped from the darkness beyond the edge of town, armed riders on their backs. Gannon’s men scattered before the flashing beaks, talons and swords, the chaos of people and griffins making it impossible for Chloe to keep her eyes on Harrison.

Instead, she focused on Sage, relieved when the griffin managed to shake off the net now that the men no longer held the ropes tight. She spun toward Chloe with a screech, making Gannon stagger backward.

But he dragged Chloe with him, his arms still holding her firmly. He seemed eager for a barrier between himself and the enraged griffin, and Chloe could see frustration building in Sage’s eye as she searched for a clean avenue to attack.

“Get back!” called a voice behind Sage, and the griffin lunged sideways out of the way.

A running figure appeared from the semidarkness, and Chloe threw herself sideways as Sage had done. She didn’t entirely manage to wrench herself free from Gannon’s grasp, but she exposed enough of him that Harrison’s sword was able to find its mark.

At the bite of steel, Gannon shouted in pain, his arms finally releasing Chloe. She staggered forward, straight into the arms of Harrison.

He caught her, his sword dropping to the ground as his arms circled her in support. She twisted her head to look back at Gannon, but Harrison’s attention was all for her.

“You’re safe,” he murmured, his arms tight around her waist. “He can’t hurt you or Sage.”

She drew a shaky breath, looking for Gannon again and finding him bleeding on the ground. Other men had appeared from the direction of the city, however, these ones dressed in the uniform of Everard’s guards. They swarmed the injured men who now littered the ground, and one of them yanked open the warehouse door.

What he saw inside made him call out, and more of the men ran forward to look before exclaiming and rounding on Gannon’s men with fresh fury. Fletcher directed them, while the two older griffins circled Sage, visually inspecting her for injury.

In the midst of it all, however, Harrison had eyes only for Chloe. And he looked furious.

“What were you thinking?” He pushed her away from him, holding her shoulders and looking down into her face. “You could have been killed! Why would you do something so reckless?”

She blinked up at him, utterly bemused.

He looked shaken, his face gray in the gloom. “When Ranger told me you and Sage were trying to track down the egg thieves on your own, I—” Words seemed to fail him.

“But we weren’t on our own.” She glanced toward Ranger and Hunter, who had finally accepted that Sage was unhurt and were instead prowling menacingly among the injured prisoners.

“When I heard, I came after you immediately, of course,” Harrison said. “But we only just arrived. What if we’d been too late?” He sounded haunted. “Chloe, I…” He swallowed. “I was angry, I won’t deny it. I hated to think you were just like the others, pursuing me for my title. But as soon as I feared you might be dead, I could see my own heart clearly. You started the deception for your sisters—I know how much you love them. But all those hours we spent with the griffins together—every day when you came to the estate—you weren’t searching for the Duke. You were fully focused on the griffins—on me. I know you would never want to hurt the griffins, because I know you. You never even tried to take an egg.”

His eyes slid away, shame on his face. “I was awful to you in our last interaction, and if I’m honest, part of my anger was from seeing you with Crane. I was still refusing to be honest about my own feelings, but when I saw you flirting with Crane…” He sighed. “I was a fool, clearly. In more ways than one.”

He looked down at her. “Can you ever forgive me?”

“Me forgive you?” Tears filled Chloe’s eyes. “All I want is to regain your trust. I was the one who was inexcusably foolish.”

Harrison’s breath quickened, his hands returning to her waist. “I do trust you. But I want more than trust between us. I want your heart Chloe, as you already have mine.”

Chloe turned wet, shining eyes up to him. “I’ve been trying—and failing—not to give you my heart since the first time I fell and you caught me.”

With a growl of triumph, he pulled her against his chest, ignoring the crowd around them as he pressed his lips to hers. Chloe melted against him, clinging to his arms as her heart soared higher than a griffin.

When he pulled away, his breathing was ragged. “You’ll marry me?” he asked. “You’ll be my duchess?”

Chloe sucked in a breath, her dazed mind turning to panic. “I’m a milliner, Harrison! What will everyone say?”