Gold Lust [Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting)

by Becca Van

  “Depends on whether he was working his own claim and how isolated it was,” Will answered.

  “Better get this over with.” Walker sighed, scrubbed a hand over his face, and took a step toward the door.

  Will followed his brother in, and although he wanted some answers, he was pleased that he wouldn’t get them straight away. The constable was busy dealing with another customer or, from the look of his handcuffed wrists, prisoner.

  “You ain’t got no right to lock me up.” The man, slovenly drunk, slurred his words.

  “I do when you go around accosting the women of this town.”

  “Ain’t no town iff’n you ask me. Just a lot of men lookin’ for riches livin’ in tents.”

  Will walked over to the window and looked up and down the street. It was a town and more buildings were popping up every time they visited. But there was still a dark side to the community and the few women brave enough to venture out never went outside without at least two escorts. It was just too dangerous.

  The constable led his prisoner around the end of the desk and disappeared down the hallway. When Will heard the slam of metal he knew the prisoner had been locked in a cell in the back.

  The constable came out a few moments later.

  “What’s up?” Stan Hume asked.

  “Ever heard the name Craig Tanner?” Walker asked.

  “Tanner.” Stan frowned. “Name’s familiar, but I can’t recollect where I heard it. I can look in the files and see if there’s anything there. Do you have other business?”

  “Have any more orders come in?” Will asked.

  “Oh, yes. Just this morning. Haven’t had time to read it, though. Let me get it and while you read over it I’ll see if there’s anything about this Tanner bloke.” Stan hurried across behind the desk to the wall where cubby-type holes were stacked with bits of paper. He went to the end one and pulled out the letter. He handed it to Will before searching the other holes.

  Will unravelled the paper roll and began to read. He sucked in a breath when he saw who they were supposed to track and bring in, and the charges.

  Wanted dead or alive. William Strutt and gang for theft of gold and the murder of Craig Tanner on the 12th day of September, 1850.

  “Damn it!”

  “What?” Walker asked.

  Will handed him the paper and waited for his reaction.

  “Fuck! How the hell are we supposed to tell her?”

  “There is no easy way, Walker. Either way you look at it she’ll be devastated.”

  “Yeah. Do you think she’ll agree to marry Chet now?”

  “How the hell am I supposed to know?”

  “Shit. I wasn’t trying to make light of this.” Walker held up the paper and glanced over at Stan, glad he wasn’t taking any notice of them as he searched. “I just…”

  Will clasped his friend’s shoulder and whispered, “I know. I want her, too. But we need to give her time to get used to…us.”

  Walker swallowed audibly and nodded. “Stan?”

  “Yeah?”

  “You don’t need to look for Craig Tanner. He was killed a year ago by Strutt and his gang.”

  “Oh. Is that what your orders are about?”

  “Yep.”

  Stan moved closer to them with a frown on his face. “You’ll need to be careful tracking him. Strutt is an evil bastard. He’d shoot his own mother if there was gold to be had.”

  “Figured,” Will said. “Any idea how many men is in his gang?”

  “Three,” Stan replied. “One younger brother and two cousins.”

  “You have any sketches?” Walker asked.

  “Yeah, hold on a sec.” Stan walked to the desk and after rummaging around in the drawer came back with a sheaf of paper.

  Will took it and frowned. Two of the men looked familiar but he couldn’t remember where he’d seen them before. It would come to him, and when it did he was going to bring them in and find Strutt, his brother and cousins. All the men were dirty and scraggly-looking with beards and moustaches. But it was the look in Strutt’s eyes that gave him pause. His eyes held pure evil.

  * * * *

  Chet knew as soon as Will and Walker entered the house that something was seriously wrong. Walker’s normal smile and his bantering disposition were nowhere to be seen and the look on Will’s face was grim.

  He had a feeling they’d found out about Lacy’s brother, and whatever the news was, it wasn’t good.

  Kent helped Lacy bring the food to the table and they all started eating. Lacy must have felt the tension in the air, because she kept glancing at each of them.

