“He lives in a cave?”
“Uh huh, I mean, it was a nice cave.” Why do I feel like I need to defend the cave to him? Like I want him to approve.
“And your other mate, Ryker. What is his home like?”
“He said he lived in an apartment.”
“Oh, so neither of them are rich?” he asks, sounding a bit surprised.
“No, why would you think that?”
“Well, I have to admit your whole situation makes me curious. I can’t help but wonder how they convinced you to marry them within mere days of meeting.”
“They didn’t have to convince me, I love them.” I tell him proudly.
“How can you possibly know that after only a couple of days?”
“Sometimes, it only takes minutes,” I say softly. It feels like tension builds as my words hover in the air around us.
After another five minutes or so, Indy pulls us to a stop at the side of another stream. He jumps off and as he reaches up for me, he freezes, tilting his head to the side.
“What is it?” I ask, curiously.
“Shh… I thought I heard something,” he whispers as his head turns towards the trees.
My gaze moves up as I search the tree line for any movement, but I see nothing. Slowly, he pulls his hands away from my waist and whispers, “Sugar, I need you to stay on Mabel. I’m going to go and have a look. If anything happens, I want you to ride fast the way we were headed, you’ll find the village there, go to the tavern and ask for Silver. Tell him I sent you and he’ll keep you safe.”
“Indy, what are you talking about? I’m not going anywhere without you.”
“You might not need to, but if I say go, you ride as fast as you can, you understand?”
“I’m not agreeing to that.” I refuse to leave him.
He grinds his teeth as he looks up at me. “Sugar, I need to keep you safe, now listen to me, or the next chance I get, I’ll spank your ass so pink you won’t be able to sit still for a day.”
My eyes go wide and as I open my mouth to respond, he spins around and throws a knife I didn’t even know he was holding. It embeds itself in a tree only an inch beside a strange man’s face, making me gasp. The man looks dirty, his hair unkept and his beard scraggly. But what really has me worried is that I can see another six faces scattered amongst the trees behind him.
“Penny, run!”
“No freaking way!” I start feeling around my body as if I might magically find a weapon on me. Why don’t I have a weapon? Why did I never ask for one before now? All these men had mentioned how dangerous this place was, but I didn’t really expect a group of bandits to attack us.
So instead of running, I did the smartest thing I could thinkof, I slid off the horse on the opposite side to where Indy and the men were so I could search Mabel’s bag and hopefully find something of use. But the moment my feet touch the ground, two arms wrap around me and yank me backwards off my feet, making me collide with a firm chest as I scream.
I tilt my head up and see another one of the bandits holding me. “Get your dirty hands off me!” I yell as I try to pry his arms from my body, but he doesn’t budge, he just keeps dragging me backwards towards the trees.
“Indy!” I scream as I get pulled further away.
“Penny!” he yells and I see him running around the horse to get to me. Two men jump in his path with swords drawn. Indy has his own sword out and starts attacking them, trying to get through to me. It’s an impressive sight, watching his strong body move around effortlessly. He clearly has the upper hand, even against two of them.
“Get ‘em Indy!” I yell, cheering him on.
He shoots me a quick look before going back to his two attackers, as I’m pulled further into the trees and away from Indy.
I scream and fight and claw at the man’s arms, but nothing works. I wish I could reach over my head to gouge out his eyes, but this man has my arms stuck to my sides. It feels like two iron bands are wrapped around me, causing me to struggle to take in air.
Suddenly, he turns us, and I come face to face with two new rough looking bandits. Bandit A is missing a front tooth and has long, black dreadlocks. Bandit B is missing far more teeth and is giving me a sinister smile as his hand reaches up to grab a piece of my hair, rubbing it between his fingers.
“Don’t touch me!” I yell, but it just makes his smile grow even creepier.