Mail Order Bride 22 Book Boxed set: 22 Brides Ride West :CLEAN Western Historical Romance Series Bundle

by Faye Sonja

  Daniel casually took a seat in one of the chairs that sat across from the couch. His eyes stayed on Katherine, as if judging her reaction. Katherine tried to keep her features neutral, even though, now, she wanted to cry for that little boy who’d grown up poor in Montana.

  Katherine had been fortunate to have had two parents who loved her, at least, most of the time. She’d only seen them struggle for a year or so, but even then, they always had food up until the end.

  Daniel’s words brought her out of her thoughts. “As we grew older, we grew hungrier. Begging wasn’t working, but the three of us, me, Mark, and Joshua were growing pretty strong still. Someone noticed that. His name was Tobias Steele.”

  The name held some recognition in Katherine’s mind. Daniel noticed it and smiled. It wasn’t a kind smile. There was no warmth. Katherine actually shivered.

  “Tobias Steele was very much a wanted man. He runs one of the largest gang in the West.”

  That was it. Katherine had seen his poster at the depot when she’d finally arrived in Kansas. The list of crimes Tobias had committed was long. The bounty on his head was enormous. Some of the things Tobias and his gang were charged with were awful. Suddenly, a chill crept over Katherine’s flesh.

  Daniel smirked. There was no kindness in his look. “Yes, Katherine.”

  “No,” Katherine shook her head as if she could get his answer out of her head. Daniel had answered the question she hadn’t dared asked, but even still, she’d known the answer. But she needed to hear it. “What did you do?”

  Daniel looked away. “I didn’t kill anyone, but I was there. Mark and I stole wallets, purses, and money from people that I knew would die without it. I didn’t care. I was hungry. We were all hungry. “

  Katherine covered her mouth. She was going to be sick. Even still, she shook her head. She couldn’t believe it. Daniel was just another Neil. They both stole to please themselves. Daniel had stolen from the less fortunate just like Neil had done to her. It was people like Daniel who caused Katherine the loss of her friends and family. Her mother and father were left with nothing because of the greed of bad men. Bad men like Daniel. “How could you?”

  Daniel’s hands tightened on the armrest. His scar completed his intimidating look. He wanted to scare her. He was doing a great job. “For the first time in my life, I didn’t go hungry. I went to bed with a full stomach every night after I met Tobias. We were one of the gang then.”

  Katherine narrowed her eyes, no longer liking the man she was seeing in front of her. There was no sadness in his look. It was as though he didn’t feel sorry for his deeds. “How’d you make it out?”

  A shadow passed over Daniel’s eyes, but then his face when back to being expressionless. “My house mother, Paula. She found out. She confronted Tobias.”

  Katherine’s chest felt tight. She briefly felt lightheaded. “What happened to Paula?” Her question came out as a whisper. It was as though she’d had to squeeze them from within herself. As if she hadn’t wanted to ask, but some part of her needed to know.

  Daniel didn’t move. His eyes stayed completely lacking in passion. He almost looked dead. Not a single muscle in his body moved. A blink later, he was speaking again. “He killed her, right there in front of everyone.”

  “No.”

  “He shot her.”

  “No!”

  “She died staring straight into our eyes.”

  Katherine stood then. She tried to run from the room, but Daniel caught her and turned her towards him. His eyes were wild with rage. “And then I challenged Tobias and he did this to my face. Then we ran. ”

  Katherine felt anger building within her. “He should have killed you.”

  Daniel stepped back as if he’d been slapped by her words. His eyes seemed black now. He looked like the monster that he was. Katherine held herself, trying to warm herself against this cold in his dark eyes. “What’s to stop me from turning you in?” A low anger began to build within her.

  There was a flash of pain in Daniel’s eyes before he smiled at her. “Nothing.”

  He started walking towards her. Katherine backed away in fear. He didn’t touch her though. He didn’t try. He just walked past her towards the stairs.

  Katherine would have cried if she had anymore tears left in her. Gone was the man she loved. The man she thought she loved didn’t exist. This was the real Daniel Price. Her husband. The monster. “Don’t you feel sorry for what you did?”

