“I’m not afraid of you,” Danica spat, and leaned toward him. “I know you won’t hurt me, or my daughter. We’re too valuable to you.”
“Once you’re wed to me, you won’t be talking so tough anymore,” Douglas sneered.
Danica shifted her weight from one foot to the other. “How do you propose to marry me, lieutenant?” she asked in a mocking whisper. “I can’t be married to two men at the same time. Even if you do send Josh off to some reservation. He’s still my husband.”
Douglas laughed. “You’re probably already a widow by now, Danica.”
Danica’s mouth dropped open, and her heart skipped a beat. Was he serious, or simply trying to rile her? “You told me you wouldn’t kill him if I cooperated with your plan. I did exactly as you told me. Josh hates me now. He’ll have no problem signing papers to divorce me.”
“Do you really think I’d take the chance that he won’t, Danica?” Douglas smiled that cold smile of his. “I can’t risk him coming after you. From everything I’ve seen, he holds you in pretty high esteem.”
“You son of a bitch,” she hissed, and took a step back. “You lied to me from the beginning. You never planned to let Josh live.”
“Couldn’t risk it,” he shrugged. His face turned hard, and his lips clenched in a tight line. “Mind your place, Danica, if you know what’s good for you.”
Danica inhaled slowly. It took all her willpower to remain composed. She thought she had saved Josh’s life by complying with Douglas’ demands. Instead, she stood by idly while the lieutenant’s men beat him into submission. They might have killed him by now. Abruptly, she turned away from Douglas. She didn’t want to look at the satisfied smirk on his face.
“I need that fire, and another blanket. Grant me at least some semblance of dignity,” she said stoically, and carefully lowered herself to the ground on top of the blanket she had spread out. Dawn would wake soon, and she’d demand to be fed.
She had no desire to have five men leer at her while she nursed her child. She felt the Lieutenant’s eyes on her back, then heard his boots scuff the grass as he walked off. Minutes later, a soldier brought her another blanket, and built a fire a few feet from her. Wordlessly, he handed her some hardtack, and rejoined his companions at their communal fire.
Darkness descended, and Dawn stirred. Before the baby had a chance to cry, Danica held her to her breast. “It’s going to be okay,” she whispered, trying to find courage in her words to her daughter. She shuddered involuntarily. What if Josh was truly dead? What if they had killed him? She swallowed several times, and wiped at her eyes. If he was dead, it would be because of her.
She refused to believe it. She’d gone along with Douglas’ demands to save her daughter and the man she loved. Josh would survive a forced trip to an Indian reservation. She’d planned to come for him as soon as she’d gotten rid of Douglas for good. She had planned to go to Helena and find Josh’s family. Kyle and Chase Russell had influence in the territory. They would be able to get Josh back. She wouldn’t even entertain the notion that she wouldn’t have an opportunity to kill Lieutenant Douglas. She simply needed to bide her time. As much as she wanted to escape these men tonight, she couldn’t risk getting lost in the wilderness again. For now, she planned to cooperate. Once they reached Virginia City, she would figure out what to do.
Danica curled up on the hard ground. She wrapped her daughter protectively in her sling blanket and held her close to her own body, careful to keep the baby off the cold ground. She pulled the extra blanket over herself. Her mind wandered to the Madison Valley. She tried to tune out the loud and boisterous ruckus from the men around the campfire. She stiffened when she heard footsteps approach.
“Sorry to disturb you, ma’am. I was just adding more wood to your fire.” It was the first kind voice she’d heard since leaving the cabin. She strained her eyes, but couldn’t see the soldier’s face. She suspected it was the same man who had built her fire in the first place and offered her the dried biscuits.
“Thank you,” she said quietly.
When the soldier left, she closed her eyes. Josh’s face was as vivid in her mind as if he stood before her. He whispered soft words of love to her in his mother’s language, and his deep brown eyes beckoned to her. Danica squeezed her eyes shut.
“I love you, Josh,” she whispered into the darkness. “Dawn and I will always love you.”
