He thought for a moment then nodded in obedient acceptance. “You have to admit, Sheriff… the circumstances were suspicious. When she escaped from camp, she had been tied up with two guards watching her. Both guards were knocked out, the horses were released, and both of you were gone. It was logical to conclude that you ran off with her.”
I scoffed. “Just like I was supposedly pushed off a mountain path by a girl, yes? You remember when you all thought that? Brilliant minds, the lot of you.”
“Explain, then,” Dominic growled.
I drew a slow breath. “First, she was removed from my custody?—”
“Because you were kissing her,” Dominic interrupted. “Don’t you remember that?”
“She was the one who kissed me,” I corrected coolly. “She kissed Sneeds too. And you remember howthatended. If my father hadn’t intervened, I’d probably be dead.”
“The sheriff said you looked comfortable.”
I shrugged. “Have you seen her? I’m not blind. I’d like to see anyone else do better, if a beautiful girl threw herself all over them.” My lip curled. “Not that it would ever happen to you. Besides, women were in short supply all winter at our camp. But I had backup before it went too far, which was something Sneeds lacked.”
Sebastian seemed satisfied but Dominic wasn’t.
“You should’ve known better.”
“I was reminded,” I said flatly. “And if you recall, I paid dearly for my moment of weakness. I still have the scars to prove it. Learn from my mistake—never trust women. Especially clever ones.”
“She didn’t escape alone,” Dominic insisted. “No one could.”
“That’s whyIwas the only one who could control her,” I snapped. “Everyone underestimated her—Goric, Flavius, Dorian, and Sneeds. I told them to not underestimate Robin Hood’s daughter, but they didn’t listen then. I have no idea what she did to escape, but whoever they put to guard her probably turned their back momentarily, and that was all she needed.”
A shadow of doubt flitted across Sebastian’s face. “She was tied up though…”
“And she waschainedwhen she overpowered Sneeds! She managed to find a way to break through solid iron chain links,” I roared. “Then, when I go racing off to bring her back for afourthtime and intervene when Robin Hood’s men nearly killed you both, I’m blamed for her escape and called a traitor and deserter? It’s an insult. I just saved your lives.”
“Sorry, Sheriff, sorry,” Sebastian mumbled immediately. “We just didn’t know.”
“It would be prudent for you tothinkbefore you hurl accusations,” I told him in clipped tones, keeping my gaze locked onto Dominic’s mutinous face. “Any fool could’ve heard the racket that girl made when she released all the horses that night. When I heard it, I knew that she must have let them out to distract us so she could escapeagain, so I set off.”
“Without telling anyone?” Dominic growled.
“You’re right,” I said sarcastically. “Perhaps I should have wandered around until I weighed the risks and benefits, then filled out paperwork requesting the assignment while our prisoner got farther and farther away with every minute. Iassumedeveryone would know that I was fetching her back to try and prevent the jailbreak. That’s my job. It seems like I’m the only one who carries out my duties without direct orders from a superior, which is why I’m sheriff now. I didn’t realize you were incapable of thinking or I would have left a note. Or can you even read?”
Dominic and Sebastian both dropped their gazes but I didn’t let up.
“Even my father wouldn’t allow her in his tent,” I snarled, pacing before them. “He didn’t trust her and everyone else was terrified to be within a stone’s throw of that girl, and yet somehowIwas expected to manage her. I was compensating for an astonishing amount of incompetence from the lot of you.” I swept an arm toward the bodies littering the clearing. “Maybe instead of accusing your commanding officer, you should be thanking me for keeping you alive.”
I stopped in front of them, letting the silence stretch, heavy and suffocating.
“That girl escaped and came back with her father and every outlaw they released from prison. They trackedyoudown.” My voice rose. “Even after most of our men were down, more of Robin Hood’s lot poured in. And still, I dealt with it.” I gestured again, sharper now, toward the motionless forms of Laurel, John, Dale, Will, and Lincoln. “If I were on their side, why aretheythe ones scattered across this meadow while you’re still breathing? Never question my loyalty again.”
Sebastian blinked, then frowned in concentration. “I—I remember now,” he said slowly, turning to Dominic. “I only saw one of Robin’s men fall at first. It was just the Sheriff against several of them. Then Baron arrived.” His brow creased. “That witch knocked me out after that. Bar—” He flinched and corrected himself quickly. “The sheriff must’ve finished them off.”
Dominic nodded, sluggish but convinced. The resistance drained out of him like blood from a wound. “Sorry,” he muttered. “We were wrong.”
“Youbetter be sorry,” I snapped. “And don’t let it happen again.” I let the insult hang a moment longer, then waved them off. “Enough. You two go dig a grave for all the traitors. Keep it shallow—if the wolves find them, I won’t shed any tears.”
The rhythmic scrape of shovel against earth began almost immediately. While they worked, sweating and grunting, I heaved the bodies of my father and his men onto a cart to be returned to their families, then attended to all the Merry men pretending to be dead and slid their bodies into coarse burlap sacks.
As I tugged a sack over Laurel, my hands hesitated.
“Can you breathe?” I murmured under my breath, low enough that only she could hear. “And you have a knife in there, right?”
One of her eyes cracked open. She flashed me that infuriating, fearless grin then went limp again. This girl would be the death of me.