Domini knew she spoke the truth. The past didn’t matter anymore. She turned to open the door and found Matt waiting.
“I was afraid that I would find you here,” he said, pushing Domini back into the room.
“Matt!”
“Don’t worry, Mother, I promised you I’d take care of her.”
Domini saw that he was dressed for riding. The well-worn clothes lent him a harder look. Her gaze locked on the gun belt strapped around his hips. “Matt?”
“You and I are going for a ride. Pity you refused to consider the Indian troubles. I had no choice but to accompany you.”
“You’re going to kill me?”
“I do believe I’ve managed to shock you, Dominica. There’s no other way. Luke can’t have you. And I’m afraid that my mother has been under a great deal of strain these last weeks. She told you too much.”
“She didn’t tell me anything.” Domini started to back into the room, although she knew there was no escape that way. She thought of screaming, but the gleam in Matt’s eyes warned her that he would enjoy hurting her.
Domini looked toward Amanda and realized she would be no help. Her gaze was once more fixed on the painting. Her voice was chillingly soft as she spoke to her son.
“Are you sure that he’ll come after you?”
“Once Luke sees that I have her, nothing can stop him. Caully and Grady are waiting. He won’t live this time.”
“And Toma? Will you rid me of him?”
“No one will question my story. She came here for revenge and got Luke to help her. After killing Toma they ran into a band of Indians. There’s no one—”
“You’re crazy! Both of you,” Domini yelled. “I’m not going anywhere with you!”
The gun slid into Matt’s hand in a move almost too fast for her to follow.
“Of course you are. You’re going to do exactly what I tell you.”
Domini stared at Matt—and then she knew. “You killed my father, didn’t you?”
Chapter 23
“No!” Amanda screamed, fists against her chest as she rounded on Domini.
“You can’t deny it.” Domini was shaking. “Luke liked my father. And my father cared for him. Luke knew about me. He told me my father wanted him to meet me. But I can’t believe that my father loved you. I think he pitied you. He might have agreed to help you get away from Toma, but I can’t believe he betrayed his friend by becoming your lover.”
Her gaze darted from mother to son, then back. “You wouldn’t have wanted her to leave, would you, Matt?” She had thought that Amanda had the most chilling gaze she had ever seen, but Matt’s bore a cold fury that sent shivers up her spine.
“Matt? Tell her that cannot be true. You know how much I counted on James taking me away. And you saw him. You told me,” she cried out with a rising note of panic, “that you saw Luke kill him. I believed you. Matt? Tell her! For pity’s sake, Matt, if you love me at all, tell her that Luke killed her father!”
Matt’s cold, hard stare and his silence were all the answer that Domini needed. She ignored Amanda’s hysterical sobbing as she collapsed on the sofa, and pinned her gaze on the gun that Matt used to motion her closer.
Domini’s hand slid over her thigh in a nervous gesture. She managed to hide her fear when she realized that she didn’t have her knife. Last night … She had taken it off and handed it over to Luke. And this morning, she reminded herself, she had forgotten all about it.
“What a-are you g-going to d-do?” Amanda half sobbed as she lifted her head and looked at her son.
“Get rid of everyone who stands in my way,” he returned in a calm voice.
“Dominica?” she asked him.
“And Luke. Then Toma. You’ll never have to answer to him again, Mother.”
“Matt, are you sure—”
“There’s no other way. She won’t keep this quiet, and I wouldn’t trust her to do so.”
Domini wasn’t sure who would come running if she screamed. She couldn’t think, not while both Matt and Amanda discussed killing her. She needed to do something, not just stand here waiting. Edging to the side of Matt’s vision, she wasn’t really surprised when he followed her move.
“Don’t move, Dominica. It would be just as easy to shoot you here.”
She must have shown her fear, for he nodded as if satisfied. Domini started toward him, her steps dragging.
“Be careful, Matt,” Amanda warned.
