“We don’t have time for this. Get on thehorse, Shane.”
Shea crossed her arms over her chest andglared mutinously up at him. Suddenly, it seemed very importantthat she get her way, and she wasn’t moving one inch until shedid.
“Shane,” Eamon warned.
Fallon abruptly sat down before fallingbackwards as he passed out. It was so unexpected that Shea startedgiggling.
“Son of a bitch.” Eamon’s words wereheartfelt as he carefully dismounted, doing his best not to disturbhis passenger. “Shane, I swear to all the gods that if you don’tstop giving me trouble, I will beat the living shit out of you oncewe’re safe.”
Even in Shea’s slightly drugged state, sheknew he meant what he said.
“Fine.”
She helped him get Fallon up so he was layingfacedown over the horse’s back before climbing up after him.
Chapter Sixteen
When a few rocks skated down the hill next tothem, the party halted abruptly. With a flick of his fingers, Eamonsignaled Shea to gain some distance from him while he steered hishorse further down the path.
She waited, her hands tense on the reins,prepared to take off at a moment’s notice. Fallon, a still presencebefore her, hadn’t stirred since they placed him face down over thehorse.
Small pebbles skittered down a few feetbehind Eamon, and they both looked up. The moonlight shone off theexposed rock in the near vertical slope. While the hill was toosteep for the horses, it was manageable for people or beasts. Thenames of every nocturnal beast that favored these environments ranthrough Shea’s mind— she didn’t want to encounter any on a nightlike this.
Eamon circled around and drew his sword, hiseyes trained on a dim figure sliding down in a hail of dirt androck.
Sensing their riders’ mood, the horses werequiet and motionless as if they too waited for the next shoe todrop.
Eamon waited until the two men were midwaydown before threatening in a low growl, “Stop where you are, orwe’ll open a few extra holes in you.”
One of the men looked down, his expressionlost in the dark. “Eamon?”
“Buck?” Eamon’s voice was puzzled butpleased. “What are you doing here?”
Buck and Phillip made it the rest of the waydown the slope, sliding the last few feet. Safely on the ground,Buck said, “We saw the flare and figured you had found the package.Thought you might need help, so here we are.”
He waited, obviously hoping they would fillhim in on what they had discovered, but Eamon kept his council,telling him instead, “We need to head back to camp. Are your horsesclose? Otherwise you’ll have to follow when you can.”
If Buck was disappointed Eamon didn’t answerhis unspoken question, he didn’t show it. He pointed back up theslope and said, “We left them up there. It shouldn’t be too hard toretrieve them and then meet you on the trail.”
“Do that. Catch up when you can.”
Until now, Shea had thought Eamon trusted hismen implicitly. It was something he’d harped on to the point ofannoyance when she first joined up with them. It didn’t sit wellnow that he wished to keep Fallon’s identity a secret even fromthose who’d always had his back.
Over his shoulder, he told Shea, “Stay closeand don’t stop for anything.”
“I don’t suppose-” she began wistfully,eyeing Buck and Phillip.
“No.”
She grumbled to herself and pulled faces inthe dark. He hadn’t even let her finish her question.
Sensing something was off, Buck asked,“What’s up with Shane?”
“Don’t ask. Shane, follow me and stop askingto trade companions,” Eamon hissed.
“Fine.”
She didn’t see why Phillip or Buck couldn’ttake her place. One rider was the same as the other. At least theywere passable with a blade and could defend their passenger if needbe.
