by Rebecca King
Carlotta was busy trying to gather up her shawl with one hand so she could drape it over her head.
‘Don’t,’ Phillip snapped. ‘It is too late now. They know who you are, or they wouldn’t be following us. If you cover your head now you are going to look as if you are trying to hide.’
Carlotta froze and immediately returned to clutching the saddle with both hands. She struggled not to throw another worried look over her shoulder. ‘What do we do?’
‘Stay calm. If your horse senses your tension he is going to start to dance about and you will fall off. That would give the thugs behind us an advantage because they will catch up and make sure they are standing over you while you are trying to get up. We are going to maintain our distance. We are going to find a place to hide and will wait for them to pass us. By the time they have realised they have lost us, and double back to try to find us again, we will be far away.’
‘How can you be so sure? Do you know the area well?’
Phillip shook his head. ‘I know the area around the safe house well. When we choose a property to use it is routine for us all to scour the area, not for any sign of threat or danger, but so we get a good understanding of our surroundings. We work a lot at night, so must be able to find our way to the safe house in the dark and be aware of the pitfalls and hiding places along the way so we don’t get mugged or shot at. It is what we do,’ he added when he saw her horrified look.
Carlotta glanced over her shoulder again and gasped at just how close the thugs had managed to get.
‘We are going to go through the gate up ahead. Do you see it?’ he whispered.
Carlotta nodded. ‘Yes, but what do we do then? I cannot ride any faster.’
Phillip didn’t respond. He remained silent while they guided the horses through the gate. There wasn’t any point closing it behind them because the thugs would just jump it. Instead, Phillip looked at Carlotta with something akin to regret in his eyes.
‘What?’ she demanded with growing concern. She didn’t like that look in his eye and knew she was going to object to what he was about to suggest.
Phillip leaned over to her and lifted her effortlessly out of her saddle. She clung to his arm and then onto his neck when he dragged her over to his horse.
‘Lean with your back to me,’ he murmured gently. Phillip understood the time it had taken to get her into a safe position had allowed the thugs to narrow the distance even more. He wanted to release the horses not least because he knew they would force the thugs to slow down to avoid crashing into them, but he just couldn’t bring himself to release his friends’ horses. They were his last connection to them. Instead, Phillip grabbed the reins of Carlotta’s horse and tossed them over its head so that he was able to lead the second line of horses as well.
‘Ready?’ he asked of her.
‘For what?’ Carlotta had barely finished her question when Phillip kicked the horses and made clicking noises with his teeth.
After a few brief moments of hesitation, the horses understood what they were being asked to do and began to trot before breaking into a canter. Phillip had no choice but to release them and hope that they followed the herd.
Carlotta hugged him tightly and buried her face into his neck as they horse they rode began to canter. There was little she could do except hope and pray that she would be alive to see the end of their journey. She was jostled and slammed about and ended up sitting so intimately before him that her cheeks were aflame, but she couldn’t let go of him.
‘They are still there,’ she reported when she found the strength to look over his shoulder.
‘I don’t doubt it. Unfortunately, it is going to be impossible to hide these horses. I don’t have a gun, so cannot challenge them,’ Phillip growled. He contemplated the flick knife in his boot, but it was the only one he had and had to be used only as a last resort. Once he had thrown it he wasn’t likely to be able to retrieve it then they really would be vulnerable.
‘What? What do we do?’ she cried.
Suddenly, the hedgerow before them exploded. Small branches and twigs flew into the air as bullet after bullet tore through them. Phillip cursed and cursed again when he looked over his shoulder and saw the thugs reloading their pistols.
‘Let me get down,’ Carlotta demanded.
‘Why, so they can kill you out here where nobody will find your body?’ Phillip snapped. He shoved his face against hers and snarled: ‘Over my dead body.’
Carlotta stared at him. ‘This isn’t your fight.’
‘They are firing at me, aren’t they?’ Phillip growled. ‘That makes them criminals. I would arrest them but have no irons, no gun, and no support from anyone. Even if I could restrain them the gaol is miles away.’
