by Jodi Thomas
Stitch fought to stay still. He wanted to do something, but he knew if he smashed through the wall, guns would go off, and the chances were good that a bullet would find someone in the room besides the strangers.
The short one pointed his pistol at Rose as he picked up a few of the locked bags. “We’ll just take a few of these. That should be enough to get the reward.”
The other kidnapper grabbed a small trunk. “Right. Now let’s get out of here.”
Stitch began making his way down the cluttered little steps, hoping to reach the bottom before they could get out of the store. If he could follow behind them in the rain, he could take them both before they had a chance to fire.
Stitch was one step from the bottom of the stairs when he saw Abe Henderson through the open door leading to the mercantile. If he walked to the back door of the bakery, there was a good chance Abe would see him and think he was an intruder. Stitch had never spoken to Abe, but he’d watched the man when he talked to Killian. If Abe saw him, he might shoot first, thinking he was protecting Miss Victoria, or worse, Stitch thought, Abe might attack him. If Abe did come after him, Stitch might hurt the man. He was almost twice Abe’s weight and had the full use of both legs. The store owner wouldn’t have a chance.
Stitch remained frozen, torn between helping Rose and fighting Abe. He rationalized his choice with the knowledge that the men were not planning to hurt Rose, only take her somewhere. Maybe they would bring her back when they found out she wasn’t August Myers’s bride. Even if Myers came with them, he wouldn’t be likely to force Victoria into anything with the judge watching.
Stitch thought he heard the front door of the bakery open and close. They’d taken Rose.
Abe continued working in the storeroom. Stitch waited only a few feet from freedom. Finally someone must have entered the front of Abe’s store for he set the broom aside and went into the mercantile.
As silently as possible, Stitch made his break. He ran through the back door and out into the alley. Once there, the rain hit him full in the face.
He had no idea which way the two kidnappers had gone. Before he could get around to the front of Abe’s store they’d be long gone, and on foot he’d have little chance of catching up with them. Carts and horses were passing like gray shadows and he couldn’t make out any faces.
He figured he had two facts that would help him a great deal. One, they didn’t know he was following them, and two, he knew where they were headed, or at least to whom. He guessed they’d deposit Rose somewhere, go get August Myers, and make sure he had the money with him before they told him where he could pick up his bride.
Stitch ran to his wagon and drove around the corner. He pulled to a stop where he could see the saloon where Killian and Myers drank. On a day like this August Myers would be in either the saloon or the hotel and from this point he could see both entrances. Though Stitch figured he wouldn’t be welcome if he tried to walk in the front of either place, he had a good view of both. Once Myers came out with one of the kidnappers, then all he had to do was follow.
His mind was bubbling over with worries. Killian was tied up and probably going mad with worry. Hallie was upstairs alone in the hotel with Duncan and probably the young doctor Stitch still wasn’t sure was old enough to be a real one. Hallie would do the best she could, but he doubted she was much of a nurse. Then there was Rose. Poor frightened Rose. Duncan had told Stitch to take care of her, to look out for her, to never let her leave the hotel alone, but she’d left with Killian when he wasn’t looking.
Stitch had watched over Killian for three years now, but the judge never knew it. He’d lifted him out of the gutter a few times and kept him from being robbed once when he was too occupied to be on guard. Every week when Killian checked in at the Grand Hotel, Stitch watched. He was O’Toole’s guardian angel and the judge didn’t even know it.
Rain pounded on him, but Stitch paid it no mind. For a man who swore he’d never care about anyone including himself after he’d managed to stay alive through months in a prison hospital, Stitch suddenly had a full load of caring to carry around.
Chapter 26
Rose considered herself a woman of even temperament, but she was furious. The two bumbling kidnappers had pushed and poked her with their guns until they’d reached the horses, at which point they’d tied her to a saddle, pulled her hood down over her face, and ridden off with her between them.
After a few turns the man called Hargus reached over and grabbed her arm. “You be quiet now, miss, or I’ll break your jaw.” His low threat frightened her so badly she wasn’t sure she could have made a sound even if she’d tried.
