The Town 0f No Return: Special Edition (Half Breed Haven Book 11)

by A. M. Van Dorn

  Blue River traced his finger down the side of her face from her ear to her chin. “You listen to me.” Summer Sky turned away unable to meet his eye, so he gently turned her head to face him with his two fingers. “Listen to me, Sky. None of that is going to happen. I won’t let it.”

  “How can you stop it? Crazy Elk is determined. I learned of the certainty of his plan after you left. He and his two most loyal followers slipped away to by the stream to discuss their plan to use an attack on the town as the way to kill my brother, but they had to delay it until he could return. Capturing the stage and making plans for the ritual was just what he needed to delay the attack. At least the Great Spirit looked down upon me that my friend Morning Sun was out gathering berries and heard their treachery unseen and was able to tell me.”

  “It must be killing him to have to keep up the charade of obeying you.”

  “I suppose it is. But he knows it is only for a short time now. When the sun rises tomorrow it will find him the new leader,” she said as her shoulders sagged, her surrender to defeat palpable. Slowly, Blue River rose and crossed to the flap in the tent and began to tie the hanging straps that would seal it shut from entry from the outside. Still resting on her knees, she watched him in puzzlement until he returned and dropped to his knees as well in front of her. His hands traveled up the length of her arms until he was once again cupping her face.

  “I again promise you that I will help you.”

  “There is nothing you can do, Blue River. It won’t be just my brother dying. He will never let you leave here alive. He was jealous of you back then and even more so now since you appeared back into our lives after so many moons.”

  "If you truly believe we are doomed, then let us enjoy true pleasure one last time." His lips pressed against hers and for a moment her hands pushed against his chest as if she was going to repel him away, but instead, she began to ravenously explore the hardness of his sculpted pecs, and their gentle kiss blazed into one of passion.

  The kiss seems to last forever, passionate with tongues locked in a mating ritual while their heads bobbed to and fro as their hands explored each other's heating bodies. When they, at last, parted she rose, stepped back and bent over taking her buckskin dress by the hem, lifting it over her head freeing herself of it Standing before him her nude body beckoned, her conical breasts hard and firm and below her waist, the thatch of ebony hair drew his attention. He now rose as well, stepping close to her and without waiting or asking for approval, he cupped her tits, squeezing them gently, and rolling them in large circles. "They're beautiful, and they feel as good as they look." He commented leaving Summer Sky to blush even through her native skin.

  His adventuring fingers moved down and caressed her pubic hair, and she trembled with the first few touches but wiggled her hips under the pleasuring of his fingers and drew his head to her breasts. He kissed each nipple and then, in turn, licked the rising buds. "You feel and taste wonderful." He said as he halted and straightened and began stripping away his clothing. The subtle widening of her eyes told her she was appreciative of the long thick rod that swung between his legs. Just as their womenfolk had been blessed with bodies to die for the men in the Wilde family lacked nothing when it came to their endowments as Summer Sky was just now finding out. He took her by the hand and guided her voluptuous figure to the floor of her lodging amidst the furs that made up her bed. Laying on her back, she grabbed one of the pelts and placed it under her hips before spreading her legs.

  "Come I cannot wait. From the moment you showed up here before I couldn’t stop thinking of what this could be like." Summer Sky mumbled her mouth in a lazy smile.

  As if to underscore this he saw she was more than ready as glistening wetness showed below the thick patch covering her haven. He crawled in between her legs, nudging them further apart, and laid his stiff cock on top of her mound. Teasingly he ran the length of his staff up and down her lips making contact with her love button as he did.

  "Hmmm, that's nice, but I want more. I demand more!" Summer Sky said her teeth gnashing together proving she was still a formidable woman despite her situation with Crazy Elk.

  As Blue River pulled back, she lifted her hips, and his cock slid deep into her tight pussy until it could go no further, causing her to buck her hips as she moaned, " That's what I want yes." He glanced down at her as he rested on his hands.

