Either way, she knew she couldn’t shoot the woman. None of this was her fault. Drew, however…
She furrowed her brow. She couldn’t shoot him either, no matter what she tried to tell herself. But at least she could take control of the situation. The pistol would give Catalina courage when she felt like she was about to fall apart.
The last thing Catalina expected to find when she reached the jail and let herself in through the unguarded door was a lady handcuffed to the bars of the jail cell.
It had to be the woman who had taken Drew.
Catalina’s heart sank as she saw how lovely and delicate she was, like a fair-haired, sweet-faced cherub in a painting. She had sun-kissed skin, eyes as green as emeralds, and short hair like a sunlit wheat field.
How could Drew not be attracted to her? She was as beautiful as a summer day.
In fact, the only flaw Catalina could see was that she was dressed in an ugly brown gown that did nothing for her features or her figure. But then, what would Drew care? He’d probably have her out of her clothes in the blink of an eye.
Despite the pain wrenching at her heart, Catalina swung the forty-five around. “Where is he? I know he came here.”
The woman pretended she didn’t know who Catalina meant.
“Are you his wife?” Catalina asked, choking on the words, dreading the answer.
“Whose wife? And will you please put down that—”
“Drew’s.”
“Drew’s? No!”
She might not be his wife. But she might be promised to him. “His, what-you-call-it, financier?”
“Fiancée? No. Who are you?”
So the woman wasn’t his wife and wasn’t his fiancée. She should be relieved. But she was more confused than anything. Who was the woman then? “But you came to the jail with Drew, yes?”
“Yes, but—”
Catalina brandished the pistol. “What have you done with him?”
“Nothing. I haven’t… Will you please put down that gun?” She lifted her cuffed hand. “I can’t do you any harm. Who are you anyway?”
Since the woman obviously had no hold on Drew, Catalina would tell her in no uncertain terms. She lowered the pistol. “I am Drew Hawk’s lady.”
The woman gave her a look full of doubt, a look that incensed Catalina. How dare this ragged woman in an atrocious, drab dress that wasn’t even buttoned properly question her word?
“What’s your name?” the woman asked.
She drew herself up proudly and lied. “Catalina Isabella Anna Maria Borghese d’Agostino.”
The woman looked suitably impressed.
Then Catalina’s gaze fell to the floor.
“Santo cielo! Those are Drew’s clothings! What are you doing with them?” She pointed the gun at the blonde again. “What have you done with him, you…bad lady?”
“Nothing! And stop calling me names.”
Catalina would do more than call her names. “If you’ve done anything to him…”
“Absolutely not.”
“Then why do you have his clothings?” And if his shirt and trousers were here, what was he wearing?
The woman blushed. “He…forgot them.”
“You are a liar.”
“Don’t call me—”
“Drew would not forget his clothings.”
“He was in a hurry.”
“A hurry?”
“He was running away.”
Catalina’s breath caught, and she felt a twinge in her heart. “Running away? What means this—running away?” She was afraid she knew exactly what it meant. The truth settled like a weight on her chest.
But after a moment, the woman answered carefully. “He wasn’t running away from you.” To Catalina’s surprise, there was a glimmer of compassion in the woman’s eyes.
She didn’t want to dissolve into tears of relief in front of the woman. So she muttered with false bravado, “Of course not. He would be a fool to do so.”
Then, grateful for the woman’s reassurance, she lowered the gun and glanced at the handcuff on her wrist. “Who did that to you? Not Drew?”
“No.”
“You cannot get free?”
“No, I can’t. But maybe you can help me. Maybe we can help each other.”
“Why should I help you?” Catalina asked. “You took Drew away from me.”
“I did not…that is…it was his idea to… All right, I did talk him into coming. But I didn’t think there would be trouble. I only wanted him to help Chase.”
“Chase. His brother?”
“Yes. I’m Chase’s woman. My name is Claire. Claire Parker.”
