by Lacey Davis
She’d die before she let him rape her.
His horse came to a stop and she gazed at his back. Once her feet hit the ground, she’d be running. Even in the dark with her hands tied, she would do her best to get away from this crazy man.
“My husband will kill you,” she said, thinking the man didn’t realize that both men were her husband.
“Oh no, honey, my plan is to kill him and you. With both of you dead, the Sweet B will be available. Papa will finally be proud of me.”
What could she say? With the two of them dead, the ranch would be available for sale and knowing Jim White, he would get it for almost nothing.
“Then your daddy, Jim White, will get what he wants.”
“That’s right,” he said, stepping out of his saddle, she waited patiently. If only she had something she could hit him with. A rock, a stick anything.
He walked to her horse and reached up to pull her out of the saddle. “Are you going to make it fun for me? Try to escape and then I can catch you and strip you?”
Well, crap! She didn’t want to give him pleasure in any way.
“Why would I do that? I expect my husband to arrive any minute. There’s no need to run. Will is going to kill you.”
The man tilted his head for a moment. “What’s Will’s last name?”
“Parker. I'm now Lily Parker.”
The man stopped his hands around her waist as he tilted his head. “My daddy knew a woman whose last name is Parker. I have a half-brother with the last name of Parker. It’s been years since I’ve seen him, but I just wonder."
Fear clutched Lily’s chest as her heart all but stopped and then beat at an irregular rhythm trying to catch up. No, no, no. Her husband could not be related to Jim White or even Calvin Smith.
“No way possible,” Lily said, unease settling in her. Will had never said anything about his family before. There was no way fate would put him and his half-brother together. That was insane.
He lifted her out of the saddle and set her on the ground and then he turned to her and grinned. “Aren’t you going to take off running?”
“See that cloud of dust in the distance? That’s your fate.”
She turned and walked away from him to sit on a dead tree not far from the horses. He glanced nervously in the distance. Her men were coming. Whether it was now or later, they would not let him kill her. She must have faith they would find her.
“No, it’s too early. They would not have caught up to us by now.”
A smile spread across her face. “They’re coming. Are you ready to die?”
Calvin gave a nervous laugh. “You seem to have forgotten. I’m killing the two of you.”
“Did you forget about Seth? He and Will are inseparable.”
“Doesn’t matter. I’ll kill the three of you. Now take off your clothes.”
“Kind of hard when my hands are tied. Besides you don’t want to rape me.”
He yanked a knife from his back pocket and sliced the ropes around her wrists. Fear raced through her, causing her to pause and glare at him. How could she stop him?
When she hesitated, he cocked his gun. “Do it.”
“Or what? You’ll kill me?” She tried to keep him talking to give them enough time to reach her. “About the time you’d get your tiny cock in me, they’ll ride up and then how will you grab your gun? And my husband will make certain that your cock never works again.”
His brows drew together in a frown and he glanced in the direction they had seen the dust. “See. No one is there. They’re not going to find you until tomorrow and by then it will be too late.”
A twig snapped and he whirled around aiming his gun in the darkness.
“You forgot to start a fire,” she said. “There are wild boars in this area. They’re killers. Are you ready to die?”
“Shut up,” he said, picking up firewood.
The moon had not risen yet and it was almost completely dark. Hastily he pulled out a flint. While he was trying to get the flame started, she quietly stood and began to walk away. He lifted his gun and fired at her.
“Sit back down. You’re not going anywhere.”
With a sigh, she returned to the log.
“Told you, you would try to get away.”
“And I told you, my husband will be here soon.”
Like an avenging tiger, Will charged from the bushes.
“Shit,” Calvin said, standing and whirling his gun toward Will, but he hadn’t planned on Seth launching at him from his back.
The man landed in the fire he was building, screaming in pain as the flames quickly took hold of his clothing.
Seth rolled him out of the fire, knocking his gun out of his hand while Will landed on top of him and punched him repeatedly in the face.
“You son of a bitch, I’m going to kill you,” he screamed. “You took my wife.”
Lily was so happy to see her husbands that she stood beside the three men, jumping up and down and yelling.
“Hit him, Will,” she yelled. “Get him, Seth.”
Relief flooded her. When her men left this morning, she wasn’t certain they would return, but they came home unharmed and now had rescued her.
Finally, they had Calvin pinned and Will whipped out his handcuffs and slapped them on him. The man’s face was a bruised and battered mess, his nose bleeding.
“You’re going to jail, Calvin Smith,” Seth said.
He grinned. “Won’t be there long. The sheriff is being paid by Jim White, my father. I’ll be out in no time. And besides, Will is my half-brother. He’s not going to turn me in or harm me.”
Seth reached out and punched him.
“Why did you do that?” Calvin said, gazing up at him.
“You’re not his brother.”
“I am,” the man cried.
Seth and Lily turned and gazed at Will.
“Is it true?” Seth asked.
“Yes,” Will said. “He’s my half-brother. I haven’t seen him since I was nine years old.”
