River Arrow (New Guardsmen Book 2) (3 page)

Different or not, the city had enough people that Mari could find a lover here and there. That is, find a man who wanted to be with a black woman.

Sex was a quick, rushed affair and she couldn’t do it too often because paddling back home took her days and gave her an appreciation of how Jared had come by those broad shoulders. She knew how it was. People couldn’t do much but pet each other to take the edge off, and a smart girl—never let it be said she wasn’t—knew not to let a cock inside her pussy unless she was infertile. Mari didn’t know if she could have children but she hadn’t been ready to find out.

Her mood soured and she climbed to her feet. She didn’t have time to get sulky.

The wood beneath her bare feet rolled. Pain thrummed in her thigh and her leg gave out. She fell hard on her rear. “Ow.”

Shaking her head, she pulled herself over the floor to where her clothes were draped to dry. “It’s a wonder I don’t have splinters in my ass.”

She dressed herself and struggled back to her feet. The stiff walk to the door set a steady thudding in her thigh.

The boat wasn’t too big. The hut where she’d slept was in the middle. The deck stretched in front of the cabin for about twenty feet. In the back, maybe about ten feet. On the way down the river, Jared and his boatsman used a sail when the wind was catching. If not, the current took them and they used the poles to steer. They would drag a raft full of supplies behind them. The raft got left behind somewhere. By the time they got back here, if they didn’t catch a lucky draft for the sails, they had to use the poles and brute effort to go upriver.

The sail wasn’t up today. But she could remember what it looked like when it caught the wind. It was a fine fabric. Simple, but gorgeous. The sun shone through and the stitching held white panels together. It always looked clean and almost fragile, but it wasn’t. It was strong. Like the man who commanded this boat.

Shuffling out of the doorway, she sought Jared. Wind caught in his short red hair and he wasn’t frowning anymore.

Even sitting, he was big—the tallest man she’d ever met. His broad shoulders flexed as he directed the motor. His shirt was off and revealed his defined chest covered with a thatch of red-tinted hair that led down to a tight stomach with an intriguing trail that disappeared into his unbuttoned jeans.

“The trip isn’t long.” Speaking around a sprig of mint he had in his mouth, he gave her a quick perusal head to toe. Just the cadence of his voice made her hot between her legs. She shook herself out of it.

There was a kettle next to his feet. Probably the coffee he’d mentioned. It’d had that rare aroma. She carefully balanced as she shuffled toward him. Squinting as he stared in the distance he didn’t glance at her but his shoulders straightened and went back. She dropped to the floor next to him, let out a small mewl of pain, and muttered, “Damned leg.”

“I cleaned it,” he mumbled. As if he could even be affronted.

Grabbing the pot, she poured a little coffee into the cup next to it. A bar made of seeds and glistening like it’d been brushed with honey sat on the deck. It’d be for her. She grabbed it and shoved huge bites into her mouth. It was sweet and crunchy. She moaned and Jared’s free hand made a fist on his leg.

“It’s good.” She mumbled around the food.

The food disappeared too fast and she gulped down the coffee. It’d be cut heavily with chicory to make it stretch further. She’d only had a taste a few times in her life. Truth was, she didn’t much like it.

“If you’re going to throw it up, don’t waste it.” Removing the mint stem from him mouth and throwing it overboard, Jared shook his head and did more of that scowling.

Some of that mint would be good. Or her tooth brush. Swiping her sticky fingers on her pants, she swallowed the dark liquid and chewed on a piece of mint he’d left beside her cup.

“Where are we?”

“Just north of your village. I went up the river, to check for trouble.” He frowned. “Why aren’t your guardsmen out looking for you?”

Mari stared out over the water. “A few months back, there was an attack. One of them got killed and the other two had a falling out with the elders. They’d wanted us to move to Memphis City because they couldn’t keep protecting us. When the elders refused, they packed up their families and headed out. That left me. I’m all they’ve had since spring.”

“The guardsmen abandoned you?” Jared turned his head and spit over the side of the boat. “Not worthy of the name guardsmen.”

“They did their duty and kept us safe for years. They were getting tired.” She didn’t know why she defended them. It’d left her the sole responsible guard for the village and she’d never really thought the job would be hers, had never fully trained for it.

