Chapter Fifteen
The skin of his back and chest burned in the blazing sun, but at least the soles of Colin’s feet had lost feeling as he stumbled over sharp, hot rocks. They were nearing the rocky edge overlooking a valley, and he had a feeling the end of their march was fast approaching. He was unbearably thirsty and struggled to think clearly, his mind sluggish and consumed with the need for water.
They’d been walking since the wee hours, and it was midmorning now. Colin wasn’t sure exactly where they were, as they hadn’t ventured out this way yet. It was rockier and much less suitable for the grazing herd. He tried to conjure the map of the property Cobar had drawn to place them, but couldn’t.
He glanced back at Robbie, who was unmoving, slung over one of the men’s horses. He’d groaned earlier but hadn’t regained consciousness fully. Colin thought perhaps it was better this way and that he’d suffer less. Although Colin was determined to fight, he was under no illusions. He knew they were outmatched.
Colin didn’t waste energy swatting the relentless flies. He focused on a strategy for attack, although each plan he conjured seemed less likely than the last to be successful. He and Emily neared the edge of the rocky cliff, Cobar and Tallara to their right. Colin’s mind whirled as he cautiously peered over the ledge.
They stood over a deep fissure in the earth, a crevasse that split solid rock so far down that the bottom was only darkness. Panic and horror set Colin’s heart racing. This was to be their grave, where surely no one would ever find them. He glanced around in all directions, praying for an impossible savior, although he knew it was fruitless. For a moment, Colin thought he caught a flash of movement in the cluster of trees behind the horsemen, but knew it could only be a bird or wildlife.
He prayed the animals would be unable to find them at the bottom of the crevasse.
Emily swayed against him, her chin trembling as she clearly struggled to control her emotions. Colin squeezed her shoulders and whispered. “Let’s try and take a few with us, at least.”
They shared a long look, with no words necessary anymore as they turned to face their captors. Colin cleared his throat, which was parched and raw. “I presume this is the end of the line.”
Quinn smiled. “Astute observation, my boy. Are you going to step off yourselves, or do we have to push you?” He swung down from his horse and took several menacing steps toward them.
Emily’s voice quaked. “I’m with child. Are you willing to kill an innocent babe?”
With child? Colin tried to hide his astonishment. He had no idea if Emily was being truthful or not, but didn’t hold out any hope for mercy.
Quinn affected a surprised expression. “My word! Well, in that case, you’re all free to go.”
The men guffawed, and Quinn took several more steps nearer. He held no gun. The other four men were still on horseback. Only two had rifles in hand. It was clear they saw no threat from their prisoners. Now or never.
As Colin took a deep breath, the man who’d transported Robbie abruptly hauled Robbie up and tossed him toward the cliff’s edge. “Here, we’ll start with this one!” He laughed uproariously as Emily dived toward Robbie’s tumbling body.
Head down, Colin charged Quinn, slamming his shoulder into the other man’s chest. Quinn tumbled back onto the ground, and a shot rang out, the horses whinnying and prancing in agitation as commotion erupted. Colin smashed his fist into Quinn’s nose, which cracked in a most satisfying fashion.
More gunfire exploded, and as Colin’s fist plunged again, he waited for bullets to pierce his flesh. Yet none did. With a burst of power, Quinn dodged Colin’s punch and swiftly flipped him onto his back, reversing their positions. He squeezed Colin’s throat, and snarled, “You’ll pay for that.”
Stars burst in Colin’s vision, and he scrabbled desperately with his hands, trying to dislodge Quinn. It was no use, and he thrashed his legs, an elemental panic taking over as his windpipe was brutally compressed and his lungs burned for oxygen. His mind screamed as the black on the edges of his vision closed in relentlessly.
Suddenly there was a rush of movement and Quinn was swept off Colin’s body. As Colin coughed and gasped for air, he watched Quinn wrestle with a man who looked for all the world like Patrick. Colin rubbed his eyes and stared in shocked disbelief as Patrick and Quinn tumbled in the dirt, fists pummeling, hats flying off. A dog circled them, barking in agitation.
Colin struggled to process what his eyes were seeing. It really did seem to be Patrick, unless Colin was dead and this was some hallucination borne of his last breaths. Emily screamed for help, and Colin swiveled around to where she and Tallara hung over the edge of the cliff on their bellies.
