Cramer's eyes darted toward McLowry then he smirked. "You don’t ask no questions, gunman. An’ don’ worry. I won't fergit ‘bout you. Right now, she's more inturstin'...Lots more inturstin’."
Taking hold of a handful of Gabe's hair, Cramer pulled her head toward him, close enough she could smell the stench of his body, feel his hot, sour breath. "Looks like she's thirsty. What's wrong with you boys? Didn't you treat her like a lady?"
He snapped his fingers and Lefty lifted a canteen from his horse and gave it to Cramer. Cramer shook it, letting Gabe hear the water slap the sides, then he took off the top, flung his head back, held the canteen a couple of inches above his mouth and poured, letting the water slosh over his chin, through his beard and onto the ground.
He licked his lips. "It's nice an' cold...jis' the way I like it."
She said nothing.
Cramer put his long, thin forefinger in the canteen and when he pulled it out, it was wet. "Thirsty, girl?"
He put the wet finger against her lips and despite its dirt and long, grime-encrusted fingernail, her tongue darted out to lick what liquid was there.
Cramer laughed. "Look at that. Like a dog, lickin' its master. Good. You learn fast."
Gabe turned her head away, sickened. The taste of water and anticipation of more had brought saliva to her mouth. She sucked it together and spat with all the force she could muster, hitting him squarely in the face. His hand darted out like a rattler's bite, and slapped her hard. Slim caught her and kept her on her feet.
McLowry moved forward, but the two men at his sides held him fast.
"Leave her alone, Cramer," McLowry said. "She's just a kid."
Cramer snorted, "Kids shouldn't go askin' 'bout grown men. They might git more 'en they bargained fer."
His eyes over raked the young woman, and he slid his fingers in the belt of his trousers while he jutted out one boney hip. "Later on, we jis' might see how thirsty you really are, girl. I got some other good lickin' parts fer you."
He guffawed at his own joke, and his men joined in.
Melissa stepped to Cramer's side, then jerked her head toward McLowry. "What about him?"
Cramer glanced at her "You know him?"
Melissa's eyes turned wide and watery. "He...he attacked me, darlin’."
"What?"
She clutched at the bodice of her dress and tried to pull the edges closer together without success. "He raped me. I was in Tucson. He was a gunfighter. Thought he could take anything he wanted, and he wanted me." Her voice was small and mewling as she looked up at Cramer. "I refused him, but he wouldn't take my 'no.' It was terrible, the things he forced me to do! I wanted to kill him, but I'm not strong or powerful like you are."
Cramer stroked his stubbly chin as he glanced over at McLowry. "That so? You attacked my woman?"
McLowry answered without expression. "That's a woman no man would ever need to rape. She’s mad ‘cause I didn’t even want her free of charge."
Cramer chuckled.
Melissa's jaw clenched, and she tugged at Cramer's arm, her body jiggling like loose set custard. "You can't let him talk to me that way, Tack."
Cramer looked from one to the other then he shrugged, "Goddamn, Melissa! We’re gonna kill him anyway, once Tanner shows up. Cain't kill him twice, can we?"
Cramer chuckled again and Gabe's flesh ran cold as she took in the sick little scene. Cramer was crazy as well as easily swayed. The combination was deadly.
"Dying's too easy." Melissa tossed back her carrot-colored mane. "He needs to be taught how it feels to be used... humiliated."
McLowry’s eyes narrowed. Melissa continued, undaunted. "Break his spirit, Tack. For me. Let me hear his cries of pain, just like he heard mine."
Cramer smiled and gazed at McLowry with new interest. "You might be on to somethin', sweetheart. We was jis' gonna hog-tie him and be done, but we could use a little entertainin'. As fer her," he stroked Melissa's arm while regarding Gabe, "I know cookin' and meetin' the needs of us boys can be a little wearyin' on you, sweetheart. Might be you could use a helpin' hand--least ‘til Tanner gets here and decides what to do with her. I could offer a few ideas, myself." He grabbed Gabe’s arm. Twisting it behind her back, he caused her to lean into his narrow chest. "I never did hear why you was lookin' fer me."
"I wasn't," Gabe rasped. "I just...heard about you and I was curious...I wasn't looking..."
