by Joni Keever
“Now, now, little lady. No need to carry on so. You just might enjoy this as much as I’m a gonna.” Fletcher chuckled deeply and reached for her shirt.
With a jerk, he sent buttons flying in every direction. Carly squeezed her eyes closed. With all her might, she prayed for a miracle.
#
A shrill scream ripped the still night air. Kade froze. He’d been making his way up the street, stopping occasionally to check dark passageways and hiding places. His blood ran cold as his gaze settled on the large building that loomed near the edge of town.
The door banged loudly when he threw it open. He scanned the dim interior. At first glance, nothing seemed amiss. Someone had left a lantern burning—stupid but not ominous. The horses tittered a bit, but Kade likely spooked them busting in the way he did.
“Carl? You in here?” Kade wondered if he’d misjudged the direction of the scream. Just as he considered checking outside, he noticed some dirt and hay sift through the loft boards overhead and drift slowly downward.
“Carl?” With two quick strides, he leaped halfway up the ladder. The sight that met him at the top sent his chilled blood to boiling.
Two of the large men he’d seen earlier in the saloon pinned Carl to the rough wooden floor. One covered her mouth with a beefy palm. Her shirt lay open, exposing creamy white flesh. Her britches had been shoved down around her hips. Though both men held her, she fought with the strength of a puma. Neither assailant looked up, so intent were they on their task.
Kade charged. Lowering a shoulder, he slammed into the chest of the brute who continued to tug at Carl’s pants. Both men flew backward and landed near the loft door. They rolled a few times, then stood, each refusing to relinquish his grip on the other. Kade landed a mighty right punch to the man’s chin, lifting him off his feet. No sooner had he done so than he received a blow to the chest from his opponent’s partner. Kade staggered back. He saw Carl scramble to her feet, clutching her torn shirt to her chest. She stared at him with pale eyes.
“Kade!”
But he didn’t have time to respond. His attacker charged again, swinging ineffectively as Kade ducked, spun, and tripped the brute with an outstretched leg.
The first man had found his footing and lumbered toward Kade with wild red eyes. Grabbing the bully’s shoulders, Kade dropped to his back, flipping the giant over his head. He hit the edge of the loft, then toppled to the ground below.
Kade righted himself. A meaty fist caught him square on the jaw.
The men scuffled, rolling from one end of the loft to the other. Each received as many blows as he dealt. Kade lost track of the girl until he heard her scream from the level below. With fistfuls of his opponent’s hair, the cowboy brought the bully’s face down to meet his knee, then shoved him to the side. He hurried to the ladder, searching the ground for Carl.
Kade spotted her near the stalls. She clawed at the drunken brute as he held her by her honey-blonde hair. He grappled with the reins of a chestnut horse, obviously intent on leaving with his prize in tow. The spooked animal reared and whinnied, adding to the man’s frustration.
Kade started down the steps. A roar from above drew his attention. Leaping from the loft, the ruffian caught Kade with a forearm. Both men tumbled to the dusty floor below.
Carl screamed again. Her aggressor cursed. Kade struggled to his feet and chanced a quick look in their direction. With a nervous whinny, the horse bolted from its stall. It knocked the angry man to the ground, and the girl scrambled free.
As Kade turned back, he just had time to duck. His opponent swung an ax handle as if he were trying to fell a mighty oak. Kade rolled across the hay-strewn ground as the man brought the sharp blade down again and again.
Darting through the wheels of the broken wagon, Kade stood on the other side, willing Carl to run. She searched the livery for him and screamed as the ax came crashing down to splinter the brittle wood of the wagon bed. With a gut-wrenching groan, he lifted the heavy buckboard. It creaked loudly, then tipped and fell, pinning the ruffian beneath.
Kade ran to the other end of the livery, where the girl once again fought a giant. The man held her snugly against his chest, protecting himself from his opponent with her frail form. Her gaze beseeched Kade, but he stopped as the bully yanked the lantern from a nearby peg.
“I’ll burn her. I swear I’ll crack her over the head with this here lamp.” He backed toward the door, dragging her with him.
