“A dozen or more.”
Torr stared at her. Another lie. But why? Unless—the thought hit him fast and he reacted just as quickly. His hand was over her mouth before she could let out a scream.
She struggled, but it was useless against his strength. She tried to elbow him in the ribs and it did nothing but hurt her, having hit rock-solid muscle. She didn’t give up though, she continued pelting him with whatever she could; hands, elbows, arms, feet. It was like hitting a stone wall. Nothing affected him. Her efforts only served to tire her out, and fast.
Torr let her throw her tantrum, knowing her strength would dissipate quickly and when it did… He managed to rip a piece off the hem of her tunic and shove it into her mouth before he bound her in her own cloak. He then flung her over his shoulder and hurried into the woods.
It took him a while to reach his horse, having taken the time to misdirect his tracks. He had no doubt that the contingency of warriors had a tracker with them and that he would soon figure out what Torr had done. It would take some time, though, and by then he would be well ahead of them.
Torr draped Wintra over the horse. She almost sent herself flying off the animal, she struggled so much. He caught her before she fell on her head, stood her on her feet, and grabbed tight hold of her face, pinching her cheeks with his grip.
“You’re going home with me and that’s final. Why you would foolishly go off with such a vile man is beyond me. But you are going home. I will see to that.”
Her eyes narrowed, the green color darkening as if a murky cloud had drifted over them.
He scooped her up and once again draped her over the horse, quickly mounting behind her, and when she began to protest, he gave her backside a hard whack. Her head jerked around and she glared at him as if she wanted to kill him.
“Struggle some more, and it will be a good beating you’ll get.” He brought his hand down on her backside once again to let her know that his warning held merit.
She let out a muffled cry, in anger or concern he wasn’t sure, and at the moment didn’t care. There was no telling what her foolishness could bring them, and he didn’t intend to wait around and find out. He took off, though it was slow going with the snow-covered ground, but it would be the same for anyone who followed. More snow would help cover their tracks and delay anyone from following, but it would also slow his own pace.
Clouds moved in over an already bleak sky by midmorning, and Torr worried that another snowstorm would hit. If it was a bitter one, they would not survive long without shelter. His concern grew along with the darkening sky.
Wintra was so angry that she would have screamed if she hadn’t had a cloth stuffed in her mouth. How dare this man raise his hand to her? And why had he called Owen vile? She hadn’t known Owen long, but he had treated her well and with respect, unlike the stranger who touched her in a spot only a husband should. Wait until she told Cree what this man did to her.
Cree.
Whatever was she thinking? She did not want to return to Cree. She wanted to be with Owen. She was no longer a young girl, wanting or needing her brother’s love and protection. She was a woman grown and would soon be Owen’s wife. Cree would have no say over her then. She would be free to live her life with the man she loved and who loved her.
The thought calmed her and she realized that unless she continued to keep calm and give thought as to how to escape, she would be stuck with this barbarian until they reached her brother. And that was an unbearable thought.
It took some doing, but after what seemed like forever, she managed to dislodge the cloth in her mouth. She didn’t know if it was the breath she let out or took in that felt the best, though it did not truly matter. It just felt wonderful not to be gagged.
She took a moment to gather her wits, then turned her head up toward her captor. “Please, I will be good, just get me off my stomach.”
“I will have your word on that?”
Wintra wondered how true anyone was to their word, since people had given their word to her in the past and had never kept it, except Owen. He had promised he would return for her and he had. He had also promised that he would love her forever and never leave her, unlike others.