He yanked her arm upward. A sharp, searing pain made her scream. "You think I was born in some turnip patch? You had a powerful lot a questions, girl, fer someone jis' curious."
"She didn't say what part she was curious about, Tack," Dawes said, a smirk on his lips.
Cramer raised her arm higher, and she cried out again as her legs threatened to buckle. "I think I wanna hear what you heard about me."
Her arm hurt so badly she had to bite her lip to keep tears of pain from falling. "Only that you were...uh...the...the best outlaw in these parts..."
His hold relaxed a bit. "The best? Who said that?"
"Everybody." The pain of her arm, the stench of his body and the rank odor of his breath made her empty stomach lurch. The world turned black and purple and began to spin.
"Better’n Tanner?"
She forced herself back to reality. "Yes!"
"Let her go, Cramer!" McLowry’s voice reeked with disgust. "She can't hurt you."
Cramer shoved Gabe aside and gulped more whiskey before ambling in front of McLowry. "Yer too bossy, big man. There's only one boss here."
"Right, and it’s not you, is it, Cramer? You’re nothing."
Cramer’s eyes glinted murderously. "A little time in the sun'll be good fer learnin' how to talk to yer betters, gunman."
McLowry lifted his head and peered down his nose at Cramer.
Cramer’s eyes blazed. "Dawes!" His voice was shrill. Dawes jumped to attention. "We got us a wild stallion here. We gotta break him. Now!"
Dawes smirked, then tramped toward the shack. Gabe watched in horror, knowing Jess had insulted Cramer just to divert his rage from her.
Cramer’s gaze glombed onto the two men at McLowry’s side. "Don’t just stand there scratchin’ yer asses!" he shrieked. "Tie him good an' 'tight. We don't wanna make it easy on him."
As Lefty reached for McLowry’s arms, McLowry kicked at him, tripping him, then McLowry rammed his shoulder into Red. Slim and Lomax jumped on him, beating him while his bound hands stopped him from protecting himself from their punches.
Gabe flung herself toward them. She was trying to pull Lomax’s gun from his holster when someone grabbed her hair and spun her around.
Cramer's insane grin flashed before her eyes a moment before she saw his fist sailing toward her face, then all went black.
o0o
Gabe awoke to a boot toe jabbing her in the back. "Get up, whore. You don't want to miss your high and mighty boyfriend now. Not when he's going to be screaming and begging for mercy."
She was vaguely aware of a canteen being held to her lips. She drank greedily. Her ears rang, her head throbbed, and her entire jaw was sore and puffy. Her eyes barely opened. Slowly, the woman before her came into focus. Melissa. The realization of where she was and what was happening came back to her in a rush. "Your boyfriend," Melissa had said, "screaming."
No! Gabe rolled her head from side to side. This wasn't happening, none of it. She reached for the water.
"Forget it!" Melissa yanked it from her. Grabbing the shoulder of Gabe’s dress, she tugged her to her feet and twisted her around.
When she saw McLowry, she would have fallen again except that Melissa held her tight.
His shirt had been ripped away, baring his back and he'd been tied, spread eagle, against the wall of the old shack. His hands and ankles were tightly bound with rawhide strips attached to the shack's outside wall. His fine hands were swollen and fiery red while he braced his forehead against the wall, panting hard. She could see blood dripping from his nose and mouth, and ugly reddish purple
bruises over his body. He strained against his bindings, but it did no good.
Dawes slowly walked toward him, in his hand, a bullwhip.
"Stop this!" Gabe ran forward two steps before Lomax grabbed her. She turned to Melissa. "Don't let them do this. Please. He didn’t hurt you. He never even touched you. You know he didn't!"
Melissa's eyes were cold. "But he did. Your precious Jess McLowry is a first class bastard."
"No!"
"Watch!" Melissa turned from Gabe, all her attention on McLowry.
Gabe could see him lick lips that were dry and cracked. Squeezing his eyes shut, he turned his head away from her. She could no longer see his gaze, and for that she was thankful. She didn't think she could bear to see the pride and beauty in his eyes reduced to this.
Her heart and breath seemed to stop. Her throat ached to cry out to him, but no sound came, only a silent rage and desperation.
She heard the shuffle of footsteps as Dawes moved closer. Cramer and the others stepped to the side as if to get a better view.