“Claire Parker.” Where had she heard that name before? All at once, she remembered. Claire was the name of the kidnapped daughter the men had been looking for when they burst into Drew’s room that morning. It made sense now. They must have mistaken Drew for his twin brother, Chase. “The rancher’s…little girl?”
“Yes.”
Catalina arched a brow. Claire Parker was definitely not a little girl. But then she supposed all fathers thought their daughters were little girls. Hers certainly did.
If, as Claire Parker claimed, she was “Chase’s woman,” then Catalina decided she was probably no threat. In fact, she might prove helpful.
“Do you think you can get me out of these?” Claire asked, holding up the handcuffs.
As a girl, Catalina had learned how to pick a lock with a sewing needle. She’d done it all the time to get back her dolls when her brothers locked them up in their trunks. In a pinch, a hairpin would work. She set down the gun, pulled the pin out of her hair, and set to work on the shackles.
Meanwhile, Claire told her the story of what had happened after Chase had stolen her from her home. They had had a few rough days of wandering in the wilderness. But it seemed the woman had fallen hopelessly in love with her captor.
Catalina couldn’t say she was surprised. If Chase was anything like Drew, his charm was probably impossible to resist.
Unfortunately, Claire’s father had finally managed to track the couple down. He’d had Chase arrested and intended to put him on trial for kidnapping.
Claire had come to The Parlor to ask for Drew’s help in freeing his twin brother, with whom she intended to run away.
The romantic story served to restore Catalina’s faith in Drew. He hadn’t been untrue to her after all. He didn’t intend to abandon her. He was a good man. He’d only gone to help his brother. Everything was going to be all right.
Then her glance fell on Drew’s gun.
She bit her lip.
Drew was unarmed.
Chase probably didn’t have a weapon either.
That meant it would be up to the two ladies to work together to save them. She hoped Claire was up to the challenge.
After many attempts and much cursing, Catalina managed to pick the lock and free Claire. Then Chase’s woman and Drew’s lady stole off into the night, two fierce allies determined to find and rescue their half-breed heroes.
Drew hadn’t played the two-spirit game since he and Chase were boys. He hoped he wasn’t too rusty.
Since neither of the brothers had weapons—Chase didn’t care for guns and Drew had left his in Catalina’s room—they would have to rely on their wits.
Fortunately, Drew’s wits were as sharp as those of Xontehl-taw, Trickster Coyote. He’d already lured the jailer away so Claire Parker could let Chase out of the cell. The look on the jailer’s face when he saw the man he believed was his prisoner suddenly outside the jail was almost comical. It would have been funnier if the man hadn’t been waving around a loaded Remington as he pursued Drew.
He’d given Claire specific instructions. Still, he wasn’t convinced Chase’s little Calamity Jane of a sweetheart would follow them. If things went as planned, once Chase was free, he was to strip down to his drawers so the brothers would look exactly alike. Then he’d head south and meet up with Drew in the woods for the two-spirit game.
The game was a ruse Drew and Chase had invented to pull on visiting tribes when they lived in Hupa.
In some tribal communities, twins were considered a terrible curse. When twins were born, often one or both infants would be killed, sometimes along with their mother. This was so for the Konkow, his father’s people, which was why their parents had fled to Hupa shortly after Drew and Chase were born.
Instead of fighting against the superstitious nature of the tribes, whenever there was a gathering, Chase and Drew would simply pretend to be one person. It became a source of great amusement for Drew to be able to magically appear in two places almost simultaneously. Chase wasn’t quite as fond of the game, mostly because he was usually the one forced to hide while Drew explained to the wide-eyed girls of the visiting tribes that he was endowed with two spirits.
They hadn’t used the ruse in years. Never had they attempted to carry it off while being pursued by a gunman. Worse, the jailer seemed a little trigger-happy. So Drew figured the best strategy was to draw the man’s fire and empty his revolver before Chase got there.
His tactic of rustling bushes and throwing rocks to spook the jailer into shooting was working well until after the fourth shot, when Drew heard his brother arrive.
