The Stagecoach Bride

by Stephannie Beman

  “We don’t need to resort to violence,” Daniel said. “It’s been a long night and morning. We haven’t had much time to rest or eat. We’re all exhausted. I think if we get a good lunch and some water, Prudence will be better able to think.”

  Robert glared at Daniel and she feared for the man that had saved her from a beating. Robert wasn’t a man to cross and Daniel had thwarted him. He lowered his hand and pointed to a tree. “Sit over there. We’ll get things set out for you.”

  Lillian quickly made her way to the spot he indicated and sat. Robert was at the end of his patience. She was going to have to find a way to escape before they left. If she didn’t, she’d have no choice but to take them to the cabin, and she couldn’t allow that to happen.

  She studied the area around them. The men were tying the horses to the trees and unpacking the saddlebags. For a moment she thought she might be able to get away while they were busy, but Wilson’s eyes never strayed far from her or for too long. If she knew what happened to Mic and his brothers, she’d feel better.

  Daniel came over to her with some jerky and cheese. “It’s not much, but it’ll get you through for a few hours.”

  “Thank you.” She took the food and waited until no one was looking to slip most of it into her pocket. By the time they were sitting around her, she was nibbling on some cheese and one strip of jerky, going slow so as to make them think she was eating more than she was. She eyed the waterskin Daniel was holding. If she could get a hold of it, then she’d have water in addition to food when she ran off. She knew exactly where she was going to hide. She was still a ways off from where she needed to be, but it would place her back on the correct path to Mic’s cabin.

  She cleared her throat, successfully getting their attention but focusing on Daniel. “Can I have something to drink please?”

  He handed her the waterskin. “Sure.”

  “You better get your head on right,” Robert said, tearing into a piece of his jerky. “If you think I’m leaving this area without the trunk, you got another thing coming. We’ll spend the rest of our lives going through here if we have to.”

  He was starting to suspect she was leading them through the wrong paths. She could tell it by the way he glared at her. And that meant any more tears she might use would go to waste. She stopped drinking the water in the waterskin and lowered it.

  “I understand, Robert.” She glanced at the stream a good distance away. If she could get there, she could veer down the hill and work her way back up a mile further. The hiding place wouldn’t be far from there. With a tentative smile, she lifted the waterskin. “Mind if I fill this up with water before we go? This is empty.”

  “You’re not going anywhere.”

  Daniel sighed. “Let her get it. She probably has to take care of a personal need. Might as well let her do it in private.”

  “If I want your opinion, I’ll ask for it,” Robert snapped.

  “I do have to go,” she said. “I’ll just go and come back with water. That’s all.”

  Robert glanced in the direction of the stream. “I wouldn’t be able to see you from here. The answer is no.”

  “What if I go with her?” Wilson asked, his gaze going to her breasts.

  She clutched the waterskin over her chest. “Daniel can go with me,” she told Robert. She sensed Daniel was a reluctant part of this whole thing and he might be willing to let her get away if she pleaded her case with him.

  “That’s fine. I’ll go,” Daniel replied and rose to his feet.

  “You sit!” Robert pulled out his gun and pointed it at Daniel. “I don’t trust you. You’re too soft.”

  “You think I can’t wait for a woman to fill up a waterskin and take care of business?”

  “You’ll let her escape. I’m not a fool. She might not be smart enough to figure a way out of here, but you are and the last thing I’m going to do is risk $10,000. Last time I checked, you needed $1,000 to get your kid brother out of trouble. Now, sit!”

  She tapped her fingers on the waterskin. She had to get away from them somehow. “If you don’t trust him, then you can take me, Robert.”

  He chewed off another piece of jerky and groaned. “I’m not moving until I’m good and ready.”

  “I’ll go with her,” Wilson said, leering in her direction.

  Robert nodded, waving them away.

  Her stomach rolled in protest. “No. Robert, I can’t go with him. What if he tries something with me?”

  He shrugged. “What if he does?”

  “But,” she glanced at Wilson who was stepping toward her, “I’m supposed to marry you. Don’t you care about my virtue?”

  “What kind of fool do you take me for, Prudence?” he snarled. “You think I don’t know those outlaws passed you around the campfire a time or two? You should just be glad a man can bear to do it with you. You’re not exactly the prettiest lady around.”

  “You can’t do this, Robert,” Daniel said, hurrying over to Wilson to stop him. “I came to rescue your intended and get the money. I didn’t come out here to let a man take advantage of her.”

  “She’s not married yet,” Wilson argued. “You can take a turn when I’m done.”

  Daniel balked. “Have you no sense of decency?”

  “She’s my property and has to do whatever I tell her,” Robert said. “Now, sit and shut up, Daniel, or your brother’s going to meet his maker.”

  Wilson grinned and headed for her.

