"You know what? I’ll bet she could help us out with our little problem,” Ned suggested.
“Didn’t we already get inta enough trouble trustin' one stranger?” Henry retorted.
"But she's—she's a woman."
“Yeah.” Henry’s eyes glittered. “She sure is.”
“It’s in a woman’s nature to be faithful.”
Lacey almost burst out laughing at that one.
"Yeah…I-I heard that somewhere,” Henry responded. His hungry gaze was glued to the rise and fall of Lacey's chest.
"You boys need my help with something?" Lacey inquired casually.
The two men exchanged a look, and then nodded at each other in agreement. "It's our sister," Ned blurted.
"Shhhh!" Henry shot out. “Keep yer voice down.”
Both men cast glances at the office door. Then Ned continued in a softer voice. "She's who we left in charge of the money, and, well—"
"She ain't exactly experienced in hidin' out," Henry added. "She's sorta new at robbin' banks."
"She ain't the only one—" Ned got another jab from his brother, but this time he wasn't putting up with it. "You do that one more time and I'm gonna steal myself summa your teeth, Henry,” he threatened darkly.
"Then watch your damn tongue," Henry hissed at him. They glared at one another, and then turned and looked back at Lacey. Henry considered her for a long moment. "You wouldn't be interested in earnin' yourself twenty dollars, would ya?"
"Depends on what you have in mind."
"Like we said," Ned interjected, "our sister's sorta new at the outlaw business, and well, we wasn't exactly plannin' on gettin' caught."
"We're afraid she's gonna screw up and get herself and our money arrested," Henry added.
"A smart woman like you," Ned said. "You could help her stay hid until we break out of this place."
Lacey quelled her feeling of excitement that they were on the verge of telling her where their sister was, and considered both men carefully. Finally, she shook her head. "Sorry, boys. Like I said, I'm on my way to Canada. There's a lot of money to be made up there for a woman with just the right smile—"
“Two hundred dollars," Henry cut in. Ned gave him a startled look. "We'll give her some of Lorraine's share," Henry explained to him.
Lacey wondered how Lorraine would feel to know that her brothers were trying to give her share of the loot to a stranger. "That's very generous of you, boys, but, really, I can't accept. The authorities in Seattle are eager to pick up my trail, and I think it would be best if I left the country for a while."
"A thousand then," Ned blurted.
“That's our final offer," Henry warned.
Lacey arched her brows and let a little bit of surprise show in her expression. "That's a lot of money."
"Not for two lucrative gentlemen like ourselves," Henry preened.
"You do a good job helpin' out our sister, and maybe we'll keep you around for a while and give ya a few tips on how ta get rich quick."
Lacey broke out in a flirtatious smile. "Mr. Rawlins, are you asking me to join your gang?"
The two men turned to each other and broke into leering grins. “That there is an interestin' idea," Henry said.
"She could be with us day and night, Henry,” Ned rasped.
Lacey had the brothers right where she wanted them. Just one more twist and they’d be hers. She moved just a breath closer to them. “How do you boys feel about sharin’ a woman?" she whispered suggestively.
If they hadn't been draped over the bars, they would've both fallen to the floor. "Say you'll join us," Ned begged.
"We’ll set this territory on fire," Henry promised passionately.
Lacey made a show of hesitating. "I'll have to meet your sister before I can decide. I can’t join a gang without first making sure all its members are fearless. I won’t have cowards guarding my back."
"Tell you what," Henry said. "You go take care of our little sister. Make sure she lays low in a safe place until we get out. And if it turns out you don't like her, we’ll leave her behind.”
So much for family loyalty.
Lacey wasn't aware of how close she'd gotten to the two men until Henry reached out and took hold of a lock of her hair. Though her impulse was to lurch back, she forced herself to remain casual.
Henry's eyes slid closed in a pained look of ecstasy as he rubbed her hair between his two gritty fingers. "A smart, purty little thing like you is much more important than our scrawny, pain in the ass sister. Right, Ned?"