“You’ve never fought a drifter. Have you?” Jared gave her that up and down look again that made her shiver.

“Not until yesterday, but I’m ready for them.” Adjusting her stance on the deck, she studied the shore instead of the considering look Jared gave her.

Now she recognized where they were. The village dock was ahead, but they were going too fast. They weren’t even angled toward the shore.

“What are you doing? Slow down,” she shouted.

Jared’s brows rose. “We’re headed to the city. I told you that.”

“And I told you I was going home.” She gripped her shirt and yanked it over her head. If there was one bit of luck about being caught unprepared when the drifters attacked, she’d been barefoot. No need to worry about leaving her boots on Jared’s boat.

Jared’s cheeks darkened and his entire body went utterly still. He was utterly distracted and wouldn’t know what hit him. She smirked as she unbuttoned her pants and shoved them off. The deck was warm on her feet, chasing away the chill bumps as the wind tugged at her tank and panties. Her bow still sat where it’d been tossed after she’d been dragged aboard. Grabbing it, she slung it over her back and dove into the water.

The water was comfortable, easing some of the strain as she pushed her head above the surface.

“Stop!” Jared yelled.

Treading water, she watched. It only took him seconds to maneuver the boat around. His expertise was truly masterful. Barge pole in the water, he steered the craft using its own momentum. His skills weren’t the only amazing aspect on display. His shoulders were defined perfection. The strength of his legs was only made more spectacular by the way his jeans hugged him.

“Stop,” he yelled again, and she jerked in the water. But his boat was too far away to keep her from her duty.

Crossing the river in long, even strokes, she struck out toward the dock. Her leg still hurt but the water and exercise soothed it.

Finally, she reached the pier and gripped the first rung of the ladder at the base of it. The climb made her feel heavy after the water had buoyed her. Then she hoisted herself onto the dock and scanned the immediate area. Nobody was on the shore and Jared’s boat was gone. She was alone on a quiet river.

The calm was deceptive. The river sustained the village with water, fish, and transportation. From what could be pieced together, there were probably several thousand people left in the country, and they all lined the Mississippi. But the water’s ability to give life brought death too.

Everything brought death. With a hard exhalation, she struggled to her feet and followed the path to the village. Even with her slight limp, she made it back in moments.

A body sprawled on the ground with an arrow through the heart. She gained no satisfaction in his death. She’d never killed a man before and when this was over, she was going to be sick, but not yet. The corpse had been out here all night. Wild dogs had already gotten ahold of him. His cohorts had left him to lure predators to the area when the gate was still down.

The villagers were in even more danger if that gate didn’t get repaired. Even if it looked like the easy way in, with the timber blown apart with some sort of explosive, she couldn’t walk through that gaping tear in the compound. Not in her underwear and with no arrows.

She crouched amid the scrub and considered her next move.

There was another way in. Barely visible, sporadic, secret indentations cut into the roughhewn logs of the wall. Moving from her crouch and squelching the groan when her thigh twinged, she edged toward the compound.

It was eerily silent. The villagers weren’t going about their usual day. The singing frogs didn’t make a racket and the occasional call of a wild animal was absent. She watched every step to be sure she didn’t step on the chips of wood from the fence that’d been battered down. Smoke rose from the middle of the compound but it didn’t have the scent of cooking.

At the wall, she slung her bow around her back and slipped her hands in the wedges. Making slow progress, she kept every sense open and alert. Her arms and legs shook with strain. Not from the climb but the tension, the not knowing. Her injured thigh burned.

Near the top of the wall, small noises came to her. Little whimpers, shushing, and low muttering. Some of her friends were still alive. Hope burst inside her in such a huge wave of relief that she started to shake. Her hold slipped. Her heart stopped in a lurch then beat in a loud internal rush.

Flailing, she gripped a handhold and clung to the wall. Pulling herself with frantic force, she slammed against the wall and her mouth wacked against the solid surface.

“Mphf,” she groaned and scrambled to maintain her grip. A splinter sliced into her thumb but she held firm. Near the top, a fall could break a few bones. Or worse. She swallowed hard and pushed up to the next step. Her head cleared the wall and she froze to scan the yard of the compound.

