Chapter Fifteen

Sela stared at the orange light staining the night sky. What did it matter? Her grandfather was everything to her. If he was gone, she’d already lost everything she held dear.

Ceno moved closer, wrapped his arm around her shoulders, and pulled her away from the wall of rock she’d tried to climb. He was right. If she climbed the cliff wall and Cal Johnson’s men found her, they would only kill her, too. She wasn’t ready to die. She refused to join her grandfather in the afterlife until Johnson and his hired guns paid for her grandfather’s death.

Justice. She would see justice done before she gave up the battle. Her grandfather might be gone, but he had taught her to be a fighter. He always said her best asset was her ability to hold on to her anger. She would cling to it and use it to bring Cal Johnson down if it were the last thing she would ever do.

Removing her torn hoodie, she wiped the blood from her face. Using the small pocketknife she’d carried since her fifteenth birthday, she cut a sleeve from it and threw the rest over the side of the cliff. She hoped Johnson’s men would think she’d gone over the side with it. With luck, it would be too late before they figured out she and Ceno were still alive.

“Do me a favor and tie this around my head. Tight.” She wrapped the sleeve around her head, covering the throbbing cut in her hairline. “Maybe it will stop the bleeding.”

“Are you okay?” Ceno stared at her injury. “It looks as though you’ve lost a lot of blood.”

“Head wounds always look worse than they are. I don’t know why, but they bleed something awful.” She turned her back to him, so he could tie the sleeve tight.

“I don’t want to hurt you.” He hesitated, and she sighed.

“There’s no way you can hurt me as much as Johnson’s men already have. They’ve killed my grandfather,” she said with a sob. “By the looks of it, they’ve burned down my home, too. The last thing I want is for them to succeed in killing me because I bled to death from a head wound.”

She was sure that would never happen. However, it was possible it would make her weak enough to lose the war between them.

“Tie it.”

Gritting her teeth, she barely managed not to cry out when he pulled the material taut with a jerk.

“Do you think we can find our way back?” Ceno stared up over the ridge. “I know we can see your place, but is there a way to get there from here?”

“I know we can.” She pressed her lips together. “I played along these cliffs a lot as a child, though I’m sure it would have given both my father and my grandparents heart attacks if they’d known.”

She tried not to stare at Ceno. For some reason, he looked bigger than she remembered. Was it because her head ached and her vision was off?

One thing was certain. He was just as handsome and muscular as he’d always been. She bit her lip, hoping she wouldn’t have to leave him behind. She was getting used to him.

You’re falling for him. The little, annoying voice inside her head couldn’t keep quiet. Even after her grandfather died, she couldn’t escape the voice she’d been ignoring for years.

Your grandfather isn’t dead, you know. You can find him. Just like you can find the gold.

She shook her head. It wasn’t the time to have another one of her weird episodes. She shook her head. Why had her grandfather insisted she throw her medication away? Now, when she needed it most, she heard that strange voice again.

She didn’t have feelings like her grandfather, and she didn’t have any special powers like he insisted her grandmother had. What she had was a totaled truck, a burned ranch, and a family that was so far past the veil, she’d have to die to ever see any of them again.

Past the veil? When had she started thinking of her grandmother’s phrases? She didn’t believe in all that hooey.

“Come on, big guy.” She slapped Ceno’s arm. “I know the way back up the side of the mountain. I used to play down here as a kid.” She eyed him again. “I just hope you’re not too big to fit through the stone gate.”

“Stone gate?” Ceno’s confusion was obvious.

“That’s what I’ve always called it.” She shrugged. “It’s a small opening in the rock. I can squeeze through, but I’m not sure about you. It seems as though you get bigger every time I look at you.”

“I’ll claw my way up the side of the cliff if I have to. There’s nothing that would keep me from your side, now that I know someone’s trying to kill you.”

“Why do you care?”

“You wouldn’t believe me if I told you.”

“Great. That’s all I need. Another nut who believes in the magic of the universe.”

“There’s a lot of magic in the world, Sela. It’s in everything.” He spread his arms wide. “It’s the way the sun rises every morning and sets every night. It’s the way plants grow, and how every being procreates. No matter what world you’re from, you can’t convince me those things aren’t magic.”

“Mother Nature makes that happen.”

“Then your mother nature is a goddess or a witch with some of the most powerful magic of all.”

“Oh! My grandmamma would have washed your mouth out with soap.”

“I wasn't being disrespectful, Sela. I was merely pointing out there is a little magic in everything around us.”

“Well...” She crossed her arms and glanced up at him from the corner of her eyes. “I suppose that’s true enough.” Sighing, she waved her arm. “Come on, I guess. We need to get back and see if there’s anything left of my ranch. I’m glad we let the animals out of the barn before we left.” She could be thankful for that, at least

Ceno followed close behind as she led the way through the darkness. “I’m just glad I spent so much time on these cliffs when I was growing up.” She’d always imagined herself as some sort of ancient warrior woman hiding out in the hills.

Though she was still a far cry from a warrior woman, Sela had no doubt she could expose Cal Johnson’s criminal ways, and she would, even if it killed her.

She squeezed through the crack in the cliff, wondering how in the world Ceno would be able to follow. Reaching the other side, she turned and waited. It wasn’t long before he forced himself through the tight opening.

“I’m surprised you made it through the fissure.” She stared up at Ceno. Even in the pale moonlight, his broad shoulders and muscular chest seemed too large, yet he’d followed her through with no problems.

“Perhaps it’s because I’m taller. The crack seemed wider around my shoulders.” He shrugged and then fell into step beside her before taking her arm and pulling her to a stop. “Maybe I should lead the way. Most of Johnson’s men won’t know me. They might hesitate before they do anything.”

“No.” She shook her head. “I don’t want to put you in danger.”

“You aren’t putting me in danger. I could have left the moment I climbed out of your truck. Those men didn’t just injure you and kill your grandfather. They attacked me as well.” His teeth flashed white in the moonlight. “And they will soon see they cannot attack me or people I care about and walk away unscathed.”

Sela stopped and stared up at him, a million butterflies taking flight in her stomach. “You... you care about me?” She hadn’t expected to hear that from a man she’d just met. Especially one who’d already succeeded in getting her into bed.