She shifted in the saddle, and he cursed, slowing the horse to a canter. “Ah hell, Sheridan,” he groaned and gripped her hips. “Please, don’t cry.”
She buried her face in his neck and the sobs tore from her unchecked. “No more blood Elijah, please.” She barely heard the soothing words of nonsense he muttered as he urged the stallion to ride faster, but holding her securely.
When she had tried to threaten Sullivan with Elijah’s name, Sullivan had taunted her, describing how he would take Elijah’s life, slowly and painfully. Jericho Sullivan was dangerous. What she had encountered in town today was a harsh reality. No one had been willing to aid her, no one. Not because they despised her, but because they feared him. She knew he was powerful, but she’d never imagined it would have been like that. And he seemed as if he would go to any length to obtain her, and she had foolishly pitted Elijah against him.
She could not bear it if anything were to befall Elijah because of her. She had felt a crippling agony when she thought they would have killed him, and she never wanted to feel such anguish again. If it meant leaving Wyoming that is what she would do. She would prefer to leave him and start over, because if he got killed protecting her it would all be for naught. Because Elijah was home for her.
A harsh sob came from her and his arms wrapped around her—strong and warm.
“Are you certain you are not hurt?”
“No. But my heart still pounds and I can still feel Bartley’s mouth on mine.”
Sheridan felt like she wanted to crawl into Elijah, to have his touch wipe away the taste of Bartley.
“He will never touch you again,” Elijah promised.
The horse came to a stop and she lifted her face bravely. “I will leave, Elijah, and go east,” she vowed.
He stilled an expression she could not decipher flashed in his gaze only to disappear. He pried her from him and shifted her so that she sat astride in front of him.
A crack echoed across the mountain. She twisted to look behind him and he halted her. “What is it?”
“They are hoping to spook Orion. Just hold on.”
“They?”
Without answering he surged the horse into a gallop. For the first time she noticed they were not heading in the direction of the ranch. Orion thundered with beautiful speed on a trail she was not familiar with. “Where are we going?”
“To the mountain cabin.”
“I don’t understand.”
“They are not going to just let us go, Sheridan. The hunt will be on. There are six men on my back trail as we speak. The mountain cabin is hidden. The trail I will be using is only known to me and my brothers. And I will see anyone that approaches…if they find us.”
She nodded her head. “Beth and Gray—”
“They will be fine. It is you they want. I doubt they will go to the ranch. If they do, Miguel and our ranch men are there. They will be able to protect them.”
“Sullivan has a lot of men. If he decided to go—”
“The men riding for the Whispering Creek are hard men. Most of them were soldiers. They will be able to hold their own,” he reassured. “Hold the rifle.”
Sheridan responded to the cold confidence in his voice. He placed the rifle across her lap and rode alert. Despite only his brothers knowing about the trails, he watched every shadow and paused every so often and remained still, listening to the cries of the forest. She relaxed into him, holding onto the pommel as she jerked and crashed into the saddle. It seemed like they rode for hours in painful silence. The trail twisted and turned as it steepened. The stamina of his horse was a marvelous thing to behold, but surely he must soon tire.
“Will we rest shortly?”
“No. I want to lose them. They cannot see us now, but if they have any lick of sense they will be able to follow our tracks. Rain is coming. It will wash away our tracks, but I need to put enough distance between us so they cannot use a spy glass and keep track of the direction we are headed in.”
She swallowed and nodded grimly. As if God had heard him, a large splat landed on her cheek and the sky rumbled.
“It will be a hard climb,” he said in a low voice. “Orion is strong, but it will be hard on him carrying both of our weights.”
They climbed steadily, relentlessly pushing Orion until his breathing became labored. The urgency of Elijah’s action shook Sheridan, and fear rekindled in her breast.
“You do not think they will give up?” she asked softly.
“No. I saw something in town today. It was fear. You were dragged into a saloon and kept there for a while. Then you were accosted in plain sight of the town-folks, yet no one did anything. They fear Sullivan, deeply.”