Then everything went still. Gabe saw McLowry’s body tense as he waited. She heard the whistling sound of the whip then saw it land, with a sickening crack, across his bare shoulders. She jerked back, a cry escaping her lips, her senses horrified.
McLowry’s fists clenched and unclenched, his forehead pushed harder against the wall, but he didn't make a sound.
Her body still trembled from the first blow when the second hit. A streak of blood lined McLowry’s back where the whip struck.
Gabe dropped to her knees. "Please, God," she whispered, "stop them."
The whip slashed again, tearing through skin and muscle. "No!" she cried, her body quaking with rage and agony as Melissa and Lomax pulled her to her feet. They held her head and forced her to watch as Dawes struck without mercy, again and again.
McLowry didn't cry out, and his silence seemed to enrage Dawes and Cramer until Gabe's vision swam with blood. She screamed until she had no voice left, and fought them, unable to stop herself or her outrage, unable to stop the cruelty before her. What had been McLowry’s strong, broad back was torn, bloodied flesh. Gabe saw his right arm tense so forcefully from a blow that the rawhide on his wrist pulled free of the wall. Then his body sagged, and he fell unconscious.
Gabe shut her eyes, covering her face with her hands. It was over.
But then she heard another blow. She stared at the madmen before her, her senses raging with disbelief. Dawes wasn't stopping. He would keep going until Jess was dead.
Melissa and Lomax must have also thought the beating was over and relaxed their hold because, suddenly, she was free of them. The two bolted after her when she first got loose, thinking she was escaping, then stopped, intrigued at the direction she took.
She ran between McLowry and Dawes, then faced Cramer. "You still want to whip someone, Cramer, whip me. You've hurt this man enough."
Dawes grabbed her arm, his eyes murderous, but then he glanced at Cramer as if he wasn’t sure what to do.
Cramer grimaced, his jaw working furiously. He spat, then turned toward Melissa. "She's yer charge, Melissa. If'n you cain't control her, I'll git someone who cain!"
"What about him?" Lomax asked, jerking his thumb toward McLowry.
"Damn it! He's gonna be dead soon. I don’t know why the hell I should care."
"But Tanner said don’t kill ‘em. He said just to capture ‘em, and wait for him to get here."
"Yeah, so?" Cramer sneered.
"So, he might not like it if he comes back and finds out we killed him."
"Shee-it. I’m the one who’s in charge here. Jis leave ’im. If he dies, he dies."
Melissa ran to Cramer and rubbed her hands over his bare chest and along his waistline. "You're such a man, Tack. You did that to defend my honor. I can do things for you, now. To show my appreciation."
Cramer’s gaze flickered to the ground. His whiskey bottle lay on its side, empty. He shoved Melissa hard. "My likker! You spilt it!"
She gasped. "No!"
"You goddam, clumsy slut! That was my last bottle." He whipped out his gun and pointed it at her.
Melissa dropped to her knees, stark terror in her eyes. "Please, Tack," she begged. "I'll make it up to you. Anything you want, Tack, love..."
Cramer glanced at Gabe, still being held by Dawes, then back to Melissa. His eyes narrowed as he slowly put the gun back in its holster. "You go with Slim an' git me some a that good likker we stashed down on the mountain. I think I'm gonna have a mighty big thirst real soon."
Chapter 17
"Bring her where it's cooler, Dawes," Cramer said. "Then you git. I cain handle her."
Dawes led Gabe to the canvas-topped frame. Cramer stretched out under it, his arms behind his head like a pillow. "So why'd you wanna find me, girl? I know you been askin' over three counties, but I ain't never heard why."
Because you’re a cruel, murdering, thieving bastard, she wanted to say. And I’ll be happy to shoot your guts out. She glanced quickly at Jess, and then turned her attention to Cramer, knowing the only way to save Jess would be to somehow, kill Cramer. For the moment, she gave him a shy smile. "As I said, I heard about your reputation, and I was impressed."
"No, girl. I ain't no fool. You ain’t the type to go chasin’ after the pants of the likes of me."
She held down the bile that threatened. "I'm a woman, aren't I? And I'm alone. I always heard you had a good set up, and you could take care of your women."
His mouth curled in a sneer. "Then why’re you with McLowry?"
