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“You’re just
going to have to trust me.”
    She shoved him off the platform, forcing him
to jump or fall to his death. Shea followed right as the wagon
scraped by, knocking against the structure in the process. The
strangers and Cam leapt at the same time, making the jump easily.
James landed awkwardly on his side, safely in the wagon’s bed. Shea
fell on top of him, her knee landing squarely on his stomach,
nearly catapulting her off the other side in the process. The
whiskey-eyed stranger grabbed her by the back of the shirt and
hauled her back in before she could dive headfirst into the ground.
He dumped her in the bottom next to the others.
    “Thanks,” she said, patting him on the arm.
The ground raced by. She didn’t think she would have survived the
landing. “Guess I owe you one now.”
    A slight smile partially thawed his granite
expression. “Just returning the favor.”
    His eyes seemed capable of staring right
through a person, sizing them up in moments and learning all their
secrets in the process.
    Shoulder length brown hair framed a sharp
featured face possessing rigidly defined cheekbones and jaw.
Everything about him screamed strength. From his nose, to his
mouth, to the way he held himself. He was over a head taller than
Shea, who wasn’t exactly short. His hands, where they held her
arms, were calloused and rough-hewn. There was a small scar, almost
unnoticeable unless one was as close to him as Shea was, along his
jaw line. It was almost hidden beneath the stubble covering a chin
that hadn’t seen a razor in days.
    His presence brought to mind words like
forceful, powerful, intimidating. He was like a tightly leashed
wild animal. Awe-inspiring and magnificent right up until the
moment it decided you were its next meal.
    Shea moved away from him. She was forced to
crawl over James so she could clap Witt on the back. “That was some
distraction.”
    “Glad you liked it,” he shouted back as he
deftly handled the horses.
    The wagon bounced harshly, putting air
between it and Shea. She landed hard enough to rattle bones. The
others braced themselves against the sides. Traveling at breakneck
speeds over uneven ground by wagon didn’t make for a comfortable
ride.
    “What about me?” Dane shouted. The noise from
the horses’ hooves and the clatter of the wagon’s wheels nearly
drowned out his voice.
    Shea ducked her head, hiding a grin. “I don’t
know. You almost hit me a time or two with your shots.”
    “Almost hit you?” Dane’s voice rose a few
notes in indignation. He turned to glare at her, shaking the boomer
in emphasis. “There’s no almost about it. Each shot was perfectly
placed and went exactly where I aimed. Almost hit you, my ass.”
    He was right, but Shea was loath to admit it.
To his face anyway. His ego was big enough as it was. As Dane
muttered about how he’d known exactly what he was doing, Shea
turned her attention to the others. She knelt by Cam’s side where
he was propped up against the wagon’s side.
    “How bad are you hurt?”
    His face was a mask of pain, and he grimaced
at the question. He groaned as the wagon lurched under them. Shea
steadied herself against the wagon’s side.
    “They beat him pretty badly,” said the first
stranger’s friend. “I did what I could for his ribs, but there may
be injuries beneath the skin that need to be treated.”
    The stranger had grey eyes and appeared to be
the same age as his friend. Though more handsome than the other
man, he didn’t carry the same sort of presence. This one seemed
more easygoing, like he enjoyed a laugh.
    “I’ll be fine,” Cam said through gritted
teeth.
    Shea very much doubted that. He had two black
eyes. One had already swollen shut. Blood was caked beneath his
nose and around his mouth. The nose was probably broken. All that
could be fixed given time. What worried her was the slight
breathlessness he had every time he inhaled. As if something heavy
was on his chest when there was no