“That means that Jim White is your father,” Lily said, feeling like someone had slapped her. She was married to one of Jim White’s sons after all.
The man’s fists clenched and his mouth contorted in pain. “Damn it, yes.”
20
Seth
In the glow of the fire, Seth watched as Will tied up Calvin.
When he finished, he stood over him shaking his head. “How in the hell did you get mixed up with Jim White?”
An owl hooted in the night, but Seth felt cold inside. The half-brother of his best friend was a murderer. Of Seth’s family.
Nothing had ever come between them and he suddenly feared that Will would never agree to Seth turning him in. Yet, he knew the story of his family. Will knew this was the last member of the gang that killed his family and he’d kept it secret from Seth all this time. Why?
“We’re kin,” Calvin said. “Jim is our father.”
“Jim White may have helped create me, but he’s not my father. You and I both know what he did to our mothers. How could you accept his way of life?”
And Jim White was Will’s father. How fucked up could this get? Not only had his brother killed Seth’s family, but his own father was trying to take their bride’s ranch away.
Calvin sighed. “He’s got money. Cash. I'm tired of being poor. Of working and never getting ahead. Dear ole runaway Dad has the means to help me get a head start. He seemed like a sure deal, only he’s a hard ass. Even worse than mother described him.”
Stunned that his best friend’s family had been part of the gang that killed his loved ones, Seth stood there reeling from the shock. What did he do now?
“Yes, I see how much he helped you get ahead. Who put you up to robbing the bank?”
The man sighed. “It was a test job. A chance to show him I was serious about doing everything I could to help him.”
“Help him? By confiscating the people’s money so they were beholding to him for everyth
ing.”
“That’s not true,” Calvin said.
Will shook his head. “Or a chance for you to get caught and hauled off to loiter in prison where you are out of his sight. He doesn’t want the sons he left behind. He’s got Matt.”
In the darkness, something rattled the bushes. Some insect or critter scurrying away from the glow of the fire.
Calvin started laughing. “Matt is weak and crazy. You and I, we’re strong. You should join us, Will. You and I working for Pops, we would have him owning this county in no time.”
Anger rippled like an earthquake through Seth. Over his dead body would the two of them join up with Jim White. No way would he accept his best friend joining with his ruthless father. And Calvin would hang for the crimes committed against Seth’s family.
Even in the darkness, Seth could see Will’s hands shook with rage. Maybe his friend was not being swayed to the dark side. Maybe their friendship still had hope.
“No, it’s wrong. I could never respect or love that man. He left my seventeen-year-old mother pregnant and alone. He did the same to your mother. How can you forgive him? An honest man doesn’t walk out on his pregnant fiancée.”
The words were said with such venom, you would think Calvin was about to get rattlesnake bit.
The man sighed. “Maybe my mother was to blame. Why did she get involved with a man like Jim? I wouldn’t have been born if she’d keep her knickers up and her legs together. What about your own mother?”
Seth could see his friend's veins popping out on his face and feared him losing control and yet his own anger simmered below the surface, like a snake coiled and ready to strike.
“My mother believed he was going to marry her. He forced her to have sex with him before the wedding. They had chosen a date and time and then he learned she was pregnant. And he ran like the coward he is. He may have money, but that doesn’t mean he’s not a yellowed belly viper.”
Seth had never heard how his mother got pregnant. Only knew Will was the product of a wedding that didn’t happen. An illegitimate child who grew up without a father. His mother worked two and three jobs to support them.
The sound of a log popping on the fire was the only sound heard in the camp. Seth turned and gazed at Lily who stood watching, her eyes wide with fright, her face taut with tension.
Will turned and walked into the darkness, leaving their prisoner tied up lying on the ground. Right now, the man needed to fight the demons in his soul.
And Seth said a silent prayer that the man he considered a brother, his friend, would come out the winner.
Lily ran after Will into the darkness leaving Seth alone with Calvin. It was all he could do not to pull out his gun and shoot the bastard. But he had sworn an oath to protect the citizens of Texas and abide by the law.
Cold-blooded murder was not acceptable.
Calvin struggled on the ground. “Ants are crawling on me. Could someone help me sit up or at least give me my blanket.”
Though the man deserved to be riddled with fire ant bites, Seth realized as a man of the law, he had to be above his own personal feelings. He went to the man’s horse and pulled out a blanket. He tossed it to him and Calvin managed to sit up and maneuver the blanket beneath him.
“Were you ever a member of the Mercardo Gang?”
The man’s head swiveled and he glanced at Seth, his eyes narrowed. “Why you asking?”
“Because they killed my family. The Lazy I ranch on the night of June 21, 1871. You were there that night. I saw you. I’ve captured every gang member, but you,” Seth said as he glared at the man. “You may think that because your brother is a Texas Ranger, you’re going to get a break. No way in hell will you ever get out of prison once I’m done with you.”
The man turned his head. “Did you have a younger sister?”
“Yes.”
“I enjoyed fucking her.”
Seth lunged at Calvin, rage roaring in his head. But then the grin on Calvin’s face calmed him.
