Read Online Immortal Surrender by Claire Ashgrove - Free Book Online Page B

noticed her when I was in my room and the bottom half of the trellis broke free. It dropped past my window. She can only go up.”
    A low growl rumbled in his throat. He detested heights. Few things could make his stomach churn, but to look down from anything more than a horse had a worse effect than any severed limb or foul demon’s breath. His stomach knotted at the very thought.
    “There is no other way down?”
    “Oh, there is.” Louise nodded. “An iron ladder on the south side of the house. But if she’s sneaking out windows, good luck convincing her to come to you.”
    “Then I shall wait. Unannounced.” He grabbed his coat off the chair. Another look outside told him Noelle would have to come down sometime soon. She wore only her sweatshirt. “Lock her window, Louise.”
    A knowing smile tugged at the caretaker’s mouth, and she left the room humming a soft tune.
    Farran did not share her good humor. Muttering, he stalked out the front door and made his way through the snow to the south side of the house. He eyed the rusty iron ladder to ensure he did not doom Noelle to a fall. Strong bolts, void of any trace of rust, held it firmly in place against a newly mortared brick wall. It climbed the two stories, fit neatly against the white eave, and rounded onto the roof between a pair of tarnished copper gargoyle heads. Satisfied the ladder would hold, Farran folded his arms over his chest and prepared to wait.
    *   *   *
    Noelle kicked off the brick exterior and grabbed the next thin trellis slat above her head. Silently, she cursed her luck. If she hadn’t tried to climb down at full speed, she’d have noticed the weak board. Now, with her window too far below to drop onto the sill, she squinted through the sunlight and willed her body to cooperate. Her left side burned. Her shoulder screamed against the effort of holding on. And the wind whipped through her, making stronger muscles weak.
    She grabbed at her courage and climbed higher. Another foot, at most two, and she could rest. Then, she’d find another way down. The lack of shouts within the house told her Farran hadn’t realized she’d escaped. She still had time. Not much, but enough to get to the ground and down the road to the house at the bottom of the hill.
    With a grunt, she climbed up the last of the trellis. She swung her leg, hooked her heel on the eave. Finding finger holds in the sturdy boards, she tuned out the protests in her left side and hauled herself onto the roof. For several minutes, she did nothing but lie on the shingles and pant. Two years of regularly attending the gym was nothing compared to that kind of workout. Scaling the side of a building made forty minutes with weights seem like child’s play. Never mind that in the gym she didn’t have to worry about falling and breaking her neck.
    When her breathing evened out, she pushed to a cross-legged position and took stock of her body. Her right arm trembled as she swiped her hair out of her face. Her ribs felt like someone had kicked her with a steel-toed boot. Everything else ached, but she could ignore the dull pain. She’d feel it tomorrow. Right now, it was insignificant.
    Scanning the roofline, she searched for a means down. Old houses like this almost always had a ladder somewhere. With the decorative gargoyles, the intricate gables, and the narrow attic cupolas to her left, this one wouldn’t disappoint. They were too clean, too cared for, to not have easy access. Unless, of course, the owner removed the old access route in favor of a metal portable.
    Her gaze flicked across two protruding handles, and Noelle exhaled with relief. Down. Away.
    Finally.
    Careful to keep clear of the edge, she crawled along the steep pitch on all fours. Slow and steady. One hand, one knee, in front of the other. When she reached the distant house, for Gabriel’s sake she’d make no mention of her near kidnapping. She’d come up with a plausible excuse and beg for a ride back to