Lady Gone Bad Read Online Free Page B

sandbar. Noisy flocks of birds wheeled overhead, gathering for nighttime retreats. Sunlight cast dark shadows across the burnished river.
    “Hurry!” Rafe shouted as he rode up. “They’re above us.”
    Shocked, Lady glanced back. Men with Winchesters, at least a dozen, were lining up along the cliff’s edge, taking aim as the dying rays of the sun winked on gun barrels. How had the outlaws gotten there so quickly? She’d thought she had more time to get away.
    “We’re not out of rifle range!” she called, judging the distance with a practiced eye.
    “Zigzag!” He gigged Justice forward, cutting back and forth across the sandbar and into the river.
    Lady kept pace, counting on their staggered pattern and the fading light to protect them. A shot whizzed past her head, whining like an angry bee. Bullets peppered the water, kicking up small red geysers. She ducked and stayed low in the saddle, urging Jipsey forward. Rafe’s gelding pulled away, faster and stronger against the current.
    She glanced back at the bluff. Three men were down on their knees, bracing their rifles, narrowing their shots. She desperately needed to get out of rifle range. She urged Jipsey faster.
    At the next sandbar, she saw Rafe glance back, slowing his horse to wait for her. She waved him ahead to the far shore, wanting one of them to make it.
    Out of the water, she made a bigger target and knew it. She plunged back down, staying low on Jipsey’s neck. She was covered in red mud, a slick mess that made staying in the saddle a challenge. She clung to both saddle horn and reins, gripping the mare tight with aching knees.
    When she heard Epona give a warning cry in her head, she knew trouble had found her. A moment later, a bullet slammed off Jipsey’s saddle, scored a red path across her shoulder, and she went down.
    Lady leaped clear of the saddle, losing her hat in deep water. A strong undertow pulled her beneath the surface. She swallowed too much muddy water. She fought her way back to the top, spitting out water and gasping for air. She swam against the current, struggling to regain the sandbar.
    She feared Jipsey might be dead or badly injured. But the mare stood on the sandbar, trained to remain calm under fire. Rafe’s horse, saddle empty, stood beside her. But he was nowhere in sight. Had he been hit and fallen in the river?
    She had to get back to help, but the strong current kept pulling her farther away. Bullets peppered the river all around her. She stopped swimming and tread water to use less energy. The cloth that bound her breasts had slipped down around her waist, getting in her way. She jerked on it, managed to pull it loose, and let it float away. Somehow, she had to reach the sandbar before her strength ran out.
    Suddenly strong hands grasped her around the waist. She yelped and struck out, fearing an outlaw had grabbed her.
    “It’s me,” Rafe said. “You’re okay.”
    She felt relief, but then horror. What if he realized she was a woman, much less Lady Gone Bad? She had to get his hands off her, but she needed his help more.
    “Got to get out of here.” He glanced up at the bluff. “Grab my shoulder.”
    She gripped hard as he plowed through the river, drawing her beside him. Muscles rippled under her fingers as his arms slashed through water. She was acutely aware of him, dark hair wet and sleek, strong shoulders broad and muscular, long body taut and powerful.
    When he reached the sandbar, he lifted her into his arms and carried her to shore. Cradled against his chest, she felt safe, protected, emotions she’d given up so long ago. But she wasn’t safe. He was her enemy. And they were under increasing fire.
    “Put me down!” She struggled to get away before he realized the truth. She felt his hands slip, slide over the round globes of her butt, the curves of her breasts, the slick surface of her skin.
    “Female, like I suspected.” He froze, appearing puzzled as he searched her face.
    “No!” She