  She knew what she had to do. She had to go with him, just so she could get to the stream. And from there, she had to act the part and pretend she was going to let him have his way with her. Then she had to knee him as hard as she could between his legs and run off.

  She gulped. She could do this. Abby had taught her how. She just had to bide her time a little longer then she could be out of here.

  “Come on, honey,” Wilson said as he pulled her up by the arm. “I promise to be gentle as long as you don’t fight me.”

  “No. No!” Daniel reached for his gun and cocked it. “Don’t do it, Wilson.”

  Robert barely looked up and a shot rang through the air. Daniel screamed, clutching his bleeding hand to his chest.

  “Not a smart move.” Robert slowly stood and pointed the smoking gun at Daniel’s head. “Hurry up” he barked at Wilson. “The day is short and I need that money.”

  Wilson dragged Lillian away through the trees. She glanced back once, seeing Daniel lurch for Robert.

  “You needn’t worry your pretty little head about that back there.” He pulled her closer to him.

  A gunshot rang through the air, sending the birds flying from the trees. She glanced back, watching Daniel fall to the ground. Robert stood above him, gun in hand, and a strange smile on his face. A couple more shots rang out.

  “Dumb fool should have listened to Robert,” Wilson muttered under his breath.

  Her stomach rolled again, and she thought for sure she was going to throw up. She forced herself to concentrate on what she needed to do. Robert was distracted and Wilson would be too, soon enough.

  I can do this. I can do this.

  When she could no longer see Robert or Daniel, Wilson pulled her to a stop and pressed her back against the tree. She could do this.

  There was a good way of escape just to the left if she was careful. He wasn’t going to be intimate with her. He was going to think he was, but he wasn’t going to be. Taking a deep breath to steady her nerves, she tried to do as Abby said and imagine she was flirting with Mic.

  “You, um,” she cleared her throat and made eye contact with him. His hand slid down her arm and she cringed. She couldn’t do it. She couldn’t flirt with him. She’d just have to do it her way. “You’re not going to hurt me, are you?”

  “Oh, course not, honey,” he soothed, stroking her cheek and then her hair. His rotten breath fanned across her face. “This can be pleasurable for both of us. Just relax and let me take care of everything.”

  Despite
the fact that she was trembling, she nodded. As much as she tried to be brave, she just couldn’t be. When Mic and his brothers had kidnapped her, she’d thought she’d been afraid, but it wasn’t half as strong as her fear now. Until this moment she’d never realized that despite the Nichols boys’ boorish behavior on occasion, she’d never truly been afraid of them, not even Jeremiah or Wade.

  His leg pressed between hers, forcing them apart. There was no way she’d be able to knee him now. She needed to buy a little more time because her only option now was the long hairpin Abby gave her.

  “I…I’m trying to relax. Can you give me a moment?”

  “Sure, I can,” he whispered, his hands going to her neck and then her shoulders. His mouth touched her collarbone and dipped lower. “I promised to be gentle, and I will.”

  If his hands and mouth dipped any lower, she was going to throw up. She reached into her pocket and felt the sheath holding the hairpin. “Wh-what are you going to do to me?”

  “Nothing the others haven’t already done.” He massaged her shoulders and kissed her cheek then her neck. “We’ll start with some kissing,” he murmured.

  Her fingers slid into the sheath and she got a firm hold on the hairpin. “Alright,” she whispered, tears stinging her eyes. No one should be doing this to her but Mic. And that thought gave her enough strength to continue. She could do this because she had to do this.

  His hands went lower until they cupped her breasts. “Then some touching. Lots of touching.”

  She freed the hairpin from the sheath. “That doesn’t sound so bad.”

  “There you go. You can touch me, too.”

  “A-alright.” She pressed her free hand on his shirt and lowered it. Gritting her teeth, she touched his erection. Her grip tightened on the hairpin, bringing it to his waist. “Is that good?”

  He continued kissing her neck and stroking her breasts. “Yes, honey. That’s real good.”

  Squeezing her eyes shut, she jabbed the hairpin as hard as she could between his legs. He gasped, rearing back and releasing her. She dodged out from under him. He stumbled against the tree, grabbing his privates. She hurried up the side of the mountain, dodging trees that were in her path, aware that if she didn’t keep going, she risked Robert finding her.

  She glanced over at Wilson who was cursing at her. At least he wasn’t getting up and that counted for something. It might have just bought her the time she needed to get away.

  She turned to run when saw a dark figure move swiftly from the trees. He grabbed Wilson by the hair. The flash of a knife slashed across his throat. Blood splashed on the leaves at his feet and Wilson gurgled, his hands scrambling at his throat. He took a single step and dropped to the forest floor, blood pooling around his head.

  She glanced at the mud-covered man, blood dripping from the knife in his hand. She gasped and turned to run. Whoever went after Wilson could be coming for her next. Who knew what other men might be in the area?

