Chapter 31

“WHERE?” NORA ASKED, nearly silent.

“To the west,” Running Bull replied. “Multiple horses.”

The British company came down upon them quickly, Nora counting six men on horses. They moved through the trees at a walk and formed a semi-circle around their clearing. She was dismayed to see that Jack was with them, hands behind his head and looking livid. There would be no additional help coming for her and Running Bull. Nora wondered if he had been caught unaware at the lake. Unless they could free Jack, that meant three men for her and three for Running Bull.

Nora’s eyes widened when she saw the patrol leader, one of her father’s top commanders. It had been years since she had last seen him. The man was ruthless—he would gun down Jack and Running Bull in cold blood to bring her in. She could not allow that to happen.

“My lady.” The captain nodded his head to Nora. “I can’t tell you how pleased I am to find you alive and well. Why, when your father had reported you kidnapped, I was just fraught with worry.”

Nora remained calm and assumed the lady of the manor persona that had once been second nature to her.

“Kidnapped, Captain Jennings,” she scoffed. “My father is mistaken. I am traveling with these gentlemen of my own free will. As you can see, I am indeed alive and have suffered no harm. Give my father my best wishes. Good day.”

“I’m afraid that simply will not suffice,” Captain Jennings predictably replied. “He would like to see you for himself. I’m afraid he’s terribly worried. You come with us willingly and we will let these gentlemen live.”

“But you won’t let them go,” Nora sneered. “Are they to live in jail then?”

“These men are guilty of kidnapping.”

“I have assured you they are not,” Nora insisted.

“That is for a court of law to decide, Lady Eleanor,” Jennings replied. “You cannot possibly convince me the heathen means you no harm. These men are clearly not an appropriate escort. The countryside has been littered with their likeness. I’m afraid they are wanted men. If you were to stay with them, it is only a matter of time before your virtue was compromised, if it hasn’t been already.”

Nora gasped in outrage. Two things happened at once: Running Bull pulled his rifle from his shoulder and shouted at her to run, as Jack turned and pulled the closest man down from his horse.

Nora began to run as fast as she could, cumbersome in her skirts. She slowed down when she realized she could not leave the fight six versus two. Running Bull and Jack would be slaughtered. She could not convict them to die. One of them could very well be her Warrior. Aside from that, they were her friends. She would fight for them.

She turned to run back but was quickly confronted by three of the soldiers, all on horseback. Circling her, they started making their ring tighter until one could get close enough to scoop her up. Blocked from seeing the rest of the fight, Nora didn’t know how Jack and Running Bull were fairing until Run-ning Bull burst into the circle, bow and arrow drawn, letting out a chilling cry of war. He took down one soldier and then a sec-ond, but not before the third sliced into him with his sword. Nora screamed when Running Bull fell and immediately grabbed his bow and quiver. The third solider swung back around and bore down on her. Taking aim, she loosed her arrow. It shot through the man’s stomach, and he fell from his horse.

Nora dropped to Running Bull’s side, her hands skim-ming over his chest. “Where,” she murmured. “Where is it? How bad?” Running Bull was unconscious on his side and she assumed he must have hit his head when he fell. After checking his pulse to ensure he was, in fact, alive, she gently rolled him onto his back. Pulling back his fur, she discovered blood seeping through his shirt. She pulled the inner garment up just as Jack fell to his knees on the other side of Running Bull.

“No, no, no, no,” he said desperately, checking for Running Bull’s pulse.

“He breathes,” Nora said. “The blood is pumping. Are the rest of them dead?”

“Yes,” Jack said, anguish in his voice. “What happened?”

“He told me to run,” Nora said as calmly as she could. “I turned back to help, but I was surrounded. He took down two of them before the third injured him with his sword.”

“He would not be injured if you had done what you were told,” Jack seethed.

Nora took a deep breath. While Jack may have had a point, she would not engage in an argument with him now when he would not hear what she had to say over his pain. Running Bull needed her help, and she would not set that aside to argue with Jack.

No matter how much of an ass he was.

“I need to close the wound, Jack,” Nora said quickly. “Get my saddlebag. We cannot stay here. While I close the wound, you look at the map and figure out what we are close to.”

Jack did as she requested, but she could feel the anger and tension radiating off of him. He blamed her for Running Bull’s injury. She supposed that was true in an indirect way, but she hadn’t called out to Running Bull for help.

Nora rummaged through her supplies for her suture kit, while Jack looked at the map. Fortunately, the wound was not too deep, and the bleeding slow due to the cold. That worked in her favor; however, infection could easily set in. These were not ideal conditions for treating such a serious injury. It had started to snow again, and they could not stay in the area with another six soldiers dead at their hands.

How many had they killed so far?

“We are east of New Brunswick,” Jack said.

“So, the next town is Perth Amboy, yes?” Nora asked as she deftly threaded her needle.

“Yes.”

“I have contacts there,” she nodded. “We can get Running Bull shelter and rest to recover a bit before we move on. There is but one problem.”

“One problem, my lady,” Jack hissed. “My brother is lifeless under your hand, we have more than one problem.”

Nora ignored Jack’s remark. “Ben’s son Will is the Governor of New Jersey. They had a falling out over their politics. He also thinks I am a gold digger after Ben’s estate, so there are orders to arrest me on sight. He resides in Perth Amboy, so we must take the utmost care. If we can make it to my associates’ home, we can lay low for a few days while Running Bull heals.”

“If it means even an hour of not fighting over whatever it is you are running from, my lady, I will welcome the reprieve,” Jack said coldly. “We will discuss the newest developments when we are safe again.”