“Now, we’s just gonna leave, me and the girl. If you want to save this purty face, then you back off, mister. I don’t want no trouble. We was just funnin’. No reason to get all riled. If’n she was yourn, you shoulda kept better stock of her.”
Carl whimpered, staring at Kade with eyes he’d grown to know so well. Pale-green orbs shimmered behind pools of tears. Her attacker continued to wave the lantern within inches of her face. Kade matched him step for step, keeping the same distance between them as the man backed away.
A horse reared in a nearby berth. The thug looked its direction. Kade sprang. He aimed for the side of the man’s chest that Carl didn’t cover. All three of them hit the hard earth with a bone-jarring thud.
The attack sent the lantern flying. It crashed into a support post. Instantly hungry flames consumed the surrounding straw.
Kade struggled with his opponent, rolling into a stall and grappling beneath a horse’s hooves. The animal pitched frantically. Finally knocking the top plank from its perch, the horse leaped the remaining barriers and bolted from the burning barn.
The man had Kade by the throat, squeezing until muscles bulged in his arms and neck. Kade pushed against his chest, struggling for breath and consciousness. Working a knee upward, he shoved with all his might, throwing the brute to his back. Kade sucked at the air. Carl stood nearby. Tears streamed down her cheeks.
“Get the black!” he ordered as he lunged for the fallen man.
Red-orange flames devoured the dry grass, scaling the walls and licking the rafters. Timbers creaked and groaned. Only two horses remained. Both whinnied and danced nervously within their stalls. The grapplers were showered with bits of burning debris as it flew around the barn. Thickening smoke choked them and stung their eyes.
Kade backed the man into a corner. He pummeled him with thunderous blows to the head and face. Through the roar of the hungry blaze, Carl called his name. Two more punches, and the fight was over. Kade’s opponent slumped to the floor, chin lolling against his chest.
Protecting his eyes with a forearm, Kade peered through the black smoke. The girl struggled to maintain a flimsy grip on the stallion’s halter. The horse reared and bucked, shaking his head in terror. She had managed to get him out of the stall but was in danger of losing him or being severely injured.
Lifting the unconscious man to his shoulders, Kade made his way to where Carl battled the black. He ripped the lead rope from her grasp and wrapped it tightly about his arm, ordering her to free the other horse.
“Get out of here!” he yelled. She turned and started for the door. Something cracked and whistled overhead. They looked up to see a flaming crossbeam plummeting toward them. Carl lurched back against Kade’s chest as the burning timber struck the ground. Red-hot sparks flew in every direction. They covered their faces against the intense heat.
“We have to jump it. There’s no other way out.” He nodded toward the door. She stared at him, eyes wide in a pale, soot-streaked face. Then, suddenly, she turned, took a deep breath, and leaped across the growing blaze.
Kade hesitated only a moment, hoisting his heavy burden higher on his shoulders. With a glance back at the white-eyed stallion, he tightened his grip on the lead strap and followed Carl through the flames and smoke. They stumbled from the inferno to the cool night air.
The girl collapsed under a nearby tree, coughing and gasping for breath. Kade lumbered to her side, depositing his burden and tying off the black.
“You okay?” She nodded, and he turned to face a swarm of townsmen
. Several carried torches; others brought buckets.
Questions fired rapidly from the approaching crowd. Kade addressed only one.
“Anyone left inside?”
“One man.” Fresh air seared his throat and lungs. “At the back. Under a wagon.” He turned to gaze into the blazing building. “Better go around. You can’t get through this way.”
Several men ran to the rear of the livery. Kade tried to follow but was surrounded by the curious and concerned. He could see above their heads that Ruby had stopped near Carl. The barkeep wrapped a knitted shawl about the girl’s shoulders and helped her to her feet. Kade assured the townsfolk he was fine, ignoring questions about the fire’s origin. A knowing look passed between him and Ruby.
The crowd left Kade as the unconscious man was carried to safety and laid near his companion.
“Are they dead?” someone asked.
“No, but they’re beat all to hell.”