Not much moved. Even the chicken pen seemed quiet. The dirt packed ground was littered with broken wood from the gate, torn clothes, shovels, and a body. From here, she couldn’t tell who it was. Her nose burned and her eyes prickled. Later. She couldn’t cry now. No time for it. She hoisted herself over the top and lowered herself flat on a small ledge.

The stillness was broken. She jerked her head toward the movement and lay as flat along the wall as she could. A man with a gun walked out from a hut and waved behind him. Three other men came out, scratching themselves, stretching, checking their ammo levels in their weapons.

The scuff of a boot over the packed ground sounded from below.

Someone had found her.

When Mari had stood on the deck of his boat and stripped, Jared let himself look. The night before, he’d gotten her out of her wet clothes and cleaned her injury, but he’d done his best to close his eyes. Most days he pretended even to himself that he had some honor. No closing them now. Bold and absolutely stunning, her body fit her personality perfectly. Strong arms to handle her bow. Long legs. Gorgeous, unscarred skin that soaked in the sun. Her long braided hair fell over her shoulder.

Then she was gone, over the side. His heart rammed against the inside of his chest and his hard cock finally gained his attention long enough for him to curse it. Only the relentless guardsmen training his godfather had drilled into him got him to his feet and the boat turned. Derek would’ve given Jared a dressing down for getting distracted by a gorgeous face, especially one he should be protecting.

“Get the hell back here, Mari,” he ordered even knowing it was useless.

He had to go after her. It had nothing to do with the way she’d come apart at the touch of his hands, or how badly he wanted to do more. And nothing to do with the freshness of her, the way she looked at everything with hope, untainted by this world in a way he’d never been.

By the time he’d come about, he’d lost sight of that lean body as it sliced through the water. He couldn’t tie off at the dock. It was too risky. He moored the boat a bit south of the village and waded to shore. The village lay on the west bank of the river where recovery had gone faster. It had trees, grasses, and some carefully tended crops, enough cover to put his boots back on and scan for danger.

Nothing moved. Running as fast as he dared, he tried to make up lost time. Mari had at least a five minute start on him and he didn’t know what she planned or how to find her.

Assuring himself the dead body at the gate wasn’t Mari, he stopped outside the wall of the compound. Three times his height, the barrier was made with a mix of logs and reclaimed building materials. He searched the ground. There, only a few feet away, impressions in the sand led the way to the wall. She’d taken the most direct path but he didn’t see a way in. There were no signs of the invaders.

He tensed and squinted against the bright sun. On instinct, he’d followed her, but maybe he should have kept going, gone back to Memphis City and let the sheriff know that their neighbors were in trouble. This was proof enough the villagers couldn’t live out here on their own with their strongest protector being Mari—someone who ran into danger without taking the time to think things through. Jared had a plan. He should follow it and get back to the boat.

Hands on hips, he grappled with rare indecision. Mari had stripped to her underwear—that vision was burned into his memory—and would stop at nothing to free her people. She may not have the few days it’d take for him to report the attack and wait on them to form a posse.

It was a mistake. No way was it the right decision to divert from his plan, but he did it. He followed her prints. They stopped at a section of log wall. She had to have gotten in at this point. He ran his hands along the rough surface. Then he saw it. A small indentation cut into the wood. Above it, other handholds stood out at regular intervals. He climbed it easily and slowed when he neared the top.

He could hear her breathing. It was shaky. From chilled air, fear, or exertion, he couldn’t tell. Slowly, he lifted his head above the wall. Right there, inches from his face, a nude, delicious navel shocked him into a mouth-watering perusal of all that dark skin stretched across a plank just inside the wall. It was like a deer stand or a guard perch with only enough room for her. He felt like a hunter stalking his prey, but Mari glowered at him, not at all prey-like.

“Look what I found.” His husky whisper was completely unfitting for the situation. So was his hard-on. The woman was going to drive him mad.

“What are you doing here?” Her question was so low he had to strain to hear her.

He opened his mouth, but movement in the distance closed it. There they were, the drifters. The people who’d caused all this.

Jared tensed, ready to vault himself off the top of the damned wall that made him a sitting duck. Ready to wipe the ground with the assholes who’d invaded a peaceful village and killed at least one—but there could be more. Drifters left dead in their wake. Tensed to make his move, he hesitated when the next person walked out of that hut.