“You didn’t fuck her. She died in the house fire,” he said. “She burned to death because someone believed my father had gold coins. He was a simple farmer. He had nothing.”
His confirmation of being there sent hate spiraling through Seth and he had to take a deep breath to keep from killing the man.
“You’re going to hang. You are the last member of the gang. All the others I’ve caught. You’re the last to die.”
There was silence as Seth walked away from the man on the ground. He needed to put distance between them or else he feared he would kill this monster who set his family farm on fire.
He still didn’t understand the reason. Though Frank Mercardo said some idiot thought his father was holding gold coins from the war. But it was all a lie. A lie that killed innocent people and left him scared.
Just a boy, he had hidden in the outhouse, terrified, while his family was shot and killed in the front yard and the house set on fire. Only his sister had hidden, and in the end, she died too.
Now they were gone and he was alone except for Will and Lily. And yet, how did the knowledge that Calvin was Will’s brother affect their relationship?
Because there was no way Calvin could escape justice, regardless of the fact that he was Will’s brother.
Seth would make certain the man would hang.
What did they do now?
21
Lily
Lily hurried in the darkness after Will. She’d seen his face, the way he looked like he wanted to murder his brother. And yet, part of her was fearful. Will was Jim White’s son.
She walked up behind him and he whirled around, his hand on his gun. “It’s me.”
He didn’t say anything but continued to stare out into the darkness.
“I hate him,” he said, his voice cracking. “For what he did to my mother. For how he abandoned me. For the evil I see in his eyes.”
She laid her hand on his arm. “You’re not him.”
“No, but his blood pulses in me. What if suddenly I become like him. What if I become greedy and selfish and turn into my father?”
Lily slid her arms around his waist and pulled him tightly to her. “You’ll never be like him. Your mother taught you well. You are an honest, lawful man who would help anyone. You are not your father.”
Suddenly he turned and pulled her into his arms and held her. She could feel him shaking.
“When people learn that he’s my father, they’re going to think I’m like him.”
“Then they will be wrong.”
“And you’re married to me. My tainted blood will hurt you and our children. What if he suddenly wants to be their grandfather. I don’t want anything to do with him.”
Relief flooded her when he said he wanted nothing to do with the man, as she thought of Jim wanting to be a grandfather to her children. Absolutely not! Over her dead body and she knew he could arrange that.
“Did you know that Jim White was your father?”
“No, I knew Calvin was my half-brother. When I was nine, our mothers met and talked and we were introduced. But I had no idea Jim White fathered us both. I haven’t seen Calvin since that day.”
“Maybe he’s not? Maybe this is all a big lie. After all, you don’t have his name and neither does Calvin.”
Oh, how she wanted that to be true for Will, but right now, she knew he needed her reassurance, her support.
“That’s because we were both illegitimate. He never married our mothers. Why should he? He didn’t want a family, but rather a woman to satisfy his needs. Before I left home, my mother made me promise I would never do to a woman what he did to her. That’s why I insisted on marrying you before we had sex. No child of mine will ever be illegitimate.”
It all made sense, except for how Calvin found Jim White and was he using the man to get what he wanted? Or was Jim White using him?
“Strange how you became a Texas Ranger and Calvin an outlaw.”
Suddenly Will tensed and began to curs
e.
“What’s wrong?”
“Seth,” he said. “He didn’t know that Calvin was my half-brother. I never told him because I didn’t want it to ruin our friendship. How could I be so stupid. He deserved to know the truth.”
Lily stared at him in the darkness. “Why will he care?”
With a sigh, Will laid his head on her shoulder and wrapped her in his arms. “Because my brother was in a gang that killed Seth’s family. He’s caught them all but Calvin.”
Fear spiraled through Lily. Why didn’t she know these things? Sure, they had been married for less than a week, but she should have asked about her husbands’ backgrounds. Instead they had focused on each other.
And now to learn that Will’s half-brother had killed Seth’s family, she didn’t know how that would affect their relationship. She loved her men and prayed they could put this behind them.
Just then, the sound of a twig snapping alerted Lily that Seth had followed them.
“You all right, Will?”
“No, I'm not. That son of a bitch is my father. But even worse, my brother was part responsible for murdering your family. My best friend. If I could go back in time, I would give my life to save your family.”
In the darkness, Lily watched as Seth wiped a tear from his eye and she realized the pain he felt.
“Thank you, Will. Promise me you won’t keep any other secrets from us.”
“Seth, I wasn’t even certain it was the same man. But you’re right, I should have told you. But that would mean facing the fact that my half-brother was an evil criminal. Someone who killed my best friend’s family.”
There was silence and Lily reached out in the darkness and drew Seth to her. “You are part of our family. The three of us are family. We’re all each other has.”
It was true. Lily’s family was gone, Seth’s family was gone, and even Will’s mother had died several years ago. They were all they had. And it was enough.
“It’s true. But I’m not going to give your half-brother any special treatment. He will be taken to Waco, just like all the other gang members and there he will stand trial.”
