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The hide parted. She slipped the knife into her own boot, cutting into the sheepskin lining to protect her skin from the blade. It wasn’t comfortable, but it was comforting.

She looked in the direction of the river and then over her shoulder at Brady. He watched her. He lifted his chin toward the river and mouthed the word, go. And she knew she could not.

If she escaped, the beasts would probably kill him in a fit of temper. He was offering his life for hers. Damn, but she loved him.

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Bab ate all the food Tam brought her. His attentiveness reminded her of the many times he’d searched her out when she carried Angel. She realized she’d missed him since she’d left the village.

He held Angel while she fed Storm. Rena’s little boy was sturdier and more demanding than Angel, but he was pleasant when well fed. His full cheeks reminded her painfully of her friend. Jak and Hop had killed poor Rena, but it was Bab’s fault. She’d talked her friend into running away with her.

“Let’s bathe the little ones.” Tam held Angel away from his body. The bit of hide between the infant’s chubby legs was wet and soiled. Storm’s covering was no better.

Though the smell of the infants’ wastes held no offense to her, she remembered the clean scent of Brady’s skin. He and Cara would never let themselves become so dirty and smelly.

Tam led the way to the river. He walked along the muddy bank until he found a gentle slope. Not far from the bank, new green grasses sprouted around the dead brown clumps. He stomped a patch of it down and deposited Angel in the make-do bed. After making another such spot for Storm, he took the baby from Bab and laid him down also.

“Us first.” Tam took her hand and helped her down to the water’s edge. He then let go of her hand and untied the strip of hide holding his skirt in place. He waded out a few steps until the water covered his knees and began splashing water over himself.

Bab took her skirt off slowly and watched Tam. She’d always found him to be the most handsome of men, but now she had Brady as a comparison.

Tam’s muscles were thicker than Brady’s but much leaner than Jak or Hop. Hair grew thickly on Tam’s chest unlike Brady’s smooth skin, and he wasn’t near as tall. Though Tam wasn’t pretty like Brady, he was attractive in his own way, in the way of her people. Tam’s man rod stood erect with his want for her. Something Brady had not been able to do.

Bab flung her clothing aside and stepped out into the cold water. The river scared her with its muddy bottom and shifting flow, but Tam would keep her safe. She joined him in splashing and thought again of Brady’s clean smell. With a little urging, she made Tam bend down so she could scrub his hair. It was chopped in uneven lengths but still longer than Brady’s short, dark locks. She scrubbed at the tangles and used lots of water until a golden gleam to match Cara’s emerged.

Tam grinned at her and then turned her around so her back was to him. He treated her hair to the same washing. His strong fingers on her scalp heated her despite the cool water he used. She decided she would stop chopping her hair off with the wicked stone blade and let it grow as long as Cara’s. She would make a wooden tool to undo the tangles like Cara did each day. And she would take care of and trim Tam’s hair to match Brady’s.

By the time they finished washing themselves and their skirts, they were both shivering.

Not even the hot sun could warm their wet skin. Tam held the babies while she washed their soiled bottoms. He comforted the little ones while she cleaned their bits of hide, but she had to nurse them again so that they forgave the displeasure of their baths. Perhaps if she bathed them every day they would become accustomed to it.

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Tam spread their skirts out in the grass so the sun might work on drying them. He looked at her with serious intent in his dark eyes. She knew what it meant, and she welcomed it.

Memories of Brady and Cara taking their pleasure on each other awakened her longings to find some for herself.

Tam tugged her to the ground and smiled at her. He reached out and touched her thigh, but Bab guided his hand to breast and nipple. After a moment of surprised hesitation, he took her full breast into his hand and squeezed. It was as wonderful as she’d imagined. Gathering her courage, she urged Tam to roll unto his back. His man rod stuck straight up into the sky. She lifted her leg over his hips and took it inside her. His eyes went wide, and his mouth dropped open. She guided his hands to her hips, and rocked her body on top of him. He caught on with enthusiasm. When she took his one hand and placed it on her hard little nub, her soul responded with joyous glory usually denied her when men took her.

