seemed right that they chose to be here, in this moment, together.
“Gwen,” he murmured, his lips coming to her temple, “what am I to do with you?’
“I—”
She stopped as she heard a strange rustling come from the door.
“Did you hear that?” she whispered, all of her senses suddenly alert.
“What?” he asked distractedly, his lips still trailing kisses down the side of her face to her neck.
“Stop,” she said softly. “Listen — it sounds as if someone is at the door.”
“Ach, ’tis likely just the wind, lass,” he said, though he sat back and cocked his ear into the air in an attempt to better hear.
“My goodness, Roderick, you truly do make the worst officer. Do you have no instincts?” she said, to which he looked up in some offense.
“That’s not fair,” he said, as she stood and grabbed his bag from the corner. “I—”
The door burst open to reveal a silhouette in the light of the moon, brandishing a pistol in hand. The light vanished as another man filled in behind. “Well, well, what have we here?” came a voice in the darkness, and Gwen didn’t pause for a moment as she hauled Roderick to his feet and yelled, “Run!”
She rushed to the window but stopped when she heard a huge thunk behind her. She turned to find the man had caught Roderick, and they were exchanging blows in the middle of the room. Unable to see much in the darkness, Gwen winced when she heard the crunch of bone — likely a nose — and she only hoped Roderick was on the giving and not the receiving end.
Her attention was quickly caught by a noise at the door, and a second man emerged.
“Gwennie,” he drawled as he saw her. “How lovely to see you again.”
“Leave me be, Grim,” she said with a bit of a threat, but that only made him laugh as he approached her. Her heart beat quickly in her chest, though she tried to maintain a stoic countenance. “You always were a fiery one,” he said, drawing near. “That’s what makes this so much more fun.”
As Grim reached a hand toward her, Gwen caught his arm in her hands while at the same time twisting her body, and he yelped in pain at what she knew was a pinch in his muscle. He tried to take her feet out from under her, but Gwen caught him between the legs with her knee, and as he doubled over in pain, she swung her elbow to connect with his nose. When he cried out, she turned her head to find Roderick with his hands on his knees breathing hard, but his own assailant was sprawled on the floor, though he groaned and began to make his way to his hands and knees.
“Let’s get out of here,” she said, grabbing Roderick’s bag. Unable to make it to the door as she didn’t want to pass the man she recognized as Marcus in case he should quickly find his strength once more, she stumbled through the small cottage, launching herself out the small window she had noted when they’d first arrived. It was a rule she had learned from Doc — always find a second way out.
Gwen landed on the ground with a roll, coming to her feet in time to see Roderick hit the dirt behind her, far less gracefully than she. He was quick, though, she would give him that, and he was soon up chasing after her, his long strides covering ground far faster than she.
“Who the hell was that?” he asked, his breath coming quick as he caught her and grabbed her hand.
“I’ll explain later,” she said, directing them beyond the land adjoining the cottage to the neighboring farm behind them. She quickly scaled the fence, he followed after her, and soon they were running through a pasture. She could see the shape of a building in the distance, and she risked but one glance over her shoulder as she made for their destination with all the speed she could muster. She couldn’t see anything, but Gwen thought she heard the shouts of their pursuers in the distance, and she only increased her speed as she sought to put as much space between them as possible. There were likely more of them than just the two. Grim and the other man had probably simply been scouting the place to determine if she was there.
As she sprinted through the pasture, she was grateful she still wore pants,