Lady Deception

by Bobbi Smith

  Oh, God, please let me get away without anyone seeing me, she prayed silently as she crept from the house.

  In the distance, she could see the group gathered by the fire. She took care to go in the opposite direction, staying in the cover of darkness as she made her way to the corral. To her surprise and joy, there was no one around. Her prayers had been answered. So far, so good.

  After quickly saddling a horse, she led it from the corral and headed toward the canyon exit, staying close to the canyon walls. A noise came to her, faint, indecipherable. She froze, fearing the worst, waiting to be found and dragged back to Luke's cabin. But time passed and no one approached her.

  Cody moved on as quietly as possible; she waited until she was near the front of the canyon before mounting up. Riding at a creeping pace, she headed toward the place where the guard was posted. Her heart was in her throat as she made her way from the hideout. Her every nerve was stretched taut, for she anticipated being discovered at any moment. She rode slowly, trying not to make noise, trying desperately not to arouse suspicion. The going was rocky and tricky, but taking her time, she managed without incident.

  The guard noticed a rider coming. It looked like one of the men, and he didn't care about people leaving. He only worried about those trying to ride in and raid the place.

  Cody lifted her arm in greeting as she rode past him. She was grateful for the lack of moonlight this night. She maintained a steady pace until she was completely clear of the canyon. Out of sight of the guard, she put her heels to her mount's side and raced off across the west Texas countryside.

  It was near sunup when Luke stumbled back toward the cabin. He had finished off Juana's tequila, and then had started on whiskey. His thoughts had been dark. Memories of all he'd lost during the war and the loneliness he'd suffered since had possessed him, leaving him to wonder if he'd not only lost his family in the war, but his soul as well.

  Luke had wondered what his mother would have said to him if she could have seen him sitting there with Juana hanging all over him and the El Diablo gang gathered round. His mother had been a lady through and through, the perfect example of gentility and grace. He had loved her deeply... and his father and his brother. But they were all gone now, and he was alone. More alone than he'd ever been before. Turning introspective, he'd examined his soul and had definitely found it wanting. Luke had told himself that he'd done what he'd had to do to survive. That it had been kill or be killed. But somehow, with each successive drink of whiskey, it seemed to matter less and less.

  Luke felt as if he were filled with darkness. There was no light in his soul. And the fact that he'd almost forced Sister Mary to his will left him even more disgusted with himself.

  Entering the cabin, he could make out the shape of her in bed, and he chose not to disturb her. He wanted to apologize, but it could wait until later. He would let her sleep for now. He wasn't in the best condition for dealing with females right then anyway. Luke lay upon his hard, unwelcoming bed and was asleep almost immediately.

  Dawn came far too soon, and with the brightness of the new day came a splitting headache, testimony to the fine job of drinking he'd done the night before. Luke roused slowly, miserably, to look over toward the bed. To his surprise, Sister Mary was still asleep. It was very unusual, for most days she was up at first light. He gave a low, protesting groan as he sat up and then got to his feet.

  "Sister Mary, you're being lazy this morning," he growled, expecting her to start moving.

  When she didn't respond, he wondered if she was going to give him the silent treatment. The thought didn't appeal, and his mood grew more foul.

  "Sister Mary, I just wanted to apologize for what happened last night. I gave you my word when I brought you here that your virtue was safe with me, and I am a man of my word. What happened last night will not happen again."

  He waited. He'd humbled himself. He'd spoken from the heart. He'd told her the truth. He expected a response.

  He grew irritated when she didn't say something. Didn't she realize what it had cost him to walk out of here as he had last night? Didn't she realize what it had cost him to say what he'd just said?

  "Sister Mary," he began again, taking a step toward the bed as he tried to focus more clearly. Everything was still a bit blurry. "I really am sorry. I never meant to hurt you in any way."

  It was then, as he all but stood over the bed, that he realized she was gone. He'd been talking to rolled-up covers the whole time.

  "What the..." Luke tore the blankets from the bed.

  Sister Mary was gone.

  His frustration combined with the humiliation he'd just suffered apologizing to a bedroll sobered him. He'd known she was upset when he'd left her. He'd thought she was just ignoring him when he'd apologized. He'd had no idea she would do anything this crazy. And it was all his fault.

  Luke cursed vilely as he tried to anticipate where she might have gone. His first thought was that she was with the children, so he set out to find Rafael and Chica. Twenty minutes later, he'd learned that the children hadn't seen her, and so he'd begun to search the camp. He'd found Sully and Hadley and the others, but found no trace of Sister Mary. It was then that the cry went up from the outlaw named Barney that his horse and tack were missing.

  That news confirmed what Luke had already feared in the pit of his stomach. He'd frightened her so badly that she had fled alone and defenseless into the night. Guilt weighed heavily upon him as he tried to decide what to do. Whatever it was, he had to do it before Sully got wind of what had happened.

  "I know where your horse and tack are," Luke told Barney.

  The outlaw eyed him suspiciously. "How do you know?"

  "It looks like the preacher woman ran off during the night. I figure she was the one who took your mount." Luke dug in his pocket and drew out enough money to pay Barney for his horse. "Here, take this until I go after her and bring her back."

  "I thought Sister Mary was your woman," Barney said as he greedily pocketed the money. "It looks like you need to teach her a lesson or two."

  "Don't worry. When I get my hands on her again, I'm going to set a few things straight between us."

  "Well, get my horse back. I'm right fond of that animal."

  "I will. This shouldn't take long." He headed for the corral to get his own mount.

  Barney went quickly to Sully to tell him what had happened.

  As Luke rode slowly through the camp on his way toward the entrance, he saw everyone staring at him. When Sully stepped forward from the group, he tensed, waiting to see what the man wanted.

  "I hear the little preacher woman outsmarted you," he announced sarcastically.

  Luke's jaw was set as he stared down at the other man. "She won't get far." He was relieved to discover that Sully knew nothing of her whereabouts.

  "You must not be much of a man, if the preacher woman runs away from you," Sully taunted. "I thought she was your woman. I thought she made you happy. I guess you just weren't good enough for her, eh, compadre?"

  The group gathered around, laughing with Sully as Luke urged his horse on.

  "Need any help bringing her back, Majors?" Sully called out. "My women don't run away. They come back begging for more, eh, Juana?" He drew the sultry camp girl close for a kiss.

  Juana responded wildly, hoping to make Luke jealous. Now that the obnoxious preacher woman was gone, she would have Sully's full attention and Luke all to herself. Not bad. She didn't care if the other women and the children were crying because Sister Mary was gone. She was glad.

  Juana smiled to herself secretly as she clung to Sully. They would never know that she'd seen Sister Mary making her great escape dressed as a man. She'd thought about alerting the others, but had decided it was in her best interest to let the witch go. That had been long hours ago, and that pleased her, too. Sister Mary had several hours head start. The farther away the preacher woman was, the better, as far as Juana was concerned.

  The sounds of the outlaws
' mocking laughter followed Luke as he rode out of camp, but he didn't care. They were the least of his concerns right now, though he knew that was crazy. All he could think about was that Sister Mary was out there somewhere, riding the range by herself. Heaven only knew what might happen to her. He had to find her. Luke stopped to talk to the guard.

  "No women left, Majors. There was only one rider a few hours before dawn, and that was a man."

  "Do you know who it was?"

  "It looked like Felix to me, but then I saw Felix a little while ago, so I can't be sure who it was." The guard gave him an indifferent shrug. "It's not my job to worry about who leaves. It's more important that I keep watch over who's trying to come in."

  "What was the man who left wearing?"

  "It was dark, but I think just plain pants and shirt, and a sombrero."

  "Thanks."

  Luke now knew exactly what he was looking for. Sister Mary was wearing the men's clothing she'd had on earlier last night. He realized then what an effective disguise it was, for the guard certainly would have noticed had she tried to leave wearing her gown. Luke headed out, following her trail.