They lay together afterward until the babies woke. The sun had already crossed the top of the world. She wished they could stay here with the children forever. Tam was a real man, not some unknown stranger who might or might not be some kind of spirit. She understood now that Brady would never want a mere, ignorant woman like her.

“Tam, we can’t let Jak kill the strangers.”

Tam hugged Angel to him and won Bab’s heart even more. “I don’t see how we can stop him. Maybe when the rest of their tribe returns, Jak and Hop will see the sense of this trading.”

“I’m sure Brady was lying. There’s only the two of them. Will you help me?”

Tam touched her cheek. “Bab, I will do anything for you.”

* * * *

Brady wasn’t surprised Cara didn’t try to escape. She had to be terrified, but she would never leave a fellow warrior behind. At least with her leg free, she would have a chance to run when things got ugly. It wouldn’t be long.

Hop and his hunters would be back soon and expose Brady’s desperate lie. Jak would kill him then, probably by beating him to death. With a sword or his long knife, Brady might have a chance in a face-to-face fight with the big Savage. In hand to hand, especially with his broken ribs, it would be nearly impossible for him to triumph.

The camp appeared peaceful for the moment. Bab and the one called Tam had returned with wet, clean hair from their earlier stroll. They sat together and shared some dried fruits and nuts. Brady’s stomach rumbled. It had been more than a day since he last ate.

Cara sat against the tree where the leash on her leg was tied, probably to hide the fact that it was cut. He hadn’t seen where she’d concealed the knife, but she would be ready. The little boot blade wouldn’t offer her much protection if one of the males came at her. It was too short to inflect anything more than a flesh wound on the big bastards, but it might give her a chance to get away.

Bab handed Angel off to Tam so the young male held both infants. She scooped up a handful of nuts and took them to Cara.

Jak watched her with a dark scowl but said nothing. Brady was nearly sure it was Jak they’d seen beating Rena when they’d spied on the village. And now he’d killed the poor defenseless girl.

Brady’s own thoughts surprised him. He was thinking of Jak and Hop as enemies of not just him and Cara, but as dangers to Bab, Angel and even some of the others. He was thinking of Bab as … human. And Tam, especially since he’d bathed, looked like a strong, stocky human more than a vicious Savage. Brady looked around the camp with new vision.

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Only four males besides Jak and Tam had remained behind. The other four were younger

… men. They were using rounded pebbles, obviously gathered with care from the sea shore, in some kind of game where they tossed the little stones at other stones. Mild curses and occasional gruff laughter accompanied their play. They were entertaining themselves as any young men might. If not for the intimidating, abrasive nature of Jak, this really was a tribe civilized enough to be allies with the Realm and Solonia. If Tam was a measure, they might welcome a chance to befriend strangers and learn from them.

Bab brought him a handful of nuts also. She frowned when she realized he couldn’t feed himself with his hands tied behind his back. He’d settled on a short rock when he sat after his earlier confrontation with Jak, figuring he could rise quicker if needed.

Bab knelt in front of him and put a fat almond in his mouth. He chewed slowly, savoring the meaty texture. Jak watched them with a scowl even darker than his usual expression.

“Help us, Bab,” Brady whispered after swallowing the almond. “We can’t take Angel across the river. She might drown.”

Bab blinked her dark eyes, but said nothing. Her hand shook a little as she offered him a walnut.

He turned his head slightly to avoid the food, though his belly cried with hunger. “I promise, if I don’t drown myself, I’ll come back. I’ll get help and come back for Angel and you if that’s what you want.”

“Get away from him, stupid woman,” Jak shouted. He leaped toward them and then grabbed Bab by the hair. He flung her to the ground with one hand and swung the other fist at Brady’s head.

Brady ducked under the wild punch and rose swiftly. He brought his knee up into the Savage’s ribcage.

