by Stacey Kayne
Lily vigorously nodded her head.
“Hell, she’d say she was courting the pope if she thought we’d let her go!”
“This don’t feel right,” said the man with the mustache. “I got no call to go hurting innocent women. We get caught, we’ll hang for sure.”
“We’re not going to get caught,” Chandler said.
The chilling quality of his voice made Lily’s hair stand on end.
“What makes you think she’s innocent? I saw her at my uncle’s place. She shot my cousin point-blank between the eyes. She’s willing to kill to keep what’s ours.”
“So we could pay everyone,” she tried to shout through the cloth rubbing blisters into the sides of her mouth.
“Kidnapping women isn’t what my son and I came here for,” said the stout man.
“I didn’t want to become no renegade outlaw,” the kid on the crate put in. Lily realized he and the older man shared the same facial structure and black hair. “I don’t want no part in money that comes from hurting the lady. We ought to take her back.”
The others voiced their agreement.
“She’s gettin’ what’s coming to her,” said Chandler. “So are you.”
Lily saw the flash of movement. She screamed as four shots split the air. Four bodies fell to the dirt floor. Her muffled screams didn’t go far beyond the gag as the scent of gun smoke stung her nose.
Chandler’s hand closed over her arm and pulled her up beside him. “Your quick-draw sweetheart’s got nothin’ over me,” he said, smiling.
“You shot ’em.”
Lily blinked away tears and looked up at Mathews. The man’s tawny complexion paled as he stared in shock at his fallen co-workers.
“Of course I shot ’em! They were ready to turn us in because of some bitch in a skirt. You sayin’ you have similar notions?”
Mathews shook his head. “No. Not me, Billy.”
“All we need is the two of us. One to keep watch and one to collect the money.”
Mathews eyed him pensively. With good reason. Lily knew Chandler had never intended to share the money with any of the lumberjacks.
“That setup workin’ for you?” asked Chandler.
“Sure.”
“This place is too obvious, anyhow. How far’s that old millhouse?”
Lily glanced at Mathews, praying he’d stand up to Billy.
“Four miles, maybe.”
“Good. Go grab up their food before it all smells of death.”
Tears spilled hotly from Lily’s eyes as Chandler dragged her toward the door.
Four miles. She glanced across the dreary distance.
Juniper, where are you?
“There’s your other four renegades,” said Kyle.
Juniper stood in the doorway, his heart slugging slow and hard as his gaze moved over three men staring glassy-eyed at the ceiling. A fourth slumped against the wall. The entire floor was a black pool of blood-soaked dirt.
“Hell.”
Someone had walked among the dead, their boot prints leading from the stove to the door.
“Those Chandlers are a cold breed,” Kyle said in a low tone.
“Took her,” a weak voice groaned.
The man against the wall leaned his head back, and Juniper recognized his wide curving mustache.
“O’Grady?” He rushed forward and crouched beside him. “How long ago?”
“Mill,” the man said. “Blackwater. Just…minutes.”
“I know the place,” Rogers said from behind him.
Kyle moved in beside Juniper and tugged at the man’s bloody shirt. “I got him,” he said. “Go.”
The old mill was nothing more than a cluster of broken-down shacks not far off the river. Rain dripped through cracks in the roof, creating puddles along the rough wooden floor. A cold wind rose up through the floorboards, adding to her chill.
“We’ll go at dawn, then,” Chandler said to Mathews, the two of them spooning cold beans out of a can at a dry spot near the center of the room as Lily shivered in the corner. The fact that they could eat after shooting down those men sickened her.
“You’re sure they’ll deliver all the money?”
“Hell, yes. My brother and I pulled a job like this up in Idaho last year. No doubt Barns sent a wire with our message to ol’ Carrington—he’ll insist Barns meet our demands. We ride on with the loot while they look for what’s left of the girl.”