A pregnant woman waddled into the yard. She looked a bit rough around the edges, as all drifters did with their dust-covered clothes and the wild look in their eyes, but she didn’t appear malnourished or ill-treated. Carefully, Jared swung his body around to flatten himself on the ledge. There wasn’t enough room for both of them. He swept Mari on top of him and she huffed but didn’t say a word. Right now, the five strangers had their backs to Jared and Mari’s position. They’d gone over the wall behind the attackers. One bit of luck meant they were probably out of that particular commodity for the rest of the day.

“She’s not one of ours,” Mari whispered.

He didn’t bother to answer. Just because he had always kept Mari at a distance didn’t mean he hadn’t noticed every single person who lived here. Especially her.

Damn it all to hell. This wasn’t his fight. He needed to round up his crew and get his ass back to Leavenworth. Now he couldn’t leave.

He let out a quiet breath. At least if he had to be in this situation, his partner knew how to hunt. Mari was quiet and lethal with a bow. And her skin was dark and smooth, begging to be stroked. And her eyes were liquid, ready to fall into. And her arms were strong, able to hold on as a man rode her.

Averting his gaze from her, he hoped beyond hope she wouldn’t notice the erection the adrenaline and danger had given him. Surely it wasn’t her. Not here and not now. Her quickly indrawn gasp and the shivers pebbling her skin proved she could feel his hard cock pressing into her stomach. He swallowed and tried not to suck in the sunshine scent of her hair.

Yelling brought him out of his lust induced haze.

“Your turn is tomorrow night,” yelled the drifter woman in the center of the compound.

Jared nearly laughed. The stranger had killed his hard-on and damned if he weren’t thankful for that. Then the woman slapped the hell out of one of the men.

“But, Nancy,” her victim whined. “Gareth got you two nights in a row.”

“He’s the one who got us here, didn’t he?” She stood with her hands on her hips and her belly protruding. “You were supposed to capture them all. Make them feed us and take care of us for the baby. Now they’ll need to be beat to do anything. And we gotta waste time taking care of two bodies.”

Jared couldn’t stop the hate filling his gut. They were just like the men who’d killed his father. His entire body was hot and vibrating, but without a weapon, he had to bide his time. It rankled, but he had to be smart. Smarter than his dad had been. The only way to strike back was to be calm and use his head. Forcing the rage to a manageable level, he searched for a weakness, something to exploit.

The drifter hung his head and muttered. One of the others slung his arm around Nancy’s shoulders and she let him. That one must be Gareth, the tallest of the five. When the others trudged off toward where the large community house stood, Gareth leaned down and gave Nancy a long, sloppy kiss. She moaned and wrapped her arms around his neck before she yelled after the three other men. “Get my breakfast ready. Be there in a few minutes.”

She yanked Gareth back into the hut.

There was no doubt what was happening in there. Even if the lusty screech hadn’t confirmed it. The coast was clear for as long as Gareth kept it up. There probably wouldn’t be much time. Smirking, at that thought, he whispered to Mari, “How do we get down? Looks like a drop of about twelve feet.”

“Usually there’s a ladder. It’s gone.”

“Guess we’ll jump.” Before she could answer, he lifted Mari from his body to crouch over him. He maneuvered from beneath her, gripped the side of the ledge, and let himself over the side to hang by his full height. Mari gasped. The remaining drop would be over six feet but he could manage it.

He let go. His feet hit the ground and he let his knees give until his ass touched the ground. The jarring sensation shocked through him but nothing had gotten hurt. Eyes wide, Mari stared at him as he came to stand beneath her position.

“Bow,” he breathed, barely loud enough for her to hear.

She brought it from around the side of the ledge where she’d tucked it. Frowning at him, she let it drop. Her trust that he would catch it surprised him so much he nearly missed. He snatched the bow from the air and leaned it against the wall. Then he held his hands up toward her and gave her a low, firm order. “Jump.”

She shook her head.

“Jump,” he insisted, a little louder. The noises from the hut were enough to cover any sound they might make.

“Maybe I should go back down on other side and sneak in the gate.”

“I’ll catch you.” The words came out like some sort of love promise. Not like an order from a guardsman to his charge while in a dangerous skirmish situation. No. It sounded like an invitation to bed.