To distract the jailer, Drew immediately let out an eerie moan and streaked across the clearing.
An instant later, Chase echoed the sound from the opposite side.
To the panicked jailer, spinning back and forth, it likely appeared that his prey was either possessed of incredible speed…or he was a ghost.
Concealed behind a manzanita, Drew suddenly felt a sharp punch to his gut, followed at once by the close crack of gunfire.
Xongquot! Had Chase thrown a rock at him? That only worked when you threw them away from where you wanted someone to shoot. He grimaced from the impact, limping through the brush. Damn, his blacksmith brother sure had an arm on him. That was going to leave a mark.
Soon after, the jailer fired his last bullet.
While the man reloaded, Drew crossed the south side of the clearing with a moan that was only half simulated. The place beneath his ribs where Chase had hit him with the rock hurt like the devil, making it hard to walk upright.
Chase moaned in answer from the north side, startling the jailer.
Drew rattled the bushes, peering over them, then ducking down.
Chase imitated his moves.
Then they got close enough to the jailer to brush past him and lunge toward him in quick succession, finally frightening the poor man so much that he dropped his gun and, with a shriek, ran back in the direction of the jail.
It was then Drew started to feel the burning. When he lifted his fingers to the place he’d been struck, they came back bloody.
Ling-miwhxiy. Son of a bitch.
His brother hadn’t hit him with a rock.
He’d been shot.
He tensed his jaw. Damn it all. What could he do now?
He didn’t want Chase to worry about him. Chase was a wanted man. He needed to get out of Paradise.
So when Chase came up with a companionable chuckle, Drew kept to the shadows and forced a weak smile to his lips. “Remember the last time we played that?”
Chase grinned. “It was for those two young Yurok girls who were visiting.”
Drew’s stomach felt like a burning arrow was lodged in it. “Sure scared them,” he said tightly.
“Scared them enough to earn us a whipping from their father.”
Drew broke out in a cold sweat. He didn’t know how much longer he could stay on his feet. “He should have been grateful,” he joked, fighting to keep his voice steady. “One of those girls was tryin’ to get me to share her blanket.”
Chase laughed.
Drew staggered back a step and waved down the trail. “Go on now. Git. I don’t think the jailer’s gonna make trouble. Go grab your girl and skedaddle.”
Chase smiled. “What do you think of her?”
“Who?” He wiped his brow with the back of one shaky forearm. “Calamity?”
Drew should have known he couldn’t fool his twin for long.
Chase narrowed his eyes. “Are you all right?”
Drew smirked. “Sure. Right as rain.” He faltered forward. “I just…”
Then the world went black.
Chapter 26
At the sound of gunfire, Catalina’s heart jabbed against her ribs with bruising force. And though desperation made her determined to protect Drew with the forty-five if need be, she was relieved when Claire took the gun from her. After all, Claire was a Californian. She was probably as handy with a gun as Catalina was with a sewing machine.
After the sixth gunshot, there was silence. Then, suddenly, someone was running toward them through the brush. Catalina pulled Claire out of the way just in time.
“Spooks!” the jailer cried as he thrashed past them. “There’s spooks in the woods!” And then he vanished into the trees.
Once he was gone, a sudden, certain misgiving filled Catalina.
Something was wrong with Drew. He was in trouble.
She hurtled down the path, hampered by her voluminous skirts, trailed by Claire.
When they finally broke into the clearing and saw Drew lying on the ground, still and silent, her worst fears were realized. Kneeling beside him with guilt written all over his face was a man who looked almost exactly like Drew—almost, but not quite.
“You!” she demanded, rushing up to him. “What did you do? What did you do to my Drew?”
When he didn’t answer right away, she responded with all the pent-up rage and grief of a woman in love. She punched Chase in the nose, sending him sprawling.
Then she heard a click. She’d forgotten about Claire and the forty-five.
“Get away from him!” Claire cried.
