I wince and elbow the man holding me by the throat and jump off my horse. I run to tackle the man grabbing at Star’s arms, but something happens and I’m pulled back with my hands tied at my sides. I thump on my back on the hard ground. The wind gets knocked out of me.
The man laughs. Will and Jake look ready to attack.
“Good to see I haven’t lost it!” The man on the horse gets down and lifts me off the ground to my knees.
One of the men near Star nods at me, “You have a bit of trouble with that one, Fish?”
I growl as he kneels next to me, “This one is mine. She’s a wild cat.” He lifts me up, keeping the rope around my arms tight.
The guy carrying me looks at Will, “You lads don’t mind sharing your lady friends, then we’ll be happy to let you stay. Always looking for more recruits to help out.”
Will nods, “Yeah, whatever man. We picked them up along the way. Not so friendly though.”
Jake gives him a look but nods along with him, “That one is mean.” His eyes land on me.
I snarl at him.
“Name’s Fischer, everyone calls me Fish.”
Will nods, “I’m Will, this is my brother Jake.”
“Well, we need to make sure y’all are alright with this arrangement before we untie you, I’m sure you understand.”
Will shrugs, “Whatever. We thought you were the others. I’m pleasantly surprised.”
I spit at him. I assume we’re putting on an act.
Fish grabs my face in his hands, “That wasn’t nice. You just spit on my new friend.” I wince as his hand comes back, landing in the same spot as the last one.
“Say sorry to my friend. He was nice enough to pick you two up and save you from the others and this is how you show gratitude?”
I press my lips together. He lets me go and backhands me. I fall back over, unable to stop myself.
“You’re right boys, this one needs some manners.” He bends to pick me up but I manage to kick him in the balls, hard. I slide my leg behind his left leg, dropping him to the ground. I get to my knees, pulling the rope free. I jump up, running across the small fire area and tackle the man dragging my sister to a cabin. The force of the tackle takes him right into a huge bush. He screams as my fists start making their first contact. Someone grabs at me but I flip him over too. Something hits my back but my rage has taken ahold.
Only the gunshot stops me.
“What in sam hell is going on here?” A fist smokes my cheek as I turn my head, recognizing the voice. “Emma?”
I’m knocked into the bush on my back. I swear the world is spinning and Jack’s face is in the middle.
“You know this bitch?”
I shake my head, slightly dazed, “Hey, Jack.”
He chuckles, “Easy there, Fish. This is the girl who has been starting the revolution to bring down the slave camps.”
I sit up, seeing the savage face of Fish. I wipe the blood from the corner of my mouth. Jack points, “Will, Jake? What the hell is going on here?”
I shove the guy next to me and stand up.
Fish gets right in my face, “This is the girl you sent word about?”
I snarl, leaning into his face. His hand roaming the front of my body is still fresh in my mind. Star shoves the man holding her arm. She stands next to me and smirks, “How are your balls, Fish?" There is craziness in her eyes.
He glares at me, “Somebody is gonna be sorry.” He points at me, “We ain’t done here.”
I nod, “I agree.”
He smirks, “Oh me and you are gonna wrestle some more.”
I sneer, “Name the place and time. I’ll be there with bells on.” I read it in a book. I love that line. I don’t get the point of wearing bells though. Sounds silly. You'd never sneak through the woods here with bells on.
He laughs at it though. He takes the whiskey from the guy who spat on Will and Jake.
Jack takes the bottle, “I think there has been more than enough of this going on. Now, I don’t even want to know what’s been going on. This is Emma, Star, Will and Jake. They were kind enough to let me stay at their camp and never abused me. They will find the same thing here, or I will let this one kick the ever-loving shit outta ya. You ain’t even seen her in action. Give her a bow or a gun and damn.” They eyeball me up, but I'm ready to go. My fury is boiling through my veins. Jack points at Will, “Y’all owe my friends some apologies.”
Star leaps into Jack’s arms. She kisses his cheek, “Thank you. Thank you.” I can see her shaking, it bugs me bad. I know what was about to happen. We are surrounded by the kind of men who tear clothes and think the world owes them everything. There is something in Jack's eyes, beyond surprise to see us. He might be scared for us.
Tears are streaming Star's cheeks. Jack gives a deadly glare to the men and then smiles softly at Star as he wraps an arm around her shoulder, “Come get cleaned up.” I can see her holding her shirt in place, where the rip was. I’m angry in a way I don't like getting.
