"After them! Don't let them escape!" But the militia's horses were scattered, panicked by the explosions and gunfire. By the time they mounted up, Ethan and Ayla were already vanishing into the scrub, the desert swallowing them whole. They rode hard for an hour, pushing the horses until foam flecked their necks.
When Ethan finally slowed, they were deep in the canyon country, surrounded by red rock walls and twisted juniper trees. He listened, but there was no sound of pursuit. Not yet. Ayla pulled up beside him, her face streaked with soot and sweat. "Where do we go?"
"North." There's a canyon I know, deep, hidden. We can lose them there. And after? Ethan didn't have an answer for that.
They rode in silence for another mile, following a dry creek bed into the heart of the canyon. The walls rose around them, sheer and towering, blocking out the sun. It was cooler here, shadowed, almost peaceful. Ethan found a spot where the canyon widened into a small clearing, sheltered by an overhang of rock. He dismounted, his legs shaking, the adrenaline finally draining away.
His arm throbbed where the bullet had grazed him, blood soaking through his sleeve. Ayla saw it and moved toward him. "You are hurt." "It's nothing." "Let me see."
He didn't have the energy to argue. She tore a strip from her shirt and wrapped it around his arm, her hands quick and efficient. The pressure hurt like hell, but he didn't flinch. "Thank you," he said quietly. "You saved my life, again."
"You saved mine. We're even." She finished tying the bandage and sat back, studying him. Your house is gone, everything you built, and still you fought. Didn't have much choice.
You always have a choice. You could have run. You could have given me to them. Ethan looked at her, this fierce, impossible woman who had upended his life in 35 days. No, I couldn't.
Something passed between them then, unspoken and fragile. Ayla looked away first, her jaw tight. "What happens now?" she asked. Vance won't stop. He can't.
If word gets out that two people held off his entire militia, he's finished. He'll hunt us until one of us is dead. "Then we kill him first." "With what?" We've got two rifles and maybe 30 rounds between us.
He's got 20 men and enough firepower to level a town. Ayla stood, pacing the small clearing. My people. They are 3 days north of here. If we can reach them.
You think they'll help? After what just happened? I think they will help me. I am blood, and you are with me. Ethan considered it.