  “This is the best food I’ve ever tasted, honey,” Kent said after swallowing and smiled at her while glancing at Will and Walker with a raised eyebrow.

  Will shook his head slightly and shoved a forkful of food into his mouth.

  Chet began talking about when the wool would need to be shipped out and the sheep they were selling would need to be driven to market, but he knew from the surreptitious glances Lacy was giving, that he hadn’t fooled her any.

  When they’d finished eating and had all complimented Lacy for her good cooking, she started gathering the dishes, but Will reached out and clasped her wrist to halt her. He scooted his chair back and pulled her down into his lap.

  “What’s wrong?” Lacy asked quietly.

  Chet saw that her hands were in tight little fists and her knuckles were white. It was as if she already knew whatever Will had to say was going to be bad.

  “I asked…Lacy…” Will paused and swallowed loudly.

  “He’s dead, isn’t he?” Lacy asked in a voice barely above a whisper.

  “Yes. I’m sorry, sweetheart.”

  Lacy lowered her head and sat completely still. Chet wanted to snatch her from Will’s lap and hold her but he didn’t want to startle her.

  “Thank you for telling me,” Lacy said in a hoarse voice before pushing up to her feet and hurrying away.

  Walker pushed his chair back and rose to his feet.

  “Leave her,” Chet said.

  “But…”

  “Give her some time, Walker. She just found out her last living relative is dead.”

  Chet wanted to follow her, too, but he wasn’t sure if she would be receptive to him or his mates right now. Hopefully after she had a good cry she would want to talk to them. They all knew what it was like to lose family members, but poor Lacy had to deal with her brother’s death right on top of her father’s.

  He rubbed his chest and wished he could take her pain away but knew that wasn’t possible. And even though he hated himself for even thinking it, he hoped that she would want to marry him now. He felt like a real bastard when that thought popped into his head. The poor woman was grieving and all he could think about was tethering her to his and his friend’s sides.

  * * * *

  Lacy stepped out onto the porch and sucked in a deep breath. The ache in her chest was unbearable, and she didn’t know what to do. She wanted to scream at the top of her lungs about the unfairness of everything, but was scared that if she opened her mouth she wouldn’t be able to stop.

  It didn’t matter that she hadn’t seen Craig for ten years. He was still her brother and the only family member she had left.

  No, I have no one.

  The sob caught her by surprise and though she tried to keep the grief in, she couldn’t.

  She looked about, frantically trying to find somewhere to hide while she grieved, but there were still stockmen milling about near the stables and if she stayed on the porch she knew the men inside would eventually come looking for her.

  She stumbled down the steps and hurried around the side of the house near the bedroom end, away from the kitchen, and sank down onto her knees on the ground. The dinner she’d just eaten came back up and she heaved until she had nothing left. She wiped her mouth with the handkerchief after pulling it out of her pants pocket and crawled away from the mess she’d left. She made it to the other
corner and let the tears and sobs come.

  Lacy had no idea how long she’d been out there, but when the hair on the nape of her neck rose up, she lifted swollen red eyes and saw one of the stockmen watching her. She didn’t like the way he looked her up and down and if she’d had the energy to move she would have. But she was so tired she could barely keep her burning eyes open. When he walked off, Lacy sighed with relief and gave into the exhaustion battering at her bruised body and aching heart.

  * * * *

  “She’s been out there long enough,” Will said and stood up. “It’s going to be dark in about twenty minutes. We need to find her and bring her inside where it’s safe.”

  “Agreed.” Chet rose to his feet. “Let’s go find our woman.”

  Will led the way outside, his friends following. They looked everywhere they could think of and he was just beginning to get frantic when he heard Walker yell. He hurried around to the end of the house and stopped when he saw Lacy curled up into a ball, sound asleep. She’d managed to roll under a bush and was half concealed by the foliage. Her face was pale and he could still see the tear tracks on her beautiful face. Her eyelids were red and puffy and every now and then she hiccupped in her sleep.

  Walker gently eased her into his arms, lifted her up against his chest, and rose to his feet.

  “Shit!” Chet said, and Will looked where he was. “She was sick.”

  “We need to take care of her,” Kent said as he brushed some hair off of her face.

  “Yes, we do.”

  “Do you think she’ll agree to…” Will shook his head and cursed under his breath.

  “She will,” Chet said in a firm voice.

  “How do you know that?” Walker asked.

  “Because I’m not giving up until she’s says yes.”

  Will sighed with relief. They would win Lacy over no matter how long it took. Losing wasn’t an option.

  Chapter Eight

  Lacy sobbed as her father took his last breath and then she was watching in horror as Craig was filled with bullets right in front of her. His eyes turned toward her and they were completely blank and lifeless. He raised his arm, pointing right at her, and the blank expression changed to accusatory.

  She looked down and stared uncomprehendingly at her raised arm and the smoking gun in her hand. Her finger was still on the trigger.

  Lacy dropped the gun on the ground, her knees crumpled, and she fell down to her hands and knees. Her stomach revolted and she vomited. And then she screamed and screamed and screamed.

  * * * *

  Chet’s feet hit the floor before his eyes were even open. He blinked to clear the sleep from his vision and felt the pistol he usually kept on his bedside table in his hand. When he heard a scream he didn’t stop to pull on his pants but raced toward Lacy’s bedroom. Just as he opened the door to another blood-curdling scream, his mates hurried up behind him.

  He gazed about the room and sighed with relief when he saw it was empty of any threat and hurried over to the bed. Lacy was curled up into a tight ball, her arms wrapped around her legs, rocking back and forth, crying and wailing in her sleep.

  He sat on the side of the bed, lifted her up, and placed her in his lap. The feel of her pert bottom pressing against his nakedness made his body react, but he ignored it and the fact that she was only in a shift.

  He felt the moment she awoke. Her body tensed and then she flopped against him, her arms coming up and wrapping around his neck, her breath still hitching in her throat and tears falling from her eyes onto the skin of his chest.

  “Do you want to tell me what you were dreaming about?”

  She gasped, tightened her hold around his neck, and shook her head.

  Chet rested his chin on her head and hugged her tight. “Are you sure?”

  Again, she shook her head, and Chet wasn’t sure if she was telling him no, that she didn’t want to talk about her nightmare, or no, she wasn’t sure if she wanted to talk about it.

  Kent, Will, and Walker had exited the room, presumably to get dressed, and when he looked up as they came back in he saw they were all wearing their pants. Kent had a lit lantern in his hand and placed it onto the dresser against the wall. Chet hoped that Lacy didn’t notice his nakedness, or if she did that she wouldn’t freak out.

  She finally lifted her tear-streaked face to him, licked her lips, and took a deep shuddering breath. “I was dreaming,” she began in a hoarse voice.

  Chet remained silent but gave her an encouraging squeeze. Will, Walker, and Kent got up onto the bed to listen. He hoped they would have some input and help him comfort Lacy. He wasn’t good at that sort of thing. He was used to giving orders and didn’t have the skills to soothe a woman.

  “My father had just taken his last breath, but instead of dreaming about the funeral, it suddenly changed. I was looking at Craig. He hadn’t aged so I guess that was what I remember him looking like ten years ago. As I stood watching him his body jerked, holes appeared, and blood began to flow.” She sobbed and wiped at her face. “He gave me this blank look, lifted his arm and pointed at me. Wh–When I looked down, I–I was holding a smoking gun.” Lacy buried her face against his neck.

  “You didn’t shoot your brother, love. You’ve been through so much and your mind is playing tricks on you.” Chet was surprised by the words coming from his own mouth. Meeting Lacy had and was changing him for the better. Of course he would protect anyone in trouble, but because he had feelings for her, he was tapping into his heart. Something he’d never done before.

  “Do you know who killed him?”

  Chet opened his mouth but wasn’t sure if he should tell her, but she seemed to pick up on his hesitation and answered her own question.

  “You do, don’t you?”

