He stepped backward, pulling the door with him, but she grabbed the wood before he could slam it shut.
A shout came from outside. Leonard’s voice.
Gerald reversed directions, pushing the door open with the force of his shoulder. She released the wood and raised her blade high. “Arrêtez!Halt! You’re under arrest.”
Gerald didn’t stop, just plunged into the room, ducking away from her blade. She gathered herself, preparing to fling the blade into the fleshy part of his arm.
In the split second she took aim, her gaze registered Evan standing right behind Gerald. The possibility that she might hit him froze her.
She focused her aim tighter. The shift took only half a heartbeat, but it was enough.
Gerald swung around with speed she wouldn’t have credited him with. He reached a beefy arm around her neck, positioning himself behind her, and gripped her knife with his other hand.
Her instincts took over and she stomped hard on the inside of the man’s foot, then plunged a fist upward to strike his nose.
Men’s yells sounded around them, but her world narrowed to only the man whose thick muscle was cutting off all breath. He was so big, and he had her arms pinned so she couldn’t get a good angle on his face. She tried to use her elbows in his side or gut, but he had her strapped too tightly to his body. With her moccasined feet, she didn’t seem to be causing any pain to his knees or feet. Probably the thicker leggings he’d worn on the hunt gave too much protection.
With his greater strength, he jerked the knife from her hand and strapped both arms to her side. Then the sharp cold of a perfectly honed blade pressed into her neck.
Lord!Brielle froze as the pain registered in her mind. The man’s arm no longer locked off her breathing, but her lungs still wouldn’t expand as fear held them constricted. This couldn’t be the end. Not after everything she’d already been through.
She scanned for the others, and relief eased her body at a glimpse of Evan with his gun aimed at Gerald. The dark hole of the barrel peered at her too, but she didn’t let herself linger in the fear. Evan’s aim was likely good enough that he could hit Gerald instead of her at such close range.
Through the open doorway, Philip and Leonard stood frozen, Philip with his knife raised, and Leonard’s hatchet poised to strike.
She soaked in a bit of renewed bravery but had to be careful not to draw much breath, or Gerald would slice her neck without even trying. “You’re outnumbered, Gerald. Let me go. There’s no use fighting more.”
His humorless chuckle vibrated through her back, and his breath burned her ear. “But I have captured the queen, and that makes me greater than all of you.”
The pompous cad. “Slice my neck open if you want, but these three will still arrest you. And you’ll hang for sure, then.”
“For killing the chief’s daughter? Of that you’re right. But I have a feeling these men would do almost anything to save your pretty little head . . . and the rest of you.” His thumb caressed a line down her side, pressing parts no man had touched. The motion probably wasn’t visible to any of the others, but she had to work hard to hold in a shudder.
“The only way to save your life is to let her go.” Evan’s voice rang strong.
“You think I’m a fool? You’re the fool, you foreigner. There’s not a doubt in my mind that her papa will string me up now that I’ve taken arms against Laurent’s favorite.” Another huff of hot air blew across her ear, and the pressure at her neck tightened, burning the skin there. A drip of something slid down her neck, itching as it went. She had to bite her lip to keep from jerking with the sensation.
“The only way I’ll go free is if the three of you escort me to the gate yourselves. And I’ll be taking the wench with me to make sure you don’t follow after me. If you’re lucky, I’ll let her go in a day or two.”
She caught the flare of Evan’s eyes, but with her attention distracted by the increasing pain at her throat, she couldn’t tell if it was fear or anger that drew his reaction.
Don’t worry about me. She tried to send Evan the message with her eyes, but his attention was split also, shifting between the knife at her neck and a spot above her head. Gerald’s face, no doubt.
She had to get away. If Evan did something foolish in an effort to save her, they might lose Gerald completely. Or worse, someone else could be hurt.
“You all stay put while I get a few things, then we’ll be off.” Gerald tugged her backward, clamping even tighter around her chest as he hauled her back a step with him. “Don’t even think of moving.”
The knife pulled away from her neck as he reached for something behind him. She tried to suck in a deep breath, but the solid band around her chest wouldn’t allow much air to pass.
Before she could form a plan to use this reprieve for escape, Gerald had grabbed whatever he needed and pressed the knife against her neck again. The man could move far quicker than she’d ever thought his bulk could muster. This time, the knife blade pressed farther to her left, even closer to an important artery. Her neck would look like a cutting board once they were through this.
Ifshe made it through.
30
Gerald twisted Brielle to the side as he bent to pick up something from the ground, the knife once more leaving her throat for only the space of two breaths. If he did that again, she had to be ready to act.
She worked to keep her body from stiffening, both so he wouldn’t suspect she was devising a plan and also so he didn’t press the knife any harder into her neck.