Mari’s dark skin actually flushed. He’d never seen her do that. A ruddy tint spread over her chest and his own skin heated in response. Damn having red hair, anyway.

She bit her lip and everything around him disappeared. If he got inside her, he’d never let her go. He clenched his jaw. This was not going to happen. He was not going to get her horizontal and under him.

“Focus, Jared,” he murmured too low for her to hear.

Staring at her eyes instead of downturned lips, he curled his fingers in a “come on” gesture. She let out a long breath then rolled so that she faced the wall and eased herself over the side. She let herself hang by the tips of her fingers. Her ass was right there as her lean body stretched toward the ground. Perfect in clinging wet tank top and panties. Perfect for his hands. He stood below her and gripped her bare feet then let his hands trail up to her shins.

“Let go.”

She did. She didn’t hesitate. She’d made up her mind and trusted him.

Breaking her fall, he caught her. His arms strained. His legs ached, but he gently put her on the ground so that her feet didn’t get cut or bruised on a rock. Wincing, he stared at her bare feet when she bent to retrieve her bow.

“You can’t run like that.” He grabbed her hand and yanking her, threw her over his shoulders and took off at a slow lope. Her bow slapped into his cheek then slid over her back to dangle from her.

Her breath gushed and she gulped in a loud swallow of air. Before he ever felt her weight or she recovered enough to berate him, he stopped, slung her off of him and gently on her feet. They were at a small hut against the back wall.

“You knew this was mine?” she whispered.

With an impatient nod, he pushed aside her door and glanced in. Empty.

They shuffled inside and he quietly shut the door. Before he could say it, she pulled a set of pants from a neat stack at the foot of a narrow pallet and sat to tug them on. Her place was simple. She had a crate with neatly folded clothes. A few pieces of heavier clothes hanging on a hook. A closed chest with who knows what in it, hemp ropes coiled and hung on the wall. A skin stretched over a rack. And a small table stacked with arrows.

“There are five drifters. Think they care that they left one of their own to rot outside the wall?” Jared never knew what to make of drifters. His being away from home for months at a time was a necessity for the survival of his family and the communities. The people who went out of their way to hurt others instead of joining a community and helping each other, he didn’t understand them.

“Doesn’t look like she’s missing him.” Mari tied a pair of boots and stared at the door as if she could see through it and gauge the other woman. “But I guess they’d be plenty ready to slit my throat for killing him.”

They spoke in hushed toned, subdued, but his response to the idea of Mari being hurt was nothing like subdued. Rage, hot and swift thundered inside him. He fisted his hands and rolled his shoulders. Mari didn’t appear to notice his reaction and continued, “Looks like they have everybody locked up in the community house. They want slaves. People to work for them and feed them. Do their bidding.”

Jared snorted. As if Mari could be bid.

“Their plan at least kept everyone alive. The food stores will still be here, too.” He had to stop looking at her. He couldn’t think straight. At the door, he put his ear against the gap between the wood and listened. “All quiet. I’d guess they’re all at the big house.”

“Can’t rush in and take them down. Not if everyone’s in there with them.”

“What are you going to do? You heard them. They want to keep them alive. Best thing to do is go get a rescue party from Memphis City and get all of you down there. You can’t protect them up here, not by yourself.”

“No. We don’t want to join the city. How many times have the elders told you and our defected former guardsmen the same thing?” She crossed her arms and stared at him as if he were a pouting child too stubborn to learn his lessons.

“Your plan is to catch the drifters.”

“Yes.” She picked up her bow.

“Question is, Mari, do you want to kill them or enslave them?”

“Neither.” She didn’t elaborate. There weren’t many choices. They didn’t have anywhere to keep prisoners or the resources to feed five adults who didn’t work.

He’d help her take them down and then he’d talk sense into the elders. It was time to ensure their safety. If he had to stick around and make sure they moved, it’d put him too late to get home before winter and his family would worry. He didn’t want to cause his mother more stress. She’d gone through enough.

Jared shrugged his shoulders and his tight neck made popping noises. “They haven’t taken the time to search this place. Otherwise your arrows would be gone. They damn sure won’t put that off for long. We can’t stay here and they aren’t leaving. You can pick them off, one by one. It’s the safest way to take care of this.”