He led the charge toward the farthest corner of the field to the very end of the low stone wall which joined the hedgerow. Without hesitation, he nudged the horse they were on to jump it together with the wall on the opposite side of the road. The hill that awaited them was steep, but the horses managed to race up it without slowing because they didn’t have riders to carry. Consequently, Phillip’s horse was the last to reach the top.
‘They are slowing,’ Carlotta gasped.
‘They are reloading again. We must keep going,’ Phillip told her. He made a mental promise to himself that the thugs would end up behind bars. Phillip then turned his horse and raced after the rest of the herd. For mile upon mile the horses ran together. Some began to tire and show a little more interest in the greenery, but they didn’t linger for long when they realised the herd was leaving them behind. Eventually, they all reached a small clearing where Phillip slowly guided them to a stop.
‘Do you know where we are?’ Carlotta asked when she gathered the strength to lift her head and take a good look around what appeared to be a small meadow.
It was nondescript; nothing more than a small clearing in the middle of a dense copse. There wasn’t much within it except lush grass, but it was sheltered and there was no sign of the thugs yet.
‘Get down,’ Phillip hissed. He half pushed and half dragged her off the horse, grabbed her hand and dragged her toward the treeline. With the horses protecting them from the thugs when they entered the clearing, Phillip guided her into the darkest of shadows in search of a place to hide. ‘Stand still.’
Despite knowing that the thugs were a good five minutes away and hadn’t been able to see them, Phillip had the distinct feeling that they were not alone. He had no idea where the danger came from because the woods were still and quiet. Birds sang merrily high in the treetops. A squirrel scurried up and down the tree beside them without stopping to scent the air for danger. Nothing was outwardly amiss, but his gut instinct was warning him that something was wrong.
‘We are being watched, and it isn’t the thugs,’ he murmured.
He closed his eyes and willed himself to focus on what he could hear, smell, and feel. He listened to the leaves rustling overhead and tried hard to hear through it. Nothing. ‘Damn it.’
Carlotta shivered when his warm breath slithered down her neck. She clutched his shirt and looked him in the eye. In that moment, the woods around them receded. He was so close that she could feel the faint wisp of his breath dancing across her cheeks whenever he exhaled. Carlotta tried to make herself back away, but the approaching thugs forced her to remain where she was. She remained perfectly still as she watched Phillip’s head lower toward hers. His handsome features blurred until she felt the first feather light brush of his lips. Hers instinctively parted on a gasp. Phillip took advantage of her momentary hesitation to press home his advantage. He settled his lips upon hers more forcefully. All the while he was waiting for her to object, tell him to stop or for her to push him away. When she didn’t, he made no attempt to fight his own need of her and surrendered to the need that he suspected flowed through them both. The tension that flourished wasn’t nerves or worry brought about by the thugs. It was the tension of two people who were warily tasting, sampling, try
ing to deny the growing attraction between them that neither of them was familiar with.
Together they tasted and explored, challenged and surrendered, savoured and questioned and eventually mated. Hands scoured flesh. Hearts pounded. Phillip was lost in the moment; her complete surrender was his goal. He had already given her everything he was able to give her right now, but it wasn’t enough. Anything else would bring about his ruin, he knew it, but he couldn’t step away. Not just his ruin; hers too. He couldn’t ruin either of them, despite the pressing need that was compelling him to lower her to the ground and truly explore the delicious curves that were pressing into him. He groaned when she slid her hands up the broad width of his chest. He tried to capture them and drag them back down again only to find himself holding her shoulders instead. Sweeping his hands gently down the long length of her arms, all Phillip could do was slide his palms down the gentle sweep of her back.
It was the soft snuffle of a horse that snapped them out of their heady desire. Phillip lifted his head when he heard the heavy crunch of boots on twigs. The thugs were almost upon them. The birds warned him that they were no longer alone. They had stopped singing and had disappeared. The squirrel had returned home to hide in the thick denseness of the woodland bark. Everything had fallen silent.
