Page 117 of Beautiful Exile

I glanced at the sky. We were getting close to midday, which meant weneededto move. “Let’s get me up.”

“Okay. I want you to grab hold of my shoulders. I’m going to use my weight to lift you. Donottense your stomach muscles.”

I nodded, looping my arms around Arden. But even that caused a fresh wave of pain.

“Three, two, one.” Arden leaned backward with all her might.

My mind went blank. It was as if all the nerve endings wererioting, and everything just checked out. But maybe that was better, a mercy.

“Linc.” Arden’s voice, with just that hint of rasp, brought me back to the here and now. She pressed a hand to my cheek. “Are you okay?”

I nodded, needing a second before I spoke. “I’m good. I’ve got this.”

She studied me, not looking all that sure of my words. “Okay. I’m getting Stardust, and then we’ll go.”

I just kept breathing, Brutus at my side. “You like me, don’t you?”

The dog looked up at me, and I swore he let out a begrudging huff.

“Don’t worry. I like you, too. Even if you are a cockblock.”

“Should I be concerned that you’re talking to my dog as if he’s going to answer you?” Arden asked as she crossed to me, rifle in hand.

“He makes himself understood,” I argued.

One corner of her mouth kicked up. “That’s true enough.” She bent to give Brutus a scratch. “You’re looking out, aren’t you?”

Brutus pressed into her hand in answer.

As Arden straightened, she scanned our surroundings. “Let’s go.”

I frowned. “Don’t you need a lead rope for Stardust?”

She shook her head and made a clicking sound. Stardust moved right in our direction, packs in place.

“I’ll be damned,” I muttered.

“She likes to stay near her people. Plus, it’s better if my hands are free. Just in case.”

I knew what she meant. In case someone was waiting on our path home, and Arden needed to use that rifle in her hands.

“Let’s move.” The urgency of the moment bore down again as I started walking. Each step brought a new flare of pain, just like each rustle in the brush had me tensing. I just had to hope like hell that whoever had taken those shots was long gone.

Our progress was slow at best, and we had to take a longer route to stick to the edge of the tree line in hopes of protection—or at least something to dive behind if the shooter reemerged. But Arden wasright, Stardust plodded along right behind us, and Brutus stuck to my side as if sensing something had happened to compromise me.

We were quiet as we moved, both of us continually scanning our surroundings. Stardust noticed it first. She shifted, letting out a soft whinny.

The rifle was instantly braced against Arden’s shoulder as she swept the landscape in front of us. Movement flickered, and then a figure emerged from the trees, a gun leveled at us.

42

ARDEN

It tookmy brain a moment to register the person in front of us. A count ofone, two, three. And then I nearly collapsed, tears springing to my eyes at the sight of Trace on one of the sheriff’s department mounts.

He was off his horse in a matter of seconds, striding across the distance and pulling me into his arms. “What the hell happened? I get a panicked call from Cope saying Whiskey came running home like a bat out of hell, but you guys were nowhere in sight.”

Trace didn’t wait for an answer; he simply turned and yelled, “They’re over here.” Then he was back, his gaze skimming over me.

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