  “We’ll find the men who killed your brother, honey,” Will said in a determined voice.

  “Can I have some water, please?”

  Walker hurried to the table beside the bed, poured some water from the jug into a cup, and handed it to her.

  “Thank you.” Lacy drank deeply and then she pushed to her feet. She gasped when she saw Chet’s nakedness, but instead of turning her back on him, she ran her eyes up and down his body before her gaze stopped on his hard cock.

  “Wh–What…” She licked her lips and then raised her eyes to his once more.

  Chet grabbed the cover from her bed and flipped it over his lap. “Sorry, love, but when I heard you screaming I didn’t stop to think about clothes. I needed to make sure someone wasn’t trying to hurt you.”

  Lacy face turned pink, but she nodded. “What am I going to do?” she whispered and walked toward the window. Chet drew in a breath when he saw her beautiful form beneath the light chemise she was wearing. His cock twitched and bobbed, eager to love her, but until they were married he wasn’t doing anything that would get her pregnant. Maybe now that she was asking about her future was the right time to bring up marriage again.

  “I’ll be back in a minute,” Chet said to his friends and hurried from the room to don his pants. He was going to ask her to marry him again, but didn’t think it would be appropriate to do it whilst naked.

  When he got back to his room he glanced at his long johns but shook his head, he didn’t want to be away from her too long. He grabbed his trousers, shoved his feet into them, and pulled them up. He was already walking back to the main bedroom as he fastened them. She hadn’t moved from her spot by the window and wondered if she was actually seeing anything. Chet didn’t think so and thought it was more likely she was trying to work out how she was going to survive. If she agreed to marry him, she wouldn’t need to worry. All four of them would look after her and see that she had food, clothes, and love. Of course, if he needed to try and convince her he wouldn’t tell her that he and his mates were already well on the way to falling in love with her, because he didn’t think she would believe him. But that was a conversation for the future. Right now he had to try and convince her marriage to him and his frien
ds was the best thing for all of them.

  “Lacy?” Chet walked up behind her, clasped her shoulders, and gently turned her to face him and his friends. Walker and Kent were sitting on the side of the bed and Will had moved to lean against the wall, his arms crossed over his chest and a bored expression on his face. Chet knew he wasn’t as calm as he was trying to portray. Will’s pectorals were twitching and his biceps were jumping.

  Chet cleared his throat, released her shoulders, and bent down on one knee before taking her hand in his. “Lacy Tanner, would you do me the honour of becoming my wife?”

  Lacy inhaled audibly and her fingers twitched in his hand, but she didn’t pull back. He could see expressions flitting across her face and she frowned. He wasn’t sure if she was about to say yes or no but when she opened her mouth, he spoke before she could.

  “I know we haven’t known each other long and although I think you would be able to survive by yourself if you could find work, I’m worried about all the single men roaming this area. We’ve been tracking down bushrangers for years and now that there are so many men looking for gold, this has become a dangerous place.”

  “We’ve actually saved a couple of women from being…raped,” Will said as he moved up to stand behind Chet. “And those women were married.”

  “I caught three men beating up a man so they could steal his wife,” Kent said as he, too, moved to stand behind Chet. “If I hadn’t stepped in they would have killed him, then raped and probably killed her when they were done.”

  “No woman is safe in these times, darlin’,” Walker said as he rose to his feet and took her free hand in his. “It doesn’t seem to matter if the ladies’ escort has a gun or not. The men working this land mining for gold, travel in groups. There is no way one man can take on three or more without being shot or killed.”

  “We’ll take good care of you, Lacy. What have you got to lose?” Chet asked, hoping she would say yes.

  Tears welled in her eyes and Chet hoped they hadn’t scared her. The last thing he wanted was for her to marry him because she was terrified. He wanted her to fall in love with him and his friends. He wanted to hold and cuddle with her each night and if they were blessed, he wanted to have children with her. He wished he could tell her all of those things but he knew she wasn’t ready for any declarations from them, yet. Hopefully in a few months she would feel for them what they already felt for her.