Page 190 of Crucible
I’ve already been running for miles.
My heart pounds so fast that each beat feels more like a stab, and with each passing minute, it becomes impossible to catch my breath. But I keep putting one foot in front of the other. I can’t risk slowing because I know the men chasing me won’t. If they catch me, they’ll keep their promise and punish me for running.
The pack on my back is heavy, and I’d move so much faster without it, but I can’t risk leaving it.
I wish I could say the last month has been bliss, but no.
It’s been weeks of waiting for Sheriff Kelly to come. That first morning after, Thorin and Khalil nearly came to blows over the decision of whether to take me and run.
Of course, Thorin was for it. Khalil wasn’t so willing to give up their home for the slight chance that the sheriff didn’t believe them.
And…he was right.
The sheriff never came.
I figured it would take him a few days to piece it together, but after the first week passed and then the second without him darkening our doorstep, I began to wonder if I’d imagine that moment between us.
Only the mood of my mountain men this past month confirmed that I hadn’t. And then one night, when I was brave enough to ask about that day in town, Khalil revealed a little of their history with the sheriff, and I finally understood why the man hadn’t come.
There might have been a second when the thought crossed the sheriff’s mind about my true identity, but in the end, he didn’twantto believe that the men he regarded as sons could do something like this right under his nose. It’s the same willful ignorance many parents show, who know their kids are obnoxious little shits but pretend they’re perfect angels instead.
Sheriff Kelly’s choice not to follow his gut was the first time I understood that I was truly on my own. And now I needed to do something about where that left me.
Thorin, Khalil, and even Seth have been surly, paranoid, broody, overly possessive, and un-bear-a-ble.
Needless to say, I couldn’t take it anymore.
The moment I stopped feeling their eyes on me for even a second, I ran. That brief head start is the only reason they haven’t caught me yet.
I run for another half a mile before I can’t take another step. I’m in much better shape than I was two months ago, thanks to Khalil and sheer fucking boredom, but I’m still gasping for air while the stitch in my side pulls tighter.
I stop next to a broken tree. The top half sweeps the ground that’s free of snow now that it’s spring. The last frost ended a week ago, and the flowers are already in bloom. The area looks familiar, but I’m too tired to care why. My curls are plasteredto my forehead, and sweat stings my eyes as I catch my breath. Why hadn’t I gone for one of the snowmobiles?
You know why.
Maybe…just maybe…I want them to catch me.
I’m a masochist like that.
A sound nearby catches my ear, and my head snaps in that direction.
Gotta move.
I groan miserably and push away from the tree I’m leaning against, but then the sleeve of my costume dress that I just mended a few days ago snags on a branch of the broken tree. I impatiently try to wrestle it free and feel the threads tear open once more.
“Damn it,” I whisper.
Once I’m free, I take one step away from the tree, but a twig snaps underneath my foot, and I freeze.
“Did you hear that?” I hear Seth ask.
“I think she went this way.”
Fuck, fuck, fuck!
They’re closer than I thought.
I stumble forward in the opposite direction, picking up speed until I’m running again, woefully aware that each clumsy step only gives away my position. They’re not trying to be quiet either, and why should they? They’re faster than me, and there are three of them.
