Ellis put the barrel to the blonde’s head. The feel of the gun in his hand caused war memories to flood his mind. Beads of sweat broke out on his forehead and a tremble raced up his arm. He steeled himself. Keep it together man, you are not in battle-Callie needs you. He cocked the hammer.
The other young man moved farther out of the bushes. He was gaunt and dressed in worn, dirty clothes. “Don’t shoot him. He’s my brother!”
“I will shoot him if I…” Ellis’ voice trailed as he saw the other boy didn’t have a gun. His gaze narrowed to take a longer look at the other man. “McRey. What the bloody hell are you doing here and how does this woman know you?” He flipped his head Callie’s direction.
The kid looked like he was about to vomit. “Ahhh… Jesus….”
“You know each other?” the man in his arms asked as he struggled to break free. “Who is he, Fredric?”
“I wouldn’t try my patience,” Ellis warned as he pushed the barrel tighter against the blonde’s temple and looked down at Callie. She stopped screaming but was now on the ground sitting in a puddle of water. She stared blankly and rocked back and forth. He saw this in battle. She was in shock due to extreme trauma. This must be resolve d quickly so he could attend to her.
He could shoot them, but he hated the sound of gunfire.
“Garrison was my captain in the Crimean.” McRey told his brother and looked like he would cry. “Ahhhh… Jesus,” he repeated in a thick Scottish accent. “We will hang for sure. Why did I listen to you?”
“Why did you listen to him?” Ellis asked. “But more important, why did the woman say ‘don’t hurt me again?’ Has she had a run in with you or your brother before?”
“No! I have never seen the lass. I swear to you on our mother’s grave. I didn’t mean to scare her so bad…” The boy looked worried as he watched her rock. “What’s wrong with her?”
“You were robbing us, you ass,” Ellis’s voice was hard.
“We were hungry. My brother and I just needed food. Since I came home from the war, I haven’t been able to find work. We’ve walked for days. It was my brother’s idea to steal jewelry from a rich woman so we could sell it. You have to believe me. We had no intentions of hurting you, sir, or your missus, I swear,” he pleaded. He was crying now.
“She’s not my…” this wasn’t the time for explanations. Callie’s face grew paler— if that was possible. Ellis shoved the blonde man until he tumbled to the ground in front of him and pointed the gun at the man’s midsection. He wanted to pull the trigger but waited a beat. He drew in a long breath not taking his eyes off the man on the ground as he spoke to the one he knew. “McRey, you were a fine soldier in my unit. For that, I owe you something, but I am only giving you one chance. You and your brother need to leave England. I don’t care where you go… but, if I ever see you again, you will not have another chance at life. I must have your word.”
McRey grabbed his brother by the arm and pulled him to his feet. “Yes, sir… captain. We will leave today. I promise sir, you will never see me or my brother again. For the rest of our days, we will go and live with my grandmother in Scotland.”
Ellis stepped forward and both the men’s eyes widened. He reached into the leather bag in the chaise and yanked out the picnic food. He shoved it towards McRey who took the package. “This food is payment for your brother’s pistol. Now leave!” He barked.
The two young men jumped a foot then hurried off down the road practically falling over one another in their haste. When they were out of pistol range, they broke into a full run.
Ellis quickly turned, fell to his knees and drew Callie into his arms. God…she was cold and shaking. He ripped off his coat and wrapped it around her. The accelerated beat of her heart pounded through his fingertips as he drew the waistcoat closed across her chest. “Callie.” There was no response. He repeated her name in a louder tone and shook her slightly, “Callie!”
She looked up. Her blue eyes were beginning to focus on his face. “Ellis, why are you here… the men. They… he was going to rape me… he…” Tears streamed down her cheeks, as another shudder shook her.
Ellis was confused. It was a frightening experience, anyone would be afraid of being held at gunpoint. But, this was more.