Page 76 of The Outlaw and the Heir

Oh shit, this was a scouting party, wasn't it? There was only one reason to send a scouting party, and that was to get the lay of the land before the rest of the gang moved in. Was that what they’d been doing when Ambrose found evidence of them before? Originally, they had only been talked about when they hassled one of the other ranchers because there had been no other signs of them around the ranch, which had only added weight to Joseph's argument that they weren't a problem.

Hell, we definitely needed to get back to the ranch in one piece, not just for our sakes, but to report.

"Le Garou, I take it?" I wondered when they continued to glare at us.

"How did you know?" one of the two previously silent men asked in bald surprise.

"Shut it," growled the figure above us. "Get the lady and keep your mouths shut. Boss man will appreciate this gift."

"Kidnapping? Now that's just tacky," I said as Elizabeth backed her horse up nervously. "I wasn't expecting a generous display of class from you lot, but this is just downright rude."

The figure moved, and I heard the distinct click of a gun's hammer being drawn back. “Ya might wanna keep that mouth shut, or we'll just leave yer body here instead of takin' ya with us."

"Hear that?" I asked Elizabeth as her horse took another step back. "Apparently, I'm important enough to be taken alive if I behave myself."

"They've been watching the ranch," Elizabeth said in a toneless voice as the two men began to approach quickly. "They've seen you around Ambrose enough."

"Constantly around him," I added, seeing the sense in what she was saying. Otherwise, they would have just shot me on the spot and taken her. Even if the gunshot was heard and investigated quickly because it came from the direction Elizabeth had gone in, these three could have been long gone with her in tow and me dead. I couldn't help but wonder what the look on Ambrose's face would be if he ever got to learn that they were willing to snatch me as well because of all the time we'd spent together. Not that I was going to dissuade the men from that idea; it was probably the only thing keeping me alive right now.

The other two were approaching, but unlike the man above us, they didn't have their weapons out. Which meant I needed to figure out how to deal with the man above us, while not letting the other two get hold of us or draw their weapons. As much as I prided myself on my ability to take care of myself, I wasn't going to believe I had a chance of dealing with three men on my own with nothing more than a bag of rocks and a concealed knife.

One of the two darted forward and grabbed Elizabeth's reins and one of her arms, drawing a knife to emphasize his point, which was all I needed, trusting they weren't going to risk hurting her unless it was absolutely necessary. I gripped the long string of the bag of rocks at my side, gave the bag a hardy twirl, and flung my arm upward. Hope and decent aim were all I had going for me as I let go of the bag and watched it soar through the air. Luck was on my side as it soared past the outstretched arm of the gunman and, with a wince-inducing sound, slammed into his face.

I didn't have time to crow over my luck and skill before a shout to my left caught my attention. The idiot who’d taken hold of Elizabeth and her horse was stepping back, slashing at the woman angrily. It didn't take more than a glance to see what had him so enraged. There was a hunting knife I didn’t remember seeing anywhere on Elizabeth's person sticking out of his hand. The problem was, his one hand might be useless, but his knife hand wasn't, and he was clearly furious enough to forget he wasn't supposed to hurt her.

There was zero choice as far as I could tell, and I reached up to grab the knife I had stowed away, twirled it around in my hand, and used my other hand to grip his injured hand and squeeze it. He roared with anger, twisting to get to me, and then stumbled back when my blade swiped across his neck, cutting deep and leaving a line of crimson behind it, followed by a gushing wave that dribbled down his front. I gripped the knife stuck in his hand and lashed out with my foot, forcing him to stumble back and yanking the knife out of his hand as he collapsed, trying to grasp at his throat futilely.

The other man was coming fast now that he wasn't in the way, and I yanked back on the reins of my horse, forcing it to rear. The horse lashed out with its front legs, clearly startled by all the screaming and the smell of blood, followed by the suddenyank from me. The third man came sliding to a halt, but he wasn't fast enough before a hoof lashed out and caught him in the chest. I heard a crack of something giving under the force of the blow before he dropped to the ground, limbs spread out.

"Go!" I barked at Elizabeth when I realized she was frozen and staring at the chaos in bewilderment and terror. She continued to stare at me before I leaned over and slapped her horse on its hindquarters. That was all it needed. The beast was desperate to be away from the chaos and immediately surged forward, leaping over the two men.

I gave my reins a snap, and my horse also leaped forward with a heavy whinny, but thankfully, I could sense the animal was still in control. I heard a shout from behind us, and I gave the reins another yank, so my horse veered, and we ran directly behind Elizabeth. I recognized a crack from behind us, and my upper body jerked. I had only a moment of confusion before I forced myself upright and shouted for Elizabeth to keep riding.

For a while, all I could hear was the sound of my breath. My body ached from holding tight to the horse that seemed determined to run faster than any horse had run before, and the hooves of both beasts slammed against the ground ferociously. My back burned as we rode for several minutes before I realized we weren't being chased. Which made sense as I hadn't spotted horses, meaning they had been stowed somewhere out of sight or they’d been on foot. At least the dog they'd had with them hadn't been involved, or it would have been a lot messier.

I tried to speak, wincing when the ache flared, stealing my strength and forcing me to take a deep breath and clear my throat. “We're okay now!"

Elizabeth’s fear had subsided enough that she could hear me, and she slowed her horse. Both our horses were still skittish, but thankfully, they were well-trained, and despite nervoussnorting, they listened and slowed. Which didn't do much for whatever muscle I’d pulled on the ride.

"Lord above," I muttered as I tried to get beside her. "That was something. Took the wind right out of me. Are you okay?"

"I am...managing," she said, looking back at me with wide eyes that said she hadn't calmed down all the way. "Are you sure they're not following?"

"We're too close to the ranch for them to try to catch up to us," I told her. "Plus, only one of them is able to get around easily. Taking a horse to the chest isn't something you just walk away from. He'll be lucky if he survives, let alone breathes right for the rest of his stupid life. As for the other...well, he's not getting up again."

Elizabeth reached up to adjust her hat, which had gone askew from everything. “I suppose there's no question that you've lived a rough life?"

I winced at my back again. “And why's that?"

"You tried to kill all three of them without hesitation."

"Hesitation in a life-or-death situation is a good way to end up on the latter end of that. And for the record, I successfully killed one of them and probably the second."

"Thank you for that rather cold clarification."

"I'm not going to bother moralizing over killing a couple of men who would have done the same to either of us if they didn't see value in us being alive. By the way, nicely done with that knife, I would love to know where you were keeping it."

"Under my hat."

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