Buckets forgotten, the faces of Destiny turned to the cowboy, some questioning, some accusing. They stared in silence with only the roar of the fire interrupting the still of the summer night. Then a tall, lanky fellow stepped forward, pushing his torch toward the stranger. He squinted his eyes and tilted his head to the side.
“Kade Roberts? It is. It’s Kade Roberts! He’s wanted for murder in Texas! There’s a price on his head!”
A murmur went up from the crowd. They started toward Kade. He backed away. Painful memories flashed through his mind. Angry faces. Hateful words. Friends turned foe.
“Well, don’t just stand there. Get him!”
Kade bolted for his horse. Several men pushed their way through the throng of stunned onlookers. After grabbing Carl, he tossed her on the stallion’s bare back and leaped up behind her. Ruby handed him the halter’s lead end. With a quick nod of thanks, he wheeled his mount and spurred him to a swift gallop.
“He’s getting away. Get your horses! Hurry!”
Leaning low over his companion, Kade urged the stallion on. Carl entangled her fists in the long, black mane. He felt her tremble beneath him and wished he could comfort her somehow. He knew she must be in shock, experiencing one horror after another all night. Yet Kade couldn’t help but feel she’d brought it on herself.
A thundering of hooves echoed behind them. Kade left the main road. The land was barren with little rock cover and less foliage. Scanning the horizon, he noted a ridge in the distance.
As if by the hand of the gods, smoke from the fire drifted across the moon, smothering the silvery light. Kade urged the black toward the rocks.
“We’re going to die. We are, aren’t we?”
Carl spoke just loud enough to be heard above the pounding of the hooves. Her voice sounded remarkably calm, but her body trembled violently.
Kade checked back over his shoulder. He could just make out the group of riders in the distance—four, maybe five of them. As he turned to reassure the girl, the moon peeked through the smoke. Before Kade could answer, the crack of a rifle split the still night.
Chapter Eleven
Kade’s words were but a strangled choke as his body slammed into hers. Bullets whizzed past. Carly swallowed a scream. The stallion raised his head in panic, and she could see the white of an eye and foam flying from his mouth.
The cowboy prodded the animal with his heels. Whether propelled by fear or loyalty, Carly couldn’t guess, the black lowered his head and increased his speed. He churned at the earth with devil-driven madness. She closed her eyes and buried her face against the horse’s neck.
The sounds of approaching riders echoed in her ears. Hooves pounded like thunder. Rifle fire cracked like lightning. Bullets whistled like the wind. Carly held her breath until her lungs burned and ached, yet she couldn’t force herself to breathe. Finally the sounds seemed farther away; the thunder was a dull rumble and the lightning was no more.
They started a rocky ascent. Carly opened her eyes and peered back, under her companion’s arm. She couldn’t see anything in the gloom of night.
“We’ve lost them, haven’t we? Don’t you think we’ve lost them? I do. I think we’ve lost them.”
Kade didn’t answer. He continued maneuvering the stallion across the perilous terrain. The animal’s heavy breathing caused their thighs to rise and fall as it sucked in waves of welcomed air. Carly looked backward again. Her heart refused to beat a normal rhythm, but her breathing began to slow. She sat up straighter and smoothed the hair from her face.
Heavy, wet material clung to her right shoulder. She felt the area with her other hand. In the pale light of the moon, she could see a dark stain on her fingers. She immediately probed her shoulder for the wound.
It took several seconds for Carly to realize she wasn’t hurt, and then several more for the truth to dawn. She twisted in the saddle to stare at Kade. The front of his shirt was soaked, and a tattered hole stared back at her.
“Dear Lord, you’ve been shot!”
“Did you use your fancy schoolin’ to figure that out?”
She ignored his grumble. “We’ve got to get you to a doctor.” She scanned the area, forgetting for a moment they weren’t strolling down Main Street.
Kade’s laugh was caustic.
“And where would you suggest we find one? Beyond that tree? Behind that rock?”
“You don’t have to make fun of me. I’m just concerned—that’s all. And I’m not the one who shot you. It’s not my fault.” But as she uttered the words, she knew it was.
