“Thanks,” the last man said rubbing hiswrists. “We’re in your debt.”
“Don’t thank me yet. We still have to escapethis gods be damned, shithole of a village.”
How exactly they were supposed to do that,she hadn’t worked out. Yet.
“What do we do?” James said in panic as hehobbled up to her. With Cam’s arm slung over his shoulder, Jameswas supporting most of the man’s weight.
Horses still raced past them, but the herdwas thinning. Shea didn’t know how Witt managed to get so many tostampede, but as a distraction, it worked amazingly well. The onlyproblem was that now they couldn’t get off the platform withoutrisking being trampled. Soon that wouldn’t be a problem, but thevillagers who had sought shelter in the neighboring buildings werealready poised at their doors, ready to recapture the men she’djust released.
One of the strangers tapped her on theshoulder. “Is he with you?”
Shea squinted at where he pointed.
Was that Witt at the rear of the herd,driving a wagon?
Yes.
She couldn’t believe it, but it was.
As she watched, Dane swung down from hisroof, to a shorter building before leaping into the wagon bed andclimbing onto the front seat next to Witt.
She grinned and clapped the man on theshoulder.
“Prepare to jump.”
“In there?” James asked, wild eyed. “Whileit’s still moving?”
“It’s not like they can stop and wait untilwe get comfortable.”
“They’ll slow down, right?”
Shea ignored the question, instead steppingup to the edge of the platform and gesturing for the rest to joinher.
“Jump right before the wagon reaches you,”the man she’d freed said.
James and Cam balked. Shea shoved them intoplace. There wasn’t time for fear. They needed action, not doubt.The stranger with the whiskey-colored eyes tugged Cam’s arm fromJames while his friend put Cam’s other arm over his shoulder,sandwiching Cam between them.
“Shea, this is madness. We can’t make thatjump,” James hissed at her.
She took him by the arm. The wagon wasseconds away, Witt’s face focused and determined as he barreleddown on them.
Shea looked James in the eye. “You’re justgoing to have to trust me.”
She shoved him off the platform, forcing himto jump or fall to his death. Shea followed right as the wagonscraped by, knocking against the structure in the process. Thestrangers and Cam leapt at the same time, making the jump easily.James landed awkwardly on his side, safely in the wagon’s bed. Sheafell on top of him, her knee landing squarely on his stomach,nearly catapulting her off the other side in the process. Thewhiskey-eyed stranger grabbed her by the back of the shirt andhauled her back in before she could dive headfirst into the ground.He dumped her in the bottom next to the others.
“Thanks,” she said, patting him on the arm.The ground raced by. She didn’t think she would have survived thelanding. “Guess I owe you one now.”
A slight smile partially thawed his graniteexpression. “Just returning the favor.”
His eyes seemed capable of staring rightthrough a person, sizing them up in moments and learning all theirsecrets in the process.
Shoulder length brown hair framed a sharpfeatured face possessing rigidly defined cheekbones and jaw.Everything about him screamed strength. From his nose, to hismouth, to the way he held himself. He was over a head taller thanShea, who wasn’t exactly short. His hands, where they held herarms, were calloused and rough-hewn. There was a small scar, almostunnoticeable unless one was as close to him as Shea was, along hisjaw line. It was almost hidden beneath the stubble covering a chinthat hadn’t seen a razor in days.
His presence brought to mind words likeforceful, powerful, intimidating. He was like a tightly leashedwild animal. Awe-inspiring and magnificent right up until themoment it decided you were its next meal.
Shea moved away from him. She was forced tocrawl over James so she could clap Witt on the back. “That was somedistraction.”
“Glad you liked it,” he shouted back as hedeftly handled the horses.