  Daniel turned to her as his foot hit the first step. Only his head moved. The rest of his body was pointed towards the stairs. “I am tormented by what I did with every single passing day. I knew I was a monster, but I never completely accepted it until I saw the look in your eyes.” He didn’t try to hide the sadness now. “Now you see why I didn’t tell you, yet you had to know. I’m glad you know now. I never deserved your love. I never should have married you.”

  Staring at him, Katherine watched the life drain from his eyes. He looked tired. His words grew softer. “You deserve someone better than me, Katherine. I won’t blame you if you leave me now. Take whatever you need. Take it all. I don’t care anymore.”

  Katherine watched Daniel’s retreating back as she went up the stairs, very slowly, as if during the last hour, he’d aged by twenty years. She heard the master bedroom door close and then lock. It had been their room once upon a time. Now, Katherine couldn’t imagine laying next to him. She barely wanted to stay in the same home with him.

  She slowly climbed the stairs. She was tired now. Too many emotions had gone through her. Her body and mind were taxed. She’d rest and think on her next move in the morning.

  * * *

  7

  “Or You’ll What?”

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  “ She was going out west.

  The decision was made. ”

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  Daniel gave his latest client a smile he really wasn’t feeling. Business was booming. He was doing better than he’d ever dreamed of, all thanks to Katherine. The same Katherine who hadn’t spoken to him in two weeks. He barely saw her and if he did, he’d had to purposefully plan it.

  She’d gotten into the habit of making his meals, placing them by his seat, and then leaving the house. If he wanted to see her, he’d have to go by the school or wander into Faith’s shop, intruding on her female time.

  Daniel was surprised that she still sat by him in church, but she didn’t let him touch her. She was still being kind to him, but she wouldn’t let him hold her. It was breaking his heart, but it was what he deserved. Mark had been right from the very beginning. Daniel didn’t deserve happiness.

  After the client left his office, Daniel ran a hand down the left side of his head, touching his scar. He closed his eyes and prayed himself dead. Nothing happened. He sighed.

  His office door flew open. Mark stood there. There was panic in his eyes. Daniel rolled his eyes. He was not in the mood for Mark’s dramatics.

  “Tobias is here.”

  That got Daniel’s attention. Maybe his prayers were being answered. Scary thought. Daniel leaned over his desk. “How’d he find us?”

  Mark was shaking. “I don’t know. Maybe it’s your business. It’s in the papers and everything. You’re becoming a big deal.”

  Daniel shook his head. Of course it was his fault. What else was new? “What do you think Tobias wants?”

  Mark held his arm tightly. “Maybe to kill us.”

  “Maybe not.”

  Both men jumped at the voice. Mark ran to the other side of the room, standing behind Daniel’s desk. Daniel had a gun underneath his desk. He ran a bank in the roughest region of the country. He wasn’t stupid.

  Tobias had a smile on his face. He looked older. Smaller even. Daniel hadn’t seen him since he was sixteen. But nothing was what it seemed. Tobias’ eyes hadn’t changed. They were still as dark as they’d ever been. He lo
oked calm and menacing.

  Daniel’s fingers wrapped around the gun.

  “I wouldn’t do that if I were you. My men are casually standing around your bank. I’d hate for them to have to shoot everyone. Red doesn’t seem to match the decor.” His smile grew.

  Daniel released his hold on the gun and leaned back in the chair. “What do you want?”

  “You, Daniel. You always had a way with victims.”

  Daniel shook his head. “I’m not in that business anymore. You’ll have to find someone else.”

  Tobias just smiled and sighed. “No, Daniel. It’s got to be you.”

  “Why?”

  Tobias’ eyes flared. “Because, I own you, boy.” He walked over to Daniel’s desk and leaned over it. “I’ve been looking for you boys for a long time now. It upset me when you ran away. It made me look weak, like I couldn’t control my people. I can’t afford to look weak, Daniel.”

  Daniel let out a breath. “How much do you want?”

