Spot stood, taking his drawers from the pile of his clothing on the floor and slipping them on. I pulled the sheet up, realizing for the first time I wasn't wearing a stitch. He tossed my nightgown on the bed, and I refused to look at him while I awkwardly pulled it over my head.

"Here, you can have this, but I'm holding the rest of your clothing hostage until I know you're not going to do something stupid like try and run off."

I took my wrapper from him and shoved my arms through the sleeves, making sure that I was well covered. Spot brushed my hair back behind my shoulder. Glancing up, our gazes again caught and held as he reached out. I felt a sharp painful tug at my neck before the amulet's chain broke and he was left holding it.

"I'll keep this for now."

The stone I couldn't close my hand over disappeared in his much bigger paw.

"What are you doing?" I asked as I instinctively reached for the amulet, but he held it out of my reach. "You don't even want to believe it could have brought me here, so why in the hell do you need it?"

"I told you, you're not going anywhere," he replied, opening a small side drawer on his bureau. Taking the key from around his neck he inserted it into the keyhole; I could only watch as he locked away my only chance at getting home with a twist of his hand.

"Why would you do that? If I figured it out, I could go home. I could be out of Ox's reach and you'd go back to the life I interrupted before I stumbled into it. You'd be free of me, guilt free."

My fists were pounding his back before I even realized what I was doing. The idea of being parted from the necklace left me terrifyingly helpless. I might not have known how to work it if I even wanted to go home, but having the choice completely taken from me was more than I could bear.

Turning, he easily caught my wrists again, keeping me from pummeling his chest in my anger and fear.

"Who said I want to be free?" He asked quietly, his words stopping me cold.

"What if I want to be?"

"I've never had to keep a woman hostage and I'm not about to start," he told me, letting me go. My hands fell harmlessly to my sides. "If you want to go home, I'm not about to stop you, but can you be certain the necklace would send you home? Can you guarantee you can work it so you can get back to your time safely? Can you be certain you wouldn't end up in another time and in more trouble than you're already in here without me to help you?"

I bit my lip, no less frustrated than I'd been when we'd started this conversation. I hated that he was the voice of reason, because the simple answer was I didn't know. I hated that he'd thought more clearly about the situation in minutes than I had in days. More than anything I couldn't answer the question; I'd given him too much power over me, and if I'd lied he'd know in a heartbeat.

"I thought not. Now I guess the real question is whether or not you really want to go home. If you do I know where the gypsies camp when they're here; there's usually a group passing through with some regularity. If you want to go home, I'll take you to them and we'll see if they know exactly what we're dealing with. So, do you want to go home?"

"Do you want me to?" I countered, not ready to admit I really didn't anymore. What was there for me? I certainly couldn't say family. Did I really want to go back to a life I hadn't ever felt like I fit into? To one I'd barely been living? Even Adam would be a poor substitute for Spot.

I felt his hands on my upper arms. Looking back up, instinctively I knew my feelings were plain for him to see. Sleeping with Spot had been a bad idea; it'd only cemented what I'd already been struggling to pretend I didn't feel, combined with terror at how this was bound to end. He didn't say anything, just continued looking at me steadily as if that were the answer. I'd lost my footing with Spot Conlon once again and I didn't know how to even begin to find it.

I no longer had any idea of what Spot wanted from me, nor did I dare to hope for what he might want. My only recourse at that moment was to turn on my heel and stomp from the room, slamming the door with enough force that once again the walls rattled.

I heard Glimmer grumbling from her room as I hobbled down the hall making as much noise as possible. I refused to look at Blink who sat at the table and was thankful that Mush was sprawled on the couch.

"Jack's only going to take you in if you have nowhere else to go, Cameo." I took a second look at Mush who had opened his eyes and was watching me coolly. "He's not about to get in the middle of what Spot wants. You mistook what I said last night; if Spot kicks you out you're not homeless, but he was right. The safest place for you is right here." When I just looked at him in shock he gave me a shrug. "Thin walls."

