Reaper's Justice by Sarah McCarty Read Free Book Online

were notoriously unstable things.
    The moon crested the trees. A howl echoed across the valley. A challenge and a dare.
    With a lift of his lip and a flex of muscle, Isaiah tilted his head back and answered.
     
     
    THE howl came out of the darkness, sending shivers down Adelaide’s spine. Dark and compelling, it connected with something primitive inside her. She turned back toward the sound. Goose bumps raced down her arms.
    “Come on.” Billings tugged her forward. She stumbled. “Move.”
    She tripped over a branch as he dragged her forward, her feet tangling in her skirt. “I would if you’d let me get my feet before hauling me around.”
    There was a grunt, another yank. “I don’t have time for hysterics.”
    “Who’s being hysterical?” She yanked at her skirt with her free hand. A bridle jangled. A horse snorted. They were near the horses? “I’m just pointing out the illogic of expecting me to see in pitch blackness.”
    “I’ll do the seeing.”
    The “trust me” was implied. She wasn’t trusting anyone. “As if you can see any better.”
    “I can.” From the way he hauled her the next ten feet, maneuvering them around obstacles, maybe he could.
    “How is that possible?”
    “I’m special.”
    He was something, but she wasn’t sure “special” was it. She ran into his back, bumping her nose, as he came to a dead stop.
    “Ow.”
    “Quiet.”
    Rubbing her nose, she glared at his back. “Then stop hauling me around.” Billings put his arm around her waist. She pushed at his arm. “Hey! Let me go.”
    “In a minute.”
    “But—” She reached out and bumped something warm, alive. The horse. Bracing herself against his side, she pushed backward.
    Billings didn’t even acknowledge her protest with a grunt. “No buts. He’ll catch up to us later.”
    He would?
    With a simple shift, Billings foiled her defiance. She would have fallen if he hadn’t been holding her so tightly. Darn it. Falling would have at least broken his hold. While she was fussing, he lifted her. She let her legs dangle. They bumped against the horse. He couldn’t make her sit.
    “Who are you?” she asked over her shoulder.
    “The only friend you’ve got right now, and if you want to live long enough for him to catch up, you’ll stop being a fool and put your leg over that horse’s back.”
    “Why would I want that?”
    “Because your kidnappers will regroup quickly. And because he’s the best protection you’ll ever have.”
    That was something to consider. She let him seat her in the saddle. She grabbed the saddle horn as the horse stomped his foot. Her skirt was uncomfortably twisted. She yanked at it. “Better than you?”
    “Yeah.”
    The lump under her butt came free. “How so?”
    “Because I don’t give a shit.”
    The man certainly believed in blunt speaking. The horse shifted sideways as Billings took the reins. The howl came again. Just as dark, just as compelling. Just as irresistible. There was a sadness to it that made her want to reach out and touch, a determination that gave her confidence, and a feral edge that sent goose bumps chasing over her skin. Billings swung up behind her. His arms came around her. A shiver slid over her skin, and not the good kind. He didn’t give a hoot, which only left one question. “So why are you helping me now?”
    “Because I owe him.”
    Him. The one who howled rather than shouted. She didn’t know whether to kick the horse in the direction of that howl or to turn around and run. Billings took the decision out of her hands. Kneeing the horse forward, he rode into the veil of darkness before them. She clutched the saddle horn, praying that if the horse couldn’t see, it would at least follow Billings’s directions and they wouldn’t end up sprawled at the bottom of a ravine with their necks broken. She prayed for that with every breath. And with every prayer, she fought the need to turn back toward that mournful howl. She pushed the hair off her