“I’ll be trying to please you.”
“Right.” He smiled, then leaned in to kiss her long and deep, trying to infuse her with all the courage and reassurance he could. Which, given the sudden fear gnawing at his gut, was a miracle in itself.
* * * * *
“Why are we waiting another day?” Lacy asked, sitting wrapped in her blanket near the fire. “Devil won’t wait too long after the pass is open to make another raid.”
“Quinn wants to give you some more time to heal before we go into the valley.” Dakota slowly ran the soapstone over the edge and tip of his Bowie knife, like a man caressing his lover’s skin. Quinn had gone hunting for game just after breakfast, leaving them alone. He’d said he needed to stretch his legs.
“I’m healed now. The sooner we get this over, the better.”
Before I lose my nerve. The closer they got to the valley, the more she doubted she’d leave it alive.
“How soon after one raid does Devil usually stage another one?”
“Depends on how soon they run out of money and whiskey.” She picked up a stick and poked at the fire, making it spark and flame higher.
Please don’t ask me more. In the days she’d been with these men, she’d learned that Dakota had a way of seeing things best kept secret.
The crackle of the fire, the splatter of rain on the trees and grass outside the stone outcropping, and the swoosh of the stone sliding across metal broke the silence.
“What do you suppose happened to the money if he and his men spent the winter snowed in the valley?”
“On our way back to the valley after the raid, we stopped for supplies. Especially whiskey.”
“Between the paper money and the gold, the Army said they lost nearly thirty thousand dollars with that payroll. That’s a lot of whiskey.”
“Maybe he lost it?”
Again Dakota concentrated on sharpening his blade.
Her mind drifted back to the night she’d escaped.
“He could’ve killed you, love,” Santos whispered in that seductively deep voice of his as he laid her naked, bleeding body facedown on her cot. “I convinced him to let you live.”
She trembled, barely hearing his words over the pain in her back. A moment later he ran his fingers over her cuts, bringing more pain, then coolness. Salve. He was putting the salve she used to heal cuts on the whip marks.
“Boss’ll want his answer and his money back tomorrow.”
Then he’d kill her, but not before he raped her.
“How’d you get those scars on your back, Lacy?”
Dakota’s quiet question startled her back to the present. She slowly raised her gaze to stare across the fire at him.
He knew.
She swallowed the bile threatening to fill her throat.
“Part of our job is not only to bring Cap’s killers to justice, but to return that payroll to the Army.”
The noose was tightening around her throat.
“You have to tell someone, pet.”
Suddenly a branch snapped outside their makeshift camp.
They both froze.
Dakota held his hand to his lips in a command for her silence.
She mouthed, “Quinn?”
Dakota shook his head no. They both knew Quinn was as silent in the woods as he.
Something or someone else moved out there.
With a wave of his hand, he motioned her to remain still and silent, then rose and crawled out from beneath the ledge into the rainy forest, his body quickly hidden by the mist and the branches.
Suddenly she felt more alone than she ever had, even on the run from Devil.
Damn Quinn and Dakota for making her feel safe with their constant presence and strength. They’d dulled her sense of self-preservation, made her dependent on them.
She scanned the cave-like shelter, searching for some sort of weapon. Against the wall lay the supplies they’d stowed out of the rain the day before. Her carpetbag lay among the other sacks and saddlebags. Protruding from it was the butt-end of her Colt.
Quickly she moved over and lifted the gun free, its weight familiar and comforting in her hands. She checked the cylinder, hopeful yet not surprised Quinn had unloaded it.
An enemy wouldn’t know that, however.
Carrying the weapon tucked behind her skirt, she eased her way to the edge of the shelter. She leaned out and strained to hear any more noise in the woods beyond.
A few minutes later a dull thud sounded deeper in the words.
What to do? Go try to find him? She’d more likely get lost or injured.
What if he were injured? And where the hell was Quinn?
She moved back into the shelter of the cave, standing as close to the cave walls to hide in the shadows as possible.