“I will. Don’t worry. Toma’s down at the corral watching Luke. They won’t see us ride out until it’s too late to stop me.” In a sudden move he reached out and snagged hold of Domini’s wrist, throwing her off balance. She fell heavily against him, but he quickly righted himself and yanked her up beside him.
Pressing the cool barrel of the gun beneath her chin, he urged her out the door and into the hall. All she could do was to obey him now and watch for a chance to run.
“Open the door. Slowly. Don’t try anything.”
Domini had to wipe her sweating palm on her skirt before she could get the door opened. Two saddled horses were tied to the rail in front of the porch. She forced herself not to think of the gun Matt was pressing against her skin. A soft breeze, filled with the scent of summer grasses, blew against her sweat-sheened face. She could feel the sweat trickle down her back, soaking the cloth between her breasts and under her arms.
Through the fear she heard the pounding beat of her heart. For a few moments Domini heard a roaring sound in her ears and thought she would faint.
Matt jerked on her arm. “Don’t try any foolish tricks, Dominica. It would disturb my mother to have me kill you here. Let’s move down the steps carefully.”
She couldn’t have spoken if she wanted to. Her throat was parched as she realized that Matt was sick. Sick and crazy. He shoved her forward so that she stumbled against the rail.
“Mount up.”
She turned and eyed the gun, her gaze going no higher than his bare throat. Righting herself, she slipped beneath the wooden rail and went to the horse’s side.
“Move, damn you!”
Even as Domini set her foot in the stirrup, she gave thought to running. But she wasn’t ready to die.
And Matt would shoot her right here. She had to go along with him. Somehow, some way, she’d find a chance to escape him.
She made a move to gather up the reins before she lifted herself up into the saddle.
“Leave them. Just get mounted.”
Even with her height it was difficult to pull herself up. Her slippery hands didn’t help matters. By the time she sat in the saddle, Matt had mounted his horse and grabbed hold of her reins.
“If you do anything, call out to anyone, bring the least bit of attention to us, there’s a bullet waiting.”
“Now or later. Makes no difference.” Her voice had a rusty sound, and she wished she had never spoken.
Matt smiled. “But if anyone comes near us, there will be a bullet for them, too. You don’t want any innocents getting killed, do you?”
A quick shake was all she could manage.
“Good. I’m glad we understand each other now. Shame it couldn’t have happened sooner.”
Domini ignored his comments. She hid her surprise that he was heading around the back of the house. To leave the valley they would have to cross the meadow. Someone near the barns or the corrals would surely see them.
She eyed the way he held his gun in his right hand, hiding it from sight by resting it inside his thigh. He kept her reins and his own secure in his left hand. The bay he rode crowded close to Domini’s horse. She knew it would present a cozy picture to anyone who spotted them riding across the meadow at an easy canter.
Domini was also well aware she had little hope of ripping the reins from his grip.
She directed her gaze straight ahead. On her left they were approaching the path that led to Luke’s cabin. If she could make it up there, Matt would
be exposed if he came after her. Luke was sure to have a spare gun up there. If not…
She wouldn’t think about failure. With care she slipped her right foot free of the stirrup, pushing against his horse’s side to gain a little room. When she made her move, she had to be fast.
As fast as her heart was pounding. As fast as the seconds sliding by.
Now!
Domini’s foot lashed out, making his horse start with alarm. She didn’t wait around to see. Tumbling down to one knee, she was up and running for the path. The moccasins helped give her purchase on the uneven ground, and with her skirt and petticoats scooped up in front so she wouldn’t get tangled in them, Domini thought she had a fair chance of making it to the path.
She hadn’t counted on Matt coming after her on his horse.
The pounding hoofs tearing up the earth sent a stream of terror through her. She ran faster, feeling the sweat pour from her skin. She thought she heard a shout, then more, but the roaring was back and it blocked everything from her hearing.
Mulekey’s shout alerted Luke that something was wrong. He was down and across the churned earth of the corral in moments.
