The chief flung her around so she faced the younger man. He was shorter than the chief, heavier with a fair amount of flab in his belly, black hair that hung to his shoulders, potted skin on his face, an overly large nose, and a mean look in his dark eyes. He made her want to run, but she knew that was impossible. “You watch,” the chief commanded her, pointing to the younger man who promptly lowered himself between the other woman’s legs.
She wrenched away from him. “I will do no such thing. You are animals!” she hissed and shoved him back.
He grabbed her again and pulled her close enough for her to smell his putrid, whiskey-laced breath and see the anger in his dark eyes. “You next,” he growled.
She shook her head. “No,” she said in a tremulous yet defiant voice.
“I say yes,” he countered coldly.
She knew this had been coming but so soon? He’d just had a woman and she knew from Beau that men did not recharge that quickly. There was no way. She couldn’t see his face clearly, but he was an older man with lines in his face, a big nose, dark eyes, not many teeth, graying shoulder-length hair, and a bad case of halitosis and body odor.
She met his dark eyes. “No,” she said sternly, despite his stench being enough to send her stomach into a knot. She abruptly shoved him away and tried to get outside to vomit, but he pulled her back by the hair and threw her to the ground. She couldn’t help it and threw up all over herself and the dirt floor.
He backed off, gagging and covering his mouth in disgust.
She struggled to her knees, panting as she made her way to the door only to have him kick her in the backside, sending her sprawling in the doorway as she was violently ill again. She was crying but hid it. She knew from living with Beau that if she showed emotion, it would just make it worse.
She was trying to catch her breath, lying on her stomach outside the door of the lodge, when two women grabbed her by the arms. They picked her up and began walking swiftly, bouncing her head off the ground. She cried out in pain, but they were heedless to the sickening crack in her lower left arm as they spoke crossly in their native language. She couldn’t understand what they were saying and didn’t really care. Her fear and the pain in her arm were too great.
They reached the rocky bank of the river that flowed a short distance from the village and tore her clothes off her and stole her wedding ring and what little jewelry she was wearing. She couldn’t fight them and didn’t even try as they threw her into the river, sliding her belly painfully across the rocks in the shallow water.
She gasped as the surprisingly cool water encompassed her body but the relief was short-lived and fear set in when she realized she was being dragged into deeper water. With the broken arm, these two strong women and the water getting deeper, she didn’t have a chance. She’d been telling herself that death was better than what this life would be, but now that it was staring her in the face, she wasn’t so sure.
She knew what was coming and prayed that death would not be as terrifying as what was leading to it. She knew she was going to die tonight and the first dunk proved it.
She tried not to panic when she felt her breath being taken as water filled her lungs, but couldn’t help it. She tried to punch and kick them while trying to raise her head, but they only laughed and pushed her under again, holding her longer.
She finally came up for air and coughed and coughed, unable to cry out as the woman wrenched her broken arm behind her back. She didn’t have time to catch her breath before she was shoved under the water again.
They held her under for what seemed an eternity. She could feel herself getting weaker and weaker while losing consciousness. She was petrified that she was going to die when they let her up again.
“No more,” she gasped as she tried to catch her breath. “Please, no more.”
The woman to her right grabbed her by the chin and glared into her eyes. “You don’t like?” she mocked, then laughed wickedly and shoved her back under. “Too bad.”
That was the last thing she heard. When they dunked her this time, they held her down until a serene blackness engulfed her. She felt no pain and no more panic.
They dragged her out of the water by the hair as they laughed and let her drop on the rocky bank and walked away.
Chapter 19
Cody had been the last one to arrive in the village and, with it near sunrise, left his horse at his lodge. He quietly made his way to Tall Deer’s lodge, listening for any noise coming from inside. It was quiet so he figured Suzanne had fared well through the night. Apparently, all of the white women had fared well since none were on public display, defiled, or dead.
He whistled softly for his horse to follow him to the river and, after letting him drink, took him back to rest with the rest of the horses. He went to his lodge and got a bar of soap, something of the white man’s ways that he truly enjoyed, and headed back to the river to bathe. He was tired and smelled bad and a bath was just what he needed.
He stripped and went into the water and swam a little, making no noise, then went to work with the bar of soap. He enjoyed the water and swam in it until his muscles ached, trying to get Suzanne out of his mind. He knew she was in danger. He had to get her away from Tall Deer and his psychotic son, Walking Bull. He wasn’t sure how, but he knew it had to be soon. She wasn’t the type to give into his sexual appetites and if she didn’t, she was as good as dead.
The thought weighed heavily on his mind. He never should have brought her here. He should have left her with her strange machine. She wasn’t cut out for this sort of life. It was too hard and it was obvious she was used to an easier way. He thought again that maybe she was a person of the stars, despite her denials. There was nothing normal about her. She looked different, smelled different and dressed outrageously. She was not of this world and he had to get her back to where he’d found her.
