Page 40 of New Storm Rising
“Move! Faster, you club-footed gang of cutthroats!” I yelled. “As you lovely locals say, let’s blow this joint!”
Hesitant cheers went up behind me.
“This way!” Dashing around a corner, I leapt over a fence and swerved around another corner, my new gang right behind me. It wasn’t long before I burst into the courtyard where all the deputies’ horses were tied. The one deputy “standing” guard was currently scrambling up from the ground, blinking around confusedly, wondering what the heck had awakened him from his peaceful slumber, when…
Wham!
“Good night,” I told the man, sending him plunging into the horse trough. “You don’t mind if we borrow your horses, do you?”
A few bubbles rose to the surface.
“Thought not. Thanks! Cheerio!” Grabbing the nearest horse by the reins, I leapt into the saddle, startling the animal awake. Pulling it around, I faced the crowd of escapees staring up at me, wide-eyed.
“Grab a horse and ride! Ride like the devil is behind you!” I roared, not mentioning the fact that Mr Ambrose would be in front of them. Between the two, they might just pick the devil. “Ride, now!” Reaching out, I gave my mount a slap on the rear, sending it galloping towards the courtyard’s exit. “Yee-ha!”
***
“Is this it? Are we there?”
“Not quite yet. A bit farther,” I hissed back towards the others and drove my horse farther into the darkness. Soon, a large, turban-topped silhouette detached itself from the shadows and stepped in front of us.
“Nowwe’re here,” I confirmed, eyes glittering dangerously. Letting my horse come to a stop, I slid from the saddle and stepped towards the mountain of a man waiting for me.
“Hello there, Karim,” I said sweetly.
“Greetings,” he answered, face immovable as a wooden log.
“So…” I enquired, sidling close enough for only him to hear me, my eyes glittering dangerously. “May I enquire why you made yourself scarce and were conspicuously absent from the saloon fight and prison break, Mr Bodyguard? Aren’t you supposed to protect me from dangerous enemies?”
“I protectAmbrose Sahibfrom dangerous enemies,” he corrected. “I protectyoufrom interested, adequate-looking men.”
Adequate looking?
Three guesses who gave those orders…oh wait! I only needed one!
“You,” I growled, jabbing the giant barrel of a chest in front of me with enough force to bruise my finger, “go and tell that block of stone in human form that I don’t need any help or protection! Least of all fromthat!”
“Oh?” The bodyguard raised a bushy eyebrow. “Does that mean you don’t require directions to Mr Ambrose’s residence, either?”
I opened my mouth—then glanced around me. Under the starry sky in the middle of nowhere, the only thing I could vaguely make out was a single tree, and an owl floating around on the lookout for tasty mice.
“Um…no, that might actually be nice.”
Damn him!
“Very well.” Bowing humbly, and with entirely too much self-satisfaction, Karim gestured in a certain direction. “Please follow me,Sahiba.”
Grumbling, I climbed back up into the saddle, and was about to give my mount the spurs when I glanced behind me, noticing my new gang of minions watching me with apprehension.
“What are you waiting for? Come along!” I grinned, jabbing a finger at the distant town, from where chaotic shouts, hoofbeats and shots were rising into the sky. “Or would you rather go back there?”
I would never have thought men could shake their heads so fast without their noggins flying off.
“All right then. Let’s go! Yee-ha!”
Without another instant of hesitation, I drove my horse forward. I was tired. I was pissed off. I was exhausted and covered in brick dust. I would have liked nothing better than to just find a bed and sleep for a week. But before I could do that, I had a stick of dynamite to ram up a certain someone’s arse!
Just you wait, my dear husband! I don’t know what crazy schemes you are brewing in that stone-hard head of yours, but I will make darn sure that it won’t involve you pulling on my strings from behind the scenes. I’m your wife, not your pawn!
