Under cover of darkness, Charlotte and I slipped through the streets, pausing in doorways and taking cover whenever needed from the battery assaults. The guns Charlotte had brought along were securely tucked in our pockets.

The weight of mine made me more nervous than confident. The safety was on, but I kept imagining I was about to accidentally shoot a toe off.

Following Charlotte, I remained quiet, trying to steel my nerves for what we were about to do. I’d never broken someone out of jail. Then again, I’d never run through a city under fire by cannon and occupied by the British before, either. The hospital is where I’d chosen to stay during previous battles.

Which way?” Charlotte’s voice hissed through the racket, her form drawing near as we took cover under a corner stoop.

What do you mean?” Her expression made me think we were in danger, and I glanced around in a panic, fumbling to get my hand through my skirts and to my pocket bag.

She grabbed my hand, stilling it and nodded to the right, down the road that led to the jailhouse. “Look. There are soldiers in the street down there.”

Squinting, I searched for what she was seeing, only catching a brief glimpse of lamplight bobbing in the night.

You drew the map,” she continued. “Marked the escape routes, studied the entire layout of the battlefield. Our current path is blocked by soldiers. So which way do we go?”

Blinking, I nodded. When I’d started sketching the city, it had been something to fill the time, not a study or tool to be used for our gain. Charlotte was right, though. I’d collected all the information and knew it well.

Taking a steadying breath, I pointed behind us. “There’s an alleyway we can slip through a few blocks back. If we take it, circle around past the wharf, and then take the street up the bluffs just before where the British units are placed, we should be able to slip into the jail through the rear.” Sighing, I shrugged my shoulders. “Assuming we don’t get caught by anyone first.”

Charlotte smiled. “They’ll be too busy to notice two women scampering around in the hills. Let’s go.”

In reality, our path was a little more complicated than I expected. We had to double back twice to avoid platoons or buried roads, as well as often stopping for cover as we neared the edge of the city. Finally, when we came down beside the water, I felt as if I could breathe, the shore far enough away to be safe from fire right then. It smelled horrendous, due to the dead horses scattered everywhere, but I pushed that truth from my mind and continued onward, leading Charlotte toward the jailhouse with hope and fear in my heart.

As we slipped into the city, darting around Hessian and British units, the roof of the building finally came into view, and I felt as if I might collapse from relief to see it still standing. A dim light came from the windows, the door left unguarded, but closed.

Charlotte, grabbing my arm, pulled me into another abandoned doorway, whispering quickly as she reached into her pocket. “Let me go first. I’m a bit more experienced in this kind of thing than you might think.” She smiled, amusement dancing across her features, and then took off, darting across the street and then motioning for me to follow.

To my surprise, she led me to the jail straight on, running as a spray of ammunition from the American forces began to fall around us.

Help!” she screamed, banging on the door when she found it locked. “Let us in, please!”

The door opened immediately, a man in a white waistcoat and pants ushering us in and pushing us to the ground as one of the windows broke beside us.

Charlotte continued to scream, playing the part of a terrified and helpless woman with ease.

I, on the other hand, did not have to pretend to be scared. Shouting, I covered my head, rolling into a ball as a loud boom shook the ground. Terror gripped my every cell, tripling in size as one corner of the roof was suddenly gone, broken off and taking the crumbling wall with it.

Through the din, I heard more shouting, felt hands on me as I cowered on the ground. A gun fired nearby, and a body fell beside me.

It was chaos. This was the heaviest I’d ever been fired upon. Cursing our rotten timing, I peered up, squinting through the foggy air. Hands reached out of cells, begging to be released. Through the now missing wall, I could see a building burning, another cannon pounding into the ground and sending rock flying every direction.

Olivia!”

A hand grabbed mine, squeezing tightly as it dragged me toward the bars of a cell.

Looking up, I saw the blue eyes of my love, his blond hair unkempt and shaggy, a beard marking the lower half of his face.

What are you doing here?” August growled. “You’re going to get yourself killed!”

The statement made me laugh, my nerves fraying with every second that passed. “I think what you meant to say was ‘thank you!’” I shouted, blinking away tears as I saw he was fine for the first time in almost three weeks.

In spite of himself, August grinned, pulling me close and sharing a kiss through the bars. “Thank you,” he breathed. “You wonderful, crazy, impulsive woman!”

Holding him the best I could through the barrier, I let my relief take control, kissing him as the earth shook around us, fire and brimstone falling from the sky.

Get his keys, Olivia!”

Pulling away, I looked to the other side of the small building. Charlotte’s expression was a mixture of amusement and annoyance, waiting for me to finish what we’d started. Her hands held the lock of the cell in front of her, and I suddenly realized she intended to release everyone, rather than leave them to die here.

