Winning The Bounty Hunter's Heart (Mail-Order Brides of Salvation 4)

by Faith Parsons

  He obliged her by circling around where she could see him. Was that a glimmer of humor she saw in his eyes?

  “You should leave the strategizing to my friends and focus on not giving them a reason to kill you.”

  It looked as if he winked. What did that mean? She must have imagined it. She was tired enough that she certainly could be hallucinating.

  Jack turned on his heel. If his message hadn’t been so grim, she’d have sworn he was flirting with her.

  She felt the heat in her cheeks again. Think, Colleen. You’re in deep.

  She turned towards Harold. He was still sitting in the same position. He kept licking his lips and staring with those blank eyes.

  She sighed. It was up to her to get them out of this.

  Chapter 5

  The red-orange glow of the sunset sky gave Colleen some comfort. They’d been marching all day next to the wagon. Her feet hurt terribly, and she had no doubt that if she removed her boots, she’d find blisters. Maybe she should leave them on tonight. Not just because of the cold—but because if her feet were as bad off as she thought they might be, she might not be able to get her boots back on.

  She blushed yet again as she glanced down and saw just how her bare shins. Only yesterday, she was a woman who rarely turned red, and now she did it all the time. Because of that cowboy.

  She’d had so much difficulty moving through the rough terrain—her heavy skirt caught on every bush and bramble they passed, and they made it hard to see where she was putting her foot. After her seventh stumble, Jack had cut her skirt off at the knee. He’d insisted she remove her petticoat, too.

  He was the first man who’d ever seen her bare legs who was not a doctor. And somehow, she wouldn’t have minded except that she was on display from the knee down for the rest of the robbers too. She didn’t like the way they looked at her. She didn’t like the way they smirked after they looked at her. It made her feel dirty and helpless, all at the same time.

  If she got out of this alive, she was switching to bloomers immediately.

  She had to admit Jack was right, though. She hadn’t realized how exhausting it had been to struggle with all that fabric until it was gone. She even went as far as wishing she could loosen her corset too. But no way would she ask any of the men to help her with that.

  Where were they headed? They must plan on stopping for the night? Mustn’t they?

  Even though she hadn’t eaten since that morning, she was too tired to be hungry. All she wanted to do now was to lie down and sleep. It would take more than a kick in the shins to wake her up early tomorrow.

  Harold looked even worse than she felt. He was wearing his dirty, mangled fedora, which made him look more like a bum than a business man. His gait was that of a drunk, stumbling over every little pebble on the ground.

  Maybe now was a good time to ask him again about the woman whose name he’d called out in his dream? Now that he was weakened by fatigue and fear, he might be too tired to try to lie to her.

  “Harold?”

  His shoulders were slumped, but he turned his head towards her to indicate that he was listening.

  “Who is Kate?”

  This time there was no doubt. The name made him blush like a girl. Still, he didn’t answer.

  “Please, Harold. I deserve to know.”

  He sighed and looked even more lost than before. “You’re right. I’m sorry. Kate is a woman I... I know.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Kate is my business partner’s daughter Hearne. I fell in love with her the moment I saw her. She’s everything I’ve always wanted. Sweet, pretty, with the loveliest strawberry-blonde hair. I asked her permission to court her, and she said yes. That was the happiest day of my life.”

  He looked down at his feet.

  “What happened then? Did she die?”

  “No, no.” He pursed his lips. “That would have been easier to handle. No, she...”

  He sighed, and Colleen suddenly felt sorry for him. What could have been worse than death?

  “Go on.”

  “She married a stranger. A rich stranger who came to town and stole her from me.” He fisted his hands. “She was so pretty.”

  Poor Harold. It must have been a tough blow, if he’d loved her that much. The pretty Kate with the...wait a minute. He’d said he loved her strawberry-blonde hair? That’s what he’d praised about her the day before. A hard lump began to form in her stomach. She knew the answer, but she couldn’t stop herself from asking.

  “Did she happen to look like me?”

  Harold nodded sheepishly and looked away.

  Colleen could have kicked herself. What a fool she’d been. She’d been so eager to have an exciting new life that she’d agreed to marry someone she didn’t know. Someone who was still in love with another woman.

  And now her life was much too exciting.

  Even if she survived this situation, her life was over. Her reputation would be ruined. She’d been alone with seven men for more than a day with no chaperone. No one would believe that the bandits were too busy to leave her untouched.

  She thought of Jack again. In a way, he’d served as a chaperone last night, making sure she was fed, and pointing out the need to keep her and Harold safe until they were sure they’d truly escaped with their riches.

  Still, it didn’t matter. Everyone would think she was damaged goods, and nobody would want to marry her.

  She should never have rushed into marriage like this. Furious with herself, she kicked a pebble so hard it flew through the air and almost hit one of the bandits.

  Colleen continued her march without talking to Harold. She was done with Harold. She’d rather be a spinster than marry him.

  The sun was barely peeking over the hills and dusk was falling when they finally stopped. Colleen heard the sound of rushing water nearby. Wait, didn’t the Colorado River run through this part of Texas? And right through Austin?