  She needed to find a hiding spot more now than ever. She dodged the trees, moving swiftly, thankful the moccasins were quiet on the forest floor so as not to attract attention to her.

  She made sure she didn’t take a direct path and continually checked around her for any signs that someone was lurking nearby. Mic had taught her well, but she couldn’t outsmart a really good tracker.

  Stepping on the path to the cabin, she moved quickly to her hiding place. Placing a small pile of leaves in front of a hollow log hidden behind a bush, she once more checked her surroundings to make sure all was clear before she squeezed into the log. Thankfully, her willowy frame made such a thing possible. It was a tight fit, but she would be safe.

  Time passed with nothing more than the sounds of nature to keep her company. After a while, she finally relaxed. For now she was out of danger.

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Robert stomped through the forest, finding the homestead just past sunset. The trees only heightened the darkness hovering around him, but he was too determined to pay any mind to it. He came for the money, and he was going to get the money, no matter what he had to do to get it.

  Entering the clearing with his gun drawn, he scanned the buildings, wondering which of the unfit shacks could be the cabin. If not for the light coming from inside one of them, he might have missed it.

  His grip tightened on the gun. He hoped Prudence was in there, believing she was safe, that she had succeeded in outwitting him a second time. A smile crossed his face.

  He was going to get an immense amount of pleasure out of torturing her before he killed her. He’d make her suffer greatly for her deception. Like a fool, he’d believed she was so dumb that she had been frightened and would be willing to help him get the money.

  But after finding Wilson dead, his throat slit and lying in a pool of his own blood, he knew she had played him for a fool. His fist clenched at his other side. When he was done with her, she’d curse the day she was born. She would beg him to end her.

  With a glance around the property, he was assured that the only thing outside besides him were animals, and those were in the barn or fenced in.

  He made his way to the cabin and peeked into the window. A lit kerosene lamp was on the table, but he saw no signs of her.

  His eyebrows furrowed then his gaze went to the staircase. She had to be up there. Maybe she was even with one of the outlaws, or maybe all of them. Who knew what perversions people out here practiced? There were no restraints here like there were back East. Such an uncivilized group of people.

  With another glance behind him, he was confident no one was around and opened the door. He shut the door and listened for any sounds that would tell him someone was upstairs but only heard the crackling of the fire and a neighing from the barn.

  His footsteps fell silent on the floor as he crossed the room. He waited but still didn’t hear anything. She must be asleep. He climbed the steps, and it took his eyes a moment to adjust to the dark room. The bed was empty. No one was there. That was strange. Why would a fire be on or a lamp be lit if someone wasn’t here?

  “Never mind,” he muttered.

  It only meant he had to work fast. They could return at any moment. He stepped into the loft and shoved aside the curtains to let the moonlight in. Good. Now he could see better. And there was Prudence’s trunk. He put the gun in his holster and rushed over to it. He lifted the lid and saw Prudence’s things folded neatly.

  A light tap came from downstairs so he paused and waited. Nothing. He turned his attention back to the clothes and rummaged through them, lifting them out and shaking them. But nothing. No coins or greenbacks. No certificates or anything else.

  Cursing he threw them out of the trunk. The money had to be somewhere. Maybe it was under the clothes. He ripped the lining of the trunk and searched through it but still, nothing.

  Nothing. Nothing! He roared and kicked the trunk several times. He didn’t come all the way out here and go through all the aggravation that shrew put him through for nothing. The little… He restrained himself before he gave thought to the word he wanted to call her.

  He took several deep breaths to clear his head. She paid someone who looked like her brother to get her money from the bank before she left Virginia. The only thing she took was this trunk. So if the money wasn’t in the trunk, it had to be somewhere in this room.

  He glanced around the area, jumping at the sound of a shutter banging against a window downstairs. He wiped sweat from his forehead and thought some fresh air would be nice right about now. Maybe it would help him focus. He went to the window and opened it, expecting the wind to come through, but there was no wind. There wasn’t even a breeze.

  Eyebrows furrowed, he went halfway down the stairs and scanned the room. He didn’t see anyone, and it wasn’t like there was anyone who could hide here. Turning around, he went back up the stairs and to the window. He searched the yard and saw no one. But that didn’t mean someone wasn’t out there. He closed the window and turned to the other
trunks. If he was going to find the money, he had to act fast.

  He lifted the lid of the first trunk and ripped through the curtains, blankets and clothes. Then he went through the other trunks, each one only upsetting him more as he was unable to find a single coin or certificate or greenback. Where did she put it? He kicked the trunks, splitting one in two in his rage.

  An earsplitting whistle sliced through the silence. Robert paused and waited. A couple seconds later, the whistle came again. It came from outside. He wiggled his foot out of the trunk and headed for the window, ignoring the pain in his leg. Looking down, he saw a man staring up at him, his clothