by Nerys Leigh
~ ~ ~
Belle hurried to the dressing room to change into her costume and do her makeup, rushing through the process. There was no way she was going to miss the opportunity to tease Val about his stage outfit the way he’d teased her about hers.
When she was done, she dashed back to the wardrobe room, arriving just as the door opened. She almost fell over her feet when Val stepped out.
He wore a bejeweled belt over bright red, flowing pantaloons that stopped at his calves. And that was all. Of course, she’d seen Timothy in costume and so knew what he would be wearing, but on Val the brief outfit had an entirely different and unexpected effect on her.
She ran her eyes over the ridges of muscle sculpting his bare torso, feeling the sudden need to cool down. Maybe Val and his magnificent physique could fan her with that palm leaf Augustus had mentioned, while she watched. Was it wrong to think such things of a man who was only technically her husband?
Seeing her staring at him, he vainly tried to cover himself by wrapping his arms around his torso, which only succeeded in causing his biceps to bulge even larger. She didn’t mind that at all.
“There should be laws against making a man wear this sort of thing,” he muttered.
She strolled up to him. “Uncomfortable with wearing a skimpy costume? If only I knew what that was like.”
“I’m practically naked!”
She smiled. “You surprise me, Val. I never took you for a prude.”
“You’re just loving this, aren’t you?”
Her smile turned to laughter. “I admit it, I am.”
“Ten minutes until the curtain goes up,” Joan yelled from somewhere nearby.
All thoughts of teasing Val fled as a void opened in her gut. “I don’t think I can do this.”
To her surprise, he stepped in close and slid his arms around her. “Yes you can. You’re amazing, you can do anything.”
She tried not to react to his proximity, but nevertheless her eyes closed and she leaned into his embrace, resting her head against his bare shoulder.
His arms tightened around her and he whispered her name on a sigh. She raised her face and his gaze darkened, eyes dropping to her lips.
Her breath hitched. She leaned in closer.
“Places, everyone!” Joan yelled again, startling them apart.
Val’s neck bobbed as he swallowed. “We’d, um, better get out there.”
Since she wasn’t sure how good her voice would have been if she’d attempted to speak, she simply nodded and walked with him from the corridor into the area backstage.
Right into Maria’s path.
She paused in her orchestration of the practiced pre-show routine to look Val up and down, a smile playing across her ruby red lips. “I see Augie found a replacement for Timothy. Remind me to thank him.”
With her black wig, thickly kohled eyes, and tight-fitting white and gold strapless dress tapering at her hips to reveal her long legs, she would have put the real Cleopatra to shame. Even Belle had to admit that she looked stunning.
She didn’t bother to check Val’s reaction. His tongue was probably hanging out.
Ignoring the sick feeling in her chest that wasn’t jealousy, she moved her gaze to the rest of the cast and crew getting into their positions. Jacob Curtis caught her eye.
“Now where’s he going?” she murmured.
Val followed her gaze to their suspect who, unlike everyone else, was heading away from the stage. “The basement.”
In unspoken agreement, he and Belle started after him.
“Hey, where are you two going?” Maria called after them.
Val glanced back at her. “Don’t start the show until we get back.”
“How long are you going to be?”
“I don’t know. Just hold off. This could be important.”
~ ~ ~
They hurried to the basement door. It was closed, but when Val pulled it open he could see light filtering up the stairs from below.
“Stay behind me,” he said, stepping across the threshold, “and if things get rough, run and get help.”
“And leave you?”
He looked back at Belle. “I don’t want you to get hurt. Promise me you’ll stay out of harm’s way.”
When she didn’t answer, he took hold of her hands and looked into her eyes. “Please, Belle. If you were hurt I…” He shook his head. “I just need to know you’ll be safe.”
She pressed her lips together, obviously reluctant, but nodded. He hoped she meant it. If anything happened to her, he would never forgive himself.