"Son of a bitch," I hissed. I wasn't certain if the curse was directed at Mush, Spot, or a general curse at the thin walls. Mush had obviously heard our argument, but whether or not he or the other boys had heard anything else I couldn't be sure. I'd been too distracted to worry about it at the time.

Mush gave me a slow smile that told me in no uncertain terms he knew exactly what had happened in that room. My face burned as he pulled his hat down over his eyes and crossed his arms over his chest. I refused to even look at Blink; instead I marched, as best I could, out the door. I couldn't resist slamming it behind, bringing the poor kid sleeping in the hallway wide awake. He looked at me in shock for a moment before I turned and went up the stairs with as much grace and noise as a hobbled goose.

Once out on the roof, everything seemed to still. The breeze was soft in the still early morning. The light might be bright, but it didn't have the power of the later day sun, the heat that would leave me feeling like a wilted flower. I heard the door open behind me and chose not to look back. I hoped whoever it was would go back to wherever they came. At the scent the faint scent of jasmine floating on the breeze I closed my eyes.

"So, the mighty Briar finally falls," I heard Glimmer say wryly. The last person I wanted to discuss this with was Spot's little sister. "I actually thought you could hold out against the charms of my brother."

I sighed as I looked out over the city, wrapping my arms around myself and not even bothering to turn. I leaned against the wall, letting it take most of my weight. It had been anger that had propelled me up the stairs, and now as it was ebbing I noticed the pain of my injuries.

"I don't think the most frigid Snow Queen could hold out against your brother," I replied dryly, wincing as my ribs spasmed. I tightened my arms, trying to ease the pain, only to send a stabbing pain through my stitched arm.

"Sit," Glimmer ordered, shoving a weather worn wooden chair at me. "For God's sake, before you fall over."

"It wasn't like that," I growled, refusing to look at her and ignoring her order. I'd sit when I was damn well ready. Instead I watched the people already bustling to and fro below. Even in the beginning of the turn of the century, New York was the city that never slept, I mused.

"Oh, and what was it like?" She asked as she stepped up next to me, looking down at the people the same as I did, avoiding my look as much as I was avoiding hers. I could feel her disappointment in me keenly.

"You wouldn't understand."

Glancing at her I saw her mouth narrow into a thin line.

"I never do," she muttered with a touch of petulance to her tone. It held the tone of a child that has been told too many times that they'll understand when they're older. "Or so I've been told a thousand times."

"It's not like that," I muttered again, holding my hand up before she could respond. "Damn it. Look Glim, it's complicated. It was because I wanted him to let me go, not because I thought I'd be any different from any other girl."

"Let you go?"

I winced as she repeated it; even to my own ears it sounded foolish.

"He isn't going to keep me around forever. It's not his way. I'm going to have to leave one way or another, and I'd hoped it would be on my terms rather than his."

I'd been stupid; instead of freeing myself from Spot, I'd tightened the bonds. Fighting back tears, I groped for a way to explain it all to Glimmer. After all, I couldn't explain to her the exact reason for our argument. She would understand less than her brother did. Spot had seen the amulet in action, had seen what it did to me. He had seen it and touched it while it had been working. His hand had gone through me like I had been no more than a ghost.

Glimmer had no such knowledge and I wasn't about to enlighten her. If Spot wanted that pleasure it was all his, but I wouldn't have even told him if there had been another choice. The only option now was to keep as close to the truth as possible without actually telling her all of it.

"He's going to move on. I'm like a puzzle box; if you push this way and that it pops open to reveal the treasure. He won't let me leave because of Ox and I don't want to wait until he gets bored. The longer I wait, the more I'll start letting myself think I'll be the exception to the rule and that rarely happens with men like your brother."

"So you thought if you were with him, he'd become bored with you and send you away and he decided not to?"

