I explain to her what I have to do, and she listens gravely. She doesn't like the idea any better than I do. "I want you to either stay with Lally while I'm gone, or lock the door and don't open it for anyone but me, understand? I'll be back around supper time."

"All right." She hugs me, and gives me a kiss. Her little belly pushes against mine softly. Yes, she's pregnant all right. There's no mistaking that swell for too many sweets. She runs her hands through my hair, and whispers, "You just be careful, mountain man. Don't let anything happen to you. It wouldn't be fair to me, now that you've got me addicted."

I hug her tight. "Mm, I just wish I had time to give you another fix before I go."

She laughs, and gives me a wicked leer. "Injection, huh?"

"You know, woman, you're awful raunchy for someone who was a virgin up to a couple of months ago."

"I was corrupted."

"Damn straight." I let the teasing tone drop from my voice. "Scribe, honey, I mean it. I want you locked up. There's... there's nasty things out there."

"Mm, and not all of them walk on four legs. I know, Jerry. I'll be careful."

I kiss her again and go outside to join Ron. I wait until I hear the lock engage before I walk over to him. We trudge out of the clearing together, not saying anything. Ron has his rifle and I have my handgun tucked up in the back of my waistband. It's better to be armed in situations like this. No one has ever discovered our escape vehicle, but better safe than sorry.

We get a little way into the woods, out of sight of the cabins, and I stop. Ron walks on a couple of steps, then stops, too, looking back at me questioningly. At last he says, "James?" I nod. "I don't blame you." He goes over to where a log is half buried by snow. "I think we might just set here a spell and listen to the woods."

I sit beside him, knowing what he means. We can't see the clearing from here, but the air is thin, and clear as crystal, and sound travels. If there's the least little squawk, we'll hear it, loud and clear. Even if we don't hear anything, I may go back and check, just to be safe.

It doesn't come to that.

We've been sitting there less than ten minutes when I hear the first scream.

"Scribe!"

I'm off the log and plunging through the snow like a mad buck with hounds after him. During the minute or so it takes me to make it back to the clearing I lose my grip on sanity. There is only one thought in my mind: James is dead. He may still be walking and breathing, he may be too stupid to know it yet, but he died the second I heard that scream.

I don't yell again. I'm not going to waste my energy and breath. Besides, the less aware James is that I'm coming, the better.

I can see that the door to our cabin is ajar as I burst into the clearing. The screams keep coming, and a red filter seems to have slipped over my eyes. I see, but I don't really notice, Lally and Justine starting out of their cabins, and I hear Ron behind me yelling at them to stay back. Justine is yelling something about Joshua.

I slam into the cabin. If it had been one of those sissified hollow core doors, it wouldn't have survived, but it's solid. I'll have a bruise on my shoulder later, but that isn't even a consideration right now, because I'm inside, and...

Lord, it's such a jumble. So much happening at once.

There are three figures in the middle of the room: two adults, one child. James is trying to strangle Joshua. The boy is fighting back, raking bloody tracks on his arms and hands, but he's starting to turn blue. Scribe is clawing at James's eyes, screaming like a mama cat, defending her only kitten. Oh, God, her clothes are ripped, and I can see a dark mark rising on her cheek.

I get those details in the brief glimpse I have before I land on James. Later I realize that the bastard is bleeding from his side, but he isn't hurt near bad enough to suit me, and I intend to correct that.

I put all the momentum of my rush, all my weight, all my rage into that first blow. He looks up in surprise just as I swing, and I catch him square on the nose. There's a sound like... Have you ever been making spaghetti, and broken a whole handful of it before you dropped it in the water? That crackling sound? That's kind of the sound I mean. The only sound I've ever heard that is more satisfying than that was is the noises Scribe makes when me make love.

Anyway, I knocked him loose from Joshua. Scribe got knocked away, too. I had James by the shirt, and was pounding my fist into his face as hard as I could, and I still wasn't making any noise, except a kind of snarl, with my lips pulled back from my teeth. He tried to hit back, but I mean... Pathetic. He wasn't much unless it was women or kids he was whupping on. I might have thought he was pitiful, if I hadn't seen what he'd been up to.

His knees gave, and I let him go instead of following him down. I'd used my fists enough. Now I wanted to use my feet. I put my boot into his side as hard as I could, and heard a rib snap. When he curled in on it, I gave him a couple of good ones in the kidneys. I think I'd have gone on and just kicked him to death, if Joshua hadn't screamed, and I looked around...

...and Scribe was on the floor, holding her belly, white as a sheet.

I didn't even land the last kick. I went to her, half falling down beside her. "Baby! Oh, God, baby, what's wrong?"

"Jerry..." she whispered. She clutched at my shoulder. The rest of the world might as well have blown away. I didn't even blink when James crawled to his feet and staggered out. It didn't register till later when the roar of the jeep engine sounded, and there was the crack of a rifle shot.

Scribe was looking at me anxiously. "I locked the door," she said plaintively. "I swear, I locked it. But when I came out of the bathroom..."

