Love, Lies, Traitors & Spies

Chapter Five

Chapter Five

Heart in her throat, Juliet spun and dashed to the opposite side of the slave cottage. Cole was right beside her. He pulled the sidearm form his holster and cradled the weapon with deadly intent.

"Get off my property!" a man hollered as another gunshot pierced the air. "I won't tolerate thieves!"

Juliet and Cole shared a quick look of surprise and guarded relief. "It's not Reynolds."

Pistol at the ready, Cole edged to the corner of the hut. "We mean no harm, sir. My wife and I were caught in the storm and needed shelter. We are leaving now."

"See to it you do. I catch you dawdling on my property and you'll both wind up with a bullet in your backs. I've had enough of thieves and deserters."

"You'll have no trouble from us, sir. You have my word."

"Your word means nothing to me, now get!"

"Let's go," Cole whispered, nodding toward the thicker part of the trees. "We should reach Colonel Raymond's camp within a couple hours."

"He's in Virginia then?"

"Yes," Cole replied, but did not elaborate further.

Juliet glanced over her shoulder, cringing at the thought of more gunfire following them. As soon as they'd put some distance between themselves and the violent-minded landowner, she intended to get a few more answers from Cole.

~*~

For the better part of an hour they moved at a brisk pace through the woods. Neither spoke a word. Juliet decided that one advantage of being on foot was that it kept her warm.

Finally she glanced up at Cole. "Tell me about this information that will end the war."

He met her gaze, expression drawn and plagued with exhaustion. "Pardon?"

She frowned. "Are you feeling all right? You don't look well."

He waved off her concern. "This shoulder is a little sore, but it's nothing to be concerned about."

"You were shot, Cole. There are a number of things to be concerned about. Infection to name one."

The corner of his mouth quirked in a small, almost teasing smile. "What is this? Concern for the Yankee traitor?"

"I suppose it is." She quirked a brow. "Of course if something happens to you while we're lost in the woods what will come of me?"

Cole didn't respond to her comment and Juliet instantly felt guilty for the self-centered quip. She'd intended the remark as a joke, but it hadn't come off that way at all.

Ever so gently she reached out and squeezed his hand. "Promise me you'll see a doctor once we reach safety."

"I promise," he murmured, turning his hand so that her fingers nestled sweetly into his work-roughened palm. Together they stopped walking, facing each other. Little white clouds of breath puffed out between them, mingling together in an intimate shroud of mist.

For a blissful moment time suspended and memories transported Juliet back to a simpler, sweeter time. Cole's soft gray eyes darkened into deep pools of desire, and her wayward heart tugged at memories of years gone by. At one time she would have given anything for Cole to look at her with that look in his eyes. The first time he'd stolen a kiss behind the barn whisked through her mind. She'd been but fifteen and he seventeen. Juliet sighed. The impulsive, clandestine kiss had been her dream come true... until he'd asked Missy Carlson to dance at the church social that very same night.