  Unfamiliar with the terrain, Cody had waited until first light to start riding at a steady, ground eating pace. She wanted to get as far away as possible. She had no doubt that Luke would come after her, and she did not want to go back with him...not after last night.

  Cody tried not to think about Luke and what had happened between them. She couldn't deny that she'd wanted him, yet if what was said about him was true, he was just like the man who'd killed her father. He was a murderer.

  None of this made sense to her, and she forced her thoughts away from Luke Majors and to the gang itself. She found it strange that El Diablo never rode into camp, that Hadley, Sully, and the others had to ride out to meet with him. She'd heard snatches of conversation during her time in the outlaw camp, and one in particular stood out in her mind. Hadley had told Luke that he was one of them now. Did that mean he hadn't been at the time of the robbery? Had he just joined up with them now? And if he hadn't been a part of the gang to begin with, why had he run during the jailbreak? Things were not coming together as they usually did when she was dealing with outlaws. When men murdered without conscience, they didn't deserve to walk this earth. That was why she did this job. She wanted justice.

  As she thought about it, she realized that in this case, she wasn't sure just what justice would mean. The Luke Majors she'd just spent time with was a far cry from the likes of Sully and the others. A gentleman who killed in cold blood? Somehow that didn't fit. There was more to this than she knew, and she wasn't quitting yet. She had just found herself outnumbered, and she needed to retreat, to regroup and try again.

  Her goal was to make El Trajar and check on Stalking Ghost. She'd been worrying about him constantly since Luke had dragged her out of town, and she had to find out what had happened to him. Once she'd learned his fate, she would make her next move in bringing Majors in.

  From what she'd overheard, there was a big robbery being planned, after which they were going to hide out in Mexico. When the El Diablo gang got to Rio Nuevo, they were going to find she was already there waiting for them-but not as Sister Mary. This time she was going to have to be more Delilah than preacher woman. Disguised as a saloon girl, she would feel more in control with Luke than in her Sister Mary character. The preacher woman persona had served its purpose. It had protected her for as long as she'd needed it, but now was the time for her to bring Majors in.

  Luke smiled grimly as he followed Sister Mary's trail. As he'd suspected, she was heading for El Trajar. No doubt she was worrying about the old Indian who'd been with her, but he wondered if she realized that the town was the first place Sully would look for her if he came after her. Luke was glad the others hadn't ridden with him. He had a few things to say to her when he found her, and he wanted to say them in private. It would be an interesting reunion.

  It was midafternoon when Luke topped a low rise and caught sight of Sister Mary riding less than a mile ahead of him, looking much like one of the outlaws in her sombrero, pants, and shirt. He reined in to watch her. He'd been surprised at how far she'd gotten in her escape, and as his gaze followed her now, he could see why. She was riding smoothly, as if born to the saddle. She certainly was a woman of many talents.

  Luke started to go after her, but stopped. His plan had been to take her back to the canyon with him, but he realized now that he couldn't. Thoughts of her embrace could not be erased from his mind, and she had become a dangerous distraction he didn't need. He was in with the gang. He'd been accepted. All he had to do was identify the leader and get the information back to Jack. The last thing he wanted was to have Sister Mary around.

  Luke knew what he had to do. He followed her at a distance until she was close to El Trajar. Then carefully backtracking, he erased all signs of her trail. If anyone else tried to track her, he would foil.

  Feeling satisfied that she was as safe as he could make her for the time being, Luke camped for the night. That night as he lay under the stars, sweet memories of Sister Mary came to him. He remembered the heaven of holding her and the sweetness of her kiss.

  With more regret than Luke had known in years, he told himself that she was not for him.

  Alone in his room at the hotel, Jack stared out the window at the dark, deserted streets of the town. His thoughts were on Luke. His friend was in a very difficult situation. The gang had been relatively quiet since the bank robbery, and that bothered Jack. He would have preferred to be out tracking them, instead of holed up in town, wasting days on end waiting to make sure some money-hungry bounty hunter didn't bring Luke in on his own.