  She felt a flash of joy. And gratitude that her brothers had taught her to swim. If she could just get away from the bandits as they were crossing, she could follow the river to safety.

  So how was she going to do that? Without getting shot?

  She glanced at Harold. Would he come with her? Or would she have to leave him behind?

  The Shorty shoved his gun in the small of her back and marched her to the riverbank, where a boat was tied to a tree.

  She’d been so stupid. She’d firmly believed that the posse would find it easy to follow their tracks across the country and sooner or later catch up with them. Because of Harold and her walking beside the wagon, their progress was slow. A few men on horse back should be able to catch up with them within a couple of days at most, even if they had to stop often to look for tracks.

  But if the bandits took a boat downriver, they could be in Mexico well before the marshall’s posse could catch up to them. Or they could have other transportation waiting at a secluded spot, and all the marshall would eventually catch is their empty boat, sent to drift further downstream.

  It was a brilliant plan. Really clever.

  And now escape was in easy reach, the robbers no longer needed hostages to stay safe.

  A drop of sweat rolled down her cheek. She smeared it away with the back of her hand.

  After asking permission from Shorty, she stepped out into the river to wash her sweaty face and arms. The water was chilly. She cupped her hands and drank the crystal clear liquid. Ah, it felt good. She’d been so hot and tired, but the icy sensation cleared her mind.

  What could they do to get away from the thieves? And if she could think of a plan, would Harold be capable of following it?

  She looked back to the shore where Harold was sitting on the ground. He stared straight ahead, looking like a man who’d seen a ghost. His lips were moving, but she couldn’t hear what he said.

  Nobody seemed to care about him. Three of the bandits were loading bags of money into the boat, while the wagon driver washed up in the
river, and Butch and Jack stood on the riverbank, having a quiet but heated conversation.

  She closed her eyes and listened harder. She thought she heard Butch say the word “hostages.” But she couldn’t make out anything else.

  Jack nodded and walk over to Harold. Grabbed the cowering man by the shoulder of his jacket and shook him. Then he gestured to Colleen. Come here.

  Her heart was beating so fast she thought she was going to faint.

  They were going to die.

  She fisted her hands to stop them from shaking. There was no way she was going to give him the satisfaction of seeing her scared.

  Jack’s face was expressionless.

  So he was a cold-hearted murderer after all. No different from the others. That still surprised her, but it was too late to blame herself for being a poor judge of character.

  Harold was still sitting on the ground. He held his knees and rocked back and forth, head down.

  “Get up.” Jack nudged Harold with the toe of his boot.

  Harold got up. Colleen walked over to him. So this was it. She was going to end her days, unmarried, dying next to a man she didn’t love. A man, who loved another woman.

  Jack tied her hands behind her back and did the same to Harold.

  “March. That way.”

  Harold chose that moment to wake up from his stupor.

  “Oh, no, please, please, mercy, please, don’t kill me, I won’t say a word, just please don’t kill me. I can pay, I can pay.”

  He kept blubbering and begging for mercy, but Jack seemed untouched. He motioned for them to walk deeper into the forest.

  Colleen didn’t say anything. What could she say that would persuade him to disobey his leader and risk getting them all caught? She stared straight ahead and walked, until Jack told them to stop.

  She swallowed. Hopefully, it would be quick and without pain.

  “Listen,” Jack said as he cut Harold’s hands free. “You have to act fast.”

  What was he talking about? What was going on?

  “Get away from here as fast as you can. I’m going to fire a few shots, and tell Butch that you’re dead. Hide here, quietly, until the boat leaves. Then run southeast as fast as you can. You can make it to Austin.”

  Harold, free of his ropes, blundered off into the forest, screaming his idiot head off. Colleen heard him calling Kate, the woman he was really in love with. “Why are you doing this?”

  “I’m a bounty hunter. Butch’s worth a lot if I can bring him in.” Jack cut the ropes binding her wrists. “Hurry up and run.”

  She nodded. “Before I go, is there any information you want me to pass on to the authorities for you?”

  There was a crack of a branch snapping. Jack whirled around as Butch stepped out from behind a tree. “Well, well, well.”

  Colleen felt the blood rush from her head. She should have just run.

  “What do you think about the trap I set for you, eh?” Butch gestured with his six-shooter as he crowed. “You walked right into it like a nice little sheep on its way to the slaughter. All I had to do was to follow and eavesdrop on you.”

  He turned towards Colleen. “Smart of you to plant a spy on the train so you could take her hostage and send her back to tell the authorities where we went.”

  “She has nothing to do with this.” Jack stepped in front of Colleen protectively. “Let her go. You’ll be long gone by the time she talks to anyone.”

  “I’m not the fool you think I am. Now, get back to the boat. I don’t have time to question you now, so you’re coming with us.”

  “Let her go and I’ll tell you everything.”

  “How about she stays and you tell me everything anyway?”

  Desperate times, desperate measures. Colleen stepped forward. “You’re half-right, Butch. I am a spy, but I wasn’t working with this bounty hunter. Harold’s a Pinkerton detective—”

  Butch guffawed. “Liar.”

  “—he hired me to pretend to be his fiancée. One of your men was feeding him information, that’s how he knew you were going to hit that train.”

