Chapter 2.

NORA LOOKED DOWN at the man slumped at her feet, then around the clearing at the dead men who had been pursuing her. Her unknown rescuer had killed all four of them and nearly came out unscathed.

Nearly.

She winced as she looked at the man’s shoulder, which actively oozed blood and looked to be serious. If he didn’t get medical attention soon, he’d likely bleed out from it and die.

Nora found herself in a predicament. She dared not lin-ger in the woods long because Lord Rogan could send more men after her. He would be irate over the men she had killed in her escape from captivity and would be looking for punishment. He was not a man to trifle with.

What she needed to do was get back to Ben’s posthaste and make her plans for departure. Rogan now knew she was in the area, and she couldn’t put Ben or his family in jeopardy. They had discussed various options for her next steps but were far from any solid plan.

It had been easy staying with Ben these past ten years, and they often traveled together, helping each other in their sep-arate quests. Traveling had also allowed her to move around and make contacts. She was confident the network of friends Ben had helped her establish would be reliable and, most important-ly, discreet.

Nora considered the man before her. If she rode ahead to get help, she ran the risk of Rogan’s men stumbling upon him and killing him. The alternative was to get him up onto his horse and bring him with her. The problem was, he was a large man. As she estimated his size, she began to wonder how she’d ever be able to lift him on her own. Even if she were able to fashion some sort of litter to attach to her horse, she couldn’t exactly drag him through the forest.

Looking around, Nora assessed her resources. Perhaps there was something in the man’s saddle bags that would be of assistance. She was confident he wouldn’t appreciate a

stranger rifling through his possessions, but she considered this a life and death situation. It took a minute of searching, because the horse had wandered a bit of distance, but she found the stallion and walked over.

Giving the horse a gentle pat, Nora opened one of the bags. The first things she saw were more weapons. A hatchet like the one he’d been using, large knives, a revolver, and am-munition. Added to the bow and arrow from the start of the fight, and this man traveled heavily armed. Was he a criminal of some sort? A lawman? Did it matter why he traveled with so many weapons? He had saved her life. She wouldn’t pass judg-ment.

But she would make sure he was separated from his weapons at Ben’s house until they could ascertain the manner of man he was. Whether he was a criminal or not didn’t matter to her at the moment. He had been injured saving her, and he was currently her responsibility to heal.

The second saddle bag yielded a change of clothing, per-sonal hygiene supplies, and a length of rope. She pulled out the rope and tested its strength. Then she fingered her cloak and considered the possibility that if she could weave the rope through the button holes, she might be able to pull him up onto his horse.

Leading the stallion over to his injured owner, she re-trieved the bow and arrows she found along the way. She re-moved her cloak and got to work, the cold air immediately bit-ing down to her bones. Her riding gloves didn’t provide much warmth, which made her fingers stiff and hard to work the rope with. It wasn’t easy rolling him onto the garment, as he was heavy and unconscious. He never stirred, and she checked to see if he was still breathing—twice. Pressing her fingers to his neck, Nora found his pulse weak but steady, his skin ice cold. The cold slowed his bleeding, and she did her best to staunch the wound with what little she had. Things would have been easier if she were able to rouse him the slightest bit to gain some assistance. Unfortunately, nothing in her life was easy.

Even with the cold air Nora began to perspire from the effort of heaving the man even the smallest of distances. Even-tually, she had him centered more or less and was able to wrap him in the cloak and secure it.

Next, she brought his horse closer and draped the rope over the saddle before leading her mare to the stallion’s other side. Her mare appeared a bit nervous of the new horse but didn’t shy away. Nora tied the rope to the mare’s saddle and be-gan to lead her away from the other horse, using the stallion as a lever. Slowly, the man began to rise from the ground. The mare dug in under the weight and the stallion sidestepped once, but all and all, the horses cooperated. Once she saw that she’d raised the man exactly level with his horse, she stopped her mare, ran over, and maneuvered him the rest of the way onto his horse. Briefly, she considered tying him to the saddle, but decided against it when she realized much of the rope was under the man’s body. She would just have to be careful.

Nora walked the stallion over to where her mare stood and paused before she mounted. A chill ran up her spine at the ominous feeling of being watched. It felt as if the forest had eyes. Looking around suspiciously, Nora searched the foliage but could see nothing. Pulling herself up onto her horse, she gave the forest another scan, relieved when no one ran out. She would be on her guard and pray she encountered no further at-tackers.

“Well, my mysterious savior, this should be an interest-ing ride.” She turned in her saddle and set off for Ben’s as fast as she dared.