Total pages in book: 96
Estimated words: 91416 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 457(@200wpm)___ 366(@250wpm)___ 305(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 91416 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 457(@200wpm)___ 366(@250wpm)___ 305(@300wpm)
Dru stirred against the cold earth, her body aching, her thoughts heavy and muddled. It took a moment before the weight of memory slammed into her—capture, struggle, the sound of Knox’s voice calling for her before it was cut off.
She jerked upright, her hands going to rest on the ground as a bout of dizziness hit her. Once she could focus, she tried to stand.
A boot nudged her shoulder roughly. “Stay down.”
Memories flashed in her mind. Callan’s men. The attack, Knox trying frantically to reach her. Darkness. She had been taken prisoner. But Knox would come for her. He would always find her no matter what. Her task was to stay alive, and if escape proved possible, take the chance.
She glanced around seeing far too many warriors to even think of escaping, at least for the moment. As she finished her perusal, she almost gasped. Not far from her, Knox lay on his side, unfettered and motionless. Fear gripped her like an iron band, not seeing the slightest movement. Was he dead? Had she lost him? She sent a silent prayer to the heavens not to take him from her.
She kept her eyes on him and caught the way his fingers flexed against the moss. Her heart fluttered as if skipping a beat. He was alive… and he was waiting.
Two warriors stood guard over him, laughing about something too low to hear. Dru watched, remaining silent, knowing her husband would not let either of them stop him from reaching her.
In one caught breath, he moved.
Surging up, Knox grabbed the nearest man by the shirt and slammed his head into the tree with a dull thud. The second had just enough time to widen his eyes before Knox’s fist connected with his jaw. The man dropped like a sack of grain.
Knox was beside Dru in two strides, lifting her and taking her in his arms.
“Are you hurt?”
“Just bruised. You?”
“Not enough to matter.”
A sharp shout cut through the woods. Callan emerged from the shadows, sword in hand, and his expression unreadable. More warriors surrounded them now, weapons drawn—but none approached.
Callan’s mouth curled into something almost like a smile.
“Let them be,” he ordered, voice cold. “They’ll be separated soon enough, and permanently.”
Knox growled low in his throat, pulling Dru behind him. She didn’t resist. His rage was a living thing, barely leashed, and she knew what it cost him not to lash out again.
“We’re not done, Callan,” Knox threatened.
“No,” Callan agreed, his gaze steady. “We’re only just beginning.”
Callan turned his back without another word, vanishing into the trees like a shadow, his warriors falling in behind him save for four who stayed behind to guard Knox and Dru from a distance. None spoke. None needed to. The message was clear… try anything, and it will end badly. Not for Dru since they needed her, but for Knox.
Knox shifted, angling his body just enough to shield Dru. She pressed close to him, needing his warmth, his strength, his love.
“We have to escape before it’s too late,” she whispered.
His lips barely moved. “Agreed.”
“They think you’ll behave with a blade at my back,” she said bitterly.
His jaw tightened. “Then we make sure they never get that chance.”
Dru leaned her head slightly toward his. “There’s four here but there could be more lurking close by. And where did Callan and his other warriors go? Why doesn’t he move us?”
“My guess would be that he attacked worried that he wouldn’t get his way and now he has to find a way to get us off Lord Torrance’s land before he learns about it.”
“I never thought I would pray for Torrance to find me,” she said, finding the situation ironic.
“Time is short for us and Callan. Some of Torrance’s warriors were bound to survive the attack. They will get word to him immediately. He’ll ride here with an army of men prepared to slaughter those who lifted a hand against him.”
She nodded, her eyes scanning without turning her head. “When do we escape?”
“Tonight, right after dusk, darkness will be a welcome protector.”
They fell silent, wrapped around each other, each counting the minutes, the trees around them suddenly seeming less like a forest and more like a trap waiting to be sprung.
As dusk neared, Knox whispered, “If we need to separate—”
“Nay, we stay together,” Dru insisted, shaking her head. “I know what you’re thinking, that if you draw them away, I have a better chance of escaping. But that leaves you with a better chance of dying. I won’t have that.”
“It may give both of us a better chance of surviving. With only four guarding us, I can get rid of two easily then reach you to rid us of the other two.”
“Why do you have to make sense?” she asked, her stomach roiling at the prospect.
“Believe me, wife, I don’t want us to separate, but I do want us both to survive. So, we do what is necessary if we must.”