  Butch’s smirk wavered a little. Ah, she’d got him. He didn’t trust the other members of his gang either.

  He spat on the ground. “I don’t believe you.”

  “He knew where you were going to stop the train, too, and he’s got a whole team of men tracking you. As soon as they meet up—”

  Butch’s gun hand actually quivered a little. “I. Don’t. Believe. You.”

  “If you leave right now,” Colleen urged, “you might have enough of a head start to get away.”

  “Back to the river.”

  “The less weight you have in the boat, the better your chances of getting away.”

  Butch grabbed her elbow with bruising strength and pointed his gun at her forehead. “If what you say is true, then I still need hostages.”

  DRAT. She’d hoped that doubt in his eyes meant he was considering turning tail and running.

  Shorty smirked as they emerged from the trees, Butch holding both of them at gunpoint. The others had emptied the contents of the wagon into the boat.

  “In.” The bandits watched as Jack followed the gang leader’s orders, positioning himself toward the back.

  Butch dragged Colleen to the water’s edge and threw her in after Jack. She landed awkwardly at his feet, the side of her face bouncing off the rough wooden planking. Jack offered her a hand, helped her get up into a sitting position. Her face throbbed with heat and pain. She’d no doubt that she was going to look monstrous tomorrow.

  “What were you thinking?” Jack hissed.

  She bit her lip and pushed back the tears that threatened to spill out. “I was trying to help,” she whispered back.

  “It would have helped if you’d run like I told you.”

  Chapter 6

  The boat rocked up and down as Blondie struggled to untie the rope that anchored it in place. The other end was tied to the oar loop on his side of the river. Meanwhile, Butch forded the river with one of the horses. Was he planning to take off with some of the loot, and leave the rest of the gang to split up what was left in the boat?

  No, once the horse was safely on the far bank of the river, he returned, soaked from the shoulders down.

  The wagon driver set all but two of the horses free.

  With a jerk, the boat started to move with the current, pulling the rope tauter. With obvious effort, Blondie hoisted the rope over his shoulder and turned upriver. As if he planned to be the boat’s anchor.

  Shorty tied a rope to the other oar loop, grabbed what looked like a horse harness, and then jumped into the river. Arms flailing, he managed to make it to the other riverbank without losing his grip on the rope or the harness.

  By the time he finished strapping the harness on to the horse and attaching the rope to it, Colleen had figured out their plan. They weren’t going downriver, they were going upriver. If they led the horses along the shallows, there’d be no tracks on this side of the river. The posse would assume they’d either had a boat waiting and had fled downriver, or would look for tracks on the opposite side and see nothing.

  She and Jack were doomed.

  Shorty and Blondie led the horses upstream. Except for Butch, the other bandits walked in the shallows themselves, ankle-deep to knee-deep. It was slower going, having to carefully test each footstep. But pursuit was at least a day behind, and they were leaving no trace that would signal that they’d gone upstream. And with most of the gang walking, the boat might actually be light enough that the horses could handle the load.

  Butch stood in the bow of the boat, holding a long pole. The boat began to inch upriver.

  So, now what’s the plan, Colleen? Because you’re not going to sit here and wait to find out what happens when the boat reaches its destination.

  But what could she do? Butch was only a few steps away. Shorty had retied her hands and Jack’s before he’d gone to the other shore. And it had been a very long two days, wit
h little food and less rest.

  She glanced at Jack. He looked worried.

  “What’s wrong?”

  “You mean besides the fact that we’re dead?”

  “I realize no one’s coming to save us,” Colleen said.

  “That’s right.” Butch joined in from the front of the boat, not even bothering to turn around. “But don’t worry. If you tell me the truth, I’ll kill you quick.”

  Colleen shivered.

  She noticed that Jack sat closer to her than before. Improperly close. His right arm and shoulder pressed against her left. Her mouth opened to protest, but what was the point?

  A reputation, good or bad, was of no use to a dead woman.

  Jack’s fingers brushed hers and sent a jolt of lightning through her. She shivered again, but this time it wasn’t fear.

  She glanced at him. Did he really think it appropriate to flirt with her at a time like this?

  Jack clenched his teeth. He didn’t look like a man who was making a pass at her. He kept touching her hands... and the ropes that tied them.

  Oh. She blushed for what seemed like the millionth time since she’d met him. With a careful movement, she moved her hands closer to his. The awkward position made her arms ache, but it was worth it.

  It seemed like it took hours for Jack to loosen the knot that secured her bindings. In the meantime, her arms ached more and more, until they were almost numb.

  Except for an order barked at his men now and then, Butch stayed silent. Didn’t look back at them. Was he that confident that they couldn't escape? Or did he just not care if they tried?

  The latter, she guessed.

  Finally, the rope around Colleen’s wrists loosened. She wriggled her hands until the loops of rope fell away. There. Keeping them behind her so it looked like she was still tied up, she brushed her fingers over Jack’s wrists, trying to feel how the knot was tied so she could undo it. There had to be a place where she could start. Maybe if she pushed two points of the rope towards each other. Maybe that would give her some play in the rope.

  No. They didn’t move at all. The knot was tied very tightly.