his claws extended. Just as quickly, however, the ache began to dissipate. A rather irritating burning sensation radiated up her side, and Jade decided one of the branches they'd just broken through had cut into her side.
Numbness set in and she put the matter of her paltry scratch aside.
'We're almost home,' Caine told her.
In her worry, she forgot to act afraid. 'Watch your back when we get near the house,' she ordered.
Caine didn't answer that command. He took the back road up to the stables. His men must have heard
the commotion, for at least ten hands were rushing toward the forest, their weapons at the ready.
Caine shouted to the stablemaster to open the doors, then rode inside. Jade's mount galloped behind. The stablemaster grabbed the reins and had the mare slapped inside the first stall before Caine had lifted Jade to the ground.
His grip on her waist made the ache in her side start nagging again. She bit her lower lip to keep herself from shouting at him.
'Kelley!' Caine shouted.
A yellow-haired, middle-aged man with a stocky frame and a full beard rushed over. 'Yes, mi'lord?'
'Stay here with Jade,' he ordered. 'Keep the doors closed until I get back.'
Caine tried to remount his steed then, but Jade grabbed hold of the back of his jacket and gave it a fierce jerk. 'Are you demented? You can't go back outside.'
'Let go, sweetheart,' he said. 'I'll be right back.'
He pulled her hands away and gently pushed her back against the stall. Jade wasn't about to give up, however. She dug into his lapels and held on.
'But Caine,' she wailed while he was peeling her hands away. 'They mean to kill you.'
'I know, love.'
'Then why…'
'I mean to kill them first.'
He realized he shouldn't have shared that truth with her when she threw her arms around his waist and squeezed him in a grip that was surprisingly strong.
They both heard two more shots ring out while he pulled her arms away.
Caine assumed his men had taken up the fight. Jade prayed her men had already intervened and chased the villains away.
'Shut the doors after me, Kelley!' Caine shouted as he swiftly remounted and goaded his stallion around.
Another shot sounded just a minute or two after Caine had left. Jade rushed past the stablemaster and looked out the small square window. Caine's body wasn't sprawled out in a pool of blood in the field.
She started breathing again.
'There's absolutely nothing to be worried about,' she muttered.
'You best get away from the window,' Kelley whispered from behind.
Jade ignored that suggestion until he started tugging on her arm. 'Mi'lady, please wait for the Marquess
in a safer spot. Come and sit over here,' he continued. 'The Marquess will be back soon.'
She couldn't sit down. Jade couldn't stop herself from pacing or fretting, either. She prayed that both Matthew and Jimbo had taken care of the intruders. They were two of her most loyal men. Both were well trained in trickery, too, for Black Harry had personally seen to their education.
This was all Caine's fault, she decided. She certainly wouldn't be in such a state of nerves if he'd turned out to be anything like the man she'd read about in the file. He seemed to have two completely different personalities, however. Oh, she knew the file told the truth. His superiors had referred to him as a cold, methodical man when the task at hand needed his special consideration.
Yet the man she'd encountered wasn't at all cold or unfeeling. She'd played on Caine's protector instincts, but she believed he was going to be very difficult all the same. He hadn't turned out to be difficult at all, though. He was a caring man who'd already taken her under his wing.
The problem, of course, was the contradiction. Jade didn't like inconsistencies. It made Caine unpredictable. And unpredictable meant dangerous.
The doors suddenly flew open. Caine stood there, his mount still in a lathered pant behind him.
She was so relieved to see he was safe, her knees went weak on her. Every muscle in her body began to ache. She had to sit down in the chair Kelley provided before she could speak.
'You're all right, then?' she managed to ask.
Caine thought she looked as if she were about to burst into tears. He gave her a smile to reassure her, then led his horse inside. After handing the reins to the stablemaster, and waving the men who were following him back outside, he casually leaned against the wall next to her. He was deliberately trying to make her believe nothing much out of the ordinary had happened.
'The fight was over and done with by the time 1 got to the forest.'
'The fight was over? How could it be over?' she asked. 'I don't understand.'
'They must have changed their minds,' he said.
'You don't have to lie to me,' she cried out. 'And you can quit acting as though we're discussing the crops, too. Now tell me what happened.'
