Would it? Could he have stopped it?
Yes. He would have done... something. He loved her and would have done whatever he could. He would have scooped her up and taken her home.
Home. She closed her eyes at the comforting thought. Alex would make everything right when he got home. Devin surely didn’t mean what he’d said. He was just trying to scare her, for some reason. He couldn’t do what he said he was going to do. Devin wasn’t that cruel.
Chapter 172
Anna woke with a start. The sun was sinking into the west, but it wouldn’t go down for several more hours. Men milled around the field, talking or using one of the slaves.
Devin’s pavilion was empty.
Run.
The thought was a lightning bolt in her mind. She couldn’t let Devin take her baby. No. She would run and hide until Alex got home and he would make everything right.
She looked around, making sure Devin was truly gone, and slowly sat up. Her shoes were nowhere in sight, but that couldn’t stop her. She had to flee. The road wasn’t far and there were shops there. She could call Aaron or Wilhelm. They would help her.
Anna crept to the back of the pavilion and slipped through a gap in the curtains. Looking around, she spotted a faint path, which she followed, constantly searching for any signs of movement. Enclosed by a forest of trees, she quickened her pace, ignoring the sharp rocks that cut her feet. Pain was temporary. The only thing that mattered was to save her precious child.
A sharp noise sent her heart pounding, and she leaped off the path and crouched low. Holding her breath, she scanned the area. About a hundred feet away, a man approached wearing all black and carrying a rifle. Anna crept deeper into the underbrush and slowly lay flat beneath some bushes. Her heart raced as she waited for the man to pass by, desperately praying he wouldn’t look in her direction. After many long minutes, he moved on and disappeared from view.
She let out a silent breath of relief before cautiously returning to the path and hurrying away. After several minutes, though, the path vanished into the dense woods. She stared into the thickets, willing a path to materialize. As she hesitated, though, someone shouted behind her. She jumped and spun around. The man who had previously passed by was walking toward her. She sprinted into the woods, ignoring the branches that tugged at her hair and dress.
His footsteps were loud, and he yelled at her to stop. She ignored him, running blindly ahead until the ground abruptly dropped away and she slid down an embankment and fell into a creek. She covered her mouth to keep from screeching at the freezing water.
The man’s shouts echoed behind her as she frantically searched for a hiding spot. She was barefoot and nearly naked. There was no way she could outrun him.
After what felt like forever, she spotted a cluster of vines on the other side of the creek. A hiding place? She waded through the frigid water and found a narrow passage that led into a shallow cave. The vines were blackberry bushes and their thorns dug into her skin as she pushed her way through the dense leaves. She vanished into the shadows just as the man reached the top of the opposite embankment. He scanned the area but didn’t seem to see her.
Two more men appeared behind him and they looked around.
“I saw her go down,” the first man said. “She had to have gone this way.”
They made their way down the embankment and stood by the creek.
“She couldn’t have gotten far. She’s barefoot.”
They split up, going in opposite directions on the bank. The first man crossed the creek and climbed up the other side, passing just a few feet away from where she was hiding. She held her breath until his footsteps disappeared.
Anna sighed in relief. She was safe... for now. Leaning forward, she rested her head in her hands. She hurt, inside and out. Her feet and hands were bruised and cut. The scrapes from the thorns stung. She shivered with cold and fear. She was wet from falling into the creek.
How long would she have to wait? She realized she hadn’t planned this very well. Or at all. She just ran. She should have at least tried to find her shoes. Then she wouldn’t have been at such a disadvantage.
She waited in the cave and closed her eyes, listening for the faintest hint of footsteps. Time passed. How long, she didn’t know, but the men seemed to have left. It was starting to get dark. This was her chance to get further away.
As she crept out of her hiding spot, she heard men’s voices carrying across the distance in the cool evening air. She gasped and dove back into her cave just as the men came into view at the top of the embankment. Devin was with them.
He stopped and looked around. His fury was written all over his face. He closed his eyes for a moment, then opened them again, his eyes locked on her hiding spot.
A twisted smile appeared on his face. “It was very foolish of you to run away, Anna.” His voice was eerily calm and tinged with amusement. He slowly made his way down the embankment. “I will always find you. I am still bonded with you. I can feel you.”
She clasped a trembling hand over her mouth to keep from whimpering. He stopped in front of the blackberry bushes and she scooted back against the muddy wall.
“Get rid of these bushes.”
Several men came forward and pulled at the vines. They cursed as the thorns bit into their hands, but picked up branches to pull the vines aside.
Anna cowered in the shadows while her sanctuary was torn away. As the last of the vines disappeared, she found herself face-to-face with Devin, who stood at the mouth of the cave, his expression dark and disapproving.