“Then she is the greatest actress in the world,” William said with a snort, not bothering to hide his contempt for the idea. “What does your gut tell you?”
That her body’s responses were honest, even if she hadn’t been. I sighed, getting to my feet and dusting myself off.
“She still lied.” I clung stubbornly to the fact that bothered me the most.
“We’ll spank her ass and tell her she’s not to do it again,” William said, following me to his feet. “I don’t think she’s lied about anything else. She’s avoided talking about it. I don’t think she likes lying to us.”
As usual, I thought William was taking a rosy view of the situation, but for the first time, my cynical self wanted to believe. I didn’t want everything we’d been building with Sassy to have been false. I wanted her…
I wanted her to care as much about us as we did about her.
I wanted her to love us—to love me, the same way I loved her.
That’s why I’d been so damn angry. I’d gone and fallen in love with my wife and couldn’t be sure she felt the same way. Couldn’t be sure she should be trusted, even if she said she did, and the uncertainty made my stomach churn.
It was easier to be angry than hurt.
“We should find her and ask some questions,” I said firmly. “Then she’s definitely getting a spanking.” William nodded his agreement, but before we could move, we heard the whinny of a horse, and movement out of the corner of my eye caught my attention.
Both of our heads whipped around to see a man on horseback, galloping away through the fields, something big draped over his lap.
William
* * *
“Sassy!” I called out her name before I could think, taking a step forward as if I could somehow bring her back to us with just her name.
The horseman was riding away with her over his lap—I recognized the fabric of her dress—and I doubted either of them could hear us if she was even conscious. From the way her body was flopping, I doubted it. Fear seized my heart, freezing my chest.
“Damn!” Clive spat out the curse, but unlike me, he didn’t freeze, leaping into motion. I followed him, only a moment behind. It took us precious seconds to free Thunder and Blaze from where we’d hitched them to the fence post and get them turned in the right direction.
Precious seconds to follow the unknown horseman.
Thankfully, the land was flat, and we could see him, even if he was just a tiny silhouette on the horizon. I clenched my jaw with anger as I saw the way Sassy’s legs, arms, and head were flopping. She must be unconscious. He was going to pay for that.
We’d promised to protect and cherish her, and today, we were failing on both fronts.
We followed him for several miles to a break in our fence, which had Clive and me exchanging hard looks. That was new. I’d just walked this line last week. It was damn lucky we hadn’t lost any cattle through it, although part of me was grateful the horseman hadn’t had to jump the fence with Sassy perched so precariously on his lap.
About a mile off our lands, near the river, we could see a campsite ahead. Smoke came from the fire, and the horseman with Sassy had slowed to a walk.
I grit my teeth, watching as two men jumped up to help lift her down from her kidnapper. They were touching our wife… none too gently either. As we came closer, I could see her head lolling.
One of the men was already backing away, holding onto her, while her kidnapper and the other man turned to face us, hands on their holsters. I don’t know why they didn’t draw, but they were going to regret not taking us seriously as a threat. Clive and I were damn fast with our draws, and these two didn’t look comfortable in their stances. We got down from Blaze and Thunder, stepping in front of them. The horses snorted but didn’t move.
A fourth man, one I hadn’t noticed until we were almost upon them, stood up next to the fire as Clive and I came to a halt about fifteen feet away. The man holding Sassy had stepped back beside the man next to the fire, so he could see her face.
Dark-haired and tall, his handsome face was ruined by a vicious red scar that ran across his entire face. His eye on that side was damaged. Whoever slashed him had gotten him right across it.
“That’s her,” he said, his voice filled with anger and satisfaction. His accent was different from Sassy’s, that of an English lord rather than a commoner. This had to be Lord Carmichael, come all the way from England to find her.
Remembering what Clive had said about her assaulting the man, I could only guess she’d been the one to give him the scar across his face. He hadn’t just been hunting her because he’d wanted her… he likely wanted revenge.
“That’s our wife,” Clive said coldly, making Carmichael finally turn to look at us.
His lip curled up in a sneer as he looked us over, clearly unimpressed.
“Then you should be thanking me for taking this whore off your hands.” He barked a short laugh. “Although I shouldn’t be surprised, a harlot like her would end up with two husbands. Apparently, she could only change her ways so far.”
Anger bubbled up in my gut, roiling and seething, and if I could have done so without endangering Sassy, I would have thrown myself at him right then.
“He said, that’s our wife,” I responded, my tone lethal. “Give her back to us, and we’ll let you go quietly and forget your insults to her.”
The lord’s eyes widened with incredulity. “Are you threatening me?”
It had taken him long enough to notice.
12
Sassy
* * *
Voices stirred through the darkness as my throbbing head drew me back to consciousness.
“I admit she’s a good fuck, gentlemen, but she’s hardly worth dying over.”
I recognized that voice, and it filled me with horror and despair. My head throbbed harder, and I fought back a whimper. Maybe if I could fall back into unconsciousness, I’d awaken again to find this was all a dream.
“I’m glad you feel that way.” That was Clive’s rough voice. Clive was here for me? Even though… even though… Anguish filled me as I remembered his anger, his fight with William. That hurt even more than my head did. “Hand her over, and you won’t have to die.”
“Has it escaped your notice that you’re outnumbered?” Lord Carmichael’s voice hardened, and my breath caught in my throat. Oh, God… my husbands were going to be killed, and it was all my fault.
My eyes popped open as I began to struggle against the arms holding me. I was unceremoniously dropped onto the ground, knocking the breath from me. The sight that met my eyes did nothing to make me feel better.
William and Clive were both there, hands on their holsters, glaring daggers at the two men standing in front of me. I could see my husbands through their legs. I glanced up to see Carmichael on my right, glaring at my husbands. Carmichael’s face was horrifically scarred, and I gasped when I saw my handiwork, jerking my gaze away. Twisting my head around, there was another unknown man standing behind me, blocking off any chance of escape.
I peeked at Carmichael again.