Dark Heart Wolf - Haley Weir Page 0,45

it look like Sam escaped on his own. I'm here to take you to the ranch."

Mary Ann barely concealed her shock. "Boone is willin' to do that for his brother? He's willin' to break the law?"

"Boone's first rule to always put family first. No matter what Sam has done in the past, he's still Boone's little brother," Gabriel said. "They'll be all right. Itsá let Boone know how close he came to losing Sam on that mountain, and the guilt is just eatin' away at them both."

"Thank you, Gabriel. They would have hanged Sam if given the chance."

Chapter Eighteen

Wolf Valley

Jailhouse

The damp brick walls were covered in mold and things more likely to kill a man quicker than a bullet ever could. He smelled nothing but vomit and the brownish liquid that dripped from the ceiling. Sam knew this day would come the moment he saw that the Wendigo Spirit had taken Ethan Tate as a host. The dark forces sought to weaken him for reasons that were still unknown to Sam. He sighed and sat on the edge of his cot.

A faint breeze flew in through the bars of the small window at the top of his cell, but it wasn’t enough to thin out the stale air. He closed his eyes and wondered what Mary Ann was up to. There was no doubt in his mind that she was out there on a crusade to get him released. Bless her heart, Mary Ann knew no limits when it came to saving Sam. He could not believe how long it took for him to realize just how much he loved her. Going up to the mountain had been more than just a farewell to Savannah and Malia. It was his awakening as well. Never had Sam ever felt more loved than when he was with Mary Ann.

The sound of hooves outside the window caught Sam’s attention. He stood up and walked over to the bars, glancing up as three masked men approached the wall. “Who goes there?” Sam whispered. A scrap of paper slipped through the bars, and Sam unfolded it to read the message. Scrawled in uneven handwriting were the words “Get Ready.” He heard gunshots a moment later, and the guard outside of his cell ran to see what was going on.

Sam sprinted towards the cell door and used his strength to bust the lock open. He slipped into the corridor and walked quietly towards the front door of the jailhouse. Instead of leaving things in peace, Sam broke three more cells open and let the outlaws inside out of their prisons. They clapped him on the shoulder and ran for the door first. The deputies didn’t know what to do, but the chaos allowed Sam to slip out unseen. He hurried around back and approached the masked men with suspicion in his ruby gaze.

“You got me out, but what do I owe you in return?” he asked.

One of the men lowered his mask and Sam shook his head in disbelief. “Boone?” He glanced at the other men and realized they were Jesse and Wesley. Itsá drove the wagon up ahead for them to make a clean getaway. “This might come back to haunt you. Don’t risk this for my sake, Boone. Go now, and if I get caught, I won’t tell them it was you who helped me.”

Boone’s expression shifted into a pinched scowl. “Somethin’ really did happen to you up on that mountain, didn’t it? The Sam I know would not have given a damn about the rest of us.”

Sam winced. “The credit goes to Mary Ann. She’s the one who showed me what was really important. I love her, Boone. And I intend to make her my wife.”

For the first time since he was thirteen years old, his older brother smiled at him with approval twinkling in his gaze. Sam had once been just a scrawny lad chasing after Boone, looking up to him as if he were the answer to every problem in their lives. Seeing that look on his brother’s face again was almost too much for Sam to handle. He climbed into the back of the wagon, and Itsá drove off down the road, taking his time as to not arouse suspicion.

“Where’s Mary?”

“At the ranch with Gabriel and the women,” Wesley answered.

“I can’t shake this feelin’ that Tate got me locked away so he could get to her. She is my greatest weakness. If he truly wanted to hurt me, he’d do