  She's beautiful; he could hear a voice in his head, saying but he couldn't say the words out, he didn't even bother to try.There was no doubt she had heard such a thing all the time. His seduction had been part of the plan that he and Lijuan had crafted, but it had become so much more now. Summer Sky indeed was a spectacular woman, and despite the extreme danger he was in, he couldn't think of a better place to be right now in this world than deep inside her. Blue River drank in the sight of her hair, with the twin braids fanned out on each side of her head, the woman's chest rising and falling, her nipples fully erect from her excitement. Her closed eyes suddenly snapped open, and she caught him looking at her.

  "Don't just stare, make love to me!" Summer Sky ordered in a soft tone though. He was more than happy to obey as he began to pump in and out of her, sweat starting to glisten on both their bodies. He increased his speed enjoying the added friction between them. Summer Sky's panting told the story that she’s awash in lust as well. Her body, her scent, her taste, her response was all more than he anticipated when he had decided to seduce her in hopes of saving the hostages.

  Her body went rigid for a moment before wriggling wildly under him. "Ooh yes, yes, yes," Soon her words gave way to loud screams while Blue River kept stroking in and out of her as fast as he could. Without warning, she became rigid a second time before once more exploding into crazed gyrations in all directions under him. He lifted his hips a little as her orgasm detonated triggering an ear-shattering climax. " Yeeeeeah, yeeeeeees!" she moaned as loudly as her voice could permit.

  As she came down from her orgasm and her panting became less ragged, Blue River rolled her over onto her back knowing he was near the edge. With his fingers gripping her shoulders, he pushed into her rapid fire and groaned, "Damn Sky you're so good." He held her tight for several minutes as his spasms continued. He burst inside of her, and as he pulled out, he was still climaxing raining wave after wave on her back, the farthest reaching up to just below the back of her neck. Blue River's body shook from the intense orgasm, and he let loose one final great cry before he fell to her side, each of them enjoying the afterglow of the tryst.

  "You know what, that was wonderful. The idea that I may be forced to give myself to Crazy Elk in this way—forever—it makes me feel as if my heart is being squeezed,” she admitted, showing a vulnerability that touched something within him.

  Stroking one of her braids in his hand he murmured, "Like I already promised, I'll never let that happen," Blue River reassured her for a final time, and he truly meant it.

  CHAPTER 19

  PALMAREZ, MEXICO

  Bright Feather placed one hand on her hip and looked around the noisy, smoke-filled saloon. “Still no sign of Salazar no matter how many of these places we’ve visited. Perhaps he sought refuge in some other town. Maybe he went on to the Canebraro Valley,” Bright Feather said echoing his thoughts from earlier.

  “Let’s hope not,” he responded, lowering his voice. “Look at this place. A man wearing a lawman’s badge wouldn’t last two minutes in here or any of the other taverns we’ve seen,” he said, glad that their covers were holding.

  The place had a raucous atmosphere and a mix of Mexican and American desperados. Shouts and laughter rang out amidst the cursing and belches. As they approached the bar, she could see it was full up. Suddenly two men started fighting each other spilling off their stools before rolling around, swinging and cursing. The couple sidestepped to let them roll past them. Dutch smiled and motioned her forward towards the now empty stools.

  “Looks like they won’t be needing these anymore,” he said, and the
y stepped up to have a seat. They took their place next to a beautiful woman with long red hair and a heart-shaped face.

  “Ma’am,” he said to the woman and tipped his hat. The woman smiled and looked at them both.

  “You best hang onto your man, squaw. A cowpoke with manners is a rare thing around these parts,” the woman said.

  Bright Feather and Dutch glanced at each other. It was time to get into character; Dutch thought to himself sourly as Bright Feather already had assumed hers.

  "Don't let him fool ya! If he's being polite to ya, it means he's got his eye on ya," Bright Feather said with a slight leer and rougher tone to her voice.

  “Oh, shut your damn mouth. You’re lucky to be with me, instead of squatting in a teepee somewhere wondering where your next meal is coming from. Don’t pay this squaw no mind, ma’am. The name is Bill,” Dutch told the woman.

  “I’m Tess. You know, there is a lot of Bills in this here town,” The redhead said with a slight, knowing smile.

