The Girl in the Clockwork Collar (Steampunk Chronicles #2)(80)

Griffin’s teeth flashed as he grinned. Obviously he found her overly sweet and proper tone amusing. “I would be delighted, Miss Jayne.” He shot a particularly cold glance at Miss AstorPrynn before addressing the girl at the counter. “Please have the ladies’ items delivered to the Waldorf.” He handed her a crisp bill for her “trouble.”

The girl scurried to do just as he asked, stammering apologies as she moved.

Griffin’s smile faded as he regarded Finley’s nemesis once more. “Miss AstorPrynn, I wish you every happiness in your life. I believe you do not have many of them. But I can honestly and without regret inform you that, even if I were inclined to marry at my age, you would be the absolute last girl I would think of spending the rest of my days with. Good day.” He bowed and then took Emily and Finley on either of his arms. “Shall we, ladies?”

If she were a better person, Finley would have kept her gaze fixed on the exit ahead of them. Instead, she gave in to temptation and craned her neck to peer back over her shoulder at Miss AstorPrynn, whose face was as hard as marble and just as white, save for two angry red splotches on her cheeks.

Finley smiled and waved.

“Stop that,” Griffin commanded under his breath as they reached the door, but there was no anger in his words, only a sparkle in his gray-blue eyes.

Finley’s smile softened into a more sincere expression. “Thank you. I don’t know what we would have done if you hadn’t arrived.”

“I do,” Emily volunteered. “We would have been asked to leave, and you would have knocked that cow’s teeth down her throat. I rather like to think she would have choked on them.”

Griffin and Finley laughed. “The two of you are the most bloodthirsty wenches I’ve ever met.”

“Do you like it?” Finley asked, squeezing his arm before releasing it.

He turned to her, his eyes bright. Was it just the reflection of the sun that gave them such warmth or something from within?

“I love it,” he said. The sudden deepening of his voice caused a wild fluttering in her stomach. It wasn’t so much what he said that thrilled her, but how he said it—and what was left unsaid, as well.

She couldn’t think of a bloody thing to say in reply.

Still smiling, Griffin held open the door of the hired cab for Emily and her to climb inside. Finley had just gotten herself situated when he plopped down beside her. His leg rested against hers, warm and solid.

When he took her hand in his and gave it a light squeeze, she didn’t try to pull away. For a moment, as she and Griffin stared into each other’s eyes, smiling, it seemed as though everything was right and perfect with the world.

But Finley had the sinking sensation that the feeling wasn’t going to last.





Chapter 17


Wildcat was absolutely the last person Jasper expected to see that evening. Not just because he thought their business concluded, but because his room was several stories up and she was smiling at him from the other side of his window.

Cat’s smile had frightened more than one man senseless— girls with fangs tended to be somewhat intimidating. Jasper wasn’t quite certain what she was, but his time with her had convinced him she was more than merely human. She wasn’t called Wildcat just because of her attitude.

More curious than afraid, Jasper crossed the carpet of the room Griffin had secured for him and opened the window. He wasn’t the least bit surprised to see Cat hanging off the side of the building without the aid of rope. Her claws could dig into the brick, and she was strong enough to support her weight with her fingers and toes.

They had enjoyed quite a bit of adventure during his brief time in New York City, given his speed and her talents.

“Evening, Cat.”

Her smile grew. “Jasper. May I come in?”

He stood back so that she could slink through the window into the room. She was all muscled grace as she slipped one arm over the sill and then the other, bracing her palms on either side of the frame as she leaned back and swung both legs inside. Her knees bent toward the floor as her torso appeared, then her head. Then she rose to her feet in one fluid motion.

Jasper gave her a quick nod. “That’s quite the display.”

She shrugged, lilac eyes taking in the opulence of the room. “Nice place.”

“It’ll do,” he replied drily. “What brings you here, Cat?” He wasn’t trying to be rude, but he knew the gang leader wasn’t there on a social call.

Gnawing on the side of her thumb, she plunked herself down on the bed and reclined there, braced back on her elbows, as if it was her own. “There’s a strange rumor going round Five Points.”

When she didn’t immediately elaborate, Jasper raised a brow. “So far, I don’t know what that has to do with me.”

She crossed her feet at the ankles. The soles of her boots were dusty but not dirty enough that he worried for the quilt. “The rumor is that there’s to be a riot tomorrow night. All the gangs. Word is that the cops are going to hit the area full force to contain the participants.”

Jasper stared at her. He knew that Wildcat’s grandfather, a freed slave, had been shot and killed during a riot back in the ’60s. She had to be thinking about that right now. Had to be worried or maybe even frightened.

“You want to stay here?” he asked. “There’s not a lot of room, but you’re welcome to stay until it all blows over.”