Fish unties Will and Jake and puts a hand out, “Sorry about that.”
Will’s face clenches. Jake takes the hand, “It’s cool. We probably would have done the same, maybe not raped your friends though. That’s kinda sad, you all need to force women to sleep with you.”
Will laughs as Jake winks at them. But then he does something I'm not expecting. Jake walks up to the guy who spat on them and punches him in the face, hard. Instantly, he winces and holds his hand, “Ow, goddamn.” He points at the swaying man, who drops to a knee, “I hate being spit on.” He looks back at me, “Wanna get cleaned up?”
I eyeball Fish and then turn to Jake, “Yup.”
Fish smiles at me, “Me and you baby, me and you. This is happening.”
Will steps in front of him, I can see his threshold is about to snap. I step between them, turning my back on Fish. I look up into Will’s face, “Don't.”
He looks at me, not changing his stance. He's about to say something to me, but instead, he leans over me, into Fish, “I’m going to gut you like a real fish if you even look at her.”
Jake leans in too, “That goes double for me.”
I feel Fish step back, “Oh shit. I didn’t realize I was stepping into a threesome.”
My cheeks burn. I step past Will and walk to one of the cabins, after I grab a bucket of water from the stack of them near the fire pit. I drag it to a cabin and close the door. I sit in the corner of the cabin with the bucket next to me, and cry. I release, like I haven’t done in forever. I need the softness of those paws to wrap around me and make me feel better.
Instead, I get warm hands pulling me into his lap. I didn’t even hear the cabin door.
“You scared me.”
I just cry, I don’t care that he sees me cry again and feels my weakness. I need to let go of the rage and savage anger. I don’t have it in me to let go without murdering someone, so being held is a good alternative.
A knock on the cabin door stops the tears. I look up into Will's face. I had expected Jake to come, in but I wanted it to be Will. His eyes are hard and mean but I know it's not for me.
He makes a face like he wants to say something he can't. "You know I'm going to have a very hard time not killing all of them."
I sniffled and wiped my face, "Me too. I don’t even get what they are."
His eyes are dark, "Raiders. They're thieves. I've heard of the groups of men who ride horses like old bandits from the movies and steal. I just didn’t know Jack was one of them."
The knock happens again. He sighs, "Come in."
Jack walks in with a severe look on his face, "Look, y'all can stay the night, but after that, you gotta go. These are not good people. I stay with them for the winters, always have. They used to be different. Too many winters here in the hills. We used to have fun robbing the people who had things, but they started getting worse and worse."
I frown, "Jack, you gotta come with us."
He shakes his head, "They'll be plotting against you. I need to stay and get them drunk off their asses, so you can get away. I scouted out the rebel camps because I needed somewhere else to go for the winters. I can't stay with them anymore. They've taken this all too far."
Will nods, "That house I told you about—that's where we will be for the winter. You need to meet us there."
Jack's eyes harden, "I doubt I'll get out of here in time. You know summer is only a couple months and then it's snow in these hills. I don’t want them tracking you. I'll be staying behind. Next spring though, I'll see if I can't get away."
I swallow hard, shaking my head, "No, Jack. When I was little, my Granny told me that when a bear gets the taste for man flesh he has to be put down. Your boys here, they ain’t any different than the others. They can't be allowed to live. They're like a pack of strays, hunting together and getting more and more savage. They toyed with us."
He looks like he might argue but he nods, "Y'all leave me to it then. I'll make sure."
I'm about to shake my head, but I can see his decision is made. He isn’t going to hurt them or make them stop what they're doing. He's going to make sure they stay up the hill drunk, but he can't kill them. They're his 'us' like Will, Jake, Anna, \ Leo, and Sarah are mine. Damn—and Star. They mean more to him than he's letting on.
But I can do something about them. They mean nothing to me. I can do a lot of things to a pack of men who make the tearing sound.
I smile politely, "Okay then. We will leave tomorrow and stay in one cabin tonight."
He nods, "I'll get Jake and Star in here too." He turns and leaves. Will looks at me and whispers, "You can't. Whatever you are planning—stop."
I nod, "Maybe."
Jake and Star come in the cabin as I stand and wipe my face clean. I scrub my body, getting faster and more feverish with my scrubbing. I know what I'm removing. It makes me shudder to know how it could have gone.