by Connie Mason
Cole made his way slowly back to the shed and went to bed, but for some reason sleep eluded him. His mind kept returning to the river and the golden, shimmering figure with perfect breasts poised upon the bank. The sight of her whiplashed flesh had angered him to the point of violence. It made him wish he could bring Billy Cobb back to life and tear him limb from limb, slowly, inflicting great pain.
Cole slipped from his bedroll just as dawn kissed the sky, and rode to Dodge. His first stop in town was the grocery store. He was waiting outside the door when it opened at eight. After placing his order, he went to the livery stable to retrieve Cobb’s horse. He figured Dawn needed it more than he did. He left Dodge a few hours later with two gunnysacks bulging with supplies slung over the withers of Cobb’s horse. Since he wouldn’t have time to hunt, he had purchased salted and cured meats as well as dried and canned foodstuffs, flour, sugar, salt and coffee. Enough to last two weeks.
Cole didn’t want to concern himself with Dawn’s future, or wonder what would become of her after he left. It wasn’t his worry, he told himself, that Dawn had no money, no family, nothing. He decided to treat this assignment like any other he’d worked on. Once he recovered the stolen money, he’d forget that Dawn had ever existed.
Dawn slept later than she would have wished. When she finally roused from sleep, Cole was already gone and the sun was rising in the eastern sky. She had lain awake a long time last night, planning her escape with the train robbery money. She’d been overjoyed when Cole had said he was riding into Dodge this morning for supplies. With any luck he wouldn’t return for several hours. In his absence she would have sufficient time to retrieve the money from its hiding place and light out of here on Old Betsy, the swaybacked mule that had carried her here five years ago as Billy’s reluctant bride.
Using the last of the water in the bucket, Dawn washed her hands and face and cleaned her teeth. Still moving somewhat stiffly from the beating she’d received the day before, she walked outside into the sunshine. She paused on the doorstep, experiencing a moment of guilt. She knew that taking money that didn’t belong to her was wrong, but she was desperate. She smiled in anticipation of her flight.
“Howdy, Dawn.”
The smile melted from Dawn’s face as she stared in horror at her unwelcome visitor. Duke Riley! She had hoped the other gang members wouldn’t show up so soon. Duke grinned at her as he boldly approached the cabin.
“Hello, Duke. What brings you around?” Calm, stay calm, Dawn cautioned herself.
Duke Riley was young, no more than twenty-five, but as mean and ornery as any of the three outlaws who rode with Billy Cobb. He was tall, lean, and not too bad looking. He considered himself something of a ladies’ man, and Dawn had always been wary of the hungry looks he gave her when Cobb wasn’t watching.
“Where’s Billy? Am I the first to arrive? Can’t wait to get my hands on my share of the loot.”
Dawn blanched. She had to get rid of Duke quickly or miss her chance to leave before Cole returned.
Dawn wiped her sweaty palms on her skirt and swallowed uneasily. “Billy is dead, Duke. He was ambushed by a lawman when he left the cabin yesterday.”
Duke’s expression turned ugly. “Dead! Shit! Where’s the money? Cobb wasn’t dumb. He must have hidden the money somewhere.” His eyes narrowed on Dawn, his gaze sliding down her body with insulting intensity. “Be real good to me, and I’ll see that you get Billy’s share.”
Dawn’s mouth went dry. She wanted nothing to do with Duke Riley, or any other man. “I don’t know about any money. Billy didn’t confide in me.”
Duke’s eyes went murky. Closing the distance between them, he grasped Dawn’s wrist and pulled her up against him. “Are you sure, darlin’? Damn sure?”
Dawn’s chin rose defiantly. “I’m sure.”
His voice was rough and low with implied promise. “If I give you a little lovin’, will you remember where Cobb hid the money? You always did fancy me. I know I fancied you. I remember how Cobb always bragged about how hot you were. How you hollered and cried and dug bloody grooves down his back when he was rutting between your legs. He said you couldn’t get enough, that you had to have it all night long. Hot damn!” He licked his lips. “I could use a little of that.”
His hands settled on her waist, dragging her so close she could feel the hard ridge beneath his trousers.
“Let me go!”
