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“Drink the rest of this,” he says. “And have some of this bread. You should have said you were thirsty.”
Cabbage bread in one hand, water skin in the other, I find my mouth suddenly dry all over again for completely different reasons, but at least the food and water saves me from having to talk, because I’m certain that I wouldn’t be able to say a word right now.
I’ve been on my own for a long time, and many’s the night I dreamed of being curled up in the arms of a big, strong man who would take care of me. Orion is pretty much the last person on the planet I would have ever expected to be the one to make me feel this way.
The water does feel good going down, and the cabbage bread isn’t bad for having been made on the run, I’d bet. Or maybe stolen. I don’t know. What I do know is that he could have put me down and let me go already, and he hasn’t. He’s glowering at me as if having passed out was my fault and something that has concerned him. It’s sweet and mean at the same time.
“You should have given her food and water in the first place, Rion. She was tied to the tracks when we found her. Remember?” The blond man tags into the conversation.
“I don’t recall you doing anything for her besides pointing and riding away,” Orion growls back.
“You swooped in so fast no other man had a chance,” Paris smirks. He has a dimple in his cheek and a gleam in his eye which suggests he likes to tease. I never expected an outlaw to be playful, but I guess it can’t be bloody murder all the time.
“I think I’m good now,” I say when I’ve had half the water skin and the entire cabbage bread roll.
“Alright,” Orion says, sliding his arms out from me and helping me to stand. “Let me see you walk a bit. Want to see how steady you are on your feet.”
I’ve never been so closely watched before in all my life. There’s a good dozen eyes on me as I walk a few paces, turn around and hold my hands out. “I’m fine, see?”
“Uh huh. You better let me know if you need food and water again, else I’m going to tan your hide, missy.”
I’d argue with him, but I’m embarrassed enough. Having this many men watch me faint and have to be nursed back to consciousness has completely undermined my whole tough act. Not much point shooting a man dead and burying him myself just to have to be rescued an hour later from nothing at all.
“I’m fine.”
“Alright. Let’s head out. We’ve lost a lot of time,” Orion says. I feel my face flushing red again. I’m holding them up. I might cost them all their lives if the law catches up with them. “You boys ride on ahead and make camp up out of Slitneck,” he orders. “I’ll catch up with the girl. Paris, you’re with me.”
I’m relieved when the rest of the gang mounts up and departs. I know they can’t be very interested in the fate of a female they don’t even know. Truth be told, I’m not sure why Orion is.
Why didn’t he just let me die? Surely an outlaw doesn’t have a sense of chivalry. Maybe he thinks I’m worth something. Not exactly a smart assumption, given he pulled me off train tracks, which is where worthless things go to be flattened.
“Come on,” he says. “You need to git on up here with me, hold on tight, and let me know if you start feelin’ dizzy again.”
He offers me his arm and when I take it, he hauls me up on the back of his horse as if I don’t weigh a thing. I’m glad to be behind him just to be spared his intense gaze. I don’t have many secrets left in life, but the ones I do, I want to keep safe from men like him.
We head on out again, Orion spurring his horse into an outright gallop in the obvious attempt to make up time. Paris is ahead of us, and I reckon that we’re going to be left in the dust for good, but hell, Orion’s horse is fast. It covers ground like it isn’t there at all, and within a matter of minutes, we’ve not only caught up with Paris, we’ve rejoined the rest of the outlaw pack too.
The Imperium’s name for Cabbage Patch is Villam Quinquaginta, which literally means Farm Fifty. I know that because I had to learn Latin in school, at least, for the six months I went, before my Pa pulled me out to work on the farm. All Imperium subjects must be able to converse, write, and read in Latin. It is the law. But I live outside the law now, and so does the man who has me captive on his horse.