"Why not? But obviously, he can't take care of me. If he could, your men wouldn't have captured me so easily. I've no ties to him, Tack."
He stroked the stubble on his beard. "I still don't believe you, girl, much's I'm tempted. It's all too easy."
She shrugged. "Suit yourself. There's no other reason I can see I'd be looking for you. But if you don't believe me, there's not much I can do about it."
His eyes raked over her slight frame. "Where you from?"
"These parts."
He was on his feet like a shot. He twisted his fingers in her hair and dragged her in a half-circle. She fell to her knees. "When I ask a question I 'spect an answer! None a this smart mouth, hear?"
Her eyes stung from the pain and she gripped his arm, trying to stop him from ripping her scalp. "I'm from Texas," she screeched. "I traveled to Tombstone when I heard about the silver mines there. In Tombstone, I heard about you."
"An' so you come lookin' fer me," he scoffed.
"God's truth."
He pushed her aside. "Lyin' woman. Yer all the same. Goddam lying whores. Cain't trust a one a you." He picked up his whiskey bottle, saw it was empty and threw it against a rock, the glass shattering. Gabe lay still and prayed he'd forget about her.
Dawes stepped under the tarp and took a ladle of water from a barrel.
Cramer looked sharply at him. "Ain't you got nothin' better to do?"
"I was thirsty."
"That's no reason to be comin’ aroun’ botherin’ me!"
Dawes shrugged and drained the cup then filled it with water again. Cramer snatched it away, his eyes squinting. "I said cain't you find somethin' else to do? Dammit! Cain't you tell I'm busy?" He looked back at Gabe then, and his tongue slowly lolled along his bottom lip. He glanced at Dawes. "I said to git the hell outta here. Now!"
Dawes's jaw tightened as he glanced from Cramer to Gabe. Without a word, he walked away.
Cramer took a swallow of water. "Well..." He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand as his eyes ogled Gabe. "Alone at last. Jis' like you want."
She glanced at the table and the chuck wagon but the cooking knives were too far to reach.
He stretched flat out on the ground, on his back, his arms folded under his head. "Let's see how much you really want it. Come here."
She didn't move.
"What're you waitin' fer?"
Slowly, she got up and edged to his side, then stopped,
chewing her bottom lip.
"Hell, woman! Don't you know nothin'?" He lifted his shoulders and propped himself up on one elbow, then pointed to the ground beside him and snapped his fingers. Realizing what he meant, she knelt.
He rolled so that he held himself propped up by both elbows. Then glanced at his crotch. Then back at her. "I'm waitin'."
Her mouth was drier than the sharp gravel under her knees as her shaking fingers reached for the top button on his trousers.
Cramer wriggled closer, a big grin on his face, as she struggled with the buttons.
She unfastened the last one, then sat back on her heels. "Well?" he said. "Don't you wanna see him? He’s real purtty. Melissa says he's the purttiest one she's ever seen, and if anybody knows, it'd be her."
Her stomach lurched.
"He's a mite quiet now, but you treat him right and he'll jump up and git real friendly." His hand closed on the back of her neck and pushed her head closer. She braced her hands hard against the ground, struggling to hold herself back. "I said," his voice was like flint, "take a look at him an’ treat him right!"
Cramer's finger’s tightened, his hold like a vice.
"What the hell are you doing?" Melissa screeched. She barreled against Gabe, knocking her aside. "I see what you're up to, you cheap little tramp! You keep away from my man!"
Gabe scrambled away as fast as she could. Lomax was standing nearby, and moved closer to her, signaling that it would be a waste of time to try to run too far.
Cramer jumped to his feet, one hand holding his pants up, his face purple and his eyes bulging as he stood nose to nose with Melissa. "Damn it, woman! Am I gonna have to shoot you to keep you from pawin' after me all the time!"
Gabe could see the terror in Melissa's eyes at Cramer's words, and realized Cramer just might mean exactly what he said.
Melissa grabbed his shirt. "You're mine, Tack Cramer, and I ain't gonna let no scrawny, ugly little bitch come around here and mess things up between us. I came back because I was worried about leaving you with her so near."
Cramer grinned, his eyes overly bright. "That so?"
Melissa pressed herself against him, her knee pushed between his legs as her hand slipped inside his open fly.
Dance With A Gunfighter Page 16
