“My… shoulder,” she gasped.
He helped her sit up gently, assessing the injury with quick hands. “Allow me to examine it.”
Behind them, the sound of pursuit grew louder.
“We do not have time,” she said through clenched teeth.
“It is dislocated.” He braced her against his chest. “This will hurt.”
She met his gaze, trembling but resolute, and bit down hard on her lip—willing herself to be brave.
With a swift, practiced movement, he popped the joint back into place. Frances screamed, tears springing to her eyes.
“Breathe,” he whispered, holding her close. “Just breathe.”
She did.
Johnathan helped her to her feet. “We have to keep moving,” he said, as he grabbed their valise.
They abandoned the horses, scrambling down the pass on foot, ducking low through the trees. Thunder rumbled above them as they reached a ravine and climbed into a crevice beneath an overhang.
Rain began to fall in heavy sheets, masking their trail.
They crouched low, breath coming hard.
Frances pressed a hand to her shoulder, still trembling. “They will not stop.”
“No,” Johnathan said. “But neither will I.”
Their eyes met in the dimness, and something passed between them—a shared defiance, a bond forged through pain and peril.
“We will rest here until the rain lets up,” he said. “Then we move again.”
Frances nodded, fatigue tugging at her limbs.
Johnathan removed his coat and draped it around her shoulders.
She looked up at him, surprised. “You will freeze.”
“I have survived worse.”
She smiled faintly. “You are forever saying that.”
“And it remains true,” he said, wrapping his arm around her.
As the storm raged on, they huddled close beneath the rock, warmed only by each other’s presence.
When the rain eased to a misting drizzle, twilight had slipped into full dark. The woods were hushed now. The danger cloaked in stillness rather than storm.
Frances stirred beside him. “We should go.”
Johnathan nodded. He helped her stand, and they picked their way down the slick slope, her steps unsteady.
“Do you think they are still close?” she asked, voice low.
“I would be shocked if they had given up,” he said. “But they will not find us easily in the dark.”
“Then let us take advantage of that.”
