Free Of Blood and Passion by Pamela Palmer

finally be able to see clearly. Kassius was grooming his mount while Micah poured grain into one of the troughs.
    Quinn looked around, remembering this place and the friends she’d made here as she’d helped a handful of escaped slaves. How had it come to this, that she was now stealing into the most terrifying place she’d ever encountered, instead of out?
    As Arturo and Kassius took care of the horses, Micah joined her.
    “Are you doing okay?” he asked, curving his arm around her shoulders and pulling her close.
    She leaned against him and sighed. “I’m scared shitless, to be honest.”
    “We’ve got your back, you know that. If I thought Ax couldn’t be trusted, I wouldn’t have allowed this.” He released her, then turned her to face him. “You and I might have met because Ax sent me to keep an eye on you, but you’ve become like a sister to me, Quinn.” His eyes crinkled as a gleam of mischief erupted in their gray depths. “Of course, if you get tired of him, I might well audition for a different role.”
    A jealous rumble emitted from the direction of the men currying the horses, making Micah grin. But as he continued to watch her, his expression slowly sobered to the point of absolute gravity. “I’ll kill whoever tries to hurt you. No matter who he is.”
    Quinn slipped her arms around Micah’s waist, placed a kiss on his cheek, then laid her head on his shoulder as his strong arms gathered her close. Finally, with a quick kiss to her hair, he released her and they joined the others.
    “Ready?” Kassius asked. When the rest of them nodded, he knelt on the floor in the middle of the stable, brushed aside the hay, then closed his fingers around a hidden iron handle and pulled. The hatch lifted, revealing a ladder leading down into the dark.
    Kassius started down first. Quinn turned off her flashlight, tucked it back into her boot, then felt for the ladder and followed him down. Strong hands closed around her hips from behind, swinging her off the ladder and setting her on her feet out of the way. She felt more than heard the next one down, but knew it was Micah. She always knew Arturo’s scent. Above she heard the creak of a hinge and the soft thud of wood that told her he’d closed the hatch.
    Quinn waited in the pitch dark, the only one of them unable to see. Moments later, the warm scent of almonds enveloped her and cool fingers closed around her hand and gave a tug. Silently, she followed him down the pitch black tunnel, one she knew ran for a long, long way, maybe as much as a quarter mile.
    They hadn’t gone far when something hit her in the head, suddenly, with a dull thunk. Arturo’s hand disappeared from around hers. Before she could fully register what she’d run into, it was around her neck, pulling tight.
    Quinn’s eyes went wide, her fingers clawing at the chain now digging into her windpipe, cutting off her air. Slowly the chain began to lift her off her feet.
    Terror ripped through her with horrifying clarity.
    She was about to be hanged.

Chapter 9

    Q uinn clawed at the chain around her throat, fighting not to panic as she felt it lifting her off her feet. Dear God, dear God, dear God.
    “ Help me ,” she gasped.
    Suddenly cool fingers joined with hers, fingernails scratching her neck in their desperation to dig beneath the noose and free it. Arturo’s fingers.
    She lifted onto the balls of her feet, then onto her toes as the chain rose, tightening. Panic exploded. Any moment, she’d be hanging by her neck!
    An arm circled her waist from behind, and suddenly she was being lifted up. The chain around her neck slackened and she felt Arturo’s cool fingers slip beneath it, but barely. She could breathe, but the chain wasn’t coming loose! She could feel it trying to tighten around her neck as if it had a mind of its own.
    All of a sudden she began to swing, though still caught tight against…was it Micah? Kassius? Why was he…?
    Understanding crashed over her. They were