“We ain’t supposed to hurt her,” Shorty said in a whine. “Myers won’t mind a few bruises in transport, but if you break her jaw he’s liable to object.”
Hargus snorted. “A broken jaw wouldn’t hurt all that much unless she tried to talk. I don’t reckon Myers would mind. He seems to like to be the one talking. A silent bride would probably fit him fine.”
Rose tried to pick up sounds around her. She didn’t know Fort Worth. Another block or two and she’d be completely lost. They moved on, splashing through mud puddles. She heard horses and wagons pass, but the thunder and rain muted all other sounds. Once, she thought she heard a woman’s laugh and the sound of glass breaking. A few blocks later someone yelled, swearing about the weather.
“We’re taking her to Yancy’s place, right? I don’t want to go all the way back to the dugout with her,” Shorty piped up as if he just realized where they were headed. “Ain’t nobody goes there since Yancy got shot but us anyway.”
“Nobody would be there this time of day even if the old man could open up. I ain’t dragging her all the way out of town to our place just to have to drag her back when we get the reward. Yancy’s dive will be fine.”
They made a few more turns and Rose realized there were fewer people around. She couldn’t hear any wagons or buggies so they must be on one of the side streets. The smells around her reached her even through the rain. Rotting food and human waste.
Suddenly she knew where she was. The back streets of Hell’s Half Acre. The smells hadn’t been so bad near Hallie’s house, but they were the same. The hood of her coat blew back just enough for her to see the road beneath her horse. She saw trash in the gutter and the rotting remains of a dog.
Another turn and they were out of the wind. Rose could hear what sounded like a child crying. Then a dog barked. Then silence.
Hargus stopped the horses. “I’ll take her in. You go tell Myers we got his woman. Make him show you the money before you tell him where she is. Tell him if he shows up with a lawman, Myers will be the first one killed.”
Shorty didn’t seem to like the idea. “How about I stay here with her. You go tell Myers.”
Hargus grabbed Rose’s arm and yanked her off the horse. “Because you wouldn’t guard her close enough. I know you, you’d get interested in that little tramp you sold to Yancy and leave your post.”
“Oh, all right. I’ll go, but don’t you bother Epley while I’m gone.”
“I wouldn’t touch her if she was lying nude on the bar. I’m glad you got rid of her. I hated listening to her sniffling every night in the dugout.”
Rose tried to pull away, but Hargus wouldn’t let her budge. She heard Shorty’s horse moving on down the road as Hargus shoved her in the opposite direction.
They moved across uneven boards to the door of what looked like an old abandoned café. Hargus tried the knob, swore, then pounded hard enough to almost break the door in.
After a few minutes a young girl of about thirteen or fourteen answered. She opened the door and jumped back as if she expected Hargus to hit her.
“Is Yancy dead yet?” Hargus pulled Rose inside and relocked the door.
The girl shook her head.
The kidnapper shoved Rose in a chair while still holding the end of the rope binding her hands as if it were a leash. “Get me some more rope, girl.”
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Rose leaned her head back and the hood slipped away from her face. “If you know what is good for you, you’ll let me go right now. You can’t just take a woman against her will. The law will see you in jail.”
Hargus laughed. “You don’t know nothing, lady.” He pointed to the girl several feet away. “We just took Epley here. She was walking down the road last summer and Shorty took a liking to her. He just caught her up and we kept riding.” Hargus laughed. “She yelled and fought for a while. We even had to tie her up at night or she’d run like a rabbit.
“A few days passed before her old man caught up to us and demanded her back. Shorty’s funny about what he thinks is right and wrong. He don’t like stealing and killing so he traded her papa two horses for the girl. Said he would have given three if she’d been fifteen. After that she quit screaming and went to crying. It took Shorty a week of slapping her every time she started bawling before she finally stopped. Hasn’t said a word since. Just like a wild horse, he broke her, I guess.”