Chapter 23
Deep laughter that sounded as if it reverberated off some canyon wall trickled slowly into Josh’s mind. He stirred, and struggled for consciousness. The slight movement resulted in a searing pain at the back of his head, and Josh suppressed a hiss. His arms were stiff, and he couldn’t move them. The side of his face rested against something hard and cold. Any type of movement was impossible. He suddenly realized his hands were bound tightly behind his back. He slowly opened his eyes a fraction of an inch. Everything blurred around him and he waited for his vision to clear.
His mind struggled to remember where he was. Definitely not in his bed, making love to his wife. His first clear memory seeped into his mind. Dani smiled at him with passion-filled eyes. She leaned over him, and her hair spilled in long golden waves down both sides of her face, and tickled his chest. Her moist lips parted for a kiss. He remembered the feel of her thighs on either side of his hips as she straddled him. She was as eager as he to consummate their marriage.
A man’s voice broke the spell of his vision, and Josh fought the waves of darkness that threatened to push him into the black abyss of unconsciousness again. A chair scraped against wood. Josh felt every vibration of the ground in his cheek. Intuitively, he kept his body still and his eyes closed. He needed to remember what had happened to him. Where was Dani? Concentrating on the sounds around him despite the throbbing at the back of his head, Josh lay still, waiting for his memory to return.
Booted feet walked across the floorboards, each vibration making Josh’s head throb. A fire crackled loudly, and metal clanked against metal. Someone was rummaging through the tin plates and cups on the shelves over the workbench.
“Coffee’s ready,” a gruff voice said.
“Good thing he gave us this assignment. Nice to have a roof over our heads for a night,” a second voice answered, and Josh trained his mind on the direction of the sounds and what they meant. One man stood by the workbench. Liquid poured into a cup with a gushing sound, and the strong odor of coffee permeated the air. The other man’s voice was off to the right. He must be sitting at the kitchen table.
“If Charlie doesn’t come back in soon, his coffee’s gonna be cold.”
“That’s his problem.”
Once more, a chair leg scraped against the floor, and the man groaned as he settled in his seat. “When do you wanna do it?” he asked, followed by a loud slurping sound.
“Tomorrow’ll be soon enough, just before we head out,” the other voice echoed. Boot heels scraped the floor, and leather creaked. “He’s out cold for the night. He ain’t goin’ta wake up til morning. I need a good night’s sleep in a warm bed. Douglas’ orders . . . ”
Whatever else the man said became mute. Lieutenant Douglas! The memories suddenly came flooding back like an avalanche. Douglas had been here, and Dani claimed he was Dawn’s father. Anger consumed him, and he strained against the rope binding his wrists. Abruptly, he forced his body to relax. He didn’t want those men in his cabin to know he was awake.
Dani had lied to him all along. Was that why she’d acted so cold and distant after the lieutenant’s first visit several weeks ago? He distinctly remembered how the officer had remained in the cabin while Josh spoke to his soldiers about the site of the massacre of that Shoshone family. He’d thought nothing of it at the time. Now he realized Douglas had stayed behind to talk to Dani. No wonder she hadn’t given him an answer even after the month had passed whether she wished to remain married to him.
He’d known from the moment he met her that she was a woman who could put on a good act. All o
f a sudden he wondered if he hadn’t been played by her all along. Serves you right, Running Wolf, for putting your trust in a woman. It struck him again how coincidental it was that she’d been at the site of that senseless massacre of that Shoshone family. Had she been in allegiance with Douglas all this time? It suddenly became crystal clear to him that the men he’d been trying to apprehend for nearly six months used the cavalry as their disguise. It provided a perfect cover to move freely through the area without drawing suspicion.
As he lay there, mulling things over in his mind, he convinced himself more and more that Dani was part of Douglas’ setup to get rid of him for good, so no one would hinder their poaching operation. Who had he been kidding? Josh cursed himself for the fool he was. No white woman in her right mind would want to be wed to a half breed. Why had he convinced himself that she was any different? She probably hadn’t counted on a late winter blizzard or the early birth of her baby to leave her stranded in the valley here with him.
