Chapter 7
CHAPTER 7
A ll of Theodore’s tools were right where he left them. His walking stick, too.
But Lady Crane was sidestepping irritably, her ears laid flat. Theodore didn’t know much about horses, but he knew enough to be worried. Something had her spooked.
“Something’s wrong,” Ardruina said, looping a protective arm around him.
A branch snapped behind them, and the horse reared, kicking out her front legs. The moment Theodore felt himself sliding, he squeezed his legs and clung to the saddle, Ardruina bracing around him. When they returned to the ground, Ardruina’s sharp cry pierced his ear, her weight and warmth disappearing.
“Ardruina!” he yelled, twisting to see if she fell.
Rough hands yanked him off the saddle. He landed on the ground with a hard smack, pain blooming in his shoulder. Lady Crane reared again, and he rolled away to avoid her flailing hooves.
“Uh, uh, uh. Where do ya think you’re going?” He was seized by the front of his shirt and dragged, mud and groundwater soaking the fabric, rocks scraping his skin.
The man above him was ridiculously muscled and wore a black T-shirt two sizes too small, mud-spattered jeans, and ass-kicking boots. Also, he was gruff, bearded, and had never seen moisturizer in his life.
Just as a broken branch cut a wicked, painful slice into his back, Theodore was hauled to his feet, arms jammed behind him. The force of it was very nearly enough to dislocate his shoulders, and a pained, breathless whimper rushed out of his lungs. He hated how a man such as this would see it as a sign of weakness.
Heart pounding a million miles a minute, he observed the scene before him, his brain trying to catch up and assess the mess they landed in.
Two other men with similar builds had also pinned Ardruina’s arms, though they strained to contain her. She fought their combined grasp, eyes dark glittering pools of rage, too strong and fierce for either of them to handle alone.
Watching it all from the sidelines was Leon Marks. He looked just as douchey in his designer aviators and bougie hiking gear as he did in a bespoke suit on the cover of Forbes . The smug bastard was chewing gum with his mouth open, flashing a too-white smile.
“Got us here two meddling weirdos playing at eco-warriors.” Marks laughed.
“Let her go,” Theodore demanded. “She’s got nothing to do with this.”
“You rode in together.” Marks gestured blandly to Lady Crane, the agitated horse snorting and stamping her hooves. “Looks like aiding and abetting to me.” To his goons, he added, “Get rid of him first, then his goth girlfriend.”
“Get your hands off her!” Theodore thrashed. The man had an iron grip.
A fist collided into the side of his face.
“Theodore!”
It hurt, but not as much as it could’ve. And when he looked up, he saw Leon Marks dabbing at his knuckles with a tissue, which he then deposited on the ground with a careless flick of his fingers.
The asshole sucker-punched him.
As Theodore was dragged to the water’s edge, a cold certainty washed over him. He knew what they intended to do. What they’d force Adrian to watch, what would befall her next.
Once shoved to the ground, he wrestled his arms free, clawing and punching. The goon had him by the shoulders, pushing him back and back and back, cool water lapping at his scalp. He was engaging in the hardest crunch of his life just trying to keep his head above water.
“Let him go, or I swear you’ll regret this!” Ardruina shouted.
Marks ignored her, expression bored.
Adrenaline was on Theodore’s side for now, but he couldn’t break free, and he couldn’t keep this up. The crash was coming.
If only he was stronger. If only he’d insisted on coming alone.
If only, if only.
Ardruina met his eyes then with a strange, distant calm. “I’m sorry, Teddy.” With a rough yank, she freed one of her arms and ripped the green ribbon from her neck.
Her head tumbled to the ground. And her body with it, her shocked captors letting go.
Theodore screamed.