Two Stones tied his horse near the others, and she moved with the rest of the men to do the same. He stepped close enough that they could all hear his quiet words. “I will go ahead to where I found Sampson. Wait here." He melted into the shadows without a sound.
Grace's hands trembled as she finished tying her reins to the branch. Even with these warm fur-lined gloves Dinah had sent with her, her fingers had numbed hours ago.
After rubbing her mare a few moments, she moved to a place she could better see Two Stones the moment he returned.
The night closed in, thick and oppressive. She fought the urge to pace, to call out, to do anything other than wait in tense silence.
An owl hooted in the distance, the eerie sound sending a shiver down her spine. She'd spent countless nights outside in the wilderness near their home in the valley, but this felt different. Danger crackled in the air like lightning before a storm.
After what felt like an eternity, the crunch of footsteps sounded from the direction Two Stones had gone. Grace straightened, heart in her throat, as a figure materialized from the darkness. Then another.
Jericho and Jonah.
Two Stones followed them, and her chest tightened until she couldn’t breathe.
"Where is he?" The words tore from her, raw and desperate. "Where's Sampson?"
Jericho held up a hand, his face hard in the moonlight. "They found him. Brought him into their camp."
"He's tied to a tree." Jonah's voice burned low and tight. "We’re waiting for the others to fall asleep before we try to get him out."
"How many?" Two Stones asked.
"About thirty," Jericho said. "All armed."
Thirty men. Thirty guns. And Sampson helpless in their midst. Bile rose in her throat as visions of him broken and bleeding flashed through her mind. She squeezed her eyes shut, willing the images away. She had to stop this.
Then she forced her eyes open and met Jericho's stare head-on. "I need to talk to my father. I have to try to stop this."
Something flickered in his eyes, a brief flash of empathy. "I understand, Grace. But from everything I've heard about Jedidiah and McPharland, I'm not sure their minds can be changed. At least not without coming up against a hard wall."
She opened her mouth to protest, but he held up a hand, forestalling her. "McPharland is dead set on having our mine. Even if Jedidiah wanted to stop, I don't think he could. Not with McPharland pushing him."
The truth of his words settled like a stone in her gut. Her father had chosen his path long ago, and it led them all to this dark precipice. Changing course now seemed as impossible as changing the direction of a river at spring thaw.
But still, the need to do something, anything, pulsed through her. She couldn't stand here waiting while Sampson's life hung in the balance. "Then what can we do?" The question burst out, tinged with desperation. "How do we get him out?"
Jericho exchanged a grim look with Jonah before glancing around at the other men. "We have a plan. It's risky, but I think it's the only way. With six of us, we can spread out around the camp. Wait until they're all asleep, then take out the guards quietly. Get to Sampson and cut him loose before anyone realizes what's happening."
Grace's pulse hammered. It sounded so dangerous. So much could go wrong. But what choice did they have?
She met Jericho's piercing blue gaze. "What do you need me to do?"
His brows lowered. "Grace, I can't let you anywhere near?—"
"I have to help." Her voice cracked with emotion. "Please. I can't just sit here. Not when Sampson..." She couldn’t finish. The thought of him at her father's mercy made bile rise in her middle.
Jericho sighed, rubbing a hand over his stubbled jaw. "Sampson would have my hide if I let anything happen to you."
"And I’ll never forgive myself if I don’t help him." Grace lifted her chin, holding his stare. Willing him to understand.
A long moment stretched between them.
"I have a job for you." Two Stones’s voice pierced the silence. When she glanced over at him, the way one corner of his mouth tipped up made her heart pick up speed.
“All right.” She gave a firm nod. “Tell me what to do.”
CHAPTER18