Rose studied the girl. There were bruises on her bare arms and one of her eyes was black. Her limbs were bone thin and her hair matted. She reminded Rose of the stories her papa and uncles told about how Duncan had looked as a boy when they’d delivered him to the ranch. They said he’d looked more as if he’d been treated like an animal than a human. The girl looked like that now.
“Epley, hurry up with that rope or you’ll be sorry you were so slow.” He straightened as if proud. “I knock her around to teach her lessons, but I don’t do to her what Shorty does.”
Epley stepped forward with a two-foot length of rope. She held it out to Hargus with bony fingers.
“That’s not long enough.” He tossed it back in her face. “I swear I have to do all the work and all the thinking. I’m surrounded by idiots. And you, girl, if you get any dumber we’ll let you go in the streets like you was nothing more than a stray dog. You’re lucky old Yancy lets you work here for meals.”
He shoved her aside and walked over to the shelves that looked like they must have once been where the dishes for the café were stored. He grabbed a long rope off the top shelf and handed it to the girl. “Tie that lady up good. I need a drink.” As he walked across the room that had been part café, part saloon, he shouted, “You think about running, lady, I’ll splatter your blood all over that pretty coat of yours. I could shoot you and leave you back in the alley of that fine hotel. Nobody would know I’d ever picked you up. They’d think you was just robbed and murdered like others have been lately.”
The girl moved slowly, following orders. As she tied the rope around Rose’s shoulders, Rose was shocked to see her slightly rounded belly beneath the cotton dress.
“How far along are you?” she whispered.
To her surprise, intelligent eyes focused. “I felt it move inside me a few days ago. Last time Shorty found out a babe was inside me, he beat me so bad the baby came. He said I’m too young to carry one till it’s big enough to live.” A tear washed down her dirty face. “He said he’d kill me if I got another baby in me, but I don’t know how to stop it.”
“Loosen my hands,” Rose whispered. “We’re both leaving this place.”
The girl shook her head slightly. “I can’t. I’ve tried. The last time Shorty tied me up and left me in the cellar so long I thought I’d die.”
“I’ll get you out, Epley. I promise. This may be our only chance.”
Rose saw realization register in the girl’s eyes. Either way she’d probably end up dead, but at least the nightmare would be over. Epley stopped in front of Rose and slipped the knot loose on her hands before she knelt and looped the rope around her skirts.
Hargus was back with a drink in one hand and a bottle in the other. “You want a drink, lady?” He offered the dirty glass. “In a few minutes you’re going to be making me a lot of money, so we might as well start celebrating. That husband of yours wants you back bad. Half the town is looking for you.”
“I want to go free. August Myers is not my husband. You have no right to keep me here.” She looked around, guessing it wouldn’t be to her advantage to make him mad. “What is this place?” If she could only stall for time, help would come.
Hargus took a drink and pulled up a chair as if he planned to visit. “It’s always been old man Yancy’s place for as long as anyone can remember. He served the cheapest whiskey on the acre and food most dogs won’t eat. Drunks make this the last stop when they are low on money and too drunk to taste much of anything. Yancy lets them sleep on the floor if they pass out.”
Rose looked at the floor covered with dirt.
“Shorty leaves Epley here so he can visit her regular. Don’t want to go about with a kid in town and at the farm she’s more trouble than help. Old Yancy lets her work here for her food and locks her in the back at night so we don’t have to go looking for her come morning.” He swatted at the girl’s head. “You like it here, don’t you, dummy? You got food to eat and the old man leaves you alone.”
“What happened to Yancy?”
“One of his customers tried to kill him a few weeks ago. Claimed he caught him taking money from the drunks who passed out. Since then, Shorty and I have taken over the place. Old Yancy can’t hold on much longer. He was more dead than alive when I checked on him three days ago.”
“Why don’t you take him to the doctor?”
Hargus shrugged. “It’d be a waste of money. I told the girl to look in on him a few times a day. Don’t want him dying and smelling the place up.”