But Catalina was too concerned for Drew to pay heed to the blonde lady’s warnings. She dropped to her knees at Drew’s side.
He was bleeding.
He’d been shot in the chest.
She wailed, holding Drew’s hand to her breast. “Do not leave me, mio caro. Do not leave me. You promised, Drew.”
He roused with a faint murmur. “Cat?”
“You promised. Remember?” she said, her throat aching with tears. “You promised to buy me tonight.”
“Sure.” He tried to sit up, but fresh blood seeped from his wound.
“Don’t try to move,” Drew’s twin told him, groaning from the blow Catalina had given him. He struggled back onto his feet and then waggled demanding fingers at Catalina. “Your petticoats, quick. Give me your petticoats.”
“What!” Catalina wouldn’t hesitate to punch him again for his rudeness. She suspected now that Chase was nothing like his brother.
“To stop the bleeding,” he explained.
Finally understanding, she nodded and began ripping up her petticoats.
Together, the three of them managed to stanch the flow of blood and bind the wound.
When they stole back to Paradise through the moonlit forest, it was in solemn silence.
Drew’s brother carried him up to his room at The Parlor. Claire stayed close by her man, obviously ill-at-ease in the bawdy house. And Catalina hovered over her beloved Drew while the madam quietly summoned the doctor.
It took three slugs of whiskey, a belt between Drew’s teeth, and his blacksmith brother to hold him down. Catalina had to bite back sobs of despair through the whole ordeal. But the doctor finally managed to dig out the bullet. Fortunately, it hadn’t done too much damage.
After a secure bandaging and a dose of laudanum, Drew drifted off to sleep. Then Catalina began shaking and couldn’t stop. Now that he was safe, the terror of what had happened hit her all at once. What if the bullet had hit him an inch to the left? What if she and Claire hadn’t managed to stop the bleeding? What if she’d never left her room to find Drew? What if she’d slept through it all?
She gave Chase and Claire her room while she stayed with Drew
in his. She didn’t sleep much. She was too worried about her husband-to-be, whose golden skin had turned to a deathly ashen shade.
When she finally managed to close her eyes, it was near dawn. But no sooner had her head hit the pillow when her slumber was interrupted by the sound of the door bursting open. When she woke, she was staring down the barrel of a rifle.
Too exhausted to feel fear, she charged from the bed to confront the intruder and defend Drew.
But when the distinguished, white-haired man with the rifle saw Catalina, he apologized. He’d apparently come to the wrong room.
“Who is it, Cat?” Drew mumbled from the bed.
Before she could answer, the man scowled at Drew and spoke to him in a nasty snarl. “Well, I see you’re showing your true colors, Mr. Wolf.”
Catalina frowned. Mr. Wolf? The man had mistaken Drew for his twin brother.
“I can’t say I’m surprised,” he continued. “But I am disappointed. You could have at least waited till you left town to take up with…” Instead of speaking the slur, he gave Catalina a look of contempt.
Instantly furious, she bit out, “How dare you! Can you not see he’s hurt?”
“Cat,” Drew called weakly, “who are you talkin’ to?”
Her heart melted at the vulnerability in Drew’s voice. She hurried to his side. “Don’t worry, caro mio. I will make him go away.”
Before she could consider how she was going to do that, the door swung open, and in walked Claire with breakfast. She froze when she saw the intruder.
“Father!”
“Claire?”
Catalina wasn’t sure how Claire was going to explain things to her father. But while she made several attempts, Catalina studied the old gentleman.
So this was the rancher who Drew claimed had enslaved his grandmother. Samuel Parker was clearly upset, but he didn’t seem like a cruel man. And he seemed very out of sorts to be found in such an establishment.
Halfway through the discussion, Catalina realized Claire was letting her father believe that Drew was Chase. Samuel Parker probably didn’t even know Chase had a twin brother.
Catalina wasn’t sure this was the best course of action. What if Samuel Parker decided to put Drew in jail, thinking he was Chase?
Native Hawk (California Legends Book 3) Page 18
