BooksBarbecue
Back Nottingham
Chapters (76)
  1. Title Page
  2. Copyright Notice
  3. Dedication
  4. PROLOGUE
  5. PART I
  6. ONE
  7. TWO
  8. THREE
  9. FOUR
  10. FIVE
  11. SIX
  12. SEVEN
  13. EIGHT
  14. NINE
  15. PART II
  16. TEN
  17. ELEVEN
  18. TWELVE
  19. THIRTEEN
  20. FOURTEEN
  21. FIFTEEN
  22. SIXTEEN
  23. SEVENTEEN
  24. EIGHTEEN
  25. NINETEEN
  26. PART III
  27. TWENTY
  28. TWENTY-ONE
  29. TWENTY-TWO
  30. TWENTY-THREE
  31. TWENTY-FOUR
  32. TWENTY-FIVE
  33. TWENTY-SIX
  34. INTERLUDE
  35. PART IV
  36. TWENTY-SEVEN
  37. TWENTY-EIGHT
  38. TWENTY-NINE
  39. THIRTY
  40. THIRTY-ONE
  41. THIRTY-TWO
  42. THIRTY-THREE
  43. THIRTY-FOUR
  44. INTERLUDE
  45. PART V
  46. THIRTY-FIVE
  47. THIRTY-SIX
  48. THIRTY-SEVEN
  49. THIRTY-EIGHT
  50. PART VI
  51. THIRTY-NINE
  52. FORTY
  53. FORTY-ONE
  54. FORTY-TWO
  55. FORTY-THREE
  56. FORTY-FOUR
  57. FORTY-FIVE
  58. INTERLUDE
  59. PART VII
  60. FORTY-SIX
  61. FORTY-SEVEN
  62. FORTY-EIGHT
  63. FORTY-NINE
  64. FIFTY
  65. FIFTY-ONE
  66. FIFTY-TWO
  67. PART VIII
  68. FIFTY-THREE
  69. FIFTY-FOUR
  70. FIFTY-FIVE
  71. FIFTY-SIX
  72. EPILOGUE
  73. AUTHOR’S NOTE
  74. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
  75. ABOUT THE AUTHOR
  76. Newsletter Sign-up

Elena clutched her arm in pain, but fought through it, focusing on Will. “You should be leading us, not this stranger! If one of you two had to die, why should it be you?” Elena withered, collapsing down to the ground. “You’re better than him.”

“That’s the thing, Lena.” Will hovered over her. “I’m not. I’m not better than him. You’ve been whispering that in my ear ever since he showed up, but it’s not true. He’s a better leader, he’s smarter. He knew something was wrong about this, something I couldn’t see even though it was right in front of me. He didn’t get us here, Lena. You did.”

He fought through tears and fury, seemingly driven by a terrible new clarity. “While Robin was teaching Much to defend himself, you taught him to sneak up from behind, which is what got him killed. You were the one that wanted to use him on the raid in Bernesdale. You attacked Gisbourne at Locksley Castle, that was you, damn it! Hell, it was even your idea to kill Sheriff de Lacy! I let you convince me, because I loved you—” His voice cracked and he lost himself, but a moment later he overcame it. “I loved you and I trusted you, I trusted you. And now you’ve killed my best friend.” He almost looked down at Alan, but didn’t. With the last of what he had left in him, as his will collapsed, “What exactly about my life have you not ruined?”

The rest of them stood aghast. Will and Elena both kneeled in the frost, only a few feet from each other but impossibly far apart. Elena’s fingers scratched at the ground, as if she could pull him closer to her, but she couldn’t reach him, and he gave her nothing in return.

John watched, but felt no pity for her. Deep inside him, whatever it was that comprised a man’s soul turned to stone. “You lied to us, Lena.”

“What?” She raised her head. “John, no, I never did…”

“You’re lying to me now.” John’s blood was cold, it pumped black. “You wanted us to kill Arable, to kill her for what you said she’d done to Alan. You begged us. You begged us to kill her before we found out the truth.”

“You were going to kill me to hide your secret?” Arable’s voice trembled behind him. “I risked everything to help you. You’d be dead if not for me…”

“No,” Elena gasped, but had nothing else to say. Anything would have been another lie.

“Alan died trying to defend her, to say we have to trust each other, that we have to help each other.”