With a burst of energy, Colin raced to them and lunged over the edge. They held onto Robbie, who was barely conscious from the blood loss, and desperately attempted to haul him up. Colin reached down and managed to grab hold of Robbie’s belt. He was sure they’d all be pitched over the side any moment, but no attackers came.
Stones plummeted into the endless darkness of the deep crevasse as they struggled to pull Robbie back up. After several heaves, they managed to tug him back to safety and crawled away from the cliff’s edge. Breathing heavily, Colin looked for Patrick.
Patrick and Quinn still grappled together, battling for the upper hand. As Colin staggered to his feet to join the fray, Quinn seized the knife from his belt. The young dog had latched onto Quinn’s other arm, but the knife soared overhead, about to plunge downward. Colin dived toward them as another shot rang out.
Quinn reeled back, collapsing on his side in a spray of blood. Still with rifle in hand, Emily neared the fallen man. Patrick pushed himself to his knees, chest heaving, the dog licking him frantically. With a firm shove of her foot, Emily kicked Quinn over onto his back. Blood bubbled on his lips, and he wheezed. Gun raised, Emily spoke. “You and your boss underestimated the little lady. And her friends.”
Quinn tried to respond, but he could only choke on blood pitifully. Colin looked away. As he peered about, he realized the clouds of descending flies were drawn to the great deal of blood spilling forth from the bodies of three of the henchmen. Quinn soon took his last shuddering breath, and it was over. Cobar had restrained the only survivor and tended to Robbie with Tallara.
Patrick found his feet, and Colin stared at him, disbelieving. He wasn’t dreaming. Patrick was truly here. Patrick was alive. Colin was still alive. They came together, Colin throwing himself into Patrick’s arms gratefully.
He drank in the familiar feel of Patrick’s body pressed to his, the strength in Patrick’s arms as he held Colin close. Breathing deeply, Patrick’s unique scent filled Colin’s senses, and he wanted to laugh with giddy relief. Alive, alive, alive.
Patrick held Colin’s face in his hands. “Did they hurt you?”
Colin didn’t feel any pain now that he was back in Patrick’s arms. He tried to answer, but his throat was bone-dry. He wavered on his feet, and dizziness washed over him. “Water,” he croaked.
Patrick sat him on the ground and quickly retrieved a canteen from the saddlebag on the nearest horse. When he returned, Colin pointed to Emily, who sat some feet away by Robbie’s side, equally dazed. She drank from the canteen desperately as Patrick retrieved another and held it to Colin’s dry lips. It tasted better than anything ever had, and Colin coughed as he gulped the liquid down. He soon drank freely, draining the container. Patrick stroked his hair tenderly. “Better?” he asked.
Colin nodded gratefully, and Patrick made sure Cobar and Tallara had water before he went after the horses, rounding them up from where they had scattered at the sound of gunshots. Emily tried to get Robbie to drink, and he sputtered but seemed to revive slightly.
The dog watched Colin from a few feet away, wary. Colin reached out his hand, and after a moment, the dog licked his fingers. Its gaze darted back to Patrick every few seconds, always keeping him in sight.
Patrick returned to Colin’s side. As he trailed his hand down Colin’s bare back, his fingers found the whip’s handiwork. He froze. “They whipped you?” His tone was pure steel.
Colin was so numb he’d honestly forgotten. “I don’t really feel anything right now. It’s fine.”
Something close to a growl rumbled from Patrick’s throat, and he was on his feet. After a few strides, he hauled up the surviving captor by his collar, the man’s hands bound behind his back. “Go tell your boss that we’d better not see hide nor hair of him or any of his men, ever again. You cowardly bastards come back, and we’ll be waiting. Understand?”
The man nodded jerkily, and Patrick shoved him forcefully. “You’ve got a long walk. Better start moving.”
“Walk? I’ll never make it. It’s at least four days’ ride, and that’s full-out.”
Patrick shrugged. “Not our problem.”
Emily looked up from where she knelt at Robbie’s side. “If he doesn’t make it back, they’ll just come looking, no doubt.” She struggled to her feet, and Patrick held her arm as she steadied herself. She picked up the rifle she’d used to shoot Quinn. “And we want him to pass on the message to Mr. Barnes. If he wants to come and give his murderous thugs a proper burial, he’s welcome to. But if we see a shadow of him or anyone else near my homestead, it’ll be the end of you.”
The man was eager to please. “Yes, ma’am. Understood.”
Cobar searched the man’s saddlebags and left him only with a small amount of food and water before removing his bonds. The man galloped away, heels into his horse.