Glimmer seemed as perplexed by this turn of events as I was. She was trying to sort through what I'd told her, her brain working so fast and so hard I could practically hear her thinking. I looked away again, my voice soft as I answered, hating admitting it out loud. I'd tried to turn the tables on him only to find he'd managed to beat me at my own game.

"He knew what I was doing. I'm sure to keep from being predictable he's keeping me around for a while instead."

"Where were you going to go?"

I threw up my hands in frustration. Why couldn't she just leave it alone? Not for one minute could I begin to fathom what went on in Spot's head, and damn it, I'd come up here to be alone not to badgered by the very questions I was asking myself.

For a while I thought I had a handle on him, but he'd pulled the rug completely out. Not only had he told me I couldn't leave Brooklyn, but he'd trapped me in this time by taking away my only means of escape.

"Where were you going to go, Briar?" she pressed.

"Manhattan," I replied, rubbing irritably at the welt that had risen on the back of my neck when he'd broken the chain.

"And what did he say to that?" she persisted.

I whirled away, trying to turning my back on her, but she grabbed my arm tightly, holding me in place—much like her brother had earlier that morning. It took everything I had not to haul off and hit her.

"He said that Jack wouldn't take me," I snapped, trying to shrug off her arm, but she held on. "And if Jack did, he said that he'd use Manhattan and turn on them after Ox had been dealt with."

"He what?" She sounded completely and totally floored at her brother's response. I suppose it was good news I wasn't the only one confused. "What exactly did he say?"

"I don't know; does it matter exactly what he said?" I demanded impatiently. "He made it very clear that the only one that can protect me from Ox is the great and powerful Spot Conlon."

"I have no idea where you'd get the idea to go to Manhattan, but he's right," Glimmer said after she recovered from her shock.

"I don't understand. He got what he wanted. Why the hell can't he just leave me alone?"

"I don't know," Glimmer told me. "But I'm beginning to worry more about how much you could hurt my brother rather than how much my brother could hurt you."

"That's ridiculous." The very idea shocked me and had me turning to look at her. The blue green glimmered in the light as she looked at me steadily. "There is no way that could happen. What makes me any different from any other girl?"

"You fought him, and you wouldn't let him just use you and toss you aside. You managed to get through to Mimic when no one else could. You bled for us without a moment's thought, without any real reason. You could have walked away and no one would have been the wiser. No one knew I went out after you, no one realized that when I went back in Ox was there. You could have let them take me."

"Anyone with an ounce of decency would do the same thing." I brushed off her words, trying not to let them affect me.

"That's the thing. Too many around here have had the decency bled out of them. Whether it's because they've been attacked for doing the right thing, or poverty, back-breaking work has drained the decency out of them."

"So, I did the right thing, helped a few people out. It doesn't change the fact that your brother wants one thing and one thing only."

"Then why aren't you gone Briar? Why hasn't he sent you on your way like every other girl? Why is he willing to turn on his oldest friend for you?"

"I'm different for now. The key words are for now, Glimmer. Give it a few weeks and it'll get old. Once the novelty of me wears off, he'll go back to his old ways."

"Damn it Briar, he's never even thought of going to the lengths of protecting any girl the way he has you," Glimmer retorted. She looked as if she were going to say more, but I cut her off.

"And Anne Boleyn inspired love, devotion, and passion in Henry the VIII. So much that he turned his entire kingdom on end, helped reform religion, and nearly lost the love of his people in the process, but that didn't stop her from being beheaded. Passions cool, love changes or fades, a few words said in the heat of passion or in a fury don't mean anything. History has proven that over and over. I'd bet if Romeo and Juliet lived, Romeo would have ended up canoodeling with Juliet's ladies in waiting before a year was out."

I needed her to stop. I couldn't handle the little glimmer of hope that was going to make me believe that I could change him. I couldn't make him into a loving partner instead of playboy. A leopard didn't change its spots; it was as cliché as the idea that a good girl could make a bad boy good if she just loved him enough. The trail of women left in the wake of Spot Conlon proved that it hadn't worked yet and I would be a fool to expect it to.