"Right,” Ned answered breathlessly.
Lacey moved away, and was relieved that Henry let go of her hair without a fight. "You're asking me to risk an awful lot, boys. If I get caught, they'll hang me in Seattle."
Isn’t that what they always did to outlaws in the old west?
“Say, wha'd you do in Seattle?" Ned asked.
Lacey gave him a steady look. “I shot a man for double-crossing me.”
Ned blinked, swallowing hard.
Lacey made a show of thinking about their offer. “Fine,” she finally said. “We’ve got a deal. Where's your sister?"
Both men smiled, apparently liking this crude, violent woman she'd concocted. Ned stole a furtive glance at the office door. "She's hiding out in Fairhaven," he said softly. "In one of the hotels down by the coal mines. She's registered under the name Henrietta Rodgers."
Henry slipped a wide, steel band off his pinky finger and held it out to Lacey through the bars. “Show her this and she'll know you came from us. We'll meet ya there."
Lacey took the ring, casually examined it, and then slid it onto her middle finger. “You planning on getting out for good behavior?"
Henry smiled. "Don't you worry your pretty little head over us, sugar. You head on down to Fairhaven…and when we meet up again we'll get better acquainted."
"All three of us,” Ned added with a lusty leer.
Both men gave her a slow once-over with their eyes, and Lacey managed to keep smiling. She'd gotten the information she needed. Now if she could only keep her breakfast down and finish out the hour.
Chapter 8
“Think she's gone insane yet?"
Matthew tore his eyes away from the clock on the wall and angled a glare at his deputy. He’d been sitting on the edge of his desk, counting the minutes until he could barge into the back room and drag Lacey out of that cell. As far as he was concerned, she was already insane—she had to be to go back there on her own. And how stupid had he been to let her?
Larry suddenly sat up straight in his chair beside the potbellied stove. "Was that a scream?"
“Just a horse outside.”
Mayor Reginald Sterling tapped his walking stick against the hard wood floor. “Well, I for one am going to hold this office personally responsible if anything happens to that poor young woman."
For a man so desperate to get his bank money back that he’d fire the town marshal, Reginald Sterling seemed oddly against a plan that could work in his favor. Or maybe Sterling just felt more of an obligation than Matthew when it came to protecting the fairer sex.
"Ain't it been an hour yet?" Larry whined.
“Five minutes to go,” Matthew responded.
"And our generous marshal is determined to grant her every second of her torture."
Matthew clenched his fists to keep from lunging at the man.
“What the hell is wrong with that woman, anyway?" the deputy burst out. "No lady in her right mind would set foot back there with those two men, let alone demand to be left with 'em for an entire hour."
"Miss Guarder seems to have her own set of rules," Matthew growled.
“Well, I'm glad she ain’t my responsibility. A woman like that’ll drive a man to an early grave. Women are supposed to be sweet and retirin', like that sweet little Simmons gal you're seein'. Miss Simmons don't make demands, she don't curse a man out, and she sure as hell don't visit outlaws in jail. A man who hitches hisself up with a woman like Miss Simm
ons’ll live a long and happy life."
“It’s too bad the marshal won’t be around long enough to test that theory,” Reginald remarked.
Matthew turned to look at him. “Exactly why are you botherin’ to hang around, Sterling, if you're so sure this plan isn't gonna work?"
"Someone has to look out for Miss Guarder’s best interests."
“Well, now, isn’t that charitable of you,” Matthew stated.
Finally the clock began to chime the hour. Matthew was on his feet instantly and had his hand on the door before the sound of the gong had stopped reverberating through the room.
“Deputy, you best fetch the doctor,” he heard Reginald say. “That woman will be out of her mind with terror.”
The idea drove hard into Matthew's stomach as he strode into the back room and found himself assaulted by the sound of deep male laughter. He steeled himself for what he was about to see. He should never have let her do it. Despite her obstinance and goading, he should have stopped her from going through with this crazy plan.
