Lady Deception

by Bobbi Smith

  "Well?" she prodded, enjoying his discomfort.

  "Surely you ain't serious about me taking these off? I did leave you your shoes and underwear."

  "That you did, Mr. Reid. And I appreciated your kindness. Trouble is, I'm not as nice as you."

  His look turned steely as he anticipated the worst-walking naked back into Mason Wells. It wouldn't be pretty, and it certainly wasn't funny. He wasn't a man to beg, but he wasn't above trying to reason with this woman.

  "You know, when I came upon your camp last night, I didn't know you were Jameson, and I surely didn't know you had Majors and were taking him in."

  She nodded. "I work different. I try to outwit the men I'm after, not outshoot them."

  "It worked on me."

  "I'm going to leave your boots and the rest of your clothes another mile out of town on the way to Del Fuego."

  "And my horse?"

  Cody stared at him, trying to judge his character. He might be a rough, tough man, but he had taken Luke into Mason Wells to see to his wounds when he could have let him suffer all the way into Del Fuego. "I'll make you a deal."

  "What kind of deal?" He was cautious.

  "You forget all about Majors. He's mine and I'm taking him in. I don't want any more trouble with you."

  "And?"

  "And I'll tell you where the El Diablo gang is in hiding and the exact location of their hideout. You can go after them right now and bring in as many as you want. The bounty on them is five hundred dollars a head. Is it a deal?"

  "What if I say no?"

  "Then I'll take the rest of your long johns, there." She looked deliberately at his lower body. "Along with your horse and any money I can find in your things, and I'll leave them for you with the law in Del Fuego. However, if you agree, I'll leave you your long johns, I'll put your boots in the buckboard, and I'll leave your horse where I leave your clothes." She waited for his decision.

  Reid didn't have to think long or hard about it. He was in his long johns, barefoot in the middle of the wilds with no money. "It's a deal."

  "I wish you good luck, Reid." She quickly told him of the cantina in Rio Nuevo and of the canyon and its dangers. "Now, walk back a goodly distance and sit yourself on down. I want you to wait about half an hour before you even think about getting up."

  "You're one helluva bounty hunter, Jameson."

  "I'll take that as a compliment, coming from you." She moved forward to gather his clothes and boots and then smiled at him. "See you around, Reid."

  She disappeared over the hill to find that Stalking Ghost had already saddled her horse for her. Luke was sitting on his mount, his expression stony.

  "Did you find my gun?" she asked Stalking Ghost.

  He gave it to her, along with the gunbelt that he'd brought along for her. She handed him back his own revolver, which he'd loaned her, then strapped on the belt and slid her father's gun into the holster. She left Reid's boots in the buckboard as she'd promised and tied the rest of his clothes on the back of his horse.

  "I'm going to change; then I'll be ready to ride."

  Stalking Ghost nodded, but Luke could no longer remain silent.

  "And just who are you going to change into this time, Sister Mary?" His voice was hard-edged and cruel.

  "There's no more need for disguises," she answered, meeting his eyes. She saw only coldness in his regard and flinched inwardly.

  "There isn't, is there? You have `your man' now, don't you?" There was hatred in his tone.

  Cody got her riding clothes and walked away. There was nothing she could say that would change the way Luke was thinking right then.

  She had been dreading this moment, and she hadn't expected to have to face it so soon. She hadn't planned on revealing her hand until they were within a day's ride of Del Fuego. She'd thought she was going to have two more days with him as Armita, but Reid's showing up had changed all of that. With the truth revealed before its time, Cody was now forced to play the game with the cards she'd been dealt.

  She hadn't wanted Luke to hate her, although, as she thought about it, she realized that there would have been no way around it. The moment he'd discovered her true identity, any warm emotion he'd felt for her had died.

  Cody finished changing and went to mount up. Luke didn't speak to her again.

  "I'm ready to ride," she told Stalking Ghost. "I'll bring Reid's horse. You take Luke's. I'll follow you."