Lily tried to fight off her fear, telling herself they were fools to believe Juniper was scrambling to contact some fictional masculine entity and gathering up money that had already been dispersed to employees. Juniper would come for her, there was no other solution.
“Least we got something to occupy our time for tonight,” Chandler said, his eyes on Lily.
She just hoped Juniper came in time.
“I been itching for that woman ever since she sashayed into the millhouse last week,” said Mathews, his confidence having perked up since he’d been promised a third of the money. “Those hips of hers move in a way that makes a man hard.” He shifted the front of his trousers, and a shudder of repulsion went through Lily.
Chandler laughed and pushed to his feet. “You’ll have to wait your turn.”
Lily watched helplessly as he stalked toward her. “’Bout time we see what you got under all them skirts,” he said, hauling her up and dumping her over his shoulder.
A door shut behind them and Lily’s back landed on the rotted mattress of an old bed. Her wrists bound behind her, pain shot through her shoulders. Her breath stalled as she stared at a long knife held out before her.
“I got no patience for buttons and such,” he said, the tip of his blade sliding down the high collar at her throat. “So you better hold real still if you want to spare that soft skin.”
Lily winced as her bodice and chemise fell open, the whisper of metal sliding down her belly. He stopped at the bulk of fabric at her waist.
“This is gonna be good,” Chandler said. He dug his hand into the waistbands of her bloomers and skirts and ripped his knife through them, severing every last petticoat. He cut the knot binding her ankles and she felt her legs being pushed apart.
She screamed against the gag and kicked at her attacker. His knife clattered to the floor. Her other boot pounded into his chest.
He swore, shoving her down, his fingers biting into her thigh just before his weight flattened her, knocking the breath from her lungs. “I see you’re going to make this fun,” he said, his hand moving between them, opening his pants.
Panic took hold—she struggled against him, desperate to dislodge his weight. Repeated rifle shots broke through the terror screaming through her mind.
“Lily!”
Though his voice sounded miles away, she answered his call, screaming his name through the roll of fabric.
“Son of a bitch!” Chandler growled each word through clenched teeth and scrambled off her.
Mathews barreled into the room. “Sheriff Barns is co—” His eyes widened at the sight of her exposed body.
“No kidding!” Chandler shouted, adjusting his pants.
Lily rolled onto her side and pushed to her feet, her legs unsteady as she lunged for the doorway.
“Oh, no, you don’t!” Chandler knocked her to the floor. “Grab that rope,” he shouted to Mathews.
Lily screamed as her feet were wrenched back and secured to her bound wrists.
“Did you see him?” Chandler asked, hoisting her onto his shoulder.
“Didn’t spot no one. He’s headed this way, though.”
Clamped against his disgusting chest, Lily reared back and slammed her forehead into Chandler’s face. He gave a shout, but his grip only tightened and shifted her to the side.
“Damn, you’re a handful!”
“What are you gonna do with her?”
“Find a place to stash her.” Chandler kicked out a rotted slat on the back wall, took one step and stopped. “Perfect.”
Lily splashed into i
ce-cold water. A trough, she thought, relieved to discover she lay in just a few inches of green water.
“We’ll just plug that hole.”
She glanced toward her bent knees to see Chandler shove one of her petticoats into a rusted hole. The water in the narrow trough instantly began to rise. A steady trickling sound drew her gaze to a drainpipe feeding in a steady trail of rainwater.
“If I die,” said Chandler, leaning over her, “you drown. So you better hope I make it back here to warm you up.”
She wished she could tell him she’d rather drown. Juniper would defeat him.
She tried to turn, to get onto her knees so she could sit up. The attempt only drenched the rag tied around her mouth, making her choke as she sucked in a breath.
Oh, God. She could hardly move. It was no use. Water continued to creep up the side of her face.
Thunder boomed overhead, which she took as a clear sign that she was going to drown. The sound of pounding raindrops echoed all around her, along with the memory of Juniper’s words.
I’d rather have gotten shot, Lily, than see you come to harm! I will not have your blood on my conscience. Do you hear me? I won’t!
