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There are no problems these men don’t try to solve with guns, but I suppose bounty hunters are good candidates for lead shot.
“That’s it? You just scared them off and they ran away and we don’t have to worry anymore?” I pose the question skeptically.
“Didn’t say that,” he winks.
“They’re going to send an army after us. Ships and all,” I say, my old fears resurfacing in the face of the posse’s return.
“Technically, ships would make it a navy.”
These men don’t care. If they were ever afraid, they’re not now. As soon as their butts hit their beds, they’re cracking open bottles of fermented grapes and pouring most of the contents into their mouths in a single go. I manage to sneak a filtered water skin and drink something less intoxicating.
“How do they do that?” I ask Orion the question when I get a chance. He’s a popular man, and his men all vie for the chance to tell him their experiences.
“Do what?”
“Trust that they’re safe enough to get drunk.”
“These men are more than capable of taking care of themselves, drunk or sober,” Orion says. “Though I’ll be taking watch tonight, so you don’t have anything to worry about. You get some sleep. Tomorrow will probably be just hard.”
“Tomorrow I need a faster horse.”
“I don’t think you can ride a faster horse, girl. You were coming unbalanced off the one you were riding. Better ride with me tomorrow.”
I don’t want to ride with him. Riding behind Orion is an embarrassingly stimulating experience, and given I’m trying to not have sex with him, spending twelve hours grinding on him seems like a bad idea.
“I can ride just fine.”
“Falling off a horse is dangerous, and we don’t have time for you to get hurt.”
“Next you’ll be telling me I need to wear a helmet.”
He snorts at me. “Not a bad idea. Get some padding to keep you safe too. Wrap you up and put you in the cart, I think.”
The cart he’s referring to is the one being pulled by drafts. I haven’t seen it since we left the first camp, and I’m pretty sure it never made it past Slitneck. That means we can’t knock those birds out of the sky either.
“Disguise me as a tent?” I suggest. “Roll me up and pretend I’m your bed roll.”
Paris snorts at the mention of bed roll and I know he’s turned my innocent comment into something lewd.
“Not a bad idea. If your sheriff shows up, maybe that’s what we’ll do,” Orion winks.
He is in a good mood. I guess for an outlaw any day you’re not being hanged is a good day, but I’m scared. I do not like the feeling of being hunted. Atticus knows full well I’m not dead, and I’d say he also knows who has me. He has the full forces of the Imperium at his disposal — or at least, whatever the Imperium put in his budget this fiscal year, which is probably enough to hunt me down a dozen times over.
“Hey,” Orion puts his hand on my shoulder. “Don’t worry. We’re going to get you off this planet.”
“Thank you.”
I’ve never had an ally before. I know Orion is only doing this because he gets something out of it, but that is better than nothing.
“Get some rest,” he repeats. “I’ll keep watch over you. Nobody is going to get you.”
Orion
She blushes and looks away. I think she’s embarrassed at having me look out for her. Might be easier for her to get a good night’s sleep if I took my belt to her again, but I don’t have any reason to do that — aside from the memory of the way her cheeks looked marked bright red with my leather. She’s adorable. Smart. Strong.
We don’t bother to pitch a tent out here. Everyone just beds down around the fire. Josie does so more or less at my feet. I’d be lyin’ if I said I didn’t like the way she looks down there, curled up all trusting like a sweet pup.
It takes a while for her to settle down and go to sleep, but eventually her eyes close and her breathing evens out and she’s fast asleep.
Turns out I wasn’t the only one waiting for her, and everyone else, to sink into sleep. Just as calm starts to fall over the camp, the songs turning to snores, Paris sidles up to me.
“We have a problem.”
“When do we not have a problem?”
He smirks as he keeps talking. “We got rid of the riders, but there were birds at a distance. They didn’t come down to the flare. I’m pretty sure the Imperium got a good view of what was going on today. Wouldn’t surprise me if they sent a ship, you know, an off-planet one. We could be in real trouble.”
