Chapter 15
Grace screamed. She didn’t mean to, but it came roaring out of her as though she was a volcano and couldn’t help but explode.
A hand, rough and large, clamped over her mouth and stifled her scream.
“Grace, for heaven’s sake, be quiet!” a familiar voice hissed.
Hunter?
She blinked. Hunter was here?
“If I take my hand away, will you be quiet?” he asked.
She nodded.
He removed his hand. The light of torches, faint as it was by now, lit part of Hunter’s face and Grace’s heart melted.
She was so thankful to see him that she threw her arms around his neck and held him tight.
She was crying and laughing and kissing his face, wanting to do nothing but hold him for the rest of her days.
She never wanted to part from him again.
“Touching as this is, we need to move!” Kyle said.
The camp was coming to life around them. The men, full of beer as they were, were waking up thanks to Grace’s scream, and already there were sounds of fighting. A gunshot boomed through the night air, and things began to happen quickly around them.
“We need to free the others!” Grace said, turning to look at the cages. “But they’re in bad shape. I don’t think many of them can walk.”
“Okay,” Kyle said with a nod. “Leave that to me. I saw a cart here somewhere earlier. You two open the cages.”
As Grace came running out of the shelter of the trees, Trudy came racing the other way.
“Trudy!” Grace cried. “Help me get the others out!”
“But—” Trudy tried to protest. She recoiled in fear from Hunter as he came hurrying up behind Grace. He turned and slammed a fist into one of the bandits, who had noticed two of the prisoners were free. The man went down like a sack of potatoes.
“He’s fine; that’s my husband, Hunter,” Grace said with no small amount of pride. She was embarrassed that her screams had disrupted Hunter’s rescue efforts, but she couldn’t help but feel some satisfaction that she’d known he would come to her rescue and also … that she had yet to faint!
Trudy seemed to gather herself and nodded. “Okay, but keep those maniacs off me while I pick the locks.”
She moved to the next cage and thrust the piece of metal into the lock. She moved it this way and that, and then the lock sprang open.
The gunfire was getting louder and more urgent. There were screams and increasing shouts of fighting. Hunter raced forward, barreling into a man who was coming the other way. The man grunted and toppled to the ground. Hunter raised a fist and slammed it into the man’s jaw. “Stay down!”
It was a violent display, but Grace grinned from ear to ear.
The lock sprang open, and two girls around thirteen years old came hesitantly out of the cage.
“Go and hide in the trees,” Grace told them. “We’re getting a cart. My friend is looking for it. He’ll be here soon. Just hide for now.”
The girls nodded and ran into the trees, ducking bullets and hopping over obstacles.
Someone grabbed Grace’s arm. She felt the familiar panic and fear grip her, but instead of fainting, she kicked out forcefully at the stranger.
The man screamed, and she realized abruptly that it was Herman.
“What are you doing?” she demanded, hands on her hips. “I helped you!” It didn’t matter that he was a bandit—she’d somehow thought he held himself to higher standards. Admittedly, she didn’t know why … It was just a feeling.
“Why did you kick me?” he asked through gritted teeth, holding his sore ankle.
“What? I’m escaping, and you’re stopping me,” Grace said.
“But we were becoming friends,” Herman said. He looked so desperate that for a moment, Grace didn’t know what to do. “You were kind. You showed me so much. Grace, I want to learn to bake like you.”
“Grace?” Hunter asked. He had another man by the lapels and was struggling with him. “You okay?”
“I’m fine,” Grace said. She looked into Herman’s dark eyes, assessing him and seeing the same gentle light she thought she’d spotted earlier.
She wasn’t sure how he’d come to be a bandit, but her initial impression had been right.
He was different somehow. “Okay, but if you betray me, my husband there will shoot you in the head.”
“Better believe it,” Hunter grunted from close by.
Herman nodded. “I understand. I knew you took part of the ring from my notebook,” he added. “I didn’t tell Alberto. My mother used to make some amazing cookies with sugar all over them. Do you think we can make them when we go to your town?”
Grace wondered if Herman was all right or if he had been hit on the head a few too many times. He had a bit of a dazed air to him. But he seemed sincere as he helped two boys out of the next cage and sent them running for the trees.
“Sure,” Grace said. “We can make anything you like, Herman.”
Trudy was working on another lock. It popped open and four young men, no more than twenty years old, came out.
One of them was limping and one had a bruised face.
But they still joined the fight, helping Hunter hold off a group of five men who had come running to the cages.
They quickly disarmed the bandits, and fistfights broke out as angry captives took to punishing the men who had been so cruel to them.