A movement stirred the trees beyond the stone outcropping. She tightened her grip on the handle of the gun. As if conjured out of the mist, a man’s shape took form in front of her, one she’d hoped never to see again.
“’Fraid yer half-breed friend can’t help ya none, Lacy-loo.”
“Maddocks?” Revulsion at the near-toothless outlaw who’d tried many times to corner her in the valley slid over her. She took a step back. “How’d you find me?”
“The boss sent me out lookin’ for ya. And what did I find? You whoring for two men in Goldwater.” He moved closer. Firelight glinted off the dull metal of his gun. “Been trackin’ y’all since. ’Specially liked the show ya put on by the river the other day.”
Suddenly something so special was turned ugly by the leer he gave her. “Where’s Dakota? What did you do to him?”
“Just put him to sleep for a while. Didn’t see me hanging up in the trees.” He gave a high-pitched laugh, then lifted his gun. “Now you and me are gonna head on out for a little family-type re-union afore that other hombre shows up.”
She lifted her revolver and pointed at his chest. “I don’t think I’ll be going anywhere with you.”
He gave a hoot of a laugh. “Ya ain’t gonna shoot me, Lacy-loo.”
Damn, she hated that name he’d called her since the day they’d met. “I will, Maddocks, if you don’t leave right now.”
Please don’t let him call my bluff.
“No, ya ain’t. Coz if’n ya kill me ya won’t find that breed friend o’ yers. And if ya miss, I’ll just tie ya up, then go slit his throat. Either way, yer friend dies.”
She’d never thought Maddocks was too smart, but this time he had her and he knew it. At this distance she wouldn’t miss if her own gun were loaded, but she wouldn’t put Dakota’s life on the line. He’d been too good to her. And Quinn? He didn’t deserve to lose another person he loved, not because of her.
“If I go with you, you promise not to hurt him?”
“That’s right. Leave yer gun here. You’n me’ll just go somewhere a bit more private and have us a little…chat.” He leered and let his disgusting gaze travel over her, then waved the gun at the trail leading out from the stony ledge.
She tossed the Colt where Quinn would see it when he returned and maybe realize she’d tried to defend herself and Dakota. Then she turned and led the way for the putrid man, knowing what “private chat” really meant.
Please, God, let Dakota be okay.
* * * * *
Quinn worked his way through the trees, carrying the quails he’d killed in one hand, his rifle in the other. He’d been surprised to find them so easily this far into the mountains, but looked forward to eating fresh meat for dinner.
Suddenly the hairs on his neck rose. He stopped in his tracks to listen over the beating of his pulse in his ears.
Nothing. Even the birds were silent.
Something was definitely wrong. Careful where he stepped, he eased forward to study the area ahead, looking for anything out of place. A few steps more and he saw it, head high on the bark of an aspen—a dark rusty spot with lines dripping toward the ground. He touched his fingers to it, even though he already knew.
Sticky. Blood.
Whose?
The spot was too high to be Lacy’s.
Dakota’s?
He thrust the thought from his mind and bent to study the ground and underbrush at the base of the tree.
Two sets of bootprints.
One set belonged to Dakota. He always marked his boot with a crescent shape near the toe. Said it was so Cap could always trail him.
Who the hell owned the other set of prints? Not Lacy. Her feet weren’t that big.
He moved toward the outcropping. The stranger’s tracks headed to where they’d camped. Drag marks went in the same direction and appeared to be stained with dried blood.
Anger and fear filled him. Someone had injured his brother and gone after his woman. Hopefully, Dakota was crawling after him, not being dragged by his attacker.
His rifle at the ready, he worked his way closer, trying not to tip his hand to whoever might be lying in wait in the camp. He’d need to assess the situation before he made his move. He didn’t want Dakota or Lacy caught in the crossfire when he killed the son-of-a-bitch who’d attacked them.
Firelight flickered in the gray mist just beyond the trees.
He remained in the shadows and gave the whippoorwill call Cap had taught him as a kid.
