"Whatever ye decide, ye best decide soon," Seumas said.
"All right.I need ye and the men to lay low in the woods.I'll take the lass in the cart and go to meet them.I'll bargain to join them in exchange for her."
"Aye.We'll stay close – just signal if ye need us."
"Thank ye, Seumas.But whatever happens, the men are to protect her.Above everything else.Her safety comes first."
Seumas paused at the unusual instruction, then nodded.They turned back to speak to the woman in question, only to find she was gone.
"Bloody hell!"Cormac cursed, and sprinted into the woods after her.
***
THERE WAS NO WAY UNAwas staying to be exchanged and bartered like cattle.The moment the masked man nodded that he knew the men she was to be handed over to, she knew she had to run.Despite feeling inexplicably safe with him, she could not trust him.For all she knew, he could be the gang's leader himself and the entire encounter had been a ruse to bring her to heel.
She had watched the exchange between him and his second carefully.The urgent whispers.None of it boded well.
Now that her hands were free and the cramp was easing from her legs, she had to move.
And she did.
It took little effort to slip quietly from the fallen log and drop into the ditch beside the cart.Once she saw a clear path, she ran – in the opposite direction from where she had seen his men disappear into the woods.
***
Chapter 7
The Forest Road – Moments Later
Una ran.
She did not look back.She angled north by instinct and kept her breathing and footsteps as light as possible, weaving between the trees and dense undergrowth.Her entire focus was on moving forward and putting as much distance as possible between herself and her would-be captors.
She could not think beyond escape and survival, already building a mental checklist.Water.Food.Shelter.Weapon.Stream.Berries.Canopy.Knife.Chanting to match her pace.
After some time she was beginning to think she might actually manage it when she heard him.