What about that forced shotgun wedding, Running Wolf? He couldn’t explain that. Not yet. Perhaps Jensen was in on the plan, but probably not. Maybe Dani had counted on just that kind of a reaction from her father. She knew her old man hated Indians, but she had brought Josh to the house anyways. Maybe she had hoped her father would kill him, and finish the job for Douglas.
Whatever the reasons, he wasn’t going to dwell on it now. He’d been taken for a ride but good. He inhaled sharply, and clenched his jaw. The trouble was, he’d lost his heart in the process. Never again would he be so foolish. Once he got himself out of this mess, he was going after Lieutenant Douglas. And if Dani stood in his way, he’d wring her pretty neck as well.
Dawn’s innocent baby face, her sweet baby smell, and the feeling of her tiny body cradled in his arms entered his mind. He loved her as his own daughter. Could he honestly harm her mother? The woman he had thought himself in love with?
Dani’s soft voice echoed in his mind. “Nu suuntsa nian kuhma.” Had she actually spoken the words, or did his subconscious simply want to believe something that was a lie. Josh pushed the hurt from his mind, and imagined pulling a wall of granite around his bleeding heart. Right now, he had to get rid of the men in his cabin. Somewhere outside was a third man. His odds would be better if he disposed of these two before the other one returned.
One of the men at the table groaned loud and deep. “I gotta go get me some shut-eye. There’s a comfortable bed in the other room. Tell Charlie to take first watch when he comes in.” The chair scraped loudly against the floor planks, and the man stood. Judging by the sounds of his footfalls, he was heading toward Josh’s bedroom.
Hot rage flooded his system again. He’d carried Dani into that room, lain her on his bed just this morning. Keep your focus, Running Wolf. He couldn’t afford to allow a lying woman to distract him from what he needed to do. The back of his head throbbed in time with his heartbeats, but he shut out the pain.
When the door to his bedroom closed, he slowly raised his eyelids, and squinted to focus. A man sat at the table, his back turned to him. His booted feet were stretched out far in front of him. Josh raised his head a few inches off the ground. The soldier leaned back in the chair, his hands folded in his lap. Josh quickly scanned the area as best as he could. A rifle leaned against the table next to the man’s chair. Josh’s attention focused on the revolver hanging off the gun belt strapped to the soldier’s hip.
His mind made up, Josh quickly rolled to his side and tucked his legs under his body, then sprang silently to his feet. His hands were useless, tied behind his back. His attack would have to be swift and true. The soldier barely had time to turn his head, his open-mouthed and wide-eyed look of surprise short-lived. Josh swung his left leg back, then brought it forcefully forward and up, his foot connecting with the man’s temple. Josh rushed toward him, and prevented the now-unconscious body from falling off the chair. The noise would surely bring his companion back into the room.
Josh pushed him forward to lay face down onto the table. With the stealth and quiet grace taught to him by his grandfather, Josh rushed to the hearth. The metal fire poker hanging on the hook had a sharp edge. Josh turned his back toward the hearth, quietly brushing his tied wrists against the metal object. With swift up and down motions, he sawed through the ropes binding his hands. When he felt the rope give, he strained his wrists, ignoring the pain when the twine broke from around his skin.
Once rid of the binding, Josh rubbed his sore wrists to bring circulation back into his arms and hands. He didn’t waste any time, and pulled the revolver from the unconscious soldier’s belt. Checking the chamber to make sure it was loaded, he did the same with the rifle. One final glance at the slumped man, and Josh was satisfied he wouldn’t move again for the rest of the night. He needed to dispose of the soldier sleeping in his bed before the third man returned to the cabin.
Silently, Josh opened the door to his room, the rifle in his hand aimed and ready to fire. Loud snores came from his bed. Josh opened the door fully. In three quick strides, he towered over the man. Without hesitating, he raised the butt end of the rifle, and sent it crashing against the soldier’s temple. The body slumped.
“That’s for the bump at the back of my head,” he mumbled coldly. Finding some strips of leather among his saddle harness in the corner, he tied the soldier’s hands. Returning to the main room, he did the same to the man still out cold at the table. Josh spotted his weapon belt thrown on the floor beside the rocking chair. He quickly retrieved his knife, and took up a position behind the door to the cabin. Now it was simply a matter of waiting for the third soldier to return.