He turned his attention to the cell on the left, expecting to see Miss Guarder huddled in a tight ball on her cot. She was huddled all right—in a tight little group with the Rawlins brothers at the center bars. All three of them were having a real good laugh.
Fury overrode all his senses. He strode toward her cell door, unlocked it, and yanked it open. He wasn't sure what was making him angrier, the fact that she apparently fit right in with the two scurrilous bastards, or that he'd actually spent the past hour worrying himself sick over her.
"Time's up," he snarled.
The laughter stopped. She raised her head and looked up at him with her captivating, tawny gaze. Her smile was wide, entrancing, her eyes sparkling with humor…and Matthew just about shot Henry and Ned Rawlins right then and there.
She pushed her hand through the front of her copper hair and gave it a shake. "Hello, Marshal," she said. "Is my time up already?"
He jammed his thumb toward the front office. "Out."
"Ah, come on, Marshal," Henry Rawlins pleaded. He made an unsuccessful grab for the back of Lacey’s yellow skirt as she turned away from him. "Just a little longer."
"I'll see you boys later," she cooed.
This must have been some sort of inside joke, because the two men broke into laughter again. "Yeah, see ya, Lacey," Ned said back.
"See more of ya," Henry added with a chortling leer.
Matthew clenched his jaw. Lacey brushed past him, smiling winsomely, and he followed her out of the room, shutting the door shut behind him. Once in the front office, he barely kept himself from taking her by the shoulders and giving her a good shake. If more had gone on back there than just a clandestine gathering of information, he damn well wanted to know about it.
Reginald minced toward her the moment she entered the office. "Well, she certainly looks all in one piece.” The man studied her carefully. "But who knows what kind of horrors have been done to her delicate mind. I'll take her to my office immediately and she and I will have a nice long chat—"
"Stand aside, Sterling," Matthew commanded. "She's not goin’ anywhere until she tells me exactly what went on back there."
"Well, thank you for your concern, Marshal," she said sarcastically. "It was a little messy at first, but I survived."
The sigh Larry heaved could have knocked over a sleeping cow. “Praise the good Lord.”
"You three looked awfully chummy,” Matthew stated. He sounded childish, but he didn't care.
"They were a little tough to play at first, but things went well in the end."
“How so?” Reginald returned. Then he laughed. “Frankly, Marshal, how can we even be sure that they didn't know Miss Guarder's ploy for what it was and feed her a tale taller than the pines?”
"They told me the truth. I’ve got all the information we need to recover the money."
Matthew should have been thrilled—elated—by that news, but her "we" took him by the scruff of the neck. "We need?" he echoed.
"That's right. I'll be joining you in the search."
"What?" Larry exclaimed. “But she’s a…a woman!”
Matthew gave her a hard stare. “That’s not gonna happen, so you can put that idea outta your head right now.”
She stepped closer to him, glaring stubbornly up into his face, and his nostrils filled with the sweet, spicy scent that always clung to her hair. "Like I said, Marshal, I've got all the information we need. The question is, how badly do you want it?"
"How badly do you want it," Nelson stated. "Those were her exact words, sir. How badly do you want it. The dastardly misbegotten is now using her mission as a bargaining tool."
Stella rolled her eyes at Nelson's dramatics. She’d been called into the department head’s private council chambers for an urgent meeting and this was the emergency?
She looked at Maximillian. “Sir, was I or was I not given the opportunity to turn this young woman around? It's scarcely been two days, for goodness sake."
"Gentle lady," Nelson patronized, “the heavens and earth were created in less time. Sir, based on this new information, I must now insist that Miss Guarder be put back where she belongs—in jail, in the twenty-first century."
"On what grounds?" Stella blustered. "That she's flirting with the man?"
"Flirting?" Nelson repeated incredulously. "If that's the woman’s idea of flirting then I'd rather be hit by a Mack truck! Sir, Miss Guarder is toying with this man's life. Mr. Brady is only trying to do his job, to lead a quiet, respectable life and fulfill his dying father’s last wish. These are noble aspirations! And this Guarder woman is knowingly—knowingly—standing in his way."
