Blood Blade Sisters Series by Michelle McLean Page A

over that. That was months ago. And I barely touched you. We only rob the people who deserve to be robbed, so you can stop losing sleep over our poor little victims.”
    “No one deserves to be robbed and beaten!”
    “We don’t beat anyone! You were a special case.”
    Her tone sounded like his exception amused her. Before he could say anything else, she waved him off again. “Look, as much as I’d like to sit around and trade insults with you all night, we still have a lot of work to do and I’d like to get it over with sooner rather than later. Frank has been too quiet lately. I don’t want to take any more chances than necessary.”
    Lucy cracked the reins and steered the horses into a small copse of trees that lay several yards off the main trail. Leo was surprised at how little noise the wagon made and it didn’t seem to be leaving a trail at all, though it was hard to tell in the dark of night.
    The girls jumped down and moved to the back of the wagon. Leo followed suit and felt a twinge of admiration when he got a closer look at the rig. The wheels had been wrapped in fabric and there was an arrangement of twigs and branches, some of them also wrapped in fabric, dangling from the backside of the wagon.
    Leo’s eyes followed the path that the wagon had taken to the trees and realized that the assortment of laundry and shrubbery hanging from the wagon had served to stir up the dirt as the wagon passed, effectively erasing its tracks. Even the horses’ hooves were covered in thick fabric. While that might not have obliterated their prints entirely, it did muffle the sound of their passing.
    Clever . But his grudging admiration evaporated when the sisters climbed into the wagon and began dragging the heavy sack out. Cilla jumped down, pulling while Lucy pushed. Leo grabbed Cilla’s arm, squeezing so hard she gasped.
    “What’s in there?” he asked, fear tightening like a vice around his chest.
    “Let go,” she whispered, yanking her arm from his grip.
    “It’s just flour,” Lucy said, hopping off the wagon to help pull the sack out.
    “Flour?” He frowned but released Cilla.
    “Flour and some fencing posts,” Lucy said, giving the sack one last pull. It fell to the ground with a thud.
    Some of Leo’s fear dissipated, leaving him thoroughly drained and even more thoroughly confused. That feeling intensified when Cilla pulled her bow and quiver of arrows from under the wagon seat.
    “You’re kidding, right?” he said, gesturing to the unwieldy weapon in her hands. “Surely you aren’t hunting game now ?”
    Cilla ignored him, marching to the other side of the thicket. Several yards away sat a small homestead and ramshackle barn. Cilla took aim but Leo grasped her arm again, though this time he took care not to squeeze.
    “What is going on, Priscilla?”
    She didn’t pull from his hold. He moved closer and reached over to pull her bandana from her face. Her exhausted eyes stared back at him. She looked as though she could collapse any moment.
    It was all Leo could do to keep from wrapping his arms about her. The urge surprised him, especially considering what he’d thought her capable of only moments before. But he just couldn’t help it. He wanted to make all her troubles go away, do whatever it took to erase that tired, haunted look from her eyes. But he knew enough about her to know she wouldn’t thank him for his protective thoughts. She’d more likely gut him where he stood.
    He let go of her arm, but he didn’t step away from her.
    “Frank doesn’t just harass us. He’s got his greedy hooks into the townspeople as well. He’s draining them dry, levying taxes against them to pay for his ‘protection’ squads. But the people don’t have much to give, so the squads take it by force. The gold ran out, the miners stopped coming. The people who are left could probably eke out a decent life for themselves if Frank left them alone. But he doesn’t.
    “So we do what we can. If we just