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I only want to protect Kitty, Lord. And I am willing to suffer anything for her, but please, please don’t let them do this!
“You going stay here and wait until we’re through?” Lee stopped and laughed, turning to where Kitty had been.
She was gone.
Faster!
The feeling that had haunted him for the past several minutes now came with greater fervency. Hollowness settled in his gut and his leg muscles tensed.
Go faster!
Thomas couldn’t ignore the terrible anxiousness any longer. He ran. Something wasn’t right. He needed to get back to them. The package he carried under his arm scolded him. If only he’d waited to buy the fabric, he could have been there by now.
The impression came yet again and he quickened his pace, jumping over logs and ducking under branches as he flew across the path.
Soon the sound of someone running reached him. And the sound of crying. His heart leaped into his throat.
Only the slightest sliver of light remained, leaving the forest around him dark. He could barely make out the silhouette of someone coming toward him.
“Mr. Watson!”
“Miss Katherine!”
Her terror-stricken face, evident even in the dim light, sent chills over his body.
“Mr. Watson! Mr. Watson, help us!” She cried and reached for him, her fingers gripping him like ropes of iron.
His back and arms cramped as he grabbed her by the shoulders. “What’s wrong? What’s happened?” He looked around and his breath caught. “Where’s your sister?”
She trembled under his fingers, so winded she could hardly speak. “They have her! They have her!”
“Who? Soldiers?” He gripped tighter.
“Not soldiers. Two men . . . they took her . . .” Kitty tried to continue, but couldn’t.
“Where did they take her?”
She pointed in the direction of where they’d been waiting.
Thomas gripped her elbow and ran, his heart pumping so fast his ribs shook.
It took less than a minute to reach the place he’d left them earlier that day. There was no sign of Eliza. Or anyone else.
“Liza!” Kitty cried, wrapping her arms round her.
Thomas scanned the area, searching for anything that might give him a clue, but he saw nothing.
A piercing scream split the air sending an icy shiver over his back. When it came again another second later both he and Kitty dashed in the direction of the sound.
In seconds, the horrifying scene came into view.
Eliza lay on the ground, one large man crouching in front of her, while a second knelt behind her, his knees on her outstretched arms, holding her down. The fat savage by her legs fumbled with her skirts as she struggled to get free. He cussed at her to keep quiet and stay still.
Thomas’s body nearly split in two as hot rage shot down his spine. He dropped the package and burst into the small clearing. Lunging at the larger man, he yelled with barbaric volume. His veins pumped fire. He plowed into the fat man’s torso, sending both of them flying and landing in a tangled heap.
The man’s meaty build flexed beneath Thomas’s body. The attacker fought back, but his efforts were vain. The sorry excuse for a man didn’t stand a chance. Not after what he tried to do to Eliza.
As Thomas prepared to strangle the assailant, Eliza screamed again. This time, two octaves higher. Keeping his hands on the fool’s neck, he whipped his head around and saw the other man stretched out on top of her. Eliza tried to wrench away, but her attacker pinned her down.
