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Chapter 16

Gabriella

As the horses galloped out of Whiskey River through the blinding snow, Gabriella thought of Monaco and if she would ever see it again. The Prince's Palace where she had grown up seemed far away now, unreal, another lifetime. Somehow, her life over the past month had become her new reality. It was as if she had known nothing else.

As the mare galloped with ease through the snow-covered forest, a shiver ran over her as she bent down close to the horse. Although it would never have been acceptable when she was riding at home, she gripped the saddle horn and held on tightly with her knees. The temperature was dropping, and the snow was falling hard. Even though it was early morning and the sun had just come up, they needed to find shelter soon. If not, they would freeze to death before they could get far.

"Okay." Harley stood in the stirrups and rubbed his rump. "The snow's piling up. We have to find shelter… now."

"Oh, shut up," Blake ordered, but he pulled back on the reins of his horse, slowing to a trot.

"But, Blake!" Clayton pulled back on his horse. "We'll freeze to death before we get there!"

"Both of you, stop your whining!" Blake barked as he pulled his horse to a walk. "Shut up and give me a chance to think."

The others pulled their horses to a walk, too, as they all grew quiet. The wind whistling through the trees, the horses panting, and the occasional hoot of an owl were the only sounds.

Gabriella pulled her shirt up over her mouth and buried her face in her coat so that only her eyes were showing, in an effort to keep warm. Up ahead, a cottage appeared in the distance and there was no smoke coming out of the chimney. This cannot be happening, Gabriella thought, dreading the thought of having to stay with these men in a cabin for who knew how long.

"Wait," Blake announced. "I know that place. It's abandoned." He nodded toward the cabin. "Clayton, go check it out and make sure."

"Me?" Clayton rubbed his head. "Why me?"

"Just do it!" Blake ordered, pulling his horse to a stop.

Gabriella let out a deep breath as she rolled her eyes. They were making so much noise that they were sure to be arrested for disturbing the peace, let alone kidnapping and robbing the Whiskey River General Store. She shook her head.

Clayton ran off, looked around, and then cautiously walked his horse up to one of the windows and looked in. Obviously satisfied, he turned his horse around and rode back. "Looks abandoned."

Blake nodded. "Let's go."

"Do you think the owner will be back anytime soon?" Harley asked as they all started walking toward it.

Clayton shook his head. "No, it looks abandoned. There's dust covering everything inside."

Gabriella's heart sank, cringing at the thought of spending any length of time with these idiots than she had to. She just hoped that Dirk came for her soon. But from the way the snow was coming down, their tracks would soon be covered. If that happened, she wouldn't have a prayer of Dirk finding her.

Blake sighed. "Hey, it's a place to stay, at least. Harley, take her inside and build a fire. I'll tend the horses."

"But what happens if someone comes home?" Clayton reasoned.

This time Harley and Blake both rolled their eyes.

"Then we'll kill them and stay there until it stops snowing," Blake replied matter-of-factly.

"But what happens if the man she was staying with comes for her?" Clayton asked.

Blake shrugged. "Then, we'll kill him, too."

"No!" Gabriella shouted, startling her horse. "You promised that if I went with you peacefully, you wouldn't hurt him!"

A sinister smile curled Blake's mouth as his eyes danced. "I lied."

"No!" She quickly turned her horse around and headed back toward Whiskey River. "Yah!"

Gabriella leaned forward in the saddle, and the horse leapt into a dead run. A shot rang out behind her, but she didn't slow down. Urging the horse on, she stayed down low. Gabriella leaned to the side heading through the trees, trying to stay as low as she could to the horse.

She held onto the saddle horn and gripped the horse tightly with her legs, willing herself not to fall off. Gunshots rang out throughout the forest behind her. One hit her on the shoulder, sending pain throughout her body.

"Stop shooting at her!" Blake ordered as the sound of horses' hooves pounding through the snow rang out behind her. It sounded like they were gaining fast.

