Arizona Embrace

by Leigh Greenwood

  “Can you mount by yourself, or do you want some help?”

  Victoria got to her feet unassisted, but she knew she’d never mount her horse alone.

  “It would be nice if you would lend me a hand,” she said. She wouldn’t ask for his help. She just couldn’t.

  “Watch your legs. They’re not going to work like you expect.”

  Trinity lifted her effortlessly into the saddle. Victoria had never realized how nice it was to feel as light as a feather. It wasn’t so bad to be treated like a precious possession once in a while.

  “Where are we?” she asked. “This is beautiful country.”

  “Leaving the Tonto Basin. That’s the Salt River below. The Mazatzal Mountains are behind us. We’re headed toward the Apache Mountains.”

  “Do you have a pair of binoculars? I’d like to get a better look.”

  “You just can’t forget the surveyor in you, can you?”

  “I didn’t get much chance to look about when I came to Arizona. It’s such beautiful country. I’d hate to miss it a second time, especially since you’re determined I won’t be back”

  She hadn’t meant to say that. She’d managed to put it as far out of her mind as she could, but she had the satisfaction of seeing him look uncomfortable.

  Below the river twisted along the basin floor, a silver ribbon reflecting the morning sunlight off its surface. Sand, loose gravel, and scattered trees marked its flood plain. Tree-covered ridges ran to the river’s edge from all directions, their spiny ridges cut into irregular shapes by the rain and snow of a million seasons.

  In the distance, mountain peaks shrouded in mist loomed huge and green against a backdrop of blue, cloudless sky. A waterfall appeared as a small white slash set deep in a green canvas. A single patch of bright yellow poppies provided the only touch of contrasting color.

  Victoria swung the glasses to the north, and her body stiffened. Riders. Where these men following them? She knew nothing of the trails. Was it her uncle? She glanced over at Trinity to see if he’d noticed her sudden interest, but he was loading the packhorse. She couldn’t tell anything about the riders because they stayed in the shadows of the trees. Then one rider rode out on a low ridge, and using his own glasses, surveyed the valley.

  Buc. She would know his Appaloosa anywhere.

  Without a second thought, Victoria kicked her horse into a gallop and raced in the direction of the riders. The curses which echoed off the mountain behind her only spurred her to ride faster. She didn’t know where the trail she followed led, but it seemed to be taking her down to the basin floor, closer to Buc and her uncle. She dug her heels into her grey’s side and slapped its flank with her open palm. She had to escape.

  Victoria cursed the fact that she didn’t have a gun or a rifle with her. She needed something to draw Buc’s attention. Trinity would be at her heels any minute now. It was vital they see her before he caught her.

  It seemed no time at all had passed when Victoria heard a horse on the trail behind her. She looked around, certain Trinity would close in on her any moment, but he was still some distance behind. In the clear, still air of the mountains, sound carried a long way. If she screamed loud enough, maybe they would heard her.

  Victoria let out a scream which sounded like a cross between a scream of terror and a long, high-pitched wail. It hung in the air like a sword. She took a deep breath and screamed again. Trinity was practically on top of her. She opened her mouth to scream once more. Trinity’s arm snaked out and encircled her waist, lifting her out of the saddle. She hung suspended five feet above the ground on a galloping horse, and the only thing which kept her from crashing to the ground was the strength in Trinity’s arm.

  “You seem determined to get as many people killed as possible,” Trinity growled, as he slowed his horse. “If you really cared for your uncle, you’d have let him go on by.”

  “That’s just what you want, isn’t it?” Victoria managed to gasp. He was squeezing the breath out of her body, but she couldn’t wish for him to loosen his hold. “Another easy capture so you can get on to the next one.”

  “No capture is easy” Trinity said as he brought his horse to a stop and turned him around on the narrow trail. The sound of gunfire drew his attention to the riders below. “But yours is turning out to be the hardest of all.”