  Stalking Ghost did as she said, and they continued on their way toward Del Fuego.

  Luke had time to think as they rode, and he wasn't happy about it. Memories of the time he'd spent with Sister Mary taunted him. He'd been protecting her, for God's sake, and all the while she'd been trying to take him in for the reward they were offering on him for the bank robbery! He silently laughed at how completely he'd been fooled by her act. There she'd been, spouting the joys of knowing the Lord and talking about saving his soul, and all the while she'd been nothing more than a deceitful little liar herself. She'd gone into El Trajar trying to catch him, and she'd ended up stirring up a hornets' nest with Sully that had gotten her involved more deeply with the gang than she could ever have imagined.

  Luke recalled how he'd thought Sister Mary was everything a woman should be-honest and forthright, gentle and caring. He'd thought he wasn't good enough for her. He'd thought that she was a complete innocent. He'd thought wrong. She'd used every trick in the book to try to bring him in, and as Armita, she'd even used her body!

  He immediately stopped himself at that thought. There had been no mistaking her untouched state. If there was one thing that Sister Maiy/Armita/Cody Jameson wasn't, it was easy.

  Memories of their lovemaking spun through his thoughts, making him wonder anew just what kind of woman this Cody Jameson really was. Was she a saint or sinner? A deceitful bitch or clever bounty hunter?

  Luke tried to imagine that her response to him when they'd made love had all been an act, but he knew instinctively that that wasn't true. She'd wanted him as much as he had wanted her.

  But not anymore.

  Cody Jameson had caught him. She was taking him in to collect her reward, and then she was going to go on to her next conquest. He'd been a job to her. Nothing more.

  His mood was black. The only good thing he had to cling to was his knowledge that all the time he'd spent with the gang hadn't been for nothing. He had learned that El Diablo was a woman. At least he could help Jack that much.

  With Stalking Ghost taking the lead, all Cody had to do was follow, and she was glad. It had been a long day, and she was exhausted. She couldn't give in to her exhaustion, though. She could rest once she had Luke safely delivered to Ranger Logan, not before. If Reid had managed to find them, so could other bounty hunters. They would travel fast and light and quiet. A mile from the wagon, they stopped long enough for her to tie up Reid's horse for him. Then they headed on, and again, as when she and Luke had been riding from Rio Nuevo, they stopped only long enough to rest the horses.

  Cody kept an eye on Luke. She knew he had to be in some pain from his wounds, but he did not complain. When at last it was dusk, they sought out a campsite near a small creek. Cody noticed how stiffly Luke dismounted, and she could see the signs of strain and pain etched in his face. She started to go to him to help him, but he caught sight of her and stopped her with a stony glare.

  "Are you all right? How's your shoulder?" she asked.

  "I'm worth the same to you dead or alive, so it really doesn't matter, does it? You'll get your money."

  "I wasn't worried about the money," she protested, but he turned his back on her.

  Cody's heart ached. She wished there was something she could do to change the way things had turned out, but there was nothing. Ultimately she had always known that she had to take him in. It was her job. She had given Logan her word.

  As she'd seen with Reid the night before, there were bounty hunters who were all too willing to shoot. Luke might not realize it right now, but she was keeping him
safe. And she would deliver him alive.

  Cody took care of the horses, then got out what food they had. They ate the dry fare without comment. Luke lay down, while Stalking Ghost kept watch. Cody wasn't ready to sleep just yet, so she got out the strong soap she'd taken at the general store and headed down to the water's edge. She'd had about all she could stand of the powder and dye in her hair.

  Cody washed her thick mane as best she could, scrubbing hard, trying to erase all traces of the flour from the old lady's disguise and all of Armita's dark color. She deliberately took her time, for she had nothing else to do. It was hard to tell in the darkness when she was done just how true the color was, but she didn't care. At least now she felt a little cleaner and more like herself. She braided the heavy mass into a single plait, and lay down for the night.

