Page 59 of Burning Escape

He cut around the trees and underbrush, arm in front of his face to block the branches.

“Hey! There he is!” one of the men shouted from a four-wheeler.

Orion probably sounded like a bull charging through, but at this point, he only cared about getting to Tori. He had to keep her safe. With all the trees, their ATVs would have to go the long way around by the river. He charged up the hill to cut across, his feet eating up the distance. He could see the fire line they had finished breaking. He was close. But so were the shouts from the militiamen. Sounded like a couple of them were following him on foot now. Orion slowed to slip between two smaller trees.

Something jerked around his ankle, tripping him. He hit the ground, knocking the breath out of himself.

What? His foot was caught. Orion tried to breathe and sit up. Around his boot was thin cable. A snare.

He tried to free himself, grasping at the locking mechanism.

“Well, look what we caught, Wayne. And I didn’t even have to bait the trap.” A man with a dark beard, a mustache, and a mean glare stood over Orion, a rifle in hand. His sneer showed off tobacco-stained teeth.

“Guess it’s our lucky day, Vlad.” Wayne chuckled as he stomped up. “Where’s the other one? The pretty little lady you were with.”

Yeah, like he’d just give Tori up. Orion kept his mouth clamped shut. Wayne yanked him to his feet. He and Vlad each grabbed Orion’s arms, a piercing pain shooting from his injured shoulder almost taking him down.

A third man hiked over. His long hair was pulled back in a grimy ponytail, and he had the longest beard of all the men. “It’s about time. Now give us what we want, Trist—who is this?” He looked Orion up and down, then glared at Wayne. “Where’s Tristan?”

“Ain’t this him?” Wayne looked confused. “Damian said it was him, that if I took the blonde, he’d follow.”

Took the blonde? Tori? That’s why he’d tried to kidnap her? To bait him?

“Idiots! This isn’t Tristan Winters.” Ponytail Guy slapped Wayne’s arm. “We’ve been chasing after the wrong guy!”

Tristan. Jamie Winters’s brother. So that was their intended target. Sure, he and Orion both had dark hair, similar builds, and blue eyes, but…

“I’m not Tristan, so why don’t you let me go and get out of here before the fire traps us all.” He pulled against Wayne’s hold since that was his uninjured side, but Wayne’s grip only tightened.

“What do we do now?” Wayne asked. “Frank, you make the call.”

The man with the ponytail—Frank—pulled out a knife and faced Orion. “He knows what we look like and who we’re after. I say he comes with us.”

* * *

Tori tried not to worry about Orion as she gathered the children into the chapel. But he was out there facing down the militia. At least he was with the other men. He had his job. She would do hers and keep these children safe.

She gathered the group of the youngest kids, maybe seven of them together, and led the way down the center aisle between the pews.

The weak sunrays coming in through the high windows gave them dim light. But the log walls were sturdy. The little altar was nothing more than a wooden pulpit and a simple cross hanging on the wall behind it, but it was a reminder of why this group was here. And the building was the farthest east, farthest from the fire.

But what protection would it be from the militia?

Tori brought the kids to the little room behind the altar. The sounds of the ATVs seemed to be coming from everywhere all at once. One of the little girls, probably not even five, started crying. Gabby rushed over to hold her.

Tori moved to the door, back to the main part of the chapel. “Gabby, keep them here and keep them quiet. I’m going to go find Orion.”

Mara and Joann rushed in with Hannah. More women followed, and Tori met them at the door.

“You all should stay here—hide if you can,” Tori told them.

“Who are these people? What do they want?” Hannah stood in front of the open entrance to the chapel, ready to face down anything that tried to cross the threshold.

“It’s a militia group. I don’t know what they want, but it’s probably my fault they’re here.”

“Your fault?” Mara asked.

And suddenly Tori was tired of the lies, the weight of them unbearable.

---