“Not on your life.” His mouth jammed down hard on hers. When he tried to push his tongue into her mouth, she bit down hard on it. “Ow, you little bitch! Don’t play hard to get with me. Your man’s dead. You got no one to take care of you. You ain’t no beauty. It ain’t gonna be easy findin’ another man.
“Look at you.” His gaze slid over her with barely concealed disgust. “Look at your face. You’re a mess. Why did Billy beat you? Be good to me and I’ll be good to you. Let’s go back inside. The ground’s a mite hard for what I got in mind.”
Dawn resisted vigorously, finally pulling free. “If I’m no beauty, why do you even bother with me? There are plenty of willing women in Dodge. I thought you came for your money. You can’t find it doing what you have in mind.”
“You can stop pretending. You know I want you. You’ve been teasing me for years, parading around in them baggy clothes, making me guess what you got underneath besides those sweet little titties. I’m gonna have you, lady. And I want you wild beneath me, just like you were with Billy. But you’re right, it will keep. After I find that train loot we’ll spread it out on the bed and roll around on it while we have us a good old time.”
Dawn was too grateful for the reprieve to say anything. She needed time to think. No man was going to make a victim of her again, she thought fiercely. She’d kill Duke Riley before she’d let him use her. Billy Cobb was dead. She had earned her freedom. The shackles binding her to a life of pain and degradation had been severed forever. Something had snapped inside her during Billy’s last beating. If Cole Webster hadn’t killed Billy, she would have done it herself.
“Go fix us some grub. I rode all night to get here. Had to make sure the law wasn’t following me. Billy always kept the loot until we could meet back here and divide it. Claimed he’d found a hiding place for it close to the cabin.” He glanced around him, saw the shed and smiled. “I’ll start with that shed over yonder. Call me when the grub’s ready.”
Dawn knew with a certainty that Duke would not find the sack of money in the shed. She knew where Billy had hidden it, and it was where no one could find it.
While Dawn sliced bacon, put beans on to cook and made biscuits with the last of the flour, she worried that the handsome lawman would return and, unsuspecting, walk into a dangerous situation. Unfortunately, there was no way to warn Cole. He could return at any time. Knowing Duke as she did, he wouldn’t leave until he found the money, and that frightened Dawn. Cole could be walking right into a trap.
Dawn was faced with a dilemma. Should she lead Duke to the money so he’d leave before Cole returned? Would telling him make any difference in what he intended where she was concerned? The answer to that was a resounding no. She’d recognized the look in Duke’s eyes. He meant to have her whether he found the money or not. And without the money, Dawn had nothing. She’d be forced to seek work in a brothel. Whenever Billy was displeased with her, he’d threatened to sell her to a madam he knew in Garden City.
Suddenly the door crashed open and Duke stormed inside. “I tore that damn shed apart and didn’t find a thing. Is the grub ready? I’m starving.”
Dawn nodded jerkily and started to turn away. Duke stopped her, grasping her roughly by the shoulders. He gave her a slow smile. “You look mighty fetching today, Dawn. Don’t recollect ever seeing you look so pretty.”
Dawn flushed, sorry now that she’d bathed the dirt and grime away last night in the river. Her midnight black hair spilled straight and thick down her slender back and over her narrow shoulders. Her cornflower blue eyes were as large as saucers in her
bruised face. But Duke’s gaze did not linger on her face. They fastened greedily on her breasts.
Dawn gasped and spun away when Duke brought his hand to her breast and squeezed. “I thought you were hungry.”
He leered at her. “I am. Food first, then I’ll satisfy my other appetite. Loosen up, Dawn. I know you want me. Women always want me.”
Dawn wanted to gag. His vile touch sickened her. The only good thing she could say about Billy was that while he was alive he had kept his men from her. Without Billy’s protection, Dawn realized she’d be fair game to every outlaw in the territory. She needed the train robbery money to get as far away from here as possible. If she felt any guilt over taking the money, it disappeared when she considered her alternatives. Working in a brothel or scrubbing floors in a saloon. Either way she’d end up on her back, spreading her legs for strangers.
With trembling hands Dawn set the food down on the table and took a seat opposite Duke.
“Where’s the coffee?” Duke growled.
“There isn’t any.”