“All right, let’s go find that safe and catch Curtis.”
He crept down to the basement and came to a halt at the foot of the stairs, listening for movement. He almost jumped when someone spoke in the far corner.
“This is ridiculous. Just get it out now.”
“I told you, I can’t until they reach the second act. If you’d come before, we wouldn’t be in this mess.” That was Curtis, and he sounded angry.
“I couldn’t get here before now. There are other people who need my services too. How long until the platform goes up?”
This changed everything. Curtis on his own, Val could easily deal with. But two men would put Belle in danger.
He turned to tell her to go back up and found himself face to face with the barrel of a gun.
His hand darted to his holster before he realized it wasn’t there. Once again, he cursed the ridiculous outfit he wore.
“Hands up,” the holder of the pistol ordered. In the dim light, Val recognized John, the man Curtis had spoken to at the stage door.
Belle, her eyes wide, raised her hands. If she hadn’t been there Val might have made a grab for John’s pistol, but he couldn’t risk her being hurt. Slowly, he raised his hands too.
John motioned towards where Curtis and the man Val presumed to be Villiers the safe-cracker were still arguing. “Get going.”
Val placed himself between Belle and John as they wended their way across the room through the maze of old furniture and stuffed animals.
She glanced back at him as they walked and whispered, “Did you bring your gun?”
He looked down at his semi-naked body pointedly. “Where would I put it?”
He silently berated himself. He should never have brought her down here. He’d take a bullet for her if he had to, there was no question of that, but he needed to get her out safely. How was he going to do that?
They reached the circle of light around Curtis and Villiers and both men stared at them in shock.
“Found these two coming down the stairs,” John snapped at Curtis. “You were supposed to be careful.”
“I was careful!” He glared at Val and Belle. “What are you doing down here? Why aren’t you getting ready to go onstage?”
“Does it matter?” John said. “They’ve seen us now. We’ll have to kill them.”
A muffled moan drew Val’s attention to where a figure was bound and gagged against the wall. It was Timothy, the man he’d been roped into replacing. So that was why he hadn’t turned up.
Belle pressed herself against Val’s side, her eyes wide with fear as she looked up at him. He slipped his hand into hers and squeezed, wishing he could reassure her somehow.
“Kill them?” Curtis glanced at them nervously. “Can’t we just tie them up and leave them here?”
“They know who we are, you idiot. We leave them alive, we’ll have the law on our tails all the way down to Mexico.”
“What do you mean, Mexico? I’m not going to Mexico.”
“You are if you leave these three alive.”
Villiers, silent up to now, walked up to Val and Belle, looking them up and down. He was a small man, several inches shorter than Belle, with dark eyes and hair and a pencil-thin moustache.
His gaze was shrewd as he considered them. “Who are you?”
“They’re just with the show,” Curtis replied. “She’s in the chorus and he’s…” He to
ok in Val’s bare chest and calf-length pantaloons. “Well, I guess he is too, now.”
“I don’t think so,” Villiers said. “Something’s not right with them. What are they doing down here with this play about to start?”
John stepped up to Val. “Answer him.” When he didn’t respond, he thrust the muzzle of his gun to Belle’s cheek. “I said, answer him.”
The sight of the pistol against her face awoke a primal fear in Val he’d never experienced before. Nothing mattered, not the case, not the money, not his own safety. The only thing that meant anything to him was Belle’s life.
“We’re Pinkerton agents,” he said. “We were sent here to investigate the sabotage.”
The blood drained from Curtis’ face. “Pinkertons?”
Villiers whirled away and stalked to where a black leather bag with various tools arrayed beside it sat on a small table. “That’s it, I’m out. I’m not dealing with Pinkerton agents. You can find yourselves another safe-cracker.”
“No, you can’t leave.” Desperation tinged Curtis’ voice. “We’ll double your fee.”
Villiers continued to pack the tools into his bag.
“We’ll triple it!”