  “So we hear. I’m Yellow Bird. I’m sure I’m the only one going by that name around here,” Bright Feather chirped.

  “I’d agree with that, injun. Aw shit! Here comes Hardcastle,” Tess said nervously.

  They glanced around and saw a mean looking man approach them. He was about Dutch’s size with black hair and deep brown clothes. The look in his dark eyes was hard, and the hatchet-faced man gave off a feeling of random danger. Dutch was annoyed when the man pushed his way between him and Tess but said nothing and instead ordered two whiskeys.

  “Tess, I don’t know why you are giving me the cold shoulder like you have! You and me— I thought we had something special,” Hardcastle said in a gravelly voice as he handed off one of the shots to her.

  "I don't know if I would be fixin to call a couple of rolls in the hay having something special. I agree with the girls in Rosita's whorehouse who call you The Minuteman," Tess said, and Bright Feather snickered softly. Hardcastle glanced at her irritated before returning his gaze back to Tess.

  “That couldn’t be helped. As fine a woman as you are, a man gets all eager. I promise the next time it ain’t going down that way, you’ll see,” Hardcastle told Tess.

  “There ain’t gonna be no next time. Not anymore, Frank. In case you hadn’t heard, one of your ex-partners in crime and my old beau is back in town. We done picked up where we left off,” Tess said, and Hardcastle looked suddenly nervous.

  “You don’t mean?” Hardcastle asked, his voice fading to nothing.

  “I do,” she responded, glancing over the man’s shoulder past the trio. “And I see him coming now, so why don’t you save yourself a whole heap of trouble and skedaddle before he sees you talking to me.”

  "The hell with it. I was just fixing to leave anyway. I'm getting my rifle and going over to Jeb Hawkes's house. He owes me some money and says he'll make it up by giving my grandpop’s rifle a good cleaning, but know this Tess, I ain't giving you up, hear!" He threatened as he pushed his way back from the bar. In doing so, he jostled Dutch's arm as he was lifting his whiskey.

  “Watch yourself, partner!” Dutch exclaimed. Hardcastle glared at Dutch and then looked back at Tess as he walked away.

  "I'll win you back, you just wait and see!" he said, and he left quickly. The three of them watched him go through the batwing doors. Then Tess turned and smiled at a man who walked up. He embraced her and gave her a passionate kiss.

  “Rodrigo! I was just talking to someone about you! Now look at you all clean cut? What happened to your hair and beard?! You almost look respectable!” Tess cried out. He didn’t answer her but instead gave a hearty belly laugh before turning to face the bartender.

  “Whiskey! A whole bottle, two glasses!” The man commanded.

  Bright Feather and Dutch saw his profile and just like that they knew they had found their prey. After all their searching for the past two days, he had come practically right up to them.

  "Coming right up, Salazar," The bartender said, unknowingly confirming what they were sure of. The pair watched as Salazar received the bottle and glasses, noticeably without paying for the liquor, and then he and Tess swaggered across the room, arm in arm they saw the tell-tale scar on the back of his neck. As the twosome approached a table with several older men sitting at it, Salazar opened his coat to show them his shooting iron. The men hastily got up, and Salazar sat with Tess.

  “Are you going to approach him now with your plan to trick him into returning to the Arizona Territory?” Bright Feather asked softly of her lover.

  "Not yet. We need to figure a way to gain his confidence. Let's just watch him for a while. If he leaves, we will have to follow though. Now that we have found him, we don't want to lose him," Dutch told her as his eyes had turned hard. Watching the man, he recalled the details of the ambush the man had carried out before his final dash to Mexico.

  These he had learned when they had reported to Col. Anders at Fort Campbell and had met with the recovering Vellaneau. To no surprise, his fellow captain had not acted overjoyed to see them, given the prickly relationship the trio shared, but Dutch had shaken his hand and relayed Caine's well wishes. As a gesture of concern and well wishes, Bright Feather had handed over a pouch of his favorite tobacco she had brought along as a gift.

  This had seemed to ease the tension between the three, and Vellaneau rolled himself a smoke as he recounted his fateful encounter with Rodrigo Salazar. The pair had listened engrossed as he relayed his story, unaware of certain bits he had left out that would have quickly ended their current truce.