"Yah! Come on, ma cherie! Get us out of here!" Gabriella darted through the trees to the right and headed toward a mountain. Moisture ran down her back as streaks of pain ran through her body.

The black mare stretched out her neck and her tail, and seemed to be pushing herself harder—then suddenly came to an abrupt stop. Gabriella flew forward, off the horse, and instinctively grabbed the ground at the cliff's edge, stopping her from going over, but her feet dangled in the air. A shower of pebbles fell down a steep precipice under her feet from the horse's abrupt stop. She listened, but never heard the pebbles hit the bottom. She looked up and she was dangling over the edge of a cliff. Somehow, she had managed to grab the edge, but her shoulder was hurting so badly that she didn't know how long she would be able to hold on.

Gabriella looked up and the horse looked down at her as if wondering what she was doing down there. She looked around and the reins were laying close. Reaching over, she took hold of them, hoping the horse could pull her up.

"Well, well!" Harley walked up and looked over the edge of the cliff at her. "Looky what we have here!"

Gabriella ignored him, talking only to the horse. "Back up, girl. Back up, ma cherie."

The horse nickered softly, her eyes wild.

"Ma cherie, huh?" Harley looked at Gabriella, smiling. "Now," he drawled as he casually took a step closer and looked down at her, "isn't this a predicament."

Gabriella's hands began to slip but she wrapped them around the horse's reigns, propping her arms on the edge of the cliff. If only she could pull herself up…. "You'll be waiting a long time if you want me to beg for help," she grunted, trying to hold on.

"What the hell are you doing? If she goes over the edge, so does the money!" Clayton reasoned, walking up on the other side. Then he reached over the edge of the cliff, grabbed Gabriella, and pulled her up. She rolled over, collapsing onto her back.

The mare whinnied as she nudged Gabriella's side, nickering softly.

"Good girl." Gabriella reached up and petted her muzzle, cringing from the pain in her shoulder and back.

"What the hell is going on?" Blake grabbed her arm and yanked her to her feet, leaving a bright red circle on the snow.

Gabriella gasped.

"What the hell?" He pulled his hand back and it was drenched in blood. "Which one of you shot her?"

"He did it." Clayton pointed to Harley.

"Like hell I did!"

"Shut up, you imbeciles!" Blake yanked her coat away from her shoulder to assess the damage.

"Get off me!" Gabriella demanded, trying to pull the coat back up.

Blake looked down at her shoulder, ignoring her. "It was a clean shot, and it looks like it went straight through her shoulder, but she's losing a lot of blood." He bundled up her coat, pushed it to her shoulder, and applied pressure. Then, he took off his own coat and pushed it to the front, trying to stop the bleeding. He looked up at Harley. "We have to get her back to that cabin. If we don't, she could bleed to death. We have to cauterize the wound."

Clayton's eyes opened wide. "We can't do that to a woman! We have to get her to a doctor!"

She had no idea what cauterize meant, but there was no way she was going to let any of them touch her. "Let me go! Don't you dare touch me!"

Blake ignored her as he scooped her up and pushed her onto his horse. Then he slid up behind her.

"Get away from me! Let me go!"

He pulled out a gun and pointed it at her head. "Shut up, or I'll throw you off the cliff myself."

"Then you won't get your money for sure," she calmly replied, squaring her shoulders. "That is what you want, isn't it? Money?"

He didn't answer as he slid his gun back into its holster.

"Yah!" He leaned forward and ran the horse as quickly as he could through the forest.

Involuntarily, she leaned back against Blake's chest, feeling weak and dizzy. She sat up, willing herself not to lose consciousness, but the slow, methodical rhythm of the horse's pace was hard to fight. The snow blew hard against her as they walked on. Gabriella was cold, so cold. But the last thing she saw before her eyes closed was the abandoned cabin. She hoped that Dirk would come for her… and God help these men when he found her.

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