“Matt’s chasing that filly of yours flat-out on his horse!”
“Christ! I warned him.” There were no saddled horses in sight. Luke ran back for the green bronc he’d been working with and leaped for her back. Using the thick, long mane and his legs wrapped around the horse’s barrel to control the dun mare, he rushed the pole fence gate that Mulekey and two other hands hurried to unlatch.
Luke sailed right over them, the half-wild horse tasting freedom in the way the rider crouched on her back. Her hoofs tore the earth and grasses, sending them flying out behind her. Luke cursed himself for having taken off her halter not minutes before. With one hand secure in her mane, he leaned forward. His body slipped, but he persisted and managed to grab hold of her ear.
The mare was startled by the yank on her ear and mane, startled enough so that Luke was able to turn her toward the path. He looked up and caught a flash of Domini’s gown.
Matt had closed the distance between them. But his horse was stumbling on the loose rocks on the path. Luke swore when he saw his brother abandon the horse. He intended to chase Domini on foot.
Filled with a cold fury, Luke watched his brother use a savage twist on the reins to turn the bay around. A hard slap on the horse’s rump sent the bay flying down the path straight at Luke.
His half-wild mare easily handled the climbing, rock-strewn path. But not with another horse coming at her in the opposite direction.
Clinging to his mount until the last possible moment, Luke dropped off. His boot missed the edge. He grabbed a young sapling to stop his downward slide and for a few seconds swung free.
As he regained his footing on the path, he heard the mare scream and rear. A quick look showed her kicking out her front hooves as the bay closed with her.
Luke barely spared a moment’s regret for the horses. Domini needed him. He took the path at a hard run. He couldn’t see her. Fear filled him that Matt would get to her before he could.
He had felt fear like this once before. That helplessness that he wouldn’t get there in time to stop Matt. Luke saw a hazy mist in front of his eyes. Images formed. He shook his head. He wasn’t going to let Matt hurt the one person he cared about.
But no matter how Luke tried, he kept seeing himself running after Matt. Almost as if he had done this before. Sweat poured over him. Remember!
I can’t.
You won’t. Not even to save Domini.
Not now! He couldn’t fall into that bottomless nightmare. But there was that gut-cramping terror come to take hold of him. It always began with the shouting. He could hear them up ahead, and he had to get there to stop them.
No! There were no shouts. It was a crashing sound he heard, followed by curses from the woods sloping up the mountain. Luke veered off into the cool shadows of the massive trees.
He had to find Domini. He had promised her that he wouldn’t let anything or anyone hurt her again. It was all that mattered to him. Matt couldn’t be allowed to kill again.
Again?
Think of Domini. Only her.
But when he looked ahead, he saw darkness. The dark of his nightmare. And he knew it was still daylight.
He felt himself slip back in time despite his will, despite the effort he made to stop the images forming in his mind.
He tripped over a thick, exposed tree root and fell sprawling onto the leaf mold covering the forest floor. He clawed the earth with his hand. He couldn’t draw a breath.
Helpless. He was helpless again.
“Domini?” Her name was a hoarse croak. Blood trickled from a cut on his forehead. Luke struggled to his feet, swaying where he stood as his mind replayed a scene of a rocky ledge ribboned with moonlight and shadows.
For a moment his vision was blinded by the images. Domini’s scream tore through the air. He turned wildly, trying to determine where the sound came from. The wealth of foliage shrouded the earth in twilight. A wave of queasiness jarred him. His ears rang with the remembrance of another scream. But not a woman’s. It had been a man’s. A man who had been pushed over the edge of the rocky ledge above him on this mountain.
He shook off the nausea and felt the lightheadedness fade. On the move again, he felt a sharp, cold clarity come over his senses. The rush of his blood brought an exquisite, almost painful tension that made him feel as if he were walking on the edge of an abyss.
The feeling called to him, lured him as he darted between the trees, shoving aside the low-growing, thickly leaved bushes. He tried to listen to the sounds, but none came to guide him.