  ***

  Ten miles from the Mexican border at Fort Campbell, the detachment standing at attention before Colonel Warren Anders in the center square of the fort were well aware of the seriousness of their mission. The colonel had recently received critical information on the wanted criminal, Rodrigo Salazar's movements, and was determined to take care of him one way or another before he escaped beyond their jurisdiction in the nation to the south. He looked over his men lined up in front of him awaiting orders.

  "According to reports, Salazar is headed this way. I want you men to split up, cover every trail that leads to the border!" Anders told them. He had just finished speaking when one of the officers made a gesture for his attention. His gaze fell on a strong-looking man with neatly trimmed brown hair and a mustache that matched it in terms of coloring and grooming. The man had a sharp and alert look about him and when he spoke it was with the genteel southern accident from Dixie where the officer hailed from. It was Captain Reginald Vellaneau temporarily on loan to them from Fort McCallister to the north.

  “What is the identification like for this fugitive, Col. Anders?” he asked.

  "He's a big man, Captain, well over six feet with shaggy beard and hair, both black and there's a jagged scar on the back of his neck," he answered. "Don't take any chances with this man. He's already killed three soldiers. He wouldn't hesitate to kill more. It's shoot to kill if he tries anything. Understood?" Anders said firmly.

  The men all answered in the affirmative, and he dismissed them. Standing at the gate to the fort he watched solemnly as his men rode through it before splitting off into various directions, all with determined looks.He was confident they understood the importance of the mission and more so the danger.

  ***

  “Let’s hold up here. We can see a good mile, so we will know if anyone comes this way.” Vellaneau said, looking down over a trail leading through the part of a nearby valley often traversed to reach the land of Mexico. They got settled in, drank some water, and then they sat in silence for a while looking over the valley and the ribbon of a stream that ran through it.

  "So, Captain Vellaneau, how do you like your temporary assignment at Fort Campbell?" Lieutenant Bishop asked casually. Vellaneau idly swished around the water in his canteen as he looked at the sandy-haired young officer, fresh out of West Point less than a year ago.

  “I like it just fine, Bishop. I jumped at the chance to get out of
McCallister for a spell. Col. Caine said Anders was down a man. I was happy to come until a replacement could arrive,” Vellaneau answered.

  “It’s a damn shame about Captain Kelly. When we found him, he had a dozen arrows in him, all from the bastard Black Hawk and his Omega warriors,” Bishop remarked dourly.

  “That’s one of the reasons I am happy to get away from Fort McCallister,” Vellaneau said.

  “What do you mean?” Bishop asked.

  “I’m forced to work side by side with a squaw who is none other than Black Hawk’s niece!” Vellaneau grunted as he tossed down the canteen he’d been toying with.

  “You mean Bright Feather? I met her a few times when I was at McCallister. She seemed nice,” Bishop commented.

  "Didn't you hear what I said? Her uncle is Black Hawk. After all these years I still don't want to let my guard down around her completely. I don't think she is a spy anymore like I did at first, but at the end of the day, an injun is an injun. I don't think they are to be completely trusted," Vellaneau said sharply.

  Knitting his brow, Bishop put another question to him, “Didn’t she just get an award?”

  "The less said about that, the better. Anyway, I am glad to be away from there, so I don't have to deal with her and Captain Wilde. He's fucking her on the side and has been all these years. Colonel Caine and all the rest turn a blind eye because of all the help she's been to the U.S. Army," Vellaneau said, not realizing he just gave the woman a recommendation by mentioning how invaluable she had been.

  “Even down here I have heard that Dutch Wilde isn’t a favorite person of yours,” Bishop said nodding.

  “How could he be? The man comes from a family of half breed fornicators, drunk on their own sin. Christ that Mexican girl lays with whatever woman she feels like and remains free to walk the streets. They have put women with that sickness in asylums for less. Her daddy is a judge though, so she is protected. Then you have got a colored girl bedding white men left and right …” Vellaneau trailed off shaking his head.