"And here I thought you were an idealist. Fresh faced and sure the world could be better if you just gave it a helping hand," Glimmer replied with a wry twist of her lips.

I turned back to look over the city. The breeze this morning was cool, making my wrapper and nightgown flutter like gossamer fairy robes around me, the sunlight filtering through them and making exotic patterns on the ground and short brick walls of the roof. My hair blew around my face in tangled coils, still messy from this morning's activities.

"I can be idealistic, but that doesn't make me stupid or completely soft." My voice was low, but with a hardness and bitterness I knew she had never heard from me before.

"So, what are you going to do then, Briar? What are your options?"

I glanced to my left to see her leaning against the roof wall, her casual pose so reminiscent of her brother it made my heart squeeze for a moment and my breath freeze in my lungs.

"Your brother has left me only one option."

I was so quiet she wouldn't have heard me if she hadn't been so close or the breeze shifted away from her. I looked back over the city.

"I have to stay until he tires of me and then try to pick up the pieces when it happens. He won't let me go; he's shut down every chance I have to escape."

"And if he doesn't tire of you?"

"Then something as rare and as magical as a unicorn appearing will have happened," I replied stonily. "I won't be holding my breath."

"I guess we'll all see what happens," Glimmer sighed. "Until then, let's get you back inside."

"Please don't make me stay in bed all day again," I groaned as I reluctantly let her lead me toward the door.

"We'll see what you can handle today. If you push yourself too hard I'll help Spot dose you again."

"You helped him?" I demanded, finding another outlet for my frustration and anger.

"Yes, and I'll do it again. Don't make me," Glimmer retorted as she continued tugging me toward the attic. "Get a move on, Cameo. I don't have all day. Aces is going to pick up the morning edition for me and Spot this morning as it is, but we still have to get out there and sell."

With little else to say I followed her down, though my face was a thundercloud of irritation and ire. The boy keeping watch outside the apartment looked away and shifted on his feet in response to my gaze. When we entered the apartment the rest of the boys had cleared out, leaving only Spot.

To my surprise, we found him in front of the stove just beginning to frying bacon. I could tell by the occasional snapping of the oils in the pan and the smell that was just beginning to scent the air.

"Take over, Glim," Spot ordered, as he competently flipped the bacon. Cooking wasn't something I had expected him to be competent at. "I'll help her get dressed."

"Is it a good idea to leave the two of you alone?" she asked, raising an eyebrow and crossing her arms.

"I think it's a little late for a chaperone at this point." Spot replied coolly. "Besides, I didn't ask for your opinion, Glim."

She moved to his side with irritation in every line of her body, but I wasn't sure who she was protecting: me or Spot. They exchanged glares before he walked to my side, wrapping an arm around my waist taking some of my weight from my now throbbing ankle. I let him help me, though I wasn't pleased with needing it.

"So, I'm allowed out of bed today?" I asked, tilting my head to look up at him. "Done with me so soon?"

"Oh, I'm not quite done, but I can't spend all day in bed, no matter how tempting the offer," he replied, his eyes twinkling. He hadn't missed the dryness in my voice. I smiled and shook my head in response.

I was tired and sore, and fought the frustration at it. It seemed my temper tantrum had done more harm than good. Now that my temper was fading, I felt the bruises and injuries keenly, but I couldn't spend one more day lying in bed doing nothing.

"Now, you have to promise me you'll take it easy today, Briar," he said, gesturing to a pile of my clothing that he must have gotten from Glimmer's room while I'd been on the roof.

"Or what?" I baited him.

"Or you won't sleep tonight."

"Oh I assumed that was a given," I teased, unable to help myself.

"There won't be much of that either; you'll need too much medicine," he returned. "Mush will be here at the apartment until I get home, so let him do the heavy lifting and take the medicine you're given. There are some things that I have to take care of at the docks today, so I'll be a little while."