Emily fought tears as she stroked Robbie’s face. “He needs a doctor.” Robbie had slipped back into unconsciousness. His wound seemed to have stopped bleeding, but the loss of blood had taken its grave toll.
Cobar spoke. “I will take him to our people. Our healer.”
Patrick led one of the horses over and helped Cobar lift Robbie as gently as possible over the front of the animal. Cobar swung up into the saddle and spoke to Emily. “We will soon return.”
“Thank you. For everything. Just…please hurry.” Tears now slipped down Emily’s cheeks. “Please don’t let him die.”
From his position on the ground, Colin watched Cobar ride away, dust rising in his wake. He took another swig of water and tried to sharpen his mind. He felt as if his head had been encased in cotton wool, and he struggled to think clearly. The dog nuzzled him, and Colin petted its short fur. Everything seemed unreal.
“Can you ride?” Patrick squatted down beside Colin and cupped his cheek with his hand, eyes full of concern. “I’m not sure any of you are up for it.”
Colin found himself smiling. “You’re really here.”
“You’d better ride with me.” Patrick reached into a saddlebag that Colin hadn’t noticed him retrieve. “Eat.” He pulled out a small sack of nuts and dried berries.
Colin ate while Patrick gave Emily and Tallara food as well. After only a few minutes, he felt markedly better. “I can ride.”
Patrick peered at him for a long moment before nodding. He looked over to the horses, which he’d tied to a tree. “They seem all right. Jumpy from the gunfire, but they’re not hurt.”
“Good thing you had a rifle with you.” Colin’s gaze drifted over to the dead men despite himself. “It was you who starting shooting, wasn’t it?”
Patrick nodded grimly. “Picked off two of them right away. Never killed before, but didn’t have any choice other than to watch them murder you all.”
It was all so much to process. “How did you know we were here? How did you find us?” Why did you come back?
“Picked up a spyglass in town. Spotted riders in the distance this morning and saw what was going on. Recognized a few of those thugs from that day on Barnes’ property. Knew I had to keep my distance and wait until the right moment or I’d put you all in even more jeopardy. I’d crept up close to those trees yonder when they tossed Robbie and you charged the leader.”
“Thank God you were here. We’d have found our graves in that crevasse otherwise.” It was still difficult to reconcile with how close they’d come to dying.
“Don’t underestimate yourself. You fought back. I knew you would. That’s why I waited.”
“How did you know?”
Patrick shrugged. “I know you. Don’t let anything go without a fight.” He stroked Colin’s cheek with his knuckles.
The dog nudged Patrick’s knee playfully, butting him with its head. “And who’s this?” Colin asked.
“Picked him up near Drayton. Well, he picked me up, more like. Woke up to him licking my face. Haven’t been able to shake him since.”
The dog was mostly the same yellowy beige as the dingoes they’d seen but had a much wider face and snout, along with tufts of darker fur on its belly. It nuzzled Colin’s face. “Seems like a mutt of some kind.” Colin couldn’t help but laugh as the young dog licked him. “What’s his name?”
Patrick shrugged. “Dunno.”
“But you have something in mind.” Colin knew Patrick was far too fond of animals not to keep the pup.
“Keegan, I suppose. Little fiery one.” He scratched the dog affectionately. “Comes in handy. Can hear something coming a mile away.”
Emily spoke up. “We should bury them.” She swatted a fly uselessly and gazed at the bodies of the dead men.
“With what? We need to get you all back home for some rest. They brought it on themselves. I know it’s harsh, but it’s reality. Barnes might be back for more before long. We need to be ready.”
Emily peered at Patrick. “And you’re returning with us?”
“If that’s all right with you.”
She smiled. “More than all right. I’d like that very much.” She turned toward one of the horses.
“Emily.” Patrick paused, seeming to want to say something else. After a moment, he picked up his hat from where it had fallen and handed it to her. “Too big for you, but better than nothing to keep the sun off.”
“Thank you, Patrick.” She wound her matted hair on her head and placed the hat on top.
Colin got to his feet, slightly shaky but feeling stronger. “Emily, what you told them, about a child…”
Her smile was tremulous. “I think so. I was pushing it to the back of my mind these past weeks. Denying the truth to myself. About so many things.”
“It’ll be all right.” Colin hugged her gently. “He’ll be fine. You’ll see. You both will be.”
Tallara gave Emily’s shoulder a reassuring squeeze. They were bloodied and weary, but still standing. Emily spoke determinedly. “Let’s go home.”