Glancing around, I saw the body of the jailer lying beside me, the keys looped around his belt. With trembling fingers, I undid the belt and took them, stumbling to my feet. Letting August out first, I then hurried to her side, choosing another key at random and trying it until I found the right one.

You shot the jailer?” I asked, opening the cell and letting the man inside go free. “I thought you didn’t change the past.”

He was going to die anyway,” she replied without hesitation. Glancing at the ceiling as we moved to the next cell, she hurried me along. “We all will if we don’t get out of here soon. This place will be a pile of rubble in the next couple of minutes.”

A closer cannon fired before I could reply, signaling the British’s return attack. The sound made me jump, and I dropped the keys, hurrying to pick them up as Charlotte chastised me.

August’s fingers wrapped around mine as I retrieved the ring, his smile encouraging as he took them from me. He made quick work of the other locks, ushering the prisoners out and directing them to safety across the street. Then, grabbing my hand, he pulled me in the same direction, using his body as a shield until we were inside an abandoned house and safe from random bullets.

No sooner were we inside did he grab me and kiss me, pulling me against him, devouring my lips hungrily. It was like we’d been apart three years, not three weeks, the way he drank in my presence, worshiping my mouth as if it were the only thing that gave him life.

The contact made my head spin, my heart racing, skin flushing as I allowed him to treat me so. Even with the danger surrounding us, I could have lived in that moment for the rest of forever, feeling the might of his love for me displayed in physical form.

Keep it in your pants, you two,” Charlotte butted in, completely focused on what was going on outside. “We aren’t out of this mess yet.”

Breaking away, August stared at me with happy eyes and swollen lips. Rubbing his thumb over my own mouth, he leaned in and gave me one more, chaste kiss. “Thank you,” he breathed.

I would have come sooner if possible,” I muttered, wrapping my arms around his waist and holding him tightly. “I petitioned to have you paroled, but no one would listen to my requests.”

Smiling, he shook his head. “Thank you, truly, from the bottom of my heart, love. The lengths which you have gone to for me are astounding.”

Thank Charlotte,” I stated, blushing. “It was her idea.”

I never would have made it to the jail without Olivia,” Charlotte conceded without a pause. “You’re welcome. Now, where do we go from here?” She looked at me expectantly, as if she thought I might suddenly spout off the perfect route home, with a place to stop for dinner along the way.”

Uh.” Frowning, I considered all the options we had, knowing almost everything in the vicinity would now be either destroyed or crawling with units firing on the Continentals.

Raising my fingers to his lips, August kissed them gently and replied when he saw I wasn’t sure of what to do. “We will find a way to someplace safe,” he stated simply.

 

 

I’d become so used to the sounds of battle that I could sleep through them now, the clashes lulling me into slumber as if they were a strange kind of lullaby. The next morning, as I sat up from my uncomfortable bed in the abandoned house near the beach, I yawned, ignoring the battle going on all around me as I looked outside. Masts from scuttled ships rose out of the water, horse carcasses lined up and smelling like death.

We’d not made it to the apartment as we’d hoped the night before, instead forced to take cover on the beach below the bluffs. Most, if not all the residences were abandoned there after the American shot and set fire to the ships in the bay. It wasn’t ideal, but I’d finally managed the first real sleep I’d experienced since August’s arrest. Having him back by my side made me feel more at ease than anything else.

Frowning, I glanced to my right, realizing he was no longer curled against me. Instead, footprints trailed across the sand outside, down to the water and then along the shore, disappearing off in the distance.

As my expression lightened into a smile, I stood and went that direction as well and found him, sitting just out of reach of the water where he was busy rinsing out his hair. The filth of the prison washed from his face, and he appeared more relaxed and calm than when we’d hastily bedded down for the night.

Good morning,” I said warmly. “Fancied an early morning swim, I see?”

Grinning, he waded over and kissed me in greeting, plopping down and wrapping his arms around me, sharing some of the cold water with me. “I thought you might appreciate if I smelled somewhat decent,” he joked. “Though I’m afraid the beard will have to wait until I can obtain a razor to cut it with.”

He rubbed the long stubble with a frown, his distaste for facial hair evident.

I like it,” I teased, rubbing it as well.

That tickles,” he complained, chuckling as he released me and rolled away to get dressed.

Laughing, I splashed some water on my face and threaded my fingers through my hair, cleaning up a bit as well, feeling refreshed and ready for whatever the day—and our fight this evening—would bring.

Or so I thought.

It wasn’t until I saw August raising his hands over his head that I realized anything was wrong. Turning slowly, I frowned as I stared at Smith, his rifle and bayonet pointed at the both of us.

Deserting, betraying your country, and now breaking out of jail?” he shook his head, glaring at August. “You have much to answer for Bancroft.”