With a wave of her hand, Stella dismissed his claim. “Mr. Brady is being entirely too stubborn where Miss Guarder is concerned. I think it is reasonable that she expect her demands be met before she shares vital information with him. She’s being wise, not unscrupulous.”
“Reasonable?” Nelson blurted. "That woman wouldn't know reason if it sprouted horns and bleated in her face."
Maximillian rubbed his forehead. “You two are beginning to give me a headache. Has Miss Guarder done anything that has adversely affected the lives of anyone she’s come into contact with?"
"No.” Stella smirked at Nelson. “She has not.”
"But she's on the verge of it, sir. She has information that will lead Mr. Brady directly to his goal, and she is willfully withholding it from him."
Maximillian settled a serious gaze on Stella. "Is there a problem brewing, Stella?"
"The only thing my client is guilty of at the moment is playing with the man's mind. It's classic courting behavior. Not surprising considering their connection."
Nelson snorted. “It’s nauseating,” he grumbled.
Maximillian's brows arched in interest. "Have there been signs of spiritual connection?”
Stella hesitated. She'd hoped that Lacey Guarder would take one look at Matthew Brady, accept him as her soul mate, and fall head over heels in love. In fact, she'd been counting on the pair’s spiritual connection to help turn her client around. But so far she’d seen no signs of that happening, even after Miss Guarder and Mr. Brady had spent an entire night together under the same roof.
“They seem to be spending all of their time together bickering,” she answered truthfully. "But, as I said, it has only been one day. These things take time.”
“Sir, Mr. Brady's guide has asked me to make it very clear to you that he is growing concerned about his client's continued exposure to Miss Guarder. So far the woman has proved to be nothing but a nuisance."
"And you'd know a lot about nuisances, wouldn't you," Stella grumbled.
Maximillian frowned at her, and Stella realized how much this case was getting to her. She wanted so desperately for Miss Guarder to succeed.
Maximillian sighed and sat back in his chair. "Stella is correct. Unless something truly dire happens, her client shall be given ample opportunity to complete her missio
n."
"But sir—"
"And minor flirtations between a man and a woman are not dire, Nelson. Do you understand?"
The tall defender scowled. “Yes, sir."
"Furthermore, you will remind Mr. Brady's guide of his oath to prevent his personal opinions from unduly influencing his client."
“But, sir—”
"I don't expect to see you in my office again, Nelson, unless the world has exploded and Miss Guarder's hands were on the plunger."
“Very well." With a final glare at Stella, Nelson turned and left the room.
Stella nodded at her superior. “Thank you, sir. I’m sorry to have bothered you with this.” She turned to leave, but Maximillian stopped her.
"A word, Stella," he said. "You know, it is entirely possible that Mr. Brady and Miss Guarder's paths together have been irreparably damaged by her altered evolution in the twenty-first century. You must prepare yourself for the possibility that they may never recognize each other."
Stella nodded. But the idea of Lacey Guarder living the rest of her life without her one true love was just too sad to contemplate, let alone accept.
Lacey slammed out of the jailhouse and onto the deserted street. The day had warmed up a little since her ride into town that morning and the calf-deep snow was beginning to melt, turning into a gray slush mingled with mud holes and patches of horse manure. She made it a point to avoid both of those things as she marched angrily toward Hazel's restaurant across the street.
"Maybe I don't believe you got a single bit of information out of them!" the marshal shouted at her from his office doorway. "Maybe that's why you're not telling me anything!"
"And maybe you're an idiot!" she tossed back over her shoulder. “Stubborn jack-ass,” she added to herself.
What she'd learned from Ned and Henry Rawlins could keep until the marshal had learned some manners. She was sick of him constantly being suspicious of her—before she'd even given him a reason to be. “I’ll be happy to tell you what Ned and Henry told me just as soon as you apologize for being a pigheaded bastard!"
"Oh, now I'm supposed to apologize?"
DESTINY'S EMBRACE Page 11