"I'll be fine," I told him, reaching for the chemise in his hands. I winced as my ribs spasmed again at the movement, but it seemed less painful than it had the day before.

"You're going to need help getting dressed; are you going to let me help or are you snap at me?" he asked. I considered it, contemplating the intimacy of it.

"I didn't know you knew how to dress a girl Spot, only undress her."

"Funny," was his reply.

I took his hand and stood a little unsteady at first, but then with more confidence. My ankle throbbed as I put weight on it, but I ignored it.

He handed me my chemise and I loosened the ties on my nightgown. I fought to try and pull the chemise on and pull off the nightgown and maintain my modesty; it was ridiculous at that point, I knew it, but I couldn't seem to help it. There was a difference between undressing in front of him and being undressed by him.

I caught him biting his lip against a smile as he reached out to smooth the chemise into place before pushing my nightgown past my hips where it puddled on the floor around my feet. I closed my eyes trying to ignore the feel of his hands on the bare skin of my hips and the outer part of my thighs.

He held out my bloomers, his hands brushing against me again. I knew he was doing it on purpose, but I chose not to say anything, as it would only encourage him. Our eyes met as he tied the waist and settled his hands at my waist. It was like a dance as he moved me back and guided me to sit again on the bed.

"I can do it," I told him irritably as he picked up one of my stockings. He only raised an eyebrow and held it out; my ribs spasmed again as I made a grab for it and I realized I wasn't going to be able to comfortably bend to put my stockings on. "Maybe Glimmer should help."

"Are you afraid, Briar?" He challenged, rolling the stocking in his hand until he reached the foot. He held it out and I put my foot in it, closing my eyes against the feel of his hands pulling the stocking up my leg. I hadn't expected the experience of being dressed to be quite as intimate as being undressed. My head was bent near enough to his I heard the catch in his breath as he pulled on my other stocking, lingering for a moment before he tied off my bloomers to hold it in place.

Once he was done he took a cigarette from behind his ear and lit it, holding it between his teeth as he picked up my corset. He took a long drag from it, his gaze flicking to mine, burning into me as he picked up my sturdy leather boots and set them in front of me. I slid my feet in but let him tie them.

"Your boots should help support your ankle," he told me, holding out his hand to help me stand. I took it and found he was right; though it still hurt it didn't hurt so badly I couldn't stand.

I watched him as he picked up my corset, swiftly hooking the front and unlacing the back. He set his cigarette down and moved to stand in front of me.

"Lean against me," he ordered, holding the corset between us. I did as he asked, my cheekbone level with his jaw as he slid his arms under mine and looked over my shoulder to lace my corset. His warmth bled into me and I found that he smelled of sunshine, clean sweat, and slightly of his cigarette. I rested my head on his chest, curling my head a little to tuck it under his jaw.

I closed my eyes as his hands worked the laces, tightening them until it was supportive, but not constricting.

"Does it hurt?" he asked, pulling back to look at me. I shook my head; it had ached a bit at first, but the pain had settled. He steadied me with one hand and with the other he cupped my injured cheek, his fingers gently fanning across the bruises.

I wasn't certain what to do. My surrender earlier, his response following, the gentle intimacy of his dressing me, overwhelmed me. I could feel the color in my cheeks and I looked down at his chest knowing I should move away, but I was unable to. I wanted his closeness, the comfort of him, and I was afraid of how soon he would take it back.

His lips pressed against mine, his mouth soft and warm, his kiss gentle and sweet, his arms wrapped around me, holding me. My hand slid behind his neck, combing into his hair.

"You'll be okay?" He said, pulling back and looking down at me. I could see the worry in his eyes. I smiled at him shyly and nodded. After all that had passed between us one would've thought shyness would be the last emotion I felt, but I still didn't know entirely how to handle this man. I could handle match his anger, I could match his passion, I could defy him, but when he was sweet and gentle I couldn't get a handle on what I was supposed to do, or where I stood.