The packing stopped. “That’s a lot of money.”
“So’s what’s in that safe.”
“Jake…” John began.
Curtis waved him off, his attention still on Villiers. “All you have to do is wait half an hour and get that safe open.”
Villiers’ eyes moved to Val and Belle. “All right, but I want them dead. Him too.” He jerked his head at Timothy.
Timothy squeaked, frantically shaking his head.
Curtis swallowed and nodded. “We can’t do it now. They’d hear the gunshots upstairs.”
“More than one way to kill a man.” Villiers pulled a short knife from beneath his jacket. “Tie them up, slit their throats. That way, they can’t scream.”
Curtis grimaced. “I don’t know.”
Belle hadn’t made a sound and Val looked at her beside him, worried she’d been rendered immobile by fear. But her expression was resolute as she stared at the three criminals.
She glanced up at him and he gave her the slightest of nods. She nodded back. Whatever he did, she’d be ready.
John’s attention had moved to Curtis and Villiers as they argued over the best way to kill their hostages.
The gun in his hand lowered slightly.
Val sprang forward. “Belle, run!”
Grabbing John’s arm, he pushed the gun upwards and punched his free hand into his chest. John doubled over with a grunt but didn’t release the pistol.
Belle ran, but in the wrong direction. Instead of going for the stairs as Val had intended, she launched herself at Curtis. Grabbing a rusty fire poker from a chair she passed, she swung it at Curtis’ head. He barely had time to look surprised before it connected with his temple and he dropped to the floor, unmoving.
John twisted his arm, struggling to free it from Val’s grip. Val clamped his hand tighter. John’s free hand landed a punch to his ribs and pain erupted in his side, but he refused to let go.
As they grappled for the gun, Belle advanced on Villiers, poker swinging. He scuttled back out of reach, hand darting beneath his jacket.
Val opened his mouth to warn her. A fist slammed into his jaw. He ducked another blow, grabbed John’s arm in both hands, and twisted. Something cracked. John roared in pain and the pistol clattered to the floor.
Val released him and threw a punch at his face powered by fear for Belle’s life. He fell backwards over a stuffed wolf, hit the floor, and lay still.
Val grabbed his gun and spun round to see Villiers standing behind her, one arm around her waist while the other held a revolver to her head.
“Drop it,” he barked at Val.
Val threw his hands up. “Don’t hurt her, please!”
“I said drop it!”
Before he could obey, Belle whipped her head backwards into Villiers’ face. His arm around her slackened and she drove her elbow into his ribs, spun round, and threw an uppercut into his already bloody nose. He staggered backwards and she grabbed his revolver. He offered no resistance as he collapsed to the floor with both hands over his ruined face.
Val didn’t know what he expected from her when she looked at him. Fear, trauma, trembling? But it certainly wasn’t the huge grin stretching her cheeks
“Did you see that?” She was practically jumping up and down with glee. “Did you see what I did to both of them?”
Filled with relief that she was out of danger, it was all he could do to not hug her. “I sure did. You were amazing.”
He wouldn’t have believed it if he hadn’t seen it with his own eyes. It seemed women weren’t nearly as helpless as he’d at first thought. Belle had taken down two men to his one.
It was possible he was being outclassed, and he didn’t mind one single bit.
Chapter Fourteen
With Curtis and John coming to, they tied up the three villains before Val freed Timothy and helped him to his feet.
“Oh, thank goodness,” he groaned, rubbing at his wrists. “I thought I was dead for sure.”
“What were you doing down here?” Belle said.
“Maria told me last night to test the mechanism for the rising platform to make sure it would work for the opening night, but I forgot. So I came in before everyone else to do it this afternoon and these three were down here.” He threw a glare at the bound men.
Val and Belle looked at the machinery he indicated. A series of large cogs connected a wheel with a handle to a six foot square wooden platform resting on the floor. Val had inspected it during their previous searches of the basement but hadn’t realized just what it was.
