Dear Lord, help me!
Arms shaking, Hann
ah tried to right herself and to chase after the remnants of her courage that rolled away like a wheel down a hill. But she could do neither.
She pushed to her hands and looked at the soldiers who stared with faces devoid of all but hate. She spattered blood as she spoke, grimacing at the acrid taste. “I have nothing for you to find. And if you do this, you will live to regret it.”
How she could say the words she didn’t know. Perhaps fear provided more resistance than she realized. For the lie was thick, heavy. The rolled note she harbored would be found all too quickly, for surely that would be the first place they would check. Foolish, foolish girl.
Greene knelt beside her, the slap to her face quick and hard. Grasping her cheeks in his rough fingers, he forced her to look at him. “I will not be threatened. Especially not by a woman.”
Launching to his feet he motioned to Pryer. “Hold her down.” His voice scraped hard against her skin. “I’ll find what I’m looking for. Then we will see who regrets what.”
Chapter Fourteen
Joseph returned through town, feeling a bit like the powerful Atlas might have if he’d thrown the world from his back. His lungs could take in air, and it seemed even Anvil walked with a lighter step. Too bad this ritual would need to be repeated at least a few times more, perhaps every day until their two weeks were out, if the information continued to pour into his hands.
To the left of him, a handful of Redcoats argued at the corner of a two-story building. He strained his ears but could hear nothing of their conversation.
He continued on, not for the first time wondering how Hannah fared in the house alone with the men. There was naught he could do but pray and be at her side as much as possible. Anxiety pressed against his stomach like a pestle into a mortar. He should not have left her. Next time he would find reason for her to come along so his concerns wouldn’t leave a hole in his middle.
“Joseph!”
Pulling Anvil to a stop, Joseph twisted on his saddle to see Higley hurrying toward him, his companions glowering from behind.
Higley’s face was taut with creases across his brow. “Have you seen Miss Young?”
That anxiety ground harder. “Nay. Why? Was she here?”
Higley sprayed a curse. “I’d hoped somehow you’d met up with her.” He pointed down the road Joseph was headed. “She left not twenty minutes past. I told her she should not travel alone. With the search on, I fear that if the men should find her…”
Anvil sidestepped, no doubt sensing Joseph’s unrest. “She went this way?”
“Aye.”
With a nod Joseph kicked Anvil to a run and raced down the road, his heart flooding his frame with heat.
Gripping the reins between ironlike fingers, he breathed hard. She would be fine of course. Naught could happen in so short a time. Yet the rise of panic hit like a hailstorm.
’Twas a handful of agonizing minutes before he rounded a bend. Two horses stood in the middle of the road as two men in red coats were—
The view struck him so hard he leapt from his mount before coming to a stop.
Hannah lay on the ground, one soldier standing behind, the other crouching in front of her, gripping her bleeding face with his hand.
Joseph yanked on Anvil’s reins and launched from his saddle. Muscles flexed, anger ticking in his bones, he roared. Greene stood and turned in time for Joseph’s fist to meet the soft middle of his belly, knocking him backward.
Vision sheathed in red, his urge to do more than simply fight raged through Joseph like a tethered beast. That was Hannah’s blood on Greene’s fingers. The knowledge clawed, and he grabbed the back of Greene’s collar, again slamming his fist into his middle.
The other man charged at him, fists poised for impact. Joseph moved a step away from Greene, who held his hands between his legs and staggered back. Dodging the incoming blow, Joseph rammed his fist into the side of the man’s face, a spray of blood leaving his mouth as he stumbled backward. A boot to the man’s thigh and another elbow to Greene’s face soothed only a thread of his anger as the men tried again to attack from the side. He dodged, knuckles meeting jaw, then ribs. They would get this and more for what they’d done.
Grunting, the unknown man stepped back, wielding a knife from his side. A grimace of pain twitched on his face. “Two against one.”
Greene unsheathed his own dagger and lunged. Joseph whirled back but the cold blade sliced against his ribs. He growled and swung his arm around, locking his grip on Greene’s wrist. With a rough twist and hard jerk, he forced Greene’s fingers to open. Joseph kicked the blade across the road and lunged when the second man barreled forward. He plowed his shoulder into the man’s chest and hurled him to the ground. Another hard hit to the man’s face left him motionless and bleeding from his mouth.
“Joseph!”
Hannah’s voice yanked Joseph around, and he stilled. Greene’s pistol waited inches from his nose. Time slowed. Reaching up and around, Joseph grabbed Greene’s arm and launched to his feet as he pulled the man down. With a grunt of anger, he jammed his bootheel into Greene’s groin. Rolling in pain, the soldier grabbed between his legs and howled through clenched teeth.