Page 115 of The Oath We Take

To get to Ember.

I don’t care how many of them there are.

I don’t care how armed they are or what they might be riding on.

I have the upper hand.

Because the one thing they don’t know is the land. They don’t know every twist and turn of this river like I do, having corralled cattle up and down it and plowed its banks and ridden alongside it for decades.

I know every tree, I know where the river is deepest, and I trust that it’s gonna help me keep my woman safe.

I see a row of lights in the distance. Three four-wheel vehicles.

And in between the beams, I see the silhouette of Lemmy and Ember flying towards me.

“Kill your lights,” I shout to Butcher, slowing my bike.

“What? Why?” he asks, pulling up alongside.

“I’m gonna get Ember to cross the river with Lemmy. They’re on ATVs and won’t expect it. It’ll flood their engines if they follow, or make them a sitting duck for me and you if they don’t.”

Butcher nods, and we hustle our bikes to the longer grass and throw them down.

“There’s a tall run of rocks, just there,” I say, pointing in the direction Ember is coming. The thud of Lemmy’s hooves rumbles through my feet. “Go.”

When Ember comes into sight, I wave and point. “Into the river! They can’t follow.”

“Atom,” she says, her voice a sob as she rushes by.

Christ, she’s riding him bareback with no reins, lying low against his body and neck, clinging to his mane. At the speed they’re going, one wrong move and she could be thrown. Had I known, I wouldn’t have suggested the river, but it’s too late to change course now.

I just have to trust that the two of them know each other so well, they’ll make it through. And while I wish I could console her, I don’t want to give my presence away by shouting after her.

When the three quad bikes come towards us, it’s a lesson in patience. There is a driver and shooter in each. I want to warn them off, get them away from Ember. But I want to show them that no matter how badly they want us, they can’t have us.

As the first quad bike follows Ember and falls nose first into the shallow river, I kneel, steady my hand, and begin to shoot. Focusing on the shooter before the driver, makes quick work of any resistance.

Butcher follows my lead, and it’s too late for the second quad bike to avert the same fate as the first. Butcher steps towards them and lets off five rounds, making sure they are all dead.

While the third has the good sense to brake, it runs into the back of the second quad bike, and the driver and passenger are thrown forward.

Making the most of their disorientation, Butcher and I run to disarm them both. It’s Maksim, the bald, tattooed man from the original visit, and a second I don’t recognize. None of them appear to be Rocco.

We cable tie both their hands and throw them to the ground as I hear Lemmy’s distinctive snort and whinny come up behind us.

Ember drops off the horse, and I run to her as Butcher goes through the other vehicles and puts a final bullet into everyone he can find.

Dead or not.

The sound sends Lemmy rearing up then running into the night.

“Em,” I say, tugging her to me and holding her so tight, I don’t think I’ll ever be able to let go.

“My phone. When it was lost…Rocco, he took it. They knew where I was.”

I stroke her hair, the side of her face, her arm. Anywhere I can touch her to make sure she’s okay.

“It’s over,” I say, kissing her cheek, her forehead, her lips. “We got them.”

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