  As Cody lay staring up at the night sky, she remembered loving Luke, and she knew she would never forget him. He had been protective and tender with her when she was Sister Mary. He had been passionate with her when she was Armita.

  The truth came to her slowly, and she faced it, painful as it was. For all that she'd been falling in love with Luke, he had never cared for her. He didn't even know her. He had cared for Sister Mary. He had made love to Armita, but he had never known Cody Jameson. With the realization came blinding pain, for a part of Cody Jameson was Sister Mary, a part of Cody Jameson was the passionate Armita. But Luke would never know.

  When she finally fell asleep, her cheeks were wet from her tears.

  Texas Ranger Capt. Steve Laughlin's expression was serious as he faced Jack across the secluded table in the back of the saloon the following afternoon.

  "All right, tell me what's going on. Your telegram was vague."

  "I know. That was deliberate."

  "Then something's happening with El Diablo?" Jack glanced around to make certain no one else was within earshot. "Let me tell you what I've done since I came down here."

  As his captain listened, he told him of his con nection to Luke and how he'd asked him to go undercover.

  "What have you heard back from him?"

  "Nothing yet, and once those bounties were set so high, I started worrying that some fast draw would shoot Luke first and ask questions later. So I hired a bounty hunter myself to go after him."

  "You what?"

  "You've heard of Cody Jameson, haven't you?"

  Steve looked thoughtful for a minute, then nodded. "Isn't Jameson the one who's known for bringing in wanted men alive?"

  "Yes, that's why I sent Jameson a wire. When Jameson showed up here in town to take the job, I hired her."

  Steve gave him a startled look. "Her?"

  "Jameson's a woman."

  "Are you serious?" His disbelief was obvious.

  "Very, and she's damned good at what she does. I did not reveal Luke's cover to her. I didn't want to put him at any greater risk. She's operating blind. I hired her as I would hire any hunter to track him down. She went after Luke weeks ago, and I haven't heard from either of them since."

  "So where does that leave the investigation?"

  "That's what I wanted to tell you. With all that I'd been able to find out about those who had prior knowledge of the gun shipment, there were two I could not completely clear of any involvementFred Halloway, the new sheriff here in Del Fuego, and the banker who was wounded in the bank robbery, Jonathan Harris."

  Steve frowned. "If Harris were El Diablo, why the hell would he set himself up to get shot?"

  "That's troubled me, too. I don't know if there's anyone close to Harris he might inadvertently have given information to that led to the robbery of his own bank. No other names have surfaced."

  "I'll do some more checking on Halloway. You center in on the banker. Maybe we can tie this up here in town and help out your friend Majors at the same time."

  "There has to be a connection here. The sooner we find it, the sooner we bring down El Diablo. Then this whole part of the state can breathe easier."

  "Who else knows about Majors other than the two of us?"

  "I didn't want to, but I told Halloway about Luke."

  Steve shot him a surprised look.

  "We had a case of mistaken identity a week or so ago, and things got tense. A bounty hunter showed up with a man he claimed was Luke, and the townspeople were nearly ready to riot to get their hands on him. It was after that, that I confided in Fred. I don't want Luke's life to be in danger when he finally gets back here."

  "I don't blame you, not after what he's been through."

  Jack thought about mentioning to Steve that he'd said something to Elizabeth, too, but he didn't. What he shared with Elizabeth was private. He didn't want to drag her into the middle of this. She had already been hurt enough.

  "Anything else?"

  "No, that's everything I know for now."

  "Well, let's go over to the sheriffs office, and you can introduce me to Halloway so I can try to read him. This El Diablo is one cold bastard, and I want him."

  "So do I," Jack agreed.

  It was much later that night that Jack sat alone in the dark in his room trying to figure out Jonathan's connection in all this. He could not think of the banker without Elizabeth slipping into his thoughts.

  Jack did not know if Elizabeth would come to him tonight. They had not been together in a while, and he missed her. He'd caught a glimpse of her today as she'd gone into a store, but there had been no opportunity to speak. He longed to have her in his arms again. She was exciting and passionate, and he wished things were different so they could be together always. It wasn't to be, though, for he knew she would never leave Jonathan while he needed her.

