Free To Trust a Thief by Michelle McLean Page A

holding it for a moment before slowly releasing it. “Please. Can’t you fix it?”
    Bryant knelt beside her again. He could pop her arm back in; he’d done it before—to himself and others. But it would hurt and the thought of causing her pain sent an unwelcome jolt of distress through him. He took her hands and she flinched. He turned them over, inwardly cringing at the lacerations across her palms.
    “I think you ought to let the doctor see you,” he said, trying to make his voice as gentle as possible. She looked ready to bolt out the door.
    Min’s eyes darted around the room, coming to rest briefly on his papers. “They’ll want to know what happened,” she said, her voice strained and faint.
    Bryant opened his mouth to protest again but stopped. She was right. The doctor and Lady Courtland were sure to have many questions neither one of them wanted to answer. The attic rooms were off limits. And he had been alone up here with a student who had almost plunged to her death. Lady Courtland would have grounds to immediately dismiss him. He couldn’t allow that to happen.
    He stood, tapping his hand against his thigh as he paced. Finally he came back to Min. Perhaps if he fixed her arm, the rest could be explained away as a simple fall. He took off his belt.
    Min’s eyes grew wide. Bryant folded the belt in half and sat beside her on the couch. He reached out and brushed away a stray strand of hair. Then he brought the belt up to her lips. “Bite,” he commanded.
    Min took a deep breath and opened her mouth, taking the leather between her teeth. Bryant took her arm and braced it beneath his. He ran his fingers up the length of her arm and took a firm grip, bracing his other hand against her shoulder.
    “This is going to hurt.”
    She nodded.
    And then she bit down hard.

    Bryant knelt in front of Min. He reached for his cravat and unwound it from his neck. Min leaned her head back against the couch, her eyes half closed.
    He tore the neck cloth in half and gently took one of her hands. She groaned faintly but allowed him to dab at her torn palm. Bryant wrapped her hand carefully and went to work on the other.
    “The wrappings will keep the blood from dripping,” he said, his eyes on her pale face. “But you need to have the wounds cleaned.”
    Min’s eyes focused on him. They stared at each other before she dropped her gaze with a tiny nod.
    “Come on.” Bryant scooped Min into his arms, ignoring her indignant gasp, and started across the attic floor. She was complicating things. But for the moment, he didn’t care.
    He held her close to his chest, hoping she couldn’t feel his heart pounding through his rib cage. She didn’t allow him to hold her long before squirming against him. He looked down, unwilling to let her go.
    “I can walk,” she insisted.
    Once they reached the bottom of the attic stairs, she leaned against the wall and took a deep breath.
    Bryant cracked open the door and took a cautious look around. “It’s clear,” he said, standing aside so she could squeeze past him. “I’ll expect you in the study in five minutes,” he said as she hurried by.
    Min didn’t answer.
    Obstinate, willful creature!
    He gave her a two-minute head start before he followed her down. He found her outside the study door, staring at the carved wood of the molding.
    “You realize you must actually turn the knob if you wish to enter the room.” He bit back a burst of laughter at the outraged look she shot him.
    Bryant caught sight of a silver chain glittering at her throat and any trace of amusement disappeared. He reached out and pulled a locket from its hiding place beneath Min’s blouse, fingering the hoya blossom design with its large center pearl. She snatched it back before he could open it and shoved the locket inside her blouse again, making sure all her buttons were securely fastened. Bryant stared at her until Min began to fidget beneath his gaze.
    “You might want to take care that no one