  Tobias looked around then back at Daniel. “All of it.”

  “You can’t just come in and take over.” Mark was talking now. Daniel had rather he not. If he could get everyone out of this alive, he would. Daniel had seen first hand what kind of things the gang did to people. He didn’t want anyone he knew to be Tobias’ next victim. “Fine. It’s yours.”

  Tobias’ eyes flew open. “Really?”

  Daniel nodded his head. He stood to shake. “You get the bank and you leave us alone.”

  Tobias shook his head then. “Oh no, Daniel. You’re family. Family sticks together. We want you to come ride with us.”

  Daniel was already shaking his head before Tobias finished. He would never do what he did before ever again. Not even to spare his own life. Daniel slammed a fist down on the table in front of him. The force of it rattled against the hardwood floor. “No. You’ll have to kill me first.”

  “Daniel, no,” Mark whispered.

  “Don’t worry, Mark. I ain’t gonna kill Daniel… but that rather large wife of his...”

  Daniel went around the table so quickly, neither of the men saw him move. Tobias’ eyes flashed with fear right before they calmed back down. Daniel held his finger to the man’s chest. “You stay away from my wife or...”

  Tobias looked expectantly. “Or you’ll what?”

  Daniel’s anger consumed him. “I’ll kill you,” he whispered.

  Tobias’ slow smile seemed to crawl against Daniel’s flesh. “Well, look who’s all grown up, now. I think I like you better now. If you’re willing to kill, you’re more valuable.”

  Daniel pushed Tobias as he stepped back. “Leave Katherine alone.”

  “I will, once you agree to come back into the fold,” Tobias opened his arms, as if waiting for Daniel to step into him and hug him. That wasn’t going to happen.

  A hand was placed on Daniel’s shoulder. He flinched, until he realized it was Mark. The look on Mark’s face said it all. They didn’t have a choice. No one else should pay for their sins. They’d dug their own graves.

  Daniel turned to Tobias then. He was so angry that it hurt. “I’ll need time.”

  Tobias nodded his head. “That’s fair. You gotta get your affairs in order. I can respect that.” There was a shimmer in Tobias’ black eyes. It did that every time Tobias realized he was going to get what he wanted. He’d won. “Meet us at the abandoned house fifty miles west of here by the end of the week. You’ll know it when you see it. Ain’t nothing else out there in that desert.”

  “We’ll be there.”

  With that, Tobias strolled out of the room. Daniel followed to make sure that no one in the bank got hurt. When he stepped into the main area, he could spot Tobias’ thugs standing around, trying to look casual, but they stood out like sore thumbs. Some of Daniel’s clients noticed how rough they looked and were cautious of their purses.

  There were four of them, but Daniel knew there were probably more outside, scattered around town. It’s how Tobias operated. He protected his back at all times. No one would be foolish enough to turn him in. Not when one of his muscles could make you disappear. But Tobias left. His posse slipped out of the room as well, one by one, trying to seem as low profile as possible, acting at if they didn’t know one another.

  With the bank back to normal, Daniel took a shaky breath he hadn’t known he’d been holding. He took another and another until his heart rate returned to normal. He went back to his office to find Mark still standing there. Mark was his best friend, but at times, Mark was like a little brother to him. Daniel wanted to protect him, but he didn’t know how.

  “We should tell Joshua.” Mark was standing against a wall.

  Daniel shook his head. “We leave Josh out of this.”

  “Josh would know what to do,” Mark countered.

  “We don’t even know where he is,” Daniel countered. “He could be anywhere.”

  Joshua, out of the three of them, was the most lost. When they ran, Joshua may have left Tobias’ gang, but he didn’t leave the gang life. Joshua was an outlaw. Joshua would probably know what to do right now, but without knowing exactly where he was, the point was moot.

  “We can go to the sheriff,” Mark said, but even he didn’t want to do that. It was written all over his face. The last place Mark wanted to go was to the sheriff. If the sheriff could arrest Tobias, and that was a really big ‘if’, there was no certain way to know whether or not Daniel and Mark would be arrested as well.

