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Chapters (56)
  1. Cover
  2. Praise for the novels of Mia Sheridan
  3. About the Author
  4. NOTE TO READERS
  5. Dedication
  6. prologue
  7. chapter one
  8. chapter two
  9. chapter three
  10. chapter four
  11. chapter five
  12. chapter six
  13. chapter seven
  14. chapter eight
  15. chapter nine
  16. chapter ten
  17. chapter eleven
  18. chapter twelve
  19. chapter thirteen
  20. chapter fourteen
  21. chapter fifteen
  22. chapter sixteen
  23. chapter seventeen
  24. chapter eighteen
  25. chapter nineteen
  26. chapter twenty
  27. chapter twenty-one
  28. chapter twenty-two
  29. chapter twenty-three
  30. chapter twenty-four
  31. chapter twenty-five
  32. chapter twenty-six
  33. chapter twenty-seven
  34. chapter twenty-eight
  35. chapter twenty-nine
  36. chapter thirty
  37. chapter thirty-one
  38. chapter thirty-two
  39. chapter thirty-three
  40. chapter thirty-four
  41. chapter thirty-five
  42. chapter thirty-six
  43. chapter thirty-seven
  44. chapter thirty-eight
  45. chapter thirty-nine
  46. chapter forty
  47. chapter forty-one
  48. chapter forty-two
  49. chapter forty-three
  50. chapter forty-four
  51. chapter forty-five
  52. chapter forty-six
  53. chapter forty-seven
  54. chapter forty-eight
  55. epilogue
  56. acknowledgments

I pitched forward with the man I was fighting as we both grunted with the effort of the struggle while simultaneously attempting to stay on the small seat of the buggy. From my peripheral vision, I saw the man Emily stabbed jerk back and lose his balance. I turned my head in time to see him crash into Emily, each of them tumbling off the buggy on opposite sides.

“Em!” I yelled, grasping the stake at my waist and then using the strength brought on by my sudden panic to gouge the eye of the man I was fighting. He screamed with pain as he reeled away, taking the sharpened stick with him. “Em!” I leaned around the side of the buggy to see that Emily had stood—and so had the man she’d stabbed, still gripping his neck, a look of murderous rage on his face. The horses had both picked up speed, running alongside each other, the buggies bouncing in their wake. “Emily! Run!”

She only paused for half a heartbeat, looking behind her at the man who’d begun to stagger forward, before she began sprinting after the runaway buggy.

I heard the man on my buggy pulling himself up and felt the weight shift as he moved closer. But my heart was in my throat, and I couldn’t turn from Emily, who was quickly gaining on the buggy, even as both horses increased their speed. I could attempt to jump off, but I’d almost certainly break something, and I’d also be leaving Charlie, who was tied up inside.

In that moment, I decided that if Emily wasn’t able to catch up to the other buggy, I’d jump—come what may—so as not to leave her behind. If it was a choice between her and Charlie, I chose her, without a singular doubt.

But she could do this. She could catch the buggy and take control of the horse. I knew she could. “Run!” I yelled before turning quickly toward the man who was almost on me, his eye bleeding profusely, teeth bared. I raised my fist and surprised him with a right hook to his jaw. He went flying backward, and I looked behind me to see that Emily had made it to the buggy, reached for it with a yell of effort, her grasp falling short as she let out another sound of frustration and increased her speed.