  A soft knock at the door startled Jack, for he wasn't expecting anyone. He got up quickly and grabbed his gun from the holster, which lay atop the dresser. When he started to open the door, he kept the gun out of sight.

  "Yeah?" He thought it would be Halloway or one of the new deputies who had been hired since the jailbreak. He was shocked when he found himself facing the lovely Elizabeth Harris. "Elizabeth?"

  "Jack," she said softly, her smile bittersweet. "May I come in? I need to talk with you privately."

  Her question sounded more like a plea and touched something deep within him.

  "Of course." Jack felt awkward standing there holding his revolver. His gentlemanly upbringing dictated that he step outside, but at her request he moved back and held the door wide for her to enter.

  The faint, delicate scent of her perfume came to him as she walked past him, and he found it entrancing. Minutes before, the night had stretched before him, long and lonely. Now there was a beautiful woman standing in his room gazing up at him with the most expressive dark eyes he'd ever seen. A man could lose his soul in those eyes.

  "I'm sorry to stop in on you like this. To trouble you this way." She could see that he was caught off guard by her visit, and she hastened to explain.

  "It's no trouble. Would you like to sit down?" He gestured toward the only chair in the room, the one he'd been sitting in by the window.

  "Yes, please."

  She sounded breathless, adding to the quiet desperation Jack sensed about her. He quickly put his gun away, then retrieved the chair for her. Once she was comfortable, he sat down on the side of the bed facing her. He knew it was an intimate scene, but there was no helping it.

  He anticipated the worst as he asked, "What is it, Elizabeth? Has your husband worsened?"

  Elizabeth lifted her troubled, tear-filled gaze to the handsome Ranger. "Oh, Jack ...It's all been so terrible."

  "What's happened? Has he...?"

  "No, Jonathan is still alive, but it's become a living hell for me. He's angry, so completely furious over having been maimed that he's become vicious. I fear that I'm the one he's blaming... the one he's directing all his anger at."

  Jack saw the pain in her expression, and he instantly felt the need to protect her. "He hasn't hurt you, has he?"

&nbs
p; She drew a strangled breath, trying to pull herself together. Then, as if suddenly realizing that coming there to him, a virtual stranger, had been crazy, she stood to go. "I'm so sorry. I should never have come here to you. I'm sorry."

  She started to rush toward the door, embar rassed by her impetuous action in seeking him out.

  "Elizabeth!" Jack blocked her flight from him.

  She looked so frightened and desperate that he couldn't bear to let her go without trying to help her in some way. She was a lovely, fragile woman. He would have been proud to call her his own, and the thought that she might be suffering in any way aroused his gallantry. Women were made to be worshiped and adored, not abused.

  "No, Jack. I have to go."

  "Are you all right?" he asked as he took her gently by the shoulders and turned her to him. She felt small and delicate beneath his hands. It was then as he gazed down at her that he saw a mark on her arm. "What did he do to you?"

  "It's only a small bruise," she whispered, averting her eyes from his probing gaze.

  "Jonathan hit you?"

  She quickly tried to make excuses for her husband. "He was frustrated. I'm sure he didn't mean for it to happen. It's just..." She looked up at him. Her eyes revealed the starkness of her pain as she pushed her sleeve back a bit more so he could see all of the vivid, ugly bruise on her forearm. It marked the imprint of a hand.

  "He did this to you?" Jack ground out.

  "It's just that he's so upset and..." She defended her husband. "Oh, I shouldn't have come here. I should go."

  "Elizabeth." He said her name gently this time, wanting to calm her, wanting to assure her that she'd done the right thing. Of their own volition his arms went around her and he drew her to him. His desire was only to comfort her, to ease her pain. "You're a beautiful woman. No one should ever lay a hand on you in anger... ever."

  A shudder racked her as she gave in to her tears and began to cry openly. She clung to Jack. In him, she sensed she'd found someone who could help her. He felt so strong, so warm ...so good. The more she thought of all that had transpired, the more she knew she needed him. She was desperate for what he could give her.