Phillip held Carlotta tightly against him. Thankfully, the thick oak tree they were standing against protected them from being able to see the meadow, and as such protected anybody in the meadow from being able to see them.
‘Where do you think they went?’ Phillip heard one of the thugs ask.
‘They are around here somewhere. Get searching,’ his friend grunted.
Phillip threw Carlotta an apologetic look before he lifted his boot and quietly removed his knife. Flicking it open with a quiet click, he eased to one side and peered around the tree. That faint movement was all it took for the tree beside them to come alive as it was hit with a bullet. Despite its girth, the huge oak tree shuddered when another bullet hit it.
‘Come on,’ Phillip growled. Grabbing Carlotta’s hand, he tugged her away from the gunman, and deeper into the woods.
‘Where are we going? We need the horses,’ Carlotta gasped.
‘We have got to get to the safe house.’
Carlotta lifted her skirts but stumbled and staggered through the undergrowth because of how fast Phillip’s much longer legs were eating the distance. ‘Stop. Stop,’ she pleaded. ‘I can’t carry on.’
‘You have to keep moving, Carlotta.’ Phillip cursed when the tree beside them shuddered. They both watched fine splinters fly into the air.
Phillip opened his mouth to speak only to be interrupted by another loud blast of gunfire. This time though, it was different. It wasn’t just the occasional random shot the thugs took.
‘Someone is firing at them,’ Phillip whispered. When he turned around, the thug behind them had vanished. Phillip watched the undergrowth carefully.
‘Come on,’ Carlotta urged, tugging at his hand.
Phillip held his hand up to tell her to stand still. He tipped his head and listened carefully to the gunshots. ‘There are several men here.’
‘Who?’ Carlotta threw a frantic glance around the woods. She was so scared she struggled to speak. ‘Do you think they are the gunmen from last night?’
Phillip immediately backed her toward a tree and positioned himself in front of her so that if anybody shot at them the bullet would hit him and not her. Carlotta put her hands on his waist and stood on tiptoe to look over his shoulder.
‘Stay down,’ he hissed. When he looked over his shoulder their gazes met. Phillip was struck by just how instinctive it was to turn around and face her again. The urge to kiss her was strong, but the sudden cracking of the undergrowth nearby made him turn to face forward instead.
Carlotta looked up at the high canopy of leaves overhead. ‘What’s up there?’
‘Stay quiet,’ he whispered.
To her disbelief, he cupped his hands over his mouth and emitted several owl-like hoots. When he looked at her there was something in his face that made her put her hand to his chiselled cheek and smile at him. There was something almost boyish about him; vulnerable yet hopeful. He was nervous. That was betrayed in the shaking of his hands as he clasped her fingers. He was also watchful, but with eyes that were alive with anticipation.
Phillip waited for what felt like a lifetime. No more than a few seconds passed before he heard a response. When it came it was far closer than he expected it could be. Floored, Phillip tipped his head back and mouthed at the sky: ‘thank you, God.’
‘Who is it? Is it your friends?’ she whispered, delighted for him.
He looked so relieved that she knew then that the men he worked with in the Star Elite were far more than colleagues. They were friends, co-conspirators, brothers in arms. They relied on each other and were far closer than most friends.
‘What on earth?’ she whispered when the sound of several rather strangled cries filtered through the gunfire. ‘What was that?’
Phillip chuckled. ‘That was Callum’s God-awful attempt at an owl.’
He grinned at her so widely and unexpectedly that Carlotta blinked and felt a little piece of her heart melt. Phillip’s eyes twinkled and came alive with mischief. His white teeth flashed and revealed dimples which bracketed his chiselled lips. In that moment, he looked incredibly handsome and more than a little mischievous and it left her speechless. She found herself smiling back, although she had no idea why seeing as neither of them had any idea where the gunmen had gone. They had gone somewhere, though, because the gunfire had stopped.
Phillip snorted. ‘Callum can’t make owl noises to save his life. They always sound like a distressed bullfrog.’
