“Then I carry you,” he said, sliding an arm under her knees and another behind her back.
She clutched his shirt, voice trembling. “Don’t drop me.”
“I won’t,” he promised, hoisting her up. “But hang on tight. We don’t get second chances.”
Bullets cracked from the ridge above, stone splintering near his boots. Abigail pressed herself closer with a startled cry. “Too close!”
“I know,” he replied.
Anthony pivoted, using one hand to fire at the enemies. Then he pushed forward.
The one bandit they had left behind wasn’t pursuing. They had either lost him, or he had chosen to retreat. Either way, luck was on their side.
“Keep your head down, ma’am,” he said.
She managed a weak laugh through the pain. “This isn’t how I planned my morning.”
“Neither did I,” he muttered, muscles straining as he carried her along the jagged trail. Her weight didn’t matter. The guilt weighed more. Every step reminded him that she was bleeding because he put her there.
For a while, they moved in silence, broken only by gunfire and the scrape of boots on stone.
“Anthony . . . are you scared?” Abigail whispered after a while.
He almost laughed, but guilt swallowed it. “Scared?” he replied. “No, ma’am. Careful. But for you...I should never have brought you here.”
Her eyes flicked up at him, startled. “You needed help.”
“I needed you safe,” he said. “Now you’re bleeding because of me.”
She tightened her grip on his shoulder. “I chose to come. Don’t you dare make this only your burden.”
He didn’t answer. He couldn’t. Every step felt heavier, and the weight of her body was matched by the weight of his mistake.
She was right. She chose. But if she died, the choice would have been his fault alone.
Gunfire cracked again, forcing them to duck behind a boulder. Dust rained down. Anthony fired two sharp shots as he kept an arm around Abigail. He drove their pursuers back.
“They’re everywhere!” Abigail gasped.
“Fewer than it sounds,” he said grimly. “But enough.”
A sloping ridge appeared ahead, treacherous but fast.
“We’re taking it,” he said.
“You’re insane,” Abigail gasped.
“Maybe,” he said. “But alive beats smart.”
The descent was brutal. Sliding rocks and stray bullets tested his balance with every step. Abigail clung to him for dear life.
“Why risk yourself like this?” she asked.
Anthony couldn’t understand why Abigail even asked such a question. His breath hitched at the back of his throat.
“Because if I lose you, none of this matters, ma’am,” he said. “Not Vanburgh, not Eagle Rock. Nothing.”
Her eyes softened despite the fear. “You mean that?”