Several minutes passed until he heard heavy footsteps and grunts from outside. The cabin door swung open. “Is that coffee I smell?”
Josh stepped quickly behind the man before he had a chance to close the door, and wrapped his left arm around the soldier’s throat, the sharp edge of his knife held firmly against the jugular. Simultaneously, he whipped the pistol out of his opponent’s holster and tossed it across the room. Grabbing the man’s wrist in a vice-like grip, he twisted his arms behind his back. Everything happened so fast, the soldier had no time to react.
“One wrong move, and you’re a dead man,” Josh whispered in his ear. The stunned soldier barely nodded, his body trembling.
Josh pushed him toward the table, and shoved him into an empty chair. Swiftly and efficiently, he tied a strip of leather around the man’s wrists behind his back, and to the chair. Josh almost felt sorry for the man. His wide, terror-filled eyes stared up at him. He swallowed nervously.
“Where’s Hank?” he asked with a trembling voice.
“Asleep in the other room,” Josh answered calmly.
“How . . . how did you get -”
“I’m gonna be asking the questions,” Josh interrupted him, his stare meant to intimidate. It worked. The man nodded vigorously.
“Is Douglas the man who’s been poaching bison in the park this past year?”
“Y . . .yes,” came the quiet answer.
“How many of you work with him?”
“Hank, and Charlie, and me, and four others that rode out with the Lieutenant.” He stared into his lap, then quickly raised his head. Sweat beaded his forehead. “Douglas told us it would do no harm. The bison are being killed everywhere else, so why should the ones in this park be any different. He told us the army would soon be taking over here, and the animals, just like the Indians, would be fair game.” He couldn’t get his words out fast enough.
Josh didn’t much care for this man’s explanations. He only wanted Douglas. These other men were nothing but followers. They’d all stand trial for their crimes. The army would make sure they’d be punished.
“Why did Douglas come back here?” Did he really need to ask that question? He already knew the answer.
“Said you were a threat to the operation. And since you are nothing but a fil . . . since you’re part Injun, we had a duty to remove you from the park.”
Josh curbed his desire to end this soldier’s life. This wasn’t the man he meant to seek vengeance against.
“Where did Douglas go?” Josh hissed between clenched teeth.
“He’s taking his woman and baby to Virginia City so they can finally get married. She ran off on him last summer before they could wed properly. He told us they’d had a lover’s quarrel and he just recently found out she had his baby. He got himself shot by some Indians, so it took him a while to find her again.”
Josh’s brain worked quickly to process this information. Dani had run away? Douglas had been shot? Dammit, Running Wolf! Some part of him desperately wanted to believe that Dani hadn’t lied to him. Had she shot him, and thought him dead? He would get the truth out of her soon enough. The head start Douglas had on him couldn’t be more than four or five hours. They wouldn’t ride through the night. Josh hoped he could pick up their trail in the dark.
Chapter 24
The first gray lights of early morning stirred Danica awake. Startled that it was no longer nighttime, she reached for her daughter. Dawn had never slept through the night before. She didn’t accidentally smother her baby, did she? She jolted fully awake with that thought. The air left her lungs in a relieved breath. Dawn slept snugly, cradled in Danica’s arms. She’d kept her baby tucked up close to her body all night, afraid what the cold air might do to her. Satisfied to see a rosy color to Dawn’s cheeks, Danica moved cautiously to sit up.
A quick glance at her surroundings told her most of the camp was still asleep. No one stirred from their bedrolls, which were positioned around their campfire. Off by a line of trees, the horses stood picketed. Most held their heads low. Apparently it was too early even for the animals to be awake.
Only one soldier was up, tending the fire. She recognized the same man who had been so helpful the night before, the one who had offered her an extra blanket. He glanced in her direction, and Danica shot him her most dazzling smile. The soldier’s eyes widened, and he quickly averted his gaze. He picked up a bundle of wood piled next to their fire, and headed in her direction.
Yellowstone Dawn (Yellowstone Romance Series Book 4) Page 20