Her heart ached at the thought of him finding her this way. She should have told him this morning…. She should have told him she forgave him.
She’s here.
His back against the empty millhouse, Juniper scanned the ghostly abandoned shacks spaced across the clearing. Steady rainfall impeding his vision and hearing, he moved quickly to the side of the next building.
He’d seen two horses tied in the trees and had left Rogers behind, not about to chance the kid getting himself killed.
He crept up to another open door. Nothing was inside but dirt and cobwebs. “Show yourself, Chandler! I’m not leaving without her!”
A flash of lightning silhouetted a man’s shadow on the next wall.
Juniper raised his rifle, watching the shadow move closer. Once the man reached the corner of the house, Juniper stepped out and slammed the butt of his gun against his head.
Mathews hit the ground and didn’t move.
Before he could take another step, a voice sounded from behind him.
“Word has it you’re a fast gun.”
Juniper turned slowly and realized Chandler had meant to surround him. He stood six feet away in the drizzling rain, his hands noticeably free of a gun. “I hear you’re common filth,” he said.
Billy Chandler grinned. “I hope this visit doesn’t mean I’ll be disappointed tomorrow.”
“Depends. You hoping to be nailed into a pine box? If so, you won’t be disappointed.”
Chandler laughed, his good mood adding to the fire raging in Juniper’s gut. What had he done with Lily?
“I’m not even holding a gun,” Chandler said, raising his hands.
“You’re armed. Not that it matters. U.S. marshals are asking that you be brought in dead or alive. Dead works for me.”
Chandler gave a slight shrug. “So long as you want your woman that way, too. You shouldn’t be so quick to kill. Without Mathews or me, the lady will die before you find her.” He tucked his coat behind the grip of a holstered revolver. “Toss down your guns and I’ll let her live.”
Juniper tossed his rifle aside. “I’ll take the lady now.” He slid back the edges of his range coat.
“You that confident you can outdraw me?”
He remembered his vow to get Lily back. “I’m fast,” he bragged. “A lot of men have thought they were faster than me. A lot of men have died proving they were wrong.”
“Guess I’ll be the first to be right.”
“Not likely. There isn’t going to be any exchange of money, Chandler, and on the off chance you manage to shoot me, you’ll still be dead by nightfall. A U.S. marshal is on his way up. He already caught your brother Ned.”
Chandler’s expression fell. “Like hell.”
“Why do you think he’s here? Tell me where she’s at right now and I might let you live.”
Mathews groaned beside him.
Chandler’s eyes widened, then narrowed.
Another flaw in his plan.
He reached for his gun.
Juniper drew, putting two bullets through Chandler’s chest before the man’s gun fired aimlessly into the mud.
Juniper holstered his guns as Chandler dropped to the ground. Beside him Mathews rolled and reached for his rifle. Juniper lunged. Drawing his blade, he slammed it through the man’s gun hand, pinning it to the ground.
“Where is she?” he shouted through Mathews’s screams.
“Last cabin!” he wailed.
“Rogers!” Juniper called toward the woods. “Get over here!”
A moment later the kid came running from the trees.
“Tie him up,” Juniper said, pulling out his blade and pushing off him. He grabbed his gun and ran toward the other cabins.
“Lily!” he shouted, rushing through the front door of the last one. In the back room his heart stalled at the sight of torn white petticoats trailed across the floor, but no other sign of her.
“Lily!” He pushed a loose board aside and stepped through a gap in the back wall.
A shimmer of gold drew his gaze to the left. Her copper hair floated on the surface of a water-filled trough.
“No!”
He reached in, hauling her up, shouting her name as he tugged a roll of fabric from her mouth.
“Lily?” he whispered.
She coughed, water spilling from her lips, and relief broke through him, shaking him. He lifted her the rest of the way out, quickly cutting away her bindings. Her arms fell around him, then gripped him as she coughed against his chest, wheezing for breath.