  Then to her surprise, instead of settling her in front of him, or even throwing her across the saddle, he galloped back to camp. She dangled above the ground which passed beneath her with terrifying speed.

  Her horse, frightened by the gunshots in front of him, turned around before he reached the basin floor and headed back up the trail.

  “Are you trying to kill me?” Victoria cried after her leg struck a tree branch so hard it went numb.

  “Surprisingly enough, I’m trying to keep you alive, though there are times I ask myself why.”

  She struggled just to go on breathing. His arm felt like the crushing coils of a boa constrictor. She would never have guessed Trinity had such strength. She doubted Buc could hold her suspended for more than a minute.

  “You’re crushing the life out of me.”

  “Then you won’t have to worry about getting hanged.”

  “You’re inhuman. You don’t have a single Christian emotion in your body.”

  “I’m a little busy right now, but as soon as I brush through this gun battle without killing any more people man necessary, I’ll see if I can’t come up with at least one.”

  “What do you mean ‘without killing any more people than necessary.’ You wouldn’t dare shoot my uncle.”

  “You get him to promise not to shoot at me, and I’ll promise not to shoot at him.”

  “But he has to. You won’t let me go otherwise.”

  “I won’t let you go either way. The faster he figures that out, the fewer people will get hurt.”

  They had reached their camp. The packhorse stood where he had left it. Trinity dropped Victoria in a heap and leapt from the saddle. Before she had time to pull herself together, he turned her over, tied her hands and feet with a strip of soft leather, and leaned her up against a rock. He took both horses around a bend, out of range of gunfire, then climbed to a lookout point.

  What he saw caused him to curse violently.

  “They’re headed this way.”

  “Good.”

  “You won’t think so for long.”

  “I’ll be free before long. There must be a dozen men out there.”

  “Your uncle must have left his herd unguarded. He obviously values you more than his ranch.”

  Trinity took a few minutes to study the terrain around their camp.

  “I’d better get you behind some rocks” he said. “One of those hotheaded young fools might start shooting at me without realizing he can hit you just as easily.”

  Victoria hadn’t stopped to realize she could be a target. Her enthusiasm for the coming fight waned.

  “What do you think Uncle Grant will do?”

  “It will depend on whether your uncle or Buc directs the fight”

  “Uncle Grant.”

  “Then we may brush through after all.”

  “I don’t want to ‘brush through.’ I want to go back to Mountain Valley.”

  “No matter how many men your uncle hires, no matter how many times they come after me, you’re going back to Texas. Get used to it.”

  “What makes you think you can outshoot and outsmart all those men?”

  “I’ve got the one thing nobody else has. You. If need be, I’ll use you for a shield.”

  “I never thought you would sink so low.”

  “Self-defense isn’t a matter of etiquette. It comes down to doing what you have to. They won’t shoot you no matter what they might want to do to me.”

  “Where’s my uncle? What are they doing?”

  “Why do you want to know?”

  “I don’t trust you not to shoot him on sight.”

  “Do you really think I�
�d do that?”

  She didn’t. Only anger caused her to make such an accusation. But she wouldn’t take it back. “Anyone who would use a female as a shield would do anything.”

  “I wouldn’t use you if I thought you would get hurt. Even bounty hunters have some standards.”

  “How am I supposed to guess that?”

  “I don’t know. I suppose I thought you’d see me pretty much as I see myself.”

  “And how’s that?”

  “An ordinary man doing his job as best he can.”

  There’s nothing ordinary about you, Victoria thought. And nothing ordinary has happened to me since the day you rode into Mountain Valley Ranch. Her horse trotted into camp and immediately sought the familiar company of Trinity’s gelding and the packhorse.

  “Even your horse doesn’t feel safe around Buc,” Trinity observed, grinning.

  Victoria failed to see the humor in his remark.

  “Trinity!”

  The call came from below. It was Grant Davidge.

  “I’ve come for Victoria. I know you’re up there. I’ve got a dozen men down here. You can’t get away. We’ll surround you and pick you off.”