Domini! Where was she?
He caught a glimpse of pale sky up ahead. The overpowering smells of pine and rich, rotted leaf mold filled his lungs as he fought to breathe. He tried to control the wild rush of his blood with his willpower. Recklessness could get him killed. Who’d save Domini then?
He scrambled over a massive fallen tree trunk. Before him the saplings thinned and he could see the rocks and huge boulders that marked the beginning of the ledge.
A sob that could only have been Domini’s tore through the air. Luke thought his heart would stop. He fought the urge to make a sudden appearance. Not until he was sure that Matt didn’t have Domini. He cautiously wove his way between the young trees and crouched behind a boulder.
Peering around the side, Luke saw his brother’s back. His stomach heaved when his gaze found Domini. She was flattened against the bare rock face, her arms spread wide from her sides, fingers digging for purchase on the rock. Wide, terror-filled eyes dominated her face.
The edge of the ledge was a mere side step away.
At the same moment that Luke saw Matt motion with his gun for her to move toward the fall that would mean her death, he realized that he had no weapon.
He had to distract Matt and at the same time make sure that his brother didn’t fire his gun at Domini.
He forced himself to shut out the sound of Matt’s voice goading and taunting her to jump. He wasn’t about to question why Matt didn’t just shoot her. His brother was insane if he thought he would get away with killing her. Luke welcomed the icy calm that blocked out the sounds from the woods behind him. Keeping to a crouch, he moved around to the other side of the boulder. There was barely a foot’s span of solid rock for him to inch his way around. He would be totally exposed. Totally at Matt’s mercy if his brother turned suddenly.
But it was the only way he could come up behind Matt.
Sweat dripped into his eyes. A rough shake of his head was all the warning he gave Domini as he made his move. And he knew she saw him, knew she understood what he was going to do, for her pleas rose loudly.
“I’m begging you, Matt. I don’t want to die. You can’t believe you’ll get away with killing me. You can’t. Someone saw us. They’ll be coming for you.”
“And th
ey’ll find me. But you’ll be gone. Crazy over finding out that Luke killed your father. I tried to stop you. But you jumped. And you’re going to jump.”
He moved forward just as Luke leaped for his back. The gun went off, chipping bits of rock above Domini’s head.
Matt twisted and managed to roll to his side. He swung the gun at Luke’s head. Shifting his weight saved Luke from the blow, but Matt’s strength was behind the punch that landed on his shoulder. Fire streaked down his numbed arm. Before Luke could move, Matt twisted and turned, brought up his knee and used it to pin Luke in place.
Luke landed a punch to his brother’s jaw. When he brought his right hand back for another blow, his elbow hit the edge of the ledge and rock crumbled and fell. Matt shifted his weight, as if he had become aware of how close they both were to going over the edge.
“I’ll kill you,” Matt muttered, sliding back off his brother’s body.
“No!” Domini launched herself at Matt. She used both her hands to grab hold of his with the gun. Pain from the ankle she’d twisted threw her against Matt and carried them with slamming force against the boulder.
All Domini could think about was stopping Matt from shooting Luke. His fingers tore at her hands. She tried to block the pain but could feel her grip weakened by the maddened strength Matt had.
Matt ripped one of her hands free, and she used it to claw his face. There was icy fury in his eyes. She screamed when he caught her hand and bent her fingers back. Snapping her head to the side, she saw the gun he was holding aimed at her head.
“Let her go, Matt. It’s not Domini that you want. It’s me. It’s always been me that you’ve hated. Now’s your chance, Matt.” Soft, taunting, Luke forced himself to continue. He swallowed bile as Matt froze. He spared a moment’s glance at the gun and his brother’s finger on the trigger. No, God! Please don’t let me lose her!
“Domini won’t tell. No one will ever know what happened up here. Look at me, Matt. I’m unarmed. You could shoot me now.”
Whisper My Name Page 24