A moment later it was returned with the call of a hawk. The signal that it was safe to approach. If it hadn’t been he’d have heard the sparrow instead or nothing.
Dakota was alive.
Relief poured through him. He stepped out of the trees, letting his eyes adjust to the light and trying to locate Dakota and Lacy.
Movement to his left caught his attention. Dakota sat, his back against the stone wall, blood dripping down his face from a gash to his forehead. Lacy was nowhere in sight.
“Dammit, Dakota. What happened?” he asked, dropping the quails near the supplies. He grabbed a canteen and a cloth, then hurried to his partner’s side. “And where the hell’s Lacy?”
“He took her,” Dakota said, his eyes clenched shut. “Jumped me in the forest.”
“I saw. Looks like he slammed your head into a tree.”
“Didn’t expect him to be in the branches.” He drank some of the water, then handed the canteen back. “Not sure how long I was out. Was seeing stars for a bit. Crawled here in time to see the bastard disarm Lacy and force her back up the trail.”
“Disarm her? We didn’t leave her any weapons,” he said, soaking the cloth and wiping at the gash.
Dakota hissed and grabbed the cloth. “Let me. My head hurts enough without your help.” He pressed it to his injury. “Lacy had her Colt, but laid it down when the polecat threatened to kill me.”
“Her Colt?” Quinn looked around and saw it lying between the supplies and fire. Damn. He’d forgotten about the gun after he’d taken it that first night.
“You need to get to her before he hurts her, Quinn.”
“You gonna be okay?” He stood and reloaded his rifle.
“Yep, just can’t stand without getting dizzy is all. Should pass in a while.” He opened one eye to squint up at him. “Quinn, she knows him. One of Devil’s men.”
“Figured as much.”
“She didn’t want to go.” Dakota closed his eyes and leaned his head back against the stone. “Only went to save my life. Bastard said if she missed, he’d slit my throat. Like I’d let him that close again. She doesn’t like to think people could get hurt because of her. Doesn’t understand her worth.”
“I know. Once this is all over, I’ll make her understand. I gotta go after her.” Quinn squeezed his brother’s shoulder.
“I’ll have those birds cooking by the time you bring her back.”
There was nothing else to say. Lacy depended on them to save her and that’s what he’d do. The other man was already dead.
Quinn slipped out of the cave-like structure, picking up Lacy’s and her captor’s tracks, once again the hunter.
Chapter Thirteen
Lacy gripped her skirt in her fists as she climbed back up the trail she’d traveled two days before, her boots slipping in the mud every few steps and her anger rising on the others.
“He’ll come after us.”
“Nah. I bashed his head real good aginst that tree.”
“That was your mistake, Maddocks. You hurt the wrong one.”
“Don’t matter which one, Lacy-loo. Ain’t no man gonna come after a whore like you. Not after he’s had his fill.” He let out a cackle. “And I’d say they’s had more’n their fill of you.”
Disgust rolled over her, and a little trepidation. What if he was right and Quinn didn’t think she was worth the effort? She might not be, but Dakota was.
“You’re right. He won’t come after me. But you made the mistake when you didn’t kill both of them first. He’ll be after you for hurting his brother. He believes in vengeance.”
“I’ll be finished with you and long gone by the time he figures out where I took you. Keep climbing.” He pointed her off the trail, into the trees and away from the river.
Now he had her worried. Was Quinn as good a tracker as Dakota? What if he wasn’t? Would he miss where they veered off the trail? She needed to make the trail more obvious. Careful not to alert him to her actions, she ripped a piece of her skirt with one hand.
Her boot slipped. She grabbed on to a tree to keep from sliding back into the disgusting man. When she let go of the tree, she left the material snagged in the bark.
“You know Devil wants me back in one piece.”
“When I get what I want from you, I’ll disappear. The devil can take Devil.” He cackled again at his own humor.