  “You’re welcome to try” Trinity called back. “Just remind those hotheads to be careful. Any shot can ricochet and hit your niece.

  “If you let her go, the boys and I will go back to the ranch and forget we ever heard of you.”

  “You speaking for Buc as well?”

  “Buc works for me. He does what I say.”

  “That’s a pretty decent offer. Could you give me some time to think about it?” Trinity asked.

  Victoria’s unbelieving glance flew to Trinity’s face. She had thought he would hold out until the bitter end.

  “I’ll give you ten minutes. You let Victoria go before then, and my men will swear you never set foot in Mountain Valley.”

  “I’m glad you came to your senses,” Victoria said as Trinity approached her. There was no way you could succeed.”

  Trinity whipped the handkerchief from around his neck and folded it over several times. “You don’t know me very well yet. When you do, you’ll know I never give up.”

  Without warning, he took Victoria’s jaw in his hands and squeezed. Her mouth popped open, and before she could close it again, he stuffed the handkerchief in her mouth.

  “I’m not going to ask you if you’ll be quiet if I take the gag out, or if you’ll try to escape if I untie you. I’m going to throw you across your horse and hopefully get over that ridge before they realize we’re gone. When your uncle comes looking for us, he’ll find the nest empty.”

  Trinity lifted Victoria over his shoulder. Her furious grunts only made him smile.

  The breath left Victoria’s body with a painful whoosh when Trinity draped her over the saddle. In the agonizing minutes which followed, she vowed to pay him back for every tortured minute.

  In the meantime, it was all she could do to breathe. She wondered if anybody could be carried this way for more than a few minutes and live. She felt her grip on consciousness slipping.

  They hadn’t gone far when Victoria heard a shout behind them.

  They’re gone.” It was Buc’s voice. The bastard has run out on us.”

  “Damn!” Trinity said. “Looks like your uncle didn’t keep his word any more than I kept mine. Now we’re going to have to find a place to hole up and fight.”

  Trinity mounted his horse and headed down the trail at a fast trot.

  Victoria thought she would die. She was certain every rib in her body would break. She wondered if it might not be easier to hang. Certainly it would be faster.

  This will have to do,” Trinity said a few minutes later, and mercifully the bouncing stopped. Victoria didn’t even mind being dropped roughly on the ground. After the agonizing ride, she didn’t feel it. Trinity took out the handkerchief.

  “You’re going to need to talk, and I may not be in a position to get to you just when I need you.”

  “What are you going to do?” Victoria demanded.

  That depends on your uncle.”

  “Where is he?”

  “Coming down the trail right behind us.”

  Trinity lifted his rifle and put a bullet into the ground in front of Grant’s horse. He had the pleasure of seeing the men scatter among the brush and trees along the trail.

  That’s far enough, Davidge. I don’t want to put lead in anybody”

  “Give up,” Grant shouted back. “Well surround you and pick you off.”

  “Victoria will be sitting in front of me.”

  “I never thought you would hide behind a woman,” Grant called.

  “I mean to take Victoria back to Texas. I’ll get there any way I can. That first shot was a warning. I’m a properly sworn deputy in Texas. You’ll be breaking the law if you try to stop me.”

  “We’re coming after you, Smith. Let my niece go.”

  “If anybody comes after me, let him know I’ll shoot to kill.”

  Trinity went over to Victoria and took the rope off her feet.

  “What are you going to do?” She hoped fear didn’t show in her eyes. She had known Trinity could be hard, but she had never seen him cornered. Now she understood why he had never failed.

  “We’re riding out. Anybody who follows takes his life in his hands.”

  “But they’ll follow?

  They’ll keep their distance.”

  “For how long?”

  That depends?”

  “On what?”

  “On how much of a chance they’re willing to take with your life.”

  Trinity lifted Victoria into the saddle and tied her ankles beneath the horse. He tied her wrists to the pommel.

  “You don’t mean for me to get away.”

