Believe: The Complete Channie Series (165 page)

But no saddle meant no stirrups and no left hand meant he couldn’t grab onto Red’s mane. He tried to mount from the right a few more times, but Red got even more agitated.

Jonathan moved to the left side and tried to vault on, using his stump for leverage, but Red didn’t like that either. He bucked and kicked for a good five seconds. Jonathan was lucky he didn’t get trampled.

He led Red outside so he could walk him around and settle him down before trying again. 

A fallen tree behind the barn gave Jonathan an idea. He used it like a stepping stool and climbed on from the left. Red barely twitched—until Jonathan leaned forward and gently pressed the heels of his boots against Red’s sides.

Years of gymnastics and martial arts training was the only reason Jonathan didn’t fall off. His summers in Montana hadn’t prepared him for riding bareback.

The first sixty seconds were sheer terror. But when Jonathan quit trying to anticipate the rhythm of Old Red’s gait and just let his body react naturally, it was much easier. Once the cabin was out of sight, he headed northeast. He let Red pick his own pace, which turned out to be a smooth, brisk, mile-eating walk.

Jonathan had no idea how to get home, but he’d started out in the Sawatch Mountain Wilderness. If he kept traveling northeast, he’d eventually hit Highway 24.

He’d gone about five miles when a high-pitched whistle shattered the morning silence. Jonathan froze. Red stopped and turned his head towards the sound. Another whistle, long and low, had Red trotting towards the forest. Jonathan tried to turn him the other way, but Red refused to cooperate.

River stepped out of the shadows. She held her bow by her side, an arrow already on the string. “What are you doing on Eli’s horse?”

“I borrowed it.”

“Is Eli okay?” Concern wrinkled her brow.

A flash of irrational jealousy loosened Jonathan’s tongue. “Your betrothed will wake up with a headache and a very bad attitude, but he’s fine.”

In less time than it took to blink, River had her bow up, the string pulled back against the side of her face and an arrow pointed at Jonathan’s pounding heart. He’d expected her to be pissed, but he hadn’t expected her to shoot him.

She glared at him. “Are you trying to
leave
?”

Jonathan wanted to dig his heels into Red and make a run for it…but those stories about ninjas dodging arrows were highly exaggerated. “I got tired of listening to your
betrothed’s
empty threats and decided it was time to go home.”

River slackened the string, but kept the arrow pointed at Jonathan’s heart. “I’m not betrothed.”

Jonathan shrugged, faking a disinterested attitude. “It sounds like you and Eli need to discuss the status of your relationship.”

River lowered her bow and walked towards Jonathan. She grabbed Red’s reins. “I ran into a patrol about two hours ago. If they see you out here, alone, on Eli’s horse, they’ll know you’re trying to escape and shoot you on sight.”

“I’ll take my chances.”

River’s eyes glistened. “I risked my life to save yours.”

“And I fought a mountain lion to save yours. We’re even.”

“Did you forget? If you get caught; I’ll be punished.”

“Why do you think I waited until you left for the day? I escaped on Eli’s watch so it wouldn’t be your fault.”

“You’re my recruit. Everything you do is my fault! If you lose something, I have to replace it. If you break something, I have to fix it. If you commit a crime, I have to share your punishment.”

“How are they going to know I’m your recruit? I’m on Eli’s horse.”

“I told the men on patrol that I had a new recruit. Besides, I would never let someone else take my punishment.”

Jonathan couldn’t help but admire her ethics. “What’s the punishment for escaping?”

“Death.”

A cold stone of dread settled in Jonathan’s stomach. “How long will you be responsible for my actions?”

“Forever.”

The
stone in Jonathan’s stomach shattered into a thousand shards, cutting him to the core. There was no way in hell he would buy his freedom with River’s death. He needed a new plan.

He needed to take her with him. His blood warmed as he thought about racing across the high mountain mesa with River pressed against his back. That shouldn’t be so appealing. What was it about this wild woman that had him so hot and bothered?

“Will you go back to the quarantine cabin peacefully?”

“Yeah.” Jonathan sighed. “But just so you know, Eli is going to try to kill me.”

“What did you do to him?”

“I knocked him out and tied him to a chair.”

“You tied him up? With what?”

“His boot laces.”

River grinned. “He’s not going to kill you.”

“How can you be so sure?”

“Because if he does, I’ll tell everyone that he let a one-handed recruit disarm him and truss him up with his own boot laces.”

River stuck her arrow in the leather quiver on her back then lengthened the strap and took it off. She unstrung her bow, slid it into an open-ended sheath attached to the quiver then tied it securely at both ends.

The speed and fluidity of her movements reminded Jonathan of the weapons drills he used to do in the army.

River handed the bundled archery set to him. Jonathan assumed she wanted him to hold it for her while she mounted the horse, but she just stood there and stared at him.

“Do you need help putting it on?”

“You want me to wear this?”