“Once he’s gone, Shorty and me think we might get the business going again with the reward. We heard you ran off and so we started watching for where you might have gone. Only clue we had was that you were staying in the Grand Hotel. Minute we saw a woman run out with the judge this morning, we figured it was worth a shot to follow.”
Hargus liked to talk, Rose realized. He was mean to the core and didn’t care about anyone, but as long as she could keep him talking he wasn’t threatening to kill her.
He treated the girl as if she were some kind of bug he was pestering. He liked ordering her around and tripped her once when he got the chance, but Rose could tell that to this hard man, she was nothing. He hadn’t been the one who’d caused the pregnancy. Shorty, the kidnapper who didn’t believe in killing, had done that and then he’d blamed the girl.
Hargus was talking about the war when Shorty showed up again pulling a basket the size of a steamer trunk.
Rose didn’t say a word as the two men moved behind the bar to talk. She couldn’t hear everything, but apparently Myers wanted his bride wrapped in the basket and delivered directly to the train. They planned to knock her out, gag her, and lock her in a basket.
Swearing, Hargus yelled at Shorty, “How we going to carry that basket all the way to the train?”
Shorty grinned, almost making him look young. “Myers paid a guy to drive me here and he’s waiting to take us to the train.”
Hargus didn’t bother to tell Shorty he’d done well, he just looked up at Rose. “We’ll take off her coat. It’s worth something, along with any jewelry she has. I think we can consider that a bonus.”
Rose fought panic. If they took off her bulky coat, they’d see the gun belt and the Colt folded into her skirts. They might also find the small gun in the hidden pocket. She was well armed now, but in a minute she might be defenseless and she couldn’t let that happen. Not with these men.
“How about we strip her?” Shorty grinned. “We could give the girl her clothes and Myers won’t mind if his bride comes to him naked.” He smiled at Epley. “You’d like that, wouldn’t you, girl?”
Epley didn’t raise her head. She simply moved behind the bar like a frightened child.
“How we going to strip her if we’re not supposed to touch her? She don’t look like the type who’ll just hand over her clothes.”
“We could pour whiskey down her till she don’t know what’s going on. I’ve done that a few times to women. Afte
r half a bottle they don’t know or care what’s happening. You can do whatever you want to them and they don’t even fight. One time down in El Paso, I had to use a full bottle on this big old girl. I finally had to hit her in the head to get her cooperation. Then I—”
“We don’t have time for your stories, Shorty. I don’t see any reason to waste whiskey on this one, we’ll just hit her hard enough to knock her out and load her up. Her clothes stay on, but you’re free to handle her anyway you like as long as you don’t leave bruises.”
Rose had heard enough. It was time to act. She could wait no longer hoping to be saved from these two idiots. Maybe she’d never be brave, but she could be smart and the only smart thing to do was end this now.
She slipped her hands free of the rope and moved them beneath her coat. Duncan’s Colt was still strapped low on her hip. Barely moving, she pulled the gun from its holster and slowly stood shaking the ropes Epley had tied away from her shoulders and skirts.
Both men started toward her, yelling as if their words could trap her.
Rose straightened, squared her shoulders, and lifted the Colt. Over the years she’d learned to shoot, all the McMurrays had, and she didn’t forget her lessons now. She drew in a breath and fired, her hand steady as stone.
Hargus fell first, a bullet passing through his left leg a few inches above his knee. Before he could yell, another hit his right arm, rendering it useless. The third shot hit the hand Shorty had held up as if to ward off gunfire. The fourth and fifth hit his legs and took him down as if there had been an ax blow at knee level.
The door exploded into splinters a moment later and Rose whirled the weapon toward the man storming in. One bullet. She’d have to take him down with her last bullet. There was no time to pull her second gun. No time to think. She raised the Colt and took aim at his head.
With one second to spare, she froze and eased her finger off the trigger. “Stitch?”
The big bull of a man didn’t move. His body seemed to need a little time to recover from how close he came to being shot. Slowly, he looked around the room, then smiled. “I guess you didn’t need my help as much as I thought you did, Miss Rose.”