He trudged up the bank to let the air dry him off and sat in the stillness of the dark blue sky, his thoughts on her and what had happened at the fort. If only he had been two minutes earlier, maybe he could have claimed her. Tall Deer wouldn’t have questioned that. It was their way. Now she was in the hands of the evil man and his demented son, and he was worried. He envisioned her being tortured, mutilated, raped and even killed. He dropped his head in his hands in agony. What had he done?
He heard a soft gasp close by. It was very faint. At first, he thought he was imagining things until he heard a cough. A heavy cough as if to clear your lungs.
He quickly put his clothes on and crept toward the source, hoping he wasn’t going to interrupt a meeting with lovers who often came here to meet privately.
He heard the gasp again and some rocks move a little above him. He looked closely in the pale light and could make out the skin of a white woman and the long blond hair. He rushed to her and sat down and eased her onto her back so he could see who it was. Suzanne!
“Oh God, honey,” he whispered sorrowfully when he saw her bruised and battered body. She was shivering and incoherent. He looked around for her clothes, but it was still too dark to see anything like that. He stood up, wanting to take her to his lodge. He carefully lifted her into his arms, getting a cry of pain from her. “Sh-h,” he whispered. “I’m sorry.”
He carried her over the sharp rocks up the slight embankment and through the quiet village to his lodge, which was on the far end and away from Chief Tall Deer.
He took her inside and gently laid her down on some soft animal pelts, not able to stop himself from looking at her. Despite the cuts and bruises, she was still the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen. Her face wasn’t as pretty now that it was battered, but, given time, it would heal. Her breasts were round and full, her belly was slightly protruding and round with the child she carried, her legs were beaten, but she was stunning despite it all. But he wasn’t lusting for her. He had deeper feelings for her than that and would die for her if he had to. After all, it was his fault she was here. None of this would have happened if he’d
left her with that machine.
He covered her with a blanket and went to his saddle bags and found his coffee pot and some coffee. He filled the pot with water and set it to the side, then stoked the fire and added more wood before laying a metal rack over the rocks and setting the pot on top of it.
She began to cough again, loud and hard, rolling onto her side as she coughed up water and began to vomit.
He pushed the blanket away so she wouldn’t get any on it and helped her to sit up so she wouldn’t choke, making her cry out in pain and try to get away from him. He pulled her back and stifled her cry into his shoulder, trying to hush her coughing and her tears. “Sh-h,” he whispered against her bruised cheek. “I’m so sorry.”
He could feel she was feverish with his lips, and touched her cheeks with the back of his hand to double-check. She was very feverish with a bad cough and a broken arm and pregnant on top of it all.
He was in over his head. She needed to see a white man’s doctor. But there wasn’t one for miles. He was on his own which frightened him even more. He didn’t know how to heal anyone other than himself. His only option was to ask Lone Wolf’s wife for advice and do it in such a way that he didn’t arouse suspicion. He couldn’t tell anyone that she was here or they would both die.
He kept his arm around her and poured some coffee into the cup, then held it to her lips and let her take a sip. “Drink a little more,” he whispered to her and fed her tiny bits at a time, fearing it would burn her already tender skin if she spilled any on herself.
She did as he asked, but it didn’t agree with her. She didn’t get away from him in time and threw up on his buckskin-clad leg. She knew she had done wrong and fully expected to be beat again. “I’m sorry. I’m sorry,” she whispered in a hoarse voice, trying to move away from him.
“Sh-h,” he whispered in return, holding her close with one arm and setting the cup down with the other and laid her back down on the pelts. He covered her up again and couldn’t help but kiss her bruised forehead and push her long blond hair out of her face as she drifted off to sleep. “I’m so sorry, Suzanne,” he said softly as he gently touched her hot cheeks. “I wish I’d never brought you here.”
He eventually changed his clothes and cleaned up the mess she’d made. He finally fell into an exhausted sleep next to her.
~~~
A few hours later, the camp arose with a roar. The yellow-haired woman was gone. Her dress had been found on the bank of the river, torn and shredded. Other than that, there was no sign of her. The chief was furious.
Cody heard the commotion outside and the uneasy voices of the men and women speaking about how angry her escape had made Chief Tall Deer. He was out for blood and vowed to have her scalp hanging in his lodge.
He listened to the chief screaming angrily and looked at Suzanne who was breathing laboriously but had not awakened. He was still close to her but not under the blanket with her and hoped she stayed still.
“Where is the white woman?” the chief raged as he passed Cody’s lodge.
He quickly rolled Suzanne onto her side, keeping her back to the door and moved next to her. He pulled the blanket up over her head and put his arm around her to make it look like he was with his lover.
The chief came in unannounced. “You have her,” he accused without preamble. “You have my woman.”
He looked at the tall, older man over his shoulder. “I do not have your woman,” he growled irritably. “This is the woman you gave me.”
“But you say you don’t want woman,” he rebuked coldly.
“I want this woman,” he said evenly.
“Where is the yellow-haired whore?” he seethed.
“I don’t know,” he said simply, still holding her as she began to stir a little. Please stay still, he silently begged.
“If I find she is here or has been here, you will die,” he said angrily and stormed out.