  Jack forced himself to put all emotion aside and think logically. He rose and began to pace the room, rubbing the back of his neck wearily. Jonathan had known every detail about the bank and he'd known about the guns, too.

  A knock at the door drew him from his thoughts, and he opened it to find Elizabeth standing in the shadowy hall. She quickly slipped into the room and as soon as the door was closed, she was in his arms kissing him.

  "I've missed you," she whispered against his lips. "When I didn't see a light on, I feared you weren't here."

  "I had almost given up hope that you would come to me tonight," he told her hungrily, reveling in holding her near.

  Just the scent of her aroused him. Already the fire was burning within him to take her, hard and fast. His mouth sought hers as he moved against her, letting her know exactly what he wanted, needed from her.

  Elizabeth was more than ready. She'd been thinking about him all day, and had counted the hours until she could slip away and they could be together. Her hands moved boldly upon him.

  They fell together on the bed, their clothing shed in a heated frenzy as they strained against each other. When at last they were naked, Jack moved over her and thrust deep within her. She was ready for him and, wrapping her legs about his waist, she met him in that feverish mating. Clawing at his back, she sought her own pleasure in his pain. He responded by quickening his pace, driving into her powerfully, dominating her as she dominated him, for he was giving her exactly what she wanted.

  Elizabeth reached her peak and shuddered as waves of ecstasy throbbed through her. Jack felt her response and sought his own release, collapsing on top of her, exhausted. He had never had a lover as wild as Elizabeth. She was completely unpredictable, one moment sweet and soft, the next clawing and hungry, and he thought that was what aroused him most about her. He never knew what to expect from her. He was mesmerized by her.

  "You're magnificent," she said softly as he shifted to the side, and they lay together, their limbs still entwined.

  He kissed her, caressing her still. He couldn't bear to be this close to her and not touch her. "I've been too long without you."

  He sculpted the firm beauty of her breasts, then moved lower to explore all of her lush body. She lay quietly beneath his caresses, moving just a little to entice him to do more. When her own fire was b
urning again, she "took over, reaching for him, arousing him, bringing him fully to heat before taking him deep within her body. He shuddered as she set the pace, hungrily draining his passion from him with each exciting thrust of her hips.

  Elizabeth was in control and she loved it. To control a man like Jack was more exciting to her than any fantasy. He was strong and powerful, yet she could control and manipulate him with her body. She smiled at him and stopped moving. He responded immediately, urging her to continue, but she refused.

  "Do you want me, Jack? Really want me?"

  "You know I do," he growled, pulling her to him for a kiss.

  "How do I know you want me?"

  "Can't you feel it?"

  "No. I want more of you, Jack. More..."

  He rolled with her, pinning her beneath him, grinding his hips against hers until she found the bliss she'd sought. He joined her there.

  It was much later that Jack lay looking up at the ceiling, his brow furrowed as he thought of Jonathan and his possible connection to the gang and how it might affect Elizabeth. He didn't want her to get caught up in any of this.

  "What is it?" she asked, her heavy-lidded gaze upon him, trying to gauge his mood, to read his thoughts. "You look so somber... almost worried."

  He glanced over at her and gave her a halfhearted smile. "I'm not worried. It's just so many things are happening, and I'm afraid you might get hurt in the process." He lifted one hand to caress her cheek.

  "What are you talking about?"

  Jack drew a heavy breath. He'd been trying to decide how much to tell her, and suddenly decided that he should be totally honest. In fact, confiding in her might be the smartest thing he could do. She might have inadvertently heard something over the past few months that could help him either in convicting her husband or in proving that he wasn't guilty.

  "Your husband..."

  "What about Jonathan?" She couldn't imagine what Jonathan had to do with anything. She kept him in his wheelchair, he complained and made her life generally miserable, but other than that, he was as useless to her as he'd always been except for...