One thing was for certain, Maddocks meant to kill her after he raped her. She couldn’t just wait for Quinn to rescue her. She needed to figure a way out of this on her own. If she could slow Maddocks down, distract him long enough to think of a way to disarm him, she might have a chance of surviving.
“You’re after the money, aren’t you?” she asked, grabbing another branch to pull herself up the slippery slope, leaving it broken when she released it.
“That’s why the boss sent me to get you. He’s been stewin’ ’bout you hidin’ it all winter. He’s been digging like a crazed man. Dug so many holes in the valley it looks like a minefield. I figure you took it or hid it outside the valley.”
“I don’t have it with me.”
“Figured as much, or those two hombres’d be spendin’ it in some big city, not fuckin’ yer brains out on a cold hard trail back to the valley.”
He grabbed her by the hair and pulled her back, slamming his lips on hers in a wet, sloppy kiss and managing to shove his tongue in her surprised mouth. He released her lips and leered over her once more. “Oh yeah, Lacy-loo. I’m gonna enjoy findin’ out where ya hid that money.”
Tears threatened to spill. She fought back the bile in her throat and the urge to wipe the kiss away with her arm. She had to make him want to keep her alive. Antagonizing him wouldn’t do it.
“It’s over this way.” Maddocks dragged her by the hair into a clearing marked by the charred remains of trees and brush. Lightning strikes often caused fires in the mountains, leaving behind patches of land like this one. Several trees had fallen in such a way as to make a natural lean-to. Apparently, after spying on them the other day at the river, Maddocks had stumbled on this spot to wait out the weather.
Suddenly he pushed her away from him. She stumbled and fell to her hands and knees. Pain shot through them.
“Now tell me where ya hid that Army payroll.”
If she gave him that information she wouldn’t live five more minutes. Despite the lust in his eyes, she knew he craved the money as much as if not more than her body. He’d always been one of the more greedy members of Devil’s gang.
She struggled to her feet in the muddy soil. Her hands scraped and dirty, she used her skirt to wipe off the blood oozing out of the cuts, then put a little smile on her lips. “You’re in an awful, hurry, Maddocks. Now
that you’ve got me alone I thought you’d want to do more than just get the money’s location from me.”
He licked his fat lips and dropped his free hand down to rub his crotch.
I can’t do this. I can’t do this.
You want to survive? You need him to focus on something other than killing you.
Then she heard Quinn’s voice in her head. “You’re not pleasing him, you’re pleasing me.”
She forced her fingers to the buttons on her shirt and slipped one loose. “Now that you’ve rescued me from those two men, I’d really like to show you my appreciation.”
“Rescued ya? Ya mean ya weren’t goin’ with ’em willingly?” He paused, his hand sliding into his pants to grope his cock openly. “More, let me see more.”
“No. They caught me and were taking me back to Devil. They’d heard there was a reward for me.” She loosened another two buttons, slipping the shirt off her shoulders, small dots of her own blood staining the opening. “They didn’t know about what I did with the money.”
“Go on, take it off.”
Keeping the smile on her face, she opened the remaining buttons and pulled the shirt off, laying it on a fallen tree beside her. Then she ran her hands up her ribs to cup her breasts, nearly pushing them out of the camisole. “Is this what you want to do, Maddocks? Squeeze and play with my breasts?”
He took a hobbled step forward, lowering the gun to the side. “Push ’em out, girl. Let me see those tits.”
Pulling her lower lip between her teeth, she reached for the ribbon on her camisole.
A little closer. Come just a little closer.
* * * * *
Quinn followed the tracks back up the trail paralleling the river, Lacy’s smaller prints in front of the stranger’s deeper ones. From the looks of it, she’d had some trouble getting traction in the mud. The tension in his chest tightened a little more knowing she willingly put herself in jeopardy to protect Dakota. She was probably scared to death.
Suddenly the prints stopped.
Damn, the bastard had forced her off the trail.
Retracing his steps to where their last prints were in the mud, Quinn searched for some sign of the direction they’d gone.
The Surrender of Lacy Morgan Page 20