“Water, then.”
Dawn stood up in a rush. “The bucket is empty. I’ll go down to the river and fetch us some.”
Duke lashed her with a narrow-eyed look of disdain. “I ain’t no fool. Once you get down to the river you’ll keep going. Sit down and eat, I can do without.”
Dawn sat back down, swallowing her disappointment but little else. The lump of food that lodged in her throat grew bigger and bigger. She finally summoned the strength to swallow but gave up trying to eat. She watched with barely concealed contempt as Duke wolfed down his portion of the food.
“Ain’t you hungry?” Dawn shook her head. Duke reached over and emptied the contents of her plate into his. “I am,” he mumbled around a mouthful of beans.
Duke ate fast and without manners, not that Dawn expected any from the crude outlaw. When every last scrap of food had been consumed, Duke sat back and gave a loud burp.
“That’s better. I feel like I could hump all day and night now. I wouldn’t want to disappoint you after all Cobb told me about your stamina in bed.” He rose abruptly, grasped her arm and pulled her to her feet. “Come on, honey, let’s give that corn-husk mattress a try. I’m as horny as a billy goat.”
Dawn wanted to scream, but she knew that no one would hear her in this isolated place. Fear was her enemy; she couldn’t allow herself to succumb to it. She had to be on guard every minute. Men liked to hurt women, and if Duke knew she was afraid of him, he would use that knowledge to inflict even more pain.
Dawn felt like a rabbit caught in a trap as Duke dragged her to the cornhusk mattress in the corner and shoved her down. She landed on her back so hard the air exploded from her chest. Before she could catch her breath, Duke fell on top of her and shoved her dress up to her waist. Dawn struggled fiercely, to no avail. Duke was a strong man, too strong for her frail resistance.
“I like it when you fight me, honey,” Duke said hoarsely. He shifted between her legs, and Dawn cried out as his gun dug painfully into her hip. He hadn’t bothered to remove either his gunbelt or spurs, unconcerned about the damage they could inflict upon her tender flesh.
Something snapped inside Dawn. She’d been a victim of men’s depravities once too often and she’d die before letting it happen again. The moment she felt the cold metal of Duke’s guns biting into her flesh, she knew what she had to do to save herself. She grasped his gunbelt, trying to find the butt of his pistol. Duke mistook her desperate groping for impatience and gave her a leering grin.
“Hang on, honey, you’re gonna get all the humpin’ you can handle just as soon as I get these damn pants unbuttoned.” Straddling her hips, he raised himself up on his haunches and fumbled clumsily with the opening of his trousers.
Her face pale beneath the yellowing bruises, Dawn acted with a determination born of desperation. While both Duke’s hands were occupied, she found the butt of his pistol, pulled it free of the holster and aimed it at him.
“What the hell! Give me that. You shouldn’t play around with a man’s guns. No wonder Billy enjoyed beating you. When I’m through with you I’m gonna put bruises in places Cobb never thought of.”
He grabbed for the gun at the same time that Dawn fired.
Cole was a few hundred yards from the cabin when he heard a single gunshot. The blood froze in his veins. Strangely, he wasn’t worried for himself. It was Dawn he worried about. He hadn’t noticed a gun in the cabin, but he supposed there could have been one hidden somewhere beyond his notice. His gut told him something was wrong, and he spurred Warrior forward. Cobb’s horse, laden with supplies, followed close behind.
Cole saw a horse tethered to the stunted tree in the front yard, and alarm bells went off in his head. Dawn was in danger, he knew it! He cursed himself for leaving her alone. Leaping from his mount, he approached the cabin with both guns drawn. He wasted no time in preliminaries as he kicked open the door and stormed inside. The sight he encountered made his blood run cold.
Dawn lay supine on the cornhusk mattress in the corner, her legs spread obscenely and a man lying between them. He saw no movement from either occupant of the bed, and that frightened him. Who was the man and what had he done to Dawn? Willing his feet into motion, he reached the bed in three long strides.
Dawn’s eyes were closed. A smoking gun lay beside the tangled bodies. Then he saw the blood and went wild.
Shoving his guns into his belt, he grasped the man by the shoulders and tossed him aside like a rag doll. Then he began tearing off Dawn’s clothing, searching for a wound.
