Free Devils on Horseback: Gideon, Book 5 by Beth Williamson Page A

him. There was no way she could be insulted because he wasn’t going to fuck her in the woods. For God’s sake, they were potentially waiting for the men who kidnapped her family and stole his horse. The very idea she’d been hurt was ridiculous. His words couldn’t hurt the thick-skinned Chloe.
    She wanted to punch him. He’d been rude, bossy and insulting, not to mention the fact he’d manhandled her. For pity’s sake, the man had carried her like a sack of potatoes. Then when his cock had pushed against her, he’d acted annoyed. Gideon Blackwood was a mean son of a bitch, and she’d do best to forget ever having given him her virginity.
    Chloe took a deep, slow breath and focused. If the wagon they heard was hers, she would need her wits about her, not stuck in a rut thinking about a stranger. She pulled the knife from her boot, and he found a sturdy branch to use as a club. Pitiful weapons to be sure, but Gideon and Chloe also had the element of surprise.
    She gripped the handle so hard her knuckles popped. Blood whooshed through her veins, pumping her full of energy until she almost vibrated. Her legs tensed as the sounds grew closer, then closer still. The wagon was only about fifteen feet away. Her heart thumped hard, yet she retained her control, ready to do battle with those who would harm her family.
    Gideon turned and pointed at her, then to her right. He pointed at himself, then to his left. She didn’t know exactly what he meant but surmised he was telling her to take the back of the wagon while he would go to the front. Chloe nodded and crept closer to the opening in the bushes as silently as she could. When she glanced back, she was surprised to see he was ten feet from her and nearly at the edge of the trail. For a big man, he moved like a shadow.
    He stopped with a fist in the air, and she froze in place. Her breath came in short bursts as adrenaline surged through her. This wasn’t the first time Chloe had done something potentially dangerous. It was exciting to be doing something, to be fighting for what was hers, to take a stand and hold firm. Perhaps if she’d been a man, Chloe would have fought in the war with the same kind of excitement mixed with fear. She watched and waited until he glanced her way and, with a nod, jumped out of the brush.
    She ran to the back of the wagon and skidded to a stop. This was not her family’s wagon. It belonged to a peddler or something like that, covered with bits and pieces of things for sale. As she turned to find Gideon, a bloodcurdling cry split the air and a shiver raced down her spine. Chloe raced around to the front of the wagon to find Gideon with his hands up and a woman pointing a shotgun at him.
    Ironically familiar sight.
    “I shall not let ye steal my soul, ye devil!” The woman was dressed in a drab gray dress with a poke bonnet that had seen better days. She held the weapon with ease, telling Chloe she could easily kill Gideon if desired.
    “I said I was sorry, ma’am. I thought you were someone else.” He spotted Chloe and gestured with his head. “There is my, ah, wife. She can tell you I meant no harm to you.”
    The word wife made Chloe lose her balance for a second, but she kept on walking, strangely pleased to have the man at her mercy again. It was an inappropriate moment to be having such thoughts, but they persisted anyway. Things had been topsy-turvy since she’d lowered her own pistol the day before. Impossible to think it had been just over one day, but time didn’t lie.
    The stranger turned to look at Chloe but kept her gun firmly pointed at Gideon.
    “This your man here?”
    Chloe’s gaze met Gideon’s, and she saw so much in that split second, it startled her. Partly because she wanted to have someone to call her man, and because she saw the same kind of longing in his eyes.
    “Ah, yes, ma’am. This here is Gideon.” Chloe stumbled over her words just as much as she’d done with her feet moments earlier. Mr.