“Thank God.” He sighed, pushing her wet hair away from her face as she blinked up at him.
“J-June.” She started to tremble.
“I’ve got you, darlin’.” He pulled her trembling weight into his arms. “I’ve got you.”
Chapter Seventeen
J uniper couldn’t ease his hold. “You scared me, boss.”
“M-m-me t-too. I was t-t-terrified I—”
“I know you were,” he said, her cheek cold against his lips as he kissed her. He lifted her into his arms and the chill of her wet clothes stung him through his thick duster. Her lips were frightfully blue.
“—w-w-wanted to t-t-tell you…”
Juniper carried her around to the front of the cabin. “Honey, we’ve got to get you warmed up.”
She drew a shuddered breath, and snuggled closer to his warmth. “…that I forgive you.”
Those last few words rang out with crystal clarity, dragging Juniper to a hard stop just inside the shack. He stared down at her in the dim light. She forgave him?
“It w-w-was…all I could think. I don’t blame you. He m-made a mistake.”
Juniper couldn’t begin to fathom what those words meant to him. It was too much to grasp.
Her shivers intensified.
“We need to get you warmed,” he said, reaching the front door of the cabin.
“Rogers!”
“Sheriff?” he said, running toward them.
“There’s a coat in my left saddlebag. Bring it here.”
“She all right?”
“We need to get her to camp. Bring up the horses, all of them.”
Juniper leaned against the inside wall and slumped down. Lily shivered uncontrollably. He held her tight, pressing his lips to her slick hair, sharing his heat until Rogers arrived with her wool coat. When the door squeaked open, he held his arm out.
“We’ll be out in a moment,” he said as the young man stepped back outside.
“Lily, we need to get this wet dress off.”
Her teeth chattered as she eased away from him. She shifted her shoulders and the front of her dress fell open.
Shock and rage roared inside him as he brushed aside the torn garment and guided her rope-burned wrists into the sleeves of her coat.
Lily saw the horror and anger playing across his face as he buttoned her into the warm coat. Moisture hazed his eyes when he gazed up at her.
“Sweetheart…?”
“No,” she said. “H-he tried, but you—” Her breath broke on a sob. “I was so scared.”
“Shh,” he soothed, pulling her close.
But she couldn’t stop. Fear and relief battled for release in great sobs. She tugged him closer, needing to cling to him, needing his strength. When the tears finally subsided and she found her breath, he was holding her, his lips brushing gently across her cheeks, spreading warmth throughout her cold body.
“You’re all right,” he soothed.
She nodded, sniffing loudly as she continued to absorb his heat and strength.
“Time to go. Want me to carry you?”
“I can walk,” she said.
He eased up, keeping her close beside him. Outside, four saddled horses waited, the man called Rogers sitting on one. Juniper led her to his horse.
“Where are—”
“Mathews is detained,” he said. “He’ll have to wait for a deputy to come up and get him later.” He stepped up into the saddle then reached for her, lifting her onto his lap.
Lily instantly settled against him. His chest shifted abruptly against her cheek. She eased back and saw that he’d shrugged off his long coat. He draped the dark canvas around her shoulders, surrounding her with his heat as he pulled her snug against him.
“Let’s get you home.”
“Okay,” she whispered. Feeling warm and secure in the arms of her sheriff, Lily closed her eyes and burrowed against him.
A blend of harsh voices intruded on her sleep, different from the gentle murmurs between Juniper and Kyle intermittently filtering through her dazed mind. She shifted against Juniper’s warmth, subtly reassuring herself he still held her. The intrusive noise grew louder, forcing Lily to open her eyes.
They were surrounded by a sea of men. Startled by the sight of so many faces staring at her, she pressed her face to Juniper’s shirt, her arms reaching for his neck.
He dismounted and cradled her tightly. “Miss Carrington is going to be all right. Everyone can get on back to their business.”
“You don’t gotta hide her from us,” one called out.