Jak grunted and folded but didn’t go down. He straightened to his full height, his lips pulled back in a snarl. “I don’t think I’ll wait to kill you after all.”

Brady glared back at him, but he knew he had no chance against the bastard. Jak would pound him into something resembling that wrinkled, dried walnut he’d been offered.

“You’re afraid to fight like a man,” Tam shouted. He set the infants on the ground and hurried around the fire to help Bab to her feet.

Jak glared over his shoulder at the younger, smaller male. “Shut up, you little cock licker. I’ll give you the same as him when I’m done here.”

“Are you going to tie me up first, too?” Tam pushed Bab behind him. “You’re an old man, Jak. And you’re dumb. I think this sky-eyed man is smarter than you and maybe stronger.

Didn’t it take five of you to catch him? Your balls are shriveled and rotting.”

Jak spun to face the foolish Tam, but he turned his back on Brady to do it. A bad calculation. Brady was nearly at the limits of his tether, but he could still reach the Savage. He kicked at the inside of Jak’s left knee, landing a hard blow with the thick sole of his boot. The big bastard screamed and went down hard.

Cara jumped up and ran the few steps to Brady. She hacked with the little knife at the rope holding his hands behind his back. Brady watched helplessly as the other males started forward.

“Stay out of this,” shouted Tam. Unbelievably, they stopped.

Jak rolled on the ground, alternately screaming and cursing. Tam took Bab by the arm and led her over to pick up the babies.

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The rope holding his wrists parted and freed Brady’s hands. Agony shot up his previously numb arms and shot into his shoulders and back. For a moment, the pain made his head spin. Cara put her hand in the middle of his back to steady him.

The other Savages again took unsure steps foreword. Bab gestured at Cara and Brady.

“Go. Leave here before Hop and the others return.”

Brady stumbled after Cara. His arm muscles felt like they were being stabbed by thousands of little knives. He couldn’t have lifted a hand to save his life.

“Run!” Bab shouted.

Cara took his trembling hand as if to lead him, but he dug in his heels. Jak was no longer screeching, though he still lay in a panting heap on the ground. His small dark eyes were pools of hatred. He swung his virulent glare from Brady to Bab and back again. Without proper medical care, it would be a long time before Jak could walk again and when he did, he would limp with every painful step.

“Bab, are you going to be all right when his friends get back?” Brady couldn’t forget the destruction of Rena’s face.

Bab exchanged a look with Tam. They looked terrified but determined. “I can’t let them kill you, Brady.”

Cara tugged on Brady’s arm, and he followed her this time. They ran as soon as they made the cover of the trees. It was nearly half a mile back to the place where they’d tried the log raft. Brady’s gun and their swords lay in a heap where they’d put them to keep dry. The Savages probably hadn’t even understood what deadly weapons the metal objects were.

Cara took his hand and rubbed his wrist. The sharp pains were gone, but the ache might remain for hours or even days. “Why did they leave our weapons?”

“They wouldn’t have known what they were. Maybe they were afraid of them.” He picked up his gun and checked the barrel and load. It seemed untouched. Their log raft had grounded itself on the muddy bank only a few yards downstream.

Cara slid her sword back in its sheath and picked her long knife. She stared out over the river. “We should go while it’s still light.’

The sun only had a few hours before it dipped behind the mountains. They couldn’t chance the water after dark. He strapped on his gun belt and picked up his sword. He swung it a few times and winced at the stiffness in his joints. “You’re right. We should go.”

They stood on the bank side by side. He waited for her to do the right thing, completely confident in her heart.

“We have to go back, Brady. We can’t let Bab and Tam take on the whole pack of them.”

He took her in his arms. Their kiss was filled with relief at being alive and the stirring joy of upcoming battle. “You are the bravest woman I’ve ever met, but I don’t like you being in their reach again.”

“I don’t like anybody being within their reach. And that includes a woman like Bab.”

“Then let’s go help her.”