River sighed and rolled her pretty, brown eyes. “It’s not a good idea to ride with a quiver full of arrows pressed against your belly.”

“Why don’t you just hop on behind me?”

“Red’s never been ridden double before. He might not like it. I’d rather have the reins, if you don’t mind.”

Jonathan could guarantee that Red wouldn’t like it. He handed the reins to River then slid the quiver over his shoulder.

River wrapped the reins around her hand then grabbed a fistful of Red’s mane. She lifted her knee to her chest then extended her foot like a ballerina, resting her heel on Red’s back. Damn. The girl was flexible. She quirked an eyebrow and smiled at him. “Give me a hand?”

Jonathan reached across his body and wrapped his fingers around her wrist. He pulled her onto Red’s back with a gentle tug then wrapped his arms around her tiny waist.

Red tossed his head and reared up.

“Hang on!” River pulled Red’s head around until his nose touched her knee. He dropped back to all four feet, jarring every bone in Jonathan’s body, then spun around and pranced sideways.

River cooed and patted Red until he settled down then urged him forward.

Jonathan took advantage of their forced closeness and pressed his chest against River’s back. He pulled his hood off then gently tugged River’s to the side. He lowered his head until his cheek brushed against hers.

Her body trembled.

His responded.

Her voice was whisper quiet, breathless. “What are you doing?”

His voice was so low, it rumbled in his chest. “Leave with me.”

River jerked her shoulders forward and whipped her head around. She glared at Jonathan.

Red swung his rear to the left then broke into a canter.

River didn’t so much as blink. Her body seemed to be an extension of the horse’s. “I can never leave! Don’t ever mention such a thing again.”

“Okay, okay…don’t freak out on me. It was just a suggestion.” He must have misread her reaction to the closeness of his body. Hope died but he refused to give up. If he couldn’t change her mind and persuade her to go willingly, he’d rescue her by force.

“Such talk is treason; punishable by—”

“Death. Yeah, I got that part. Don’t you people believe in jail?”

“No.” She shook her head and faced forward.

“So, every crime is punished with some sort of physical torture, dismemberment or death?”

“We don’t have much crime.”

“I’ll bet not.”

When they got back to the quarantine cabin, River rode past it and headed straight for the barn. Getting off Old Red was a lot easier than getting on.

River scooped a handful of oats out of an old-fashioned barrel and dumped it into a feed bag. Red stuck his nose in the sack before River even had the strap over his ears. She handed Jonathan a scrap of what looked like buffalo hide and patted Red’s neck. “Rub him down until he’s dry. I need to have a chat with Eli.”

The
sub-zero temperature amplified sounds. Bits and pieces of Eli and River’s argument floated through the air all the way to the horse shed. Not enough to follow the conversation, but Jonathan heard River call Eli an ‘arrogant jackass’ more than once. He grinned. “You tell him, girl.”

Red snorted into his feed bag and tossed his head, as if agreeing with Jonathan.

Jonathan patted Red’s neck. “Smart horse.”

Red nodded again. He was done eating and wanted the feed bag off. Jonathan removed it and hung it on the iron hook over the barrel of oats. Red pushed Jonathan’s shoulder with his forehead as if to say ‘thank you.’

“How would you like a new home with a heated stable, plenty of feed and fresh hay? I’ll need a calm horse to get me and River out of here.”

Red didn’t like carrying two riders, but he’d gotten used to it. How long would it take for him to get used to a screaming, kicking girl on his back? Jonathan would probably have to knock her out. He couldn’t believe he was contemplating kidnapping River. But it was more of a rescue. Cults like New Eden were illegal. This was the freakin’ United States of America. You couldn’t go around chopping people’s fingers off or executing them for someone else’s crime. He’d take River straight to the police station in Red Cliff and let them decide how to handle it. Even if they arrested him, once they found out what was going on in New Eden, there’s no way anyone would convict him of kidnapping. Right?

“Jonathan?”

River’s voice startled him. He whirled around then froze when he saw the tears streaming down her face. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing.” River ducked her chin and swiped at her eyes with the back of her hand.

“That doesn’t look like nothing to me. Why are you crying? Did Eli hurt you?”

“No. He just made me mad.” She swiped at her face again as if the tears were the source of her anger.

“What did he do?”

“He agreed to support my bid to recruit you.”

“I thought that was a good thing.”

“He’s insisting that I mate with him.”

Jonathan threw the scrap of buffalo hide on the ground and stomped out of Red’s stall.

River grabbed his arms, keeping him from leaving the barn. “You can’t confront him.”

“The hell I can’t.” Jonathan could not abide violence against women or children. He didn’t care about the consequences. Eli wasn’t going to get away with this. He hugged River and pressed the side of her head against his chest. “I’ll tear his arms off and beat him with his own hands.”

River pushed away from Jonathan and backed up two steps. “If you pick another fight with Eli, I can’t protect you. We’ll both be punished.”