Moving on, Trudy came to the next lock and the little piece of metal broke in her fingers. She stared at Grace with large, scared eyes. “I can’t open it.”
“There must be something else we can use,” Grace said.
“I’ll get the key,” Herman said brightly. He raced off toward the house, almost scampering like a little kid.
“Is he really on our side all of a sudden?” Trudy asked.
“I guess this will be the test,” Grace said with a shrug. She was a worrywart, no doubt about it, but right now, there was no point in worrying. What would be would be.
“I guess so,” Trudy agreed.
There was a clatter of hooves and Kyle appeared, driving a cart right at them. He didn’t slow for the bandits in his path but let the horses run right over any unwise enough to get in his way. He also had several other horses tied to the cart, galloping alongside it.
“Get in!” Grace cried, running to the trees where the freed prisoners were waiting. They didn’t need to be told twice and hastily made their way to the cart.
Kyle was firing his pistol, keeping the bandits away, while Hunter and the young men helped the others into the back. Now it was only Mrs. Odenkirk and an older gentleman who were still locked up.
“Sir. Sir, can you hear me?” Grace asked through the bars. The old man stirred slightly.
“That’s Mr. Wallace,” Mrs. Odenkirk said. “He hasn’t been well for a few days now. Herman gave him extra water, but it doesn’t seem to have helped. I think he’s really sick.”
“Well, we need to get him out,” Grace said.
“I’ve got the key,” Herman said, appearing out of thin air. He bent and quickly opened the lock.
There was a boom, and Herman’s eyes went wide. He sagged to his knees, clutching his suddenly bleeding shoulder.
“Oh no!” Grace cried. She tore a strip off her petticoat hurriedly and began to bandage his wound while Trudy and one of the young men got Mr. Wallace out of his cell. Then they helped Herman stagger to the cart.
“At least he chose the right side in the end,” Mrs. Odenkirk said as Grace wiped her blood-soaked hands on her skirt and then used the key to open the old lady’s cage.
It registered at the back of her mind that she, who had never been able to look at even a drop of blood on her own fingertip without fainting, was suddenly playing nurse. God sure did work in mysterious ways!
Grace reached into the cage and managed to pull Mrs. Odenkirk out, supporting her weight, when suddenly someone grabbed her and spun her around.
“And here we are again,” Alberto sneered. “You people never learn. We will always win because you don’t know what you’re doing.”
He forced Grace in front of him as a shield. Her heart hammered in her chest, but once again, she didn’t faint. She didn’t want to die like this. Not with Hunter right there and all her dreams for the future unrealized. This wasn’t fair!
Hunter froze. “No!”
“Yes,” Alberto snapped. “She’s coming with me, and if you try to stop me, I will shoot her.”
“No!” Hunter said. “There is no way you’re getting away with this.”
Alberto laughed. “I don’t think so?—”
His words trailed off as he crumpled abruptly, letting go of Grace as he fell.
Whirling around, she found Trudy standing behind her with a log in her hand. The woman looked quite stunned.
“I hit him,” she said, sounding dazed.
“Yes, you did,” Grace said, relief rushing through her. “Thank you! Now help me get Mrs. Odenkirk into the cart. We need to go.”
“Yes, we do,” Kyle said.
“What did you do?” Hunter asked as they helped the older lady into the back of the cart and then climbed in themselves.
Kyle flicked the reins. “Let’s just say we should go quickly.”
As they headed for the gate, Kyle picked up the other members of the rescue party. Grace was surprised to see how many there were. They were soon piled into the cart like sardines. Others got on the horses’ backs and rode along.
The gates stood open now, and they had no trouble racing out and down the track.
“In three, two, one!” Kyle said and held his breath.
Everyone held their breath.
“Oh, maybe I got the fuses wron—” Kyle began.
BOOOM!
Grace’s ears rang as the world shuddered. A huge ball of fire erupted, sprouting into the air behind them.
“What did you do?” Hunter yelled at Kyle.
Kyle shrugged, holding the reins tightly to keep the horses from shying and panicking. “I might have found their gunpowder and dynamite store,” he said. “I thought I would make a little something to cover our getaway.”
BOOOOOOM! BOOM!
Two more explosions rocked the ground.
The cart sped down the hill, jolting and careening wildly. Grace clung tightly to the sides, absolutely petrified … but also oddly exhilarated. She almost didn’t recognize herself! Hunter took the reins from Kyle and somehow managed to slow everything down.
They reached a place where more horses were tied up, and the rescue party climbed out of the cart.