It was her fault that he wasn’t in Texas now, taking care of whatever business awaited him. It was her fault he had to come to her rescue tonight, saving her from yet another deplorable situation. And it was her fault he’d been shot, forced to flee with nothing but the clothes on his back.
“I’m sorry,” she mumbled, feeling the sting of tears in her eyes. She wiped at them angrily, refusing to crumble like a child before him. “What are we going to do? Where will we go?”
Kade hesitated so long in answering, Carly began to wonder if he would.
“We head north. They won’t follow us far. We should be able to find shelter for the night.”
His reference to the posse drew her gaze behind them once again. Still she could see nothing, but she felt they were out there, felt it as surely as Kade must have.
“Why won’t they follow us north?” She looked up at his strong jaw and stone-like expression.
“It’s Indian territory.”
Carly’s fingers tightened in the long, black mane. The hair on the back of her neck stood on end, sending a shiver through her body. She tried to speak, but her throat closed. Carly glanced to the rear again, then helplessly peered at the vast horizon that lay before them. Her mind raced frantically around one looming question. Which was the lesser of two evils?
#
The moon hovered in the western sky when at last they stopped to rest. Carly guessed it was mere hours before dawn illuminated the dark canopy above them. Kade had allowed only one stop—they let the stallion rest while they drank from a stream. She wanted to check his wound, but he refused, assuring her that he was fine and their haste was vital.
A cave, big enough for the three of them, opened in the rock wall like a wide yawn. The cowboy slid from the horse’s back and began to lead them inside. Carly blinked and squinted, struggling to see into the black fathom of the mountain’s belly. She could scarcely distinguish the animal’s ears before her, let alone Kade as he led them.
“Can you tell where we’re going? I can’t see a thing. What if you step off into a hole or something?” She whispered, though she wasn’t sure why. When the man answered her, it was with his usual deep, baritone voice.
“I know this cave. You worry too much.” He guided them deeper into the blackness, then warned, “Duck.”
“What?”
“Duck!”
“Why?”
The crown of Carly’s head connected soundly with the smooth stone above her. She reeled backward from the blow
, almost losing her grip on the horse’s mane. The thud seemed to roll slowly into the cavern’s depths.
Kade stopped and audibly exhaled. “The ceiling is low about here.”
She rubbed her sore forehead and carefully leaned forward, hugging the animal’s neck. Though she was glad she couldn’t see Kade’s expression right now, she visualized the annoyance on his face. As they started forward again, she opened her eyes wider to catch some glimpse of a vague shape or form. Nothing. Only colorless expanse like a night with no moon or stars.
Halting the horse, Kade told her to get down but stay put. She heard him fumbling around off to her left. She turned her head toward the noise.
“Kade?”
“Just a minute.”
A chinking sound came from the direction of his voice. Carly thought she saw something flash, like a lightning bug at the forest’s edge. Another chink, another flash. And once more, but this time the flash turned to a tiny flame.
Carly saw Kade’s profile lean close and blow until the blaze grew into a small fire nestled in a pile of dry grass. He added twigs and bark. Moments later, the fire burned brightly within a ring of rocks, and he added larger pieces of wood from a stack near the cave’s wall.
Moving forward to be embraced by the dancing circle of light, Carly inspected their new lodging. The golden glow did not reach the far corners, but she could see the cave was fairly large. The side they occupied offered plenty of headroom, then sloped sharply downward to disappear in darkness. Behind Kade the walls narrowed, and she decided she didn’t want to know where they went or what lurked within them.
“Are we in Indian territory now?” Carly tried to keep the tremble from her voice.
The cowboy glanced up at her with eyes as black as their surroundings. He didn’t answer but leaned back against the smooth rock wall. A bundle of sorts lay on the ground beside him. Carly watched as he put two rocks back within the folds. He produced a small, supple pouch she sized up as a kind of canteen. Her throat ached at the thought of a cool drink, but the bag was obviously empty. Next Kade withdrew some jerky, dried apple rings, and a bottle of whiskey. He lay the food on the soft hide wrap and turned his attention to the liquor.