Cody sat up and stared after the chief. This was a very dangerous situation. He didn’t care so much about himself, but he was worried about Suzanne and her child. He had to get her out of here tonight.
Suzanne began to cough; her small body quaked with the uncontrollable reflex.
He leaned over and covered her mouth with his hand in an effort to keep her quiet. There were still many people around his lodge and he didn’t want to get caught. It would mean certain death for both of them.
Suzanne began to panic. Still coughing, she couldn’t breathe and fought at his hand.
“Suzanne, you must be very, very quiet,” he whispered to her, keeping his hand over his mouth as she coughed. He eased up on his hand as she still coughed and then looked into her frightened blue eyes. “It’s a matter of life and death now,” he whispered and crossed his finger over his lips.
She gazed blankly into his dark eyes and recognized him, not recalling how she’d come to be here. The last thing she remembered was being dunked in the river and held under until she thought she was dead.
“Sh-h,” he soothed, lifting his hand from her mouth, gazing into her blue eyes. “Sh-h.”
She weakly caught his hand as it passed her face. “Thank you,” she whispered hoarsely, knowing that she was safer now than she had been since she’d been dragged into the village.
“Sh-h,” he cautioned gently and gave her hand an affectionate squeeze. “You must stay quiet.”
He kept her hand in his and ran his other hand over her cheeks and forehead. She was burning up and needed some medical attention, but he couldn’t leave her alone.
He knew he could trust Lone Wolf, but he didn’t want to put his life in jeopardy; the chief was unreasonable enough to kill anyone who he even suspected of the minutest of crimes. Lone Wolf had a wife and children to take care of. He didn’t want to risk his friend’s life, but it was possible that Suzanne could die before he returned her to that machine and then nobody would ever know what had happened to her. He needed to get her help for her sake as well as her child’s. He owed her that and hoped when he went to see Lone Wolf’s wife, it would be a discreet meeting and not raise suspicion.
Chapter 20
Lone Wolf was immediately suspicious when Cody asked for some healing herbs and directions on how to use them. He knew that if Cody were sick, Lame Bird would take care of him, but went inside his lodge for his wife’s advice.
Cody waited outside, watching his lodge, which was a pretty fair distance from Lone Wolf’s. He could see it clearly and was glad that the camp had settled down some and nobody was around it. He didn’t want Suzanne getting caught.
Lone Wolf’s three sons were running around with other children close by, laughing and playing, making Cody’s heart twinge just a bit. He hoped to have sons someday, too and envied his friend the family he had. His wife was beautiful and smart and his sons were healthy and strong. The Creator definitely smiled on Lone Wolf and had given him many blessings.
Lone Wolf came out of his lodge with a fairly good-sized pouch of herbs and told Cody what to do with them, not wanting his wife to be seen with his friend because of the danger it might put her in.
Cody knew why Lone Wolf’s wife didn’t see him. She was normally very friendly and chatted with him often, but things were different now.
“Get her out of here before you are killed,” Lone Wolf told Cody seriously and went back inside his lodge.
~~~
Cody went to the river and filled his container with water before heading back to his lodge. He didn’t want to bring any attention to himself and he often got his own water, so nothing seemed out of the ordinary. He wanted to nurse Suzanne back to health and take her back to where he’d found her so maybe her people would find her. He just wanted her to be in better condition first.
He saw Lame Bird talking with another man and gave her a slight nod as a greeting. She did the same back to him. He was relieved to see the man talking to her. She was a nice woman and would make another man a good wife. She deserved children to care for her in her old age.
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br /> He went inside his lodge and poured some water into a different pot and set the pot on the fire. When it was hot, he mixed the herbs into it and let it steep as he gently woke her. “Suzanne,” he murmured, being careful not to touch her arm as he ran his fingers over her cheek.
She stirred and began to cough heavily.
He pulled her to a sitting position, muffling her cough into his shoulder. “Sh-h,” he whispered, slowly stroking her hair.
She leaned against him wearily, trying to catch her breath as she wheezed and coughed some more.
He let the spell pass and picked up the cup and held it to her lips. “Drink this.”
She took a sip and grimaced. “It tastes so bad,” she said in a gravelly voice.
“I know, but it will help you get well. Drink,” he said kindly and put it to her lips again.
She sipped more before leaning against him again. “I can’t drink anymore. I might throw up.”
He held her around her back and supported her head on his shoulder. “Just a little more,” he urged gently.
With his tender urgings, she finished the cup of the rank concoction. “Thank you,” she whispered sleepily.
He held her for a short while as she slept on his shoulder, wishing things were different for both of them. He finally kissed her on the forehead and eased her back down onto the pelts. He tried to be careful of her broken arm, but he must have touched it because she cried out. He quickly covered her mouth with his hand; it was imperative that she was quiet. “I’m sorry,” he whispered to her and pushed her hair out of her face as she looked up at him with tears in her eyes. “You have to be quiet,” he whispered, then bent and kissed her on the cheek. “So quiet, honey,” he whispered in her ear.
For the Love of Suzanne Page 10
