River Arrow (New Guardsmen Book 2) by Ella Drake Read Free Book Online Page B

gut him, won’t you, Cassie?”
    “I will.” Cassie’s reply was shaky and doubtful, but it’d have to do.
    Head high and gaze steady, unaffected by shooting her enemy, Mari drew close to Jared. “We can’t wait ‘til dark, now. They’ll figure this guy’s missing sooner or later.”
    “They will.” He ground his teeth and glanced through the clean window at his back. “Still quiet out there. We’ll ease around the side of the community house and get them as they show their faces.”
    It was the best he could do.
    The door creaked open. Mari snuck past first and soundlessly made her way into the courtyard. Following, he kept his steps quiet, barely making a sound on the packed ground.
    The hair on the back of his neck rose.
    They’d been careful, but his gut told him they’d been found.
    A shout rang out from across the way and the scuffling of boots came from his right. A drifter raised his rifle and aimed toward Jared.
    “Fuck.” Weaponless, Jared launched himself.
    Jared plowed into the stranger’s midsection. The ram shocked through his system and jarred his bones.
    The crack of the rifle discharging exploded in his ear. Sucking wind, Jared went down hard and on the man beneath him. Jared drew back and punched the invader. The pain in his fists was as welcome as the gash he ripped in his knuckles. Pain for pain.
    Strong hands landed on him, gripped his arms and legs, yanked him from the mewling man under him. Jared hit the ground in a nauseating thump and bit his tongue. His vision blurred and he couldn’t quite make out a body lumped on the ground a few feet away.
    “Mari?” he whispered. He couldn’t see. He didn’t know. He had to get to her. He lurched to his feet. “Fuckers!”
    They jumped him, fists grinding into him, and unable to fight them all off, he collapsed beneath the weight.

Chapter Five
    Diving from a full speed sprint, Mari skidded under the community house. She gulped in air as the chill of shadows covered her. Her skin crawled. It was dark under here and there had to be spiders. Ninety percent of the world’s humans had died off two decades ago but somehow the spiders had survived. She shuddered.
    A sound she recognized even though she rarely heard it made her shivering turn to a clench of her entire body. A rifle shot.
    Before the boom finished echoing in the sky, she fell flat on the ground. The musty smell of damp dirt surrounded her and her mouth dug into the mildew laden soil. She gagged but kept it together. Crouching, she quietly edged around and peered from her hiding spot. In the yard, a pile of men fought, thrashed, and snarled.
    From the midst of it, a roar came from the bottom and bodies flew. Jared stood in the middle, his bare chest heaving and his red hair in a tangled mess. With a snarl, he brought his arm back and punched the nearest drifter. The man’s feet left the ground and he landed on his back.
    Someone lashed out, his boot landing in the back of Jared’s leg, and that large, gorgeous man went down with two men piling on top of him, beating and kicking him. After several horrifying minutes, they separated and lifted Jared to his knees. A rope quickly wrapped his torso, pinning his arms to his sides, and he was trussed up and on the ground before Mari could find her voice. She pressed her fist against her mouth to keep the protest inside her from spilling out.
    They dragged him. They pulled an unconscious Jared through the yard, his head slapping on the ground and the beautiful skin of his back ripping on the grit and rocks. Her eyes stung and she wiped at her nose but nothing fell. There’d be no time for crying. She brought her bow around sideways and notched an arrow. But there were two men and if she had a better position, she could be fast enough. But not like this, with her elbows on the ground, the tight space only inches taller than she and too cramped to bring the next arrow around and flying.
    Her breathing was loud and a small sound of