  “I don’t mean for you to fall off. We may have to run for it.”

  This began the strangest day of Victoria’s life. Trinity led the way just as if they had been traveling in the normal way. If she twisted around in the saddle, she could see the group of riders led by her uncle. Every now and then they fanned out looking for a second trail, but they inevitably returned to the main trail, following like a pack train.

  There were no shots. Victoria realized there wouldn’t be any, at least not as long as they kept to the narrow mountain trail. As long as her uncle’s men were unable to leave the trail, they couldn’t get a shot at Trinity. She was directly in their line of fire.

  But that didn’t discourage her.

  She knew Buc and her uncle would manage to free her. She also knew they would probably kill Trinity. No sooner had she accepted Trinity’s death as inevitable when she realized she didn’t want it. Despite all he had done, despite all she had threatened to do to him, she didn’t want to see him hurt. Maybe she felt there had been enough killing because of her…. Maybe she had gotten softer as she matured…. Maybe she had gotten to like him too much before he kidnapped her to hate him enough to want him dead.

  But how could they free her without killing Trinity? Trinity wouldn’t let her go, not as long as he was physically capable of doing anything to prevent it.

  She studied his back as she rode behind him. His strength of character appealed to her. It must be wonderful to spoil a man who didn’t need it, a man who could easily meet every demand you or anyone else made of him.

  She could remember a time when she thought Jeb was all a man could ever be. She had dreamed of him holding her in his arms, kissing her, making love to her. It had excited her, but it had been the cool excitement of a young woman thinking of a coming event.

  There was nothing cool about the way she felt about Trinity. Even now she was sweating despite the frosty mountain air. Nor was there the young girl’s eagerness to rush forward to another new and interesting experience; rather there was the feeling that if she stayed close to Trinity for too long, she would be changed forever.

  Yet, she identified another feeling which surprised her. She was angry for Trinity. He had been badly
hurt by some woman. He probably would have been a normal, cheerful, happily married man if that woman hadn’t broken him before he developed a character tough enough to withstand such hurt.

  Because of what that unknown woman did, Trinity had passed a sentence on himself. One he didn’t deserve. One he couldn’t escape. Victoria understood and felt a bond of sympathy with him. Of course, Trinity wouldn’t admit to this—a man like him never admitted to any kind of weakness—but that didn’t make any difference. She knew it was there. In a strange way, his denial made her like him more. It made him seem … human. To the world, he was remorseless—without feeling for himself or his victims. Inside, he still hurt.

  It seemed strange he could be hurt by anything. He had dropped into their valley and plucked her out against all odds. And now he kept her uncle and a dozen men at bay. He seemed not to care about her, her uncle, or himself. Only about doing a job.

  Did pain do that to people? Could it turn her into a woman incapable of feeling love or joy? Or admitting she needed someone else?

  The thought was chilling.

  She understood now that Trinity must have a great capacity to care. Nothing else could have laid him open to such deep and long-lasting pain.

  Unfortunately, his pain had twisted this caring into a need for revenge. Trinity might think he was performing a duty for society, but she knew he was revenging himself on other criminals because he couldn’t revenge himself on the only one that mattered.

  The sound of a rifle shot brought Victoria out of her reverie.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Trinity’s shot into the air above Grant’s head jerked Victoria back to reality.

  It’s time to eat” he called back to her uncle. “Make sure your men stay in camp.”

  “I don’t want anything,” Victoria said as Trinity lifted her down from her horse. He set her up against a rock but didn’t untie her. She didn’t ask him to. It would be too much like begging.

  “Suit yourself, but the horses are tired. And if you’ll remember, I didn’t get any breakfast.”

  “I don’t care if you never eat again.”

  “What a wonderful attitude that would make in a wife,” Trinity said, smiling in the way that made Victoria long to put a new set of scratches on his face. The others were beginning to heal and her conscience bothered her less. “Were you planning to refuse to feed your husband whenever he made you angry?”