Teton Splendor by Peggy L. Henderson

Author:Peggy L. Henderson [Henderson, Peggy L.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2013-06-22T04:00:00+00:00

Chapter Fourteen

Joseph dared a quick glance to where a man shouted obscenities near the treeline to his left. The shot had been fired from the opposite direction.

“Get the hell out of the line of fire, Joseph. I’ll cover you,” the man yelled, his voice strained.

Joseph wasted no time. “Come on,” he urged. He grabbed Sophie by the arm and hauled her to her feet. A shot fired from the direction where their rescuer lay in hiding, followed quickly by several more.

“Stay low and run toward the trees.” Joseph pushed her forward, staying just behind her to shield her in case their would-be killer meant to finish what he started. There was no other choice but to make a run for cover. They were completely out in the open, sitting ducks to the bastard who fired off that first shot.

Sophie stumbled forward. The wide-eyed look of fear in her eyes pierced straight through his heart. With his hand on her lower back, he pushed her toward the safety of the trees. Multiple shots fired to their left, but none came from behind them.

Joseph broke through the densely nettled branches of some young lodgepoles and shoved Sophie to the ground behind the safety of a tree trunk. He rushed up behind her, catching his breath.

“Stay here,” he whispered. “Don’t move, and don’t make a sound.” He couldn’t afford to lose any time if he wanted to catch the man who had shot at them. Sophie grabbed his arm before he had a chance to move away.

“Where are you going?” Her eyes widened in renewed fear.

“After the bastard who tried to kill us.” Joseph tried to lift her hand from his arm. Her grip only intensified.

“Don’t leave me here,” she begged, her voice frantic. “That shooter could be anywhere.” Her body trembled, and she threw herself at him. Her arms snaked around his neck, and she clung to him like a scared child.

Joseph sucked in a deep breath, and held her close. Every muscle in her body shivered with fear. She’d been so strong all these weeks, it had been easy to forget that she’d never had to face the dangers of the wilderness before. He’d been shot at plenty of times, even taken a bullet or an arrow once or twice, but she wasn’t used to the harsh realities of his life. No one would have ever taken a shot at her in Boston.

“Sophie, you’ll be safe here. I have to find him,” he whispered against her hair, stroking the back of her head.

“What about that other man?” she sobbed.

“You have nothing to worry about from him. You can trust him. Wait right here and he’ll find you. I’ll be back, Sophie. I promise.”

Joseph pried her arms from around his neck.

“You’re a strong and brave woman. I need you to be strong right now.” He wished he could remain here and just hold her, comfort her, and take away her fear, but with every second that passed, the shooter would be further from his reach.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.