Grant breathed out, his heart thundering far too fast as he lowered the gun to rest across his legs.
White Horse raised a finger to his lips and strode toward Grant. The worry crept back into his gut, but he kept silent as he nudged his gelding faster. When they reached him, Grant slipped to the ground to face the other man.
“My mother and Faith are gone.” White Horse spoke quietly, but his words struck Grant like he’d shouted.
“Gone? Where? How?” Steps Right had barely walkedsince they first found her. How could she and Faith leave? And why would White Horse allow it?
Why would Faith leave while Grant was gone? Hadn’t she told him to come back here? To bring his brother? That long ago pain crashed in, bringing a deluge of darkness.
Just like the Flagstones. Promising to be there, then gone.
“Taken.” White Horse spoke again, and Grant forced himself to pull from that dark place to focus on the words.
Taken? What did he mean? He studied White Horse’s expression for a hint. The worry there was impossible to miss.
Taken. Faith and Steps Right?
The reality jolted him fully out of the heavy cloud, back to clearer thinking. “Who did it? The man Steps Right was hiding from?”
“Only a few tracks, but I think Flies Ahead and another.” White Horse scanned their surroundings. “They rode into river. I look for more sign.”
Anger surged through him as his mind raced, conjuring images of Faith in danger, her blue eyes wide with fear.
“How did they get close?” He didn’t want to cast guilt on the man, not when he’d already shown he would go to great lengths to protect both women.
White Horse met his gaze. “Faith could not find the pouch she wore around her neck. I went to search the place she thought she lost it.”
Grant’s chest tightened. “Did it hold the blue bead necklace? I found it in my saddlebag. That’s why I came back. I don’t know how it got there, but I knew she’d worry.” How could such a simple mishap lead to something so awful?
See, God? This is exactly why I can’t trust you. How could you let this happen?
White Horse was already moving past him, toward the river. “I search for tracks.”
Grant called quietly after him, “Should I look on the other side of the river?” That way they could move faster and be more certain they weren’t missing a vital clue.
“Get my horse first. Then come to me.”
“All right.” Grant turned back to his gelding and swung into the saddle.
God, this would be a good time to make up for lettingus all down. Help us find Faith and Steps Right. Don’t let Flies Ahead hurt them.
Faith moaned against the pounding in her head as she fought to pull from sleep. The side of her scalp burned, and she reached up to feel the spot. Her fingers touched something wet, and the contact made the ache splitting her skull hammer even harder.
She groaned again, trying to push through the pain and open her eyes. When she finally succeeded, the world swam before her. Dark, but with a bright light blinding her. She blinked several times to clear her vision.
This darkness was the dim light of night, and the brightness came from a campfire. Her arms ached, and she tried to shift them to a more comfortable position. They wouldn’t move. That’s when her cloudy mind finally came alive.
She was tied.
She sat upright against a narrow tree, her hands bound behind it. The rough bark pressed against her back, and a root poked her bottom.
As her vision cleared, she caught sight of a figure nearby.Steps Right sat against another tree, a little more than an arm’s length away. Her head rested to the side, the light from the campfire shining on her closed eyes.
Faith’s heart picked up speed. She wasn’t dead, was she?
As Faith strained for signs of movement, she finally caught the slow raising and lowering of her shoulders as she breathed. Asleep, then. Or maybe unconscious, as Faith had been.
Her chest tightened, and she turned her focus to the shadows around the campfire. Two men sat at the edge of its light. One was the brave who’d spoken to Steps Right back at the mouth of the cave, then attacked her.