Dawn clutched the torn material to her breast, opened her mouth and screamed. “Don’t, please don’t!”
“Dawn, it’s me, Cole. I’m not going to harm you. Where are you hurt?” His hands shook as he rid Dawn of her dress.
Dawn’s eyes opened slowly, so grateful to see Cole that she clutched his shirtfront and refused to let go. “He was trying to … He wanted to …” She couldn’t go on.
Cole had only one thought. “Where did the bastard shoot you? Are you in pain?”
Dawn swallowed several times before she could speak. “He … he didn’t shoot me, I shot him. Is he dead?”
“The blood …”
“It’s Duke’s blood. I couldn’t let him … do that to me. Oh, God, I shot a man. Did I kill him?”
Cole sent a quick glance at Duke, saw that he was writhing on the floor, and decided the bastard was very much alive. “It’s all right, sweetheart, he’s not dead. Don’t trouble yourself over it.” Before he realized what he was doing, he pressed a kiss to her forehead. Then he pulled the blanket over her shivering form and turned his hard-eyed gaze to the man who had tried to hurt her. “What are you doing here?”
Duke stared at Cole through pain-misted eyes. “The bitch shot me. I’m bleeding. Get me to a doctor before I die.”
Cole dropped to his haunches and probed the wound high up on Duke’s shoulder. “It’s not life-threatening, more’s the pity. The bullet shattered your collarbone. I would have aimed lower.” Duke screeched and passed out. Satisfied that the man was in no danger of dying, Cole returned his attention to Dawn.
“Are you all right, Dawn? I shouldn’t have left you alone. Who is that man?”
“His name is Duke Riley. He’s one of Billy’s men. He’s come for his share of the money.”
“And a share of you, unless I misjudged the situation. Why did you shoot him? Didn’t you like the way he was pleasuring you?” The moment he spoke, he wished he could call back the words. Dawn didn’t look at all like she had enjoyed being mauled by Duke. She looked terrified. How many times in the past had Duke assaulted her with Cobb’s approval? he wondered bitterly.
“Bastard!” Dawn hissed from between clenched teeth. “You have no right to judge me when you know nothing about me or my situation. You’re just like the others.”
Cole felt like a callous bastard. No one had the right to condemn Dawn for things she had no control over. “
I’m sorry, I had no call to say what I did. Obviously, the man was hurting you, otherwise you wouldn’t have shot him. Did he … ?”
“No. I shot him before he could finish what he started.”
Duke started to moan and whimper, and Cole spit out a curse. “I’ll get the bastard out of here so you can get dressed.”
“What are you going to do with him?”
“Tie him up and lock him in the shed. He’ll keep until I take him to town tomorrow. That’s two down and two more gang members on the loose to worry about. One by one they’ll turn up here for their money. Did Riley have time to search for the loot?”
Dawn nodded. “He tore the shed apart but found nothing.”
He sent her an oblique look. “Why didn’t you tell him where to find it?”
“I wouldn’t tell him even if I knew.”
Cole let that remark pass. Intuition told him that Dawn knew exactly where to find the money. “What happens when the others show up for their share of the money, Dawn? I might not be here to protect you.”
“I don’t need you. I handled Duke just fine by myself.”
“You were lucky. You might not be the next time.”
“I’ll manage.”
Deciding not to push the issue, Cole prodded Duke to his feet and herded him out the door. Once Cole was gone, Dawn’s bravado fled. She had never shot a man before, never even held a gun in her hand. What if she had killed Duke? Not that the low-down snake didn’t deserve to die after what he had tried to do to her. Still shaking over her close call, Dawn rose and searched for something to wear.
The blood-stained dress Cole had ripped from her was beyond repair. She owned only one other dress and she couldn’t bear the feel of the filthy garment she had worn yesterday, and many days before that, against her clean skin. She did the next best thing. She found a clean pair of trousers and plaid shirt in Billy’s trunk. Even after she’d tucked the shirt into the waistband of the trousers, they were in danger of sliding down her narrow hips.
Cole returned, saw Dawn holding up her trousers with a bewildered look on her face, and gave a hoot of laughter. “Is that the best you could do?”