  “It could be a death sentence,” Daniel said.

  Mark shook his head. “We were barely sixteen. We were hungry. We didn’t kill anyone, Daniel-”

  In anger, Daniel knocked everything from his desk onto the floor. “We did kill people, Mark, by not saying anything. We should have said something. We should have stopped them.”

  Mark was still trying to appeal to Daniel. Mark agreed that what they’d done was awful, but there had been times over the years where Mark would try to fight it. Right now, Daniel wasn’t sure if his friend was trying to appeal to Daniel or himself. “How Daniel? We were only kids. Kids versus a gang of professional killers? We would have been killed for sure.”

  Daniel rounded the table and sunk into his chair. He sighed. “We should have said something. If we’d said something, maybe Paula wouldn’t be dead.”

  Silence filled the room then. Both men in their own minds.

  Mark finally found his words. “You’re right.” The argument always ended the same way. “We’re going to get what’s owed us.”

  Daniel nodded. Mark didn’t say anything more. His blue eyes were clearly filled with sadness when he opened the door and left. As Daniel sat in his office by himself, he said a prayer. A prayer for help, a prayer for acceptance, and a prayer of thanks. Daniel would always be thankful for the few months of happiness he’d found with Katherine. Everything he had, he would leave to her. He wouldn’t be around to protect her, but at least he could make sure that she never wanted for anything else in life again. Eventually, she would find another man, someone better than he. Someone who would look at her and see her for the queen that she was. Someone who didn’t have Daniel’s past. A good man. Something Daniel was not, and apparently, would now never be.

  * * *

  Katherine jumped when she heard the knock on the bedroom door. It could only be one person. She wasn’t sure if she wanted to see him, but she answered before she thought about it too much. “Come in.”

  Daniel walked in and Katherine swore she’d never love another man the way she loved him. The entire week had past and she hadn’t seen him once. She still loved him. No one had ever touched her heart the way Daniel had. With Daniel, Katherine felt like she could do anything, become whoever she wanted to be. They were feelings Katherine had never experienced before. Would she ever again?

  His brown eyes held no expression as Daniel looked down at her. Katherine didn’t even try to read him. “What do you want?” Her question had came out a lot harsher than she’d wanted, bu
t the words were out now. She couldn’t take them back. Yes, she loved him, but she was still angry with him. She was still so very hurt that the man she loved could bring such pain to others.

  “I’ve transferred everything I own into your name. Everything is yours. No one will fight you if anything were to happen to me. Mark is my silent partner, so he’ll get half of the profits, but that’s it.”

  So that’s how Mark made his money. Daniel turned to leave.

  “Wait.”

  Daniel stopped and turned back towards her.

  “Why have you done this?” Katherine was lost. She slipped from the bed and came to stand in the middle of the room. She was still a few feet away from Daniel, but if he’d reached out just then, he could touch her. “What’s going on?”

  Daniel’s eyes didn’t change and for a moment, Katherine didn’t think he would respond. He eventually did. “I’m going away for a while.”

  Katherine’s heart dropped. Her hands went to her chest. Her blue eyes parted in astonishment. “Why?” She didn’t understand. Was he leaving her? Had he found someone else? It made sense. Katherine had continued to cook and clean for him, but nothing more. She’d stopped being his wife. Companion. Friend.

  They pretty much existed as ghosts to one another. She’d put a plate of food out, leave, and when she returned the plate would be clean. She still made his bed in the morning, though she no longer slept there, and she still attended town events with him, standing at his side, but they never spoke. For a while, Daniel had tried, but she’d ignored him, rejected him.

  Leaving Daniel the way she’d done had broken something within her heart, but she’d been too stubborn to do anything about it. Daniel was a criminal. She shouldn’t love a criminal, should she?

  Tears soon began to well in Katherine’s eyes. “When will you return?”

  An expression of guilt and hurt passed over Daniel’s face, but he didn’t move away from the door. His hand stayed on the door knob, ready to depart as soon as possible. “I probably won’t.”