My father turned to Cybil. “You know what to do.”
“Wait one hour after they leave and then radio.”
“Thank you, Cybil. It’s good to know there are people I can trust.”
She preened under his praise as if he’d just told her that she was the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen and that he was madly in love with her.
He pushed his horse into a swift walk, and I jerked forward as my mount followed. I tasted blood again as I bit the inside of my lip. Heat swept through me as though my fever were an ocean of fire—wave after wave.
My father guided us away from the house and through the trees. He was smart enough to go in the opposite direction of Cora’s house. Just the thought of her name had a different kind of pain slicing through. God, I hoped there had been a miracle for Cora.
Each step my horse made ratcheted up the agony of my wounds. Yet I was almost grateful. It was clearing away the haze the fever had left me in. Each jab gained me more and more alertness.
I studied the man in front of me. He looked back every hundred yards or so just to make sure I was where I was supposed to be. I let my head drop, and my shoulders sag. I let the grimace of hurt rise to my expression. Normally, I never allowed my father to see how much I was hurting. He got too much pleasure from it. But now, I wanted him to think I had given up.
With my eyes downcast, I surveyed our surroundings. I recognized an outcropping of rocks, a unique tree that lightning had hit. We were moving closer and closer to the falls. Something about knowing that my refuge was near fueled my flagging strength. I knew that area like the back of my hand. If I could break free, I could find one of my hiding spots and stay there until the coast was clear, then slowly make my way to a neighboring ranch. I knew which ones would help because they were the ones my father had told me to stay away from.
“You’re awfully quiet back there.”
I scowled at my father’s back. No, not my father. He didn’t deserve that moniker. He was simply Allen. “Did you want me to say something?”
“An apology would be a good start.”
My hands tightened around the saddle horn, the leather digging into my palm. An apology. I couldn’t muster up the words, even to play a part.
Allen shifted in his saddle, glancing back. His eyes had gone hard in a way that held a silent warning. It was the red alert signal I’d been on the lookout for all my life. The one that meant tread carefully or run. “I tried to weed your mother out of you. Tried to make you into a respectable woman. It was such a waste. Her traitorous whore DNA is too ingrained.” His mouth curved into an ugly grin. “We’ll have all the time in the world now, though. I can try all sorts of new techniques.”
I swallowed the bile that crept up my throat and stayed silent.
He turned back to the makeshift path ahead. “Can’t try them now. Wouldn’t want to accidentally kill you.”
The words were so matter-of-fact. So casual. As if killing me would be a hassle, a crimp in his plans for the day. I had the sudden urge to laugh. It bubbled out of me in little bursts. Hysteria or shock, finally settling in.
“What the hell are you laughing at?”
I couldn’t stop, even when the action caused more pain to streak through my belly. “I’m no more than cattle to you, am I?”
His gaze narrowed on me. “You’re my property. You belong to me and me alone.”
His words had the laughter slipping right away. “I belong to myself. No one else.”
“Don’t make me angrier than I already am, Adaline. I’m trying to wait to carry out your discipline, but I won’t be talked to this way.”
I snapped my mouth shut. I wouldn’t make it through one of his beatings. I knew that much.
I scanned the forest around me. The farther we got from the ranch, the thicker the trees became. The gun still peeked out of Allen’s waistband, but the foliage would give me cover. I wouldn’t have a better shot than here.
If I could only make it to the falls. There was a cave behind the waterfall that no one knew about. I could hide in there. And then, when he had gone, I could find help. I slid both feet out of my stirrups. My heart hammered against my ribs, and my hands trembled.
I took a deep breath and leaned forward. I slid one leg over so that I could slide down the horse’s side. White spots danced in front of my vision as the saddle dug into my wounds.
I stumbled as my feet hit the ground, but I was already running. The pain was a steady beat, reverberating through me. I pushed myself harder as a curse sounded.
“Get back here this instant,” Allen roared.
My muscles strained as I begged the heavens for more speed. Footsteps sounded behind me, and I knew Allen must’ve left the horses. I had hoped he wouldn’t chance losing some of his prized possessions, but I must’ve been more valuable to him—the idea of breaking me too strong an allure.
As the trees thinned, exposing a pool, a shot rang out. Bark flew to my left, and I darted right, circling the water. I had to make it before he saw where I went. Another bullet hit the rock to my right, and I knew it was too late.