‘I beg your pardon?’ a dark voice growled from behind him.
Phillip swore when Callum stepped out of his hiding place. Before he could speak, Callum strode forward and enveloped him in a huge hug that threatened to shatter his ribs. Rather than step back, Callum continued to hug him. ‘God, we thought you had gone. Oliver saw you fall into the sea and thought you had gone. You didn’t come back up. Nobody could find you.’ Callum’s voice turned gruff. He eventually released him and stepped back to clap his friend on the shoulder. ‘We have searched that damned village three times over and still couldn’t find you. I last saw you in the barn but all we found was a pool of blood where you had been standing. Sir Hugo has gone berserk and has the magistrate and his men scouring the area for you. He has sent word to London to send more men to come and help the search for you.’
Phillip blinked at him. ‘How many made it?’
‘All of us except you, you damned fool,’ Oliver growled from behind him. ‘Don’t ever do that to us again or I will damned well shoot you myself.’ To prove that he didn’t mean it, Oliver also hauled Phillip into a bear hug. ‘We have checked the bodies, the fishing boats, every shop, house, and damned outbuilding for a five-mile radius. Sir Hugo has even had sailors from the naval base out in rowing boats searching the high seas for you for God’s sake.’
Phillip’s mouth fell open. He stared at Oliver who swore and raked Carlotta with a questioning look before turning to glare at Phillip. ‘Just what have you gone and found yourself in the middle of now?’
‘I found a pretty lady,’ Phillip grinned unrepentantly.
Carlotta blushed prettily. She stepped away from the tree when Oliver smiled at her and bowed despite where they were. It was a little odd to have a conversation with someone who was so casually dangling a loaded gun from their fingers, but Carlotta knew from their almost business-like air of brisk efficiency that these were all indeed men from the Star Elite.
‘Where are the thugs?’ Phillip asked, peering over Oliver’s shoulder.
‘They turned tail and raced off when they realised you were not alone. I doubt they will have gone far. They will be back,’ Oliver murmured.
Phillip made the introductions. Carlotta, a little unsure about what the proto
col was for formal introductions in such an informal situation, murmured a polite greeting.
‘What in the Hell happened to you?’ another man demanded as he stomped out of the undergrowth and yanked Phillip into another hug. ‘We have all been worried sick about you.’
‘We had better get back and tell Sir Hugo to call off the blood hounds,’ another man said as he stepped over to join them and also hugged Phillip.
‘We have to get those two thugs behind bars,’ Phillip explained but got no further before the woodland all about them came alive with gunfire again.
‘Stay with her,’ Oliver ordered.
‘Is it Smidgley’s lot?’ Phillip called after him.
Oliver’s face was grim when he nodded. Phillip cursed and looked at Callum, who remained protectively by their side. ‘I need a gun.’ He deftly caught the weapon and a pouch of shot Callum tossed to him.
‘Stay close. You are to protect.’ Callum nodded at Carlotta.
‘Phillip?’ Carlotta asked warily as she watched Phillip deftly load the pistol.
‘Stay with your back to the tree. I am not going anywhere. I just need to help them,’ Phillip replied.
Carlotta had no intention of going anywhere. She was terrified and had no idea what to do. The noise of the guns was deafening. As she stood cowering in terror, she was aware of movement in the trees around them. It seemed that the entire woodland had people crawling around in it but how many there were and where they were hiding was impossible to know.
‘Get her to the safe house,’ Callum ordered. ‘We will catch up.’
‘Get the two thugs who were after us,’ Phillip growled.
‘They aren’t Smidgley’s lot?’ Callum asked. He paused in the process of reloading his gun and lifted a brow at Phillip, who grimly shook his head.
‘They want to kidnap her,’ Phillip growled. ‘I will explain later.’ He tugged Carlotta away from the gunfire and deeper into a quieter part of the woods.
‘Where are we going?’ Carlotta asked. She looked over her shoulder in the direction of the horses they had left behind and promptly stumbled over a large boulder half buried in the path.