"Baby, don't worry about that."

"He picked that lock." Joshua, rubbing his throat, was standing beside us. "Bastard picked it slicker than grease."

She winced, curling up tighter. "Jerry, it hurts."

"Joshua, get Lally! Hurry!" I didn't really have to tell the boy. He was out the door before I got halfway through. I pulled Scribe onto my lap, rocking her. "It's gonna be all right, darlin'. I know it's gonna be all right."

"The baby. Jerry, I'm so scared."

"You just hang on, you hear me? We ain't gonna lose the baby. And if we do... We do. But you hang on, hear me? Don't you let anything happen to yourself, Scribe. I can't make it without you, you know that."

Lally came running in. When she saw us, she whispered, "Sweet Jesus!"

I turned pleading eyes on her. "Lally, help her! She's hurtin'"

"Get her on the bed, Jerry."

I lifted my wife up and carried her to the bed we'd made love in, and put her down as gentle as I could. I helped Lally strip her out of her clothes, then got out of her way, forcing myself to go stand by the door.

Ron came in, and put his hand on my shoulder. Good thing he did, because I wouldn't have noticed him otherwise. "Jerry... Brother, I'm sorry. He got away."

"What?"

"James. I tried, dammit. I caught him in the shoulder, I think, but he still managed to get the jeep out of the clearing. He'll be headed right for the authorities now."

"Well, they can send an ambulance up here, then. Scribe may be losin' the baby."

Ron winced. "Ah, shit! I hope what I gave that motherfucker proves fatal. Maybe he'll die of blood loss before he gets to anyone who'll give a damn."

"He might." Joshua was standing beside him, grim faced. "I got him in the side with my pocket knife." We both looked at the boy, surprised. He shrugged. "I knowed he was up to no good. He was too darn excited about you two goin' off today. Then he snuck out right after you left, so I figured I better follow him. I had to get Jakey settled, or I might have been able to keep him from jumping on her." He tugged my hand. "He didn't get to do anything but scare her and muss her up some, Jerry. I stuck him before he could get his pants open."

I kissed my nephew. "You're a good boy, Joshua."

"I'm a Bellewood."

Ron said, "Jerry, I know you don't want to think about this right now, but we've got to go."

"What? Ron, what the hell do you mean?"

"Just what I said. If James lives he's going to the cops. You know that. There's a reward out for information about Scribe. He'll figure he can bargain his way out of any trouble, get back at us, and have money to boot. We can't risk him living. We have to go, like we planned."

"Ron, I can't. Scribe..."

"Lally radioed 911. They'll be here soon, and she'll get the best care available. But you and me can't be here when they arrive. You won't do your woman a lick of good if you're sittin' in a jail cell, maybe waiting to be executed along with me, if James dies."

"But Scribe..."

"Jerry." Her voice was weak. I went to her immediately, kneeling by the bed.

Lally whispered, "There's... there’s a little blood, but she's not cramping any more. I think it may be all right, if she’s careful."

"Jerry, you have to go."

I was crying. "Baby, I can't leave you."

"You have to! Go like you planned. Get out." Her voice was soft, and she touched my face. "Find someplace else for us. I'll wait for you."

"They'll never let me have you."

She put her hands in my hair, pulling my face down till she could kiss me. Then she whispered against my mouth. "You came for me once. You'll come for me again. I know you will."

"Jerry," I felt Ron's hand on my shoulder. "Come on, boy. We have to get to the other jeep, then down the mountain by the hard way. Justine is radioing Benji to arrange the plane. Get your things out of the safe."

Reluctantly, I pulled away from Scribe. I opened the trap in the floor, and pulled out all the things that would be needed to set up a new life for myself and my wife. I started for the door, then stopped and turned around.

She held out her arms to me, and I went and held her one more time. I squeezed my eyes shut, and whispered fiercely as I held her. "She lives, God. You hear me? She lives. You can take our baby back if you have to, but don't take her. She's my life. She's my life."

Ron finally dragged me away.

I don't remember much about the trek out to the escape jeep: it's pretty much a blur. Thank God it was in good shape. The gas tank was full, battery hot, radiator full of anti freeze, and tires in good shape. We made it down the mountain. We never went on the actual road, and I could hear the sirens wailing, heading up to the clearing. Lots of them.

We got to the private landing strip and the plane was waiting for up. Benji's wife drove the jeep away before we took off. It would most likely end up in a ravine somewhere, covered with brush, or an 'accidental' rock fall. We were in the air a minute later, and on our way to Mexico.

I sat in the back in one of the passenger seats, and stared at the seat Scribe had occupied the last time I'd been on the plane. I remembered the soft touch of her tongue, licking the peach juice off my fingers. The way the muscles in her jaw had trembled with the desire to snap at me when I’d pushed my fingers into her mouth. The tight, hot clasp of her body as I eased my finger up inside her, and discovered that I was going to be the first man to touch her.

Then I remembered her soft cries while me made love, the feel of her hands on my back, and the sound of her voice saying, "I love you."

I started to cry.