He and Belle looked at each other and smiled. Without a word, they both approached the platform.
Val pushed at the handle, but it didn’t move. “How does this work?”
“No!” Curtis squirmed against his bonds.
They ignored him.
Timothy showed them how to unlock the mechanism and Val turned the handle. The wheel rotated with it, setting the assembly of cogs into motion. With a slight creak, the platform slowly began to rise. Above them, a section of the ceiling slid aside and the room was suddenly filled with the sound of hundreds of rowdy men demanding the start of the show they’d come for.
“That’s the stage up there,” Belle murmured, looking up.
“Look,” Val said, pumping the handle as fast as he could.
She followed his gaze to the floor where a pit housing the lifting mechanism was opening up beneath the rising platform. Sitting amongst the metal latticework of rods and pulleys was a small safe.
He locked the handle and joined her at the edge of the pit. “That’s why they didn’t want the play to start.” He looked back at Timothy. “Why wasn’t it used during rehearsals?”
“Maria was going to use it to make a big dramatic entrance in the second act and she wanted everyone on stage to look genuinely surprised and awed, so only a few of us knew about it.”
“Including Curtis?”
“He was one of the men who were going to raise the platform.”
“So it’s over?” Belle said, looking up at the open ceiling above her. “I don’t have to go out there?”
Val slipped his hand into hers. “It’s over.”
~ ~ ~
Sheriff Carr and his deputies arrived soon after.
He raised an eyebrow at Val’s costume but mercifully didn’t comment on it. The deputies had a good snigger, though. Archie was just going to have to give any future Cheyenne assignments to someone else because there was no way Val was agreeing to set foot in the town again.
As the criminals were marched away, Maria swept up to Val with James Horton in tow.
“Oh, thank goodness you’re all right,” she gushed, throwing her arms around his waist and pressing herself against his bare chest.
He patted her back awkwardly,
glancing at Belle. She appeared to be very determinedly not looking at him.
“Looks like I’ll be hiring a new stagehand,” Horton said. “Pretty sure I can drum up some business with this though. Everyone will want to come to the show that saw the dramatic apprehension of the nefarious outlaws who robbed the railroad of the wages of good, honest, hardworking men.”
“They weren’t outlaws,” Val said, extricating himself diplomatically from Maria’s embrace. “Curtis and John were just opportunists who thought it would be easy money.”
Horton waved a hand dismissively. “Details. I’ll have the handbills out by tomorrow morning. ‘Brave Pinkerton agents catch evil outlaws. Come and see the lady detective who saved the show.’ Sorry, Val, but she’s far more of a draw than you.”
“Oh, we’re not going to be in the show,” Belle said. “We’ll be leaving. We’ve done what we came here to do.” She looked at Val for confirmation and he nodded with a smile.
“What?” Maria shook her head. “Oh no, you have to perform, at least for tonight. I need you both out there on stage. Timothy’s a quaking wreck right now and my chorus will be ruined with one short. You can’t back out now, I won’t hear of it.” She smiled and slid her hands down Val’s bicep. “Places in ten minutes.”
With a wink, she released him and walked away, her order for everyone to get to their opening positions carrying across the people gathered backstage.
“You heard the woman,” Horton said.
“But…” Val began.
Horton gave him a pointed look. “Places in ten.”
Belle’s face paled as he strolled away from them and she raised her wide eyes to Val. “I can’t go out there. You said I wouldn’t have to. I can’t.”
He wanted so badly to wrap his arms around her and tell her she didn’t have to do anything she didn’t want to, but he knew that wouldn’t help her. “You took down two men in that basement. If there’s one thing I know about you, it’s that you can do just about anything. Sure, you can refuse, but I can’t see you backing down from a challenge.”
“Easy for you to say.” Her eyes flicked down to his chest and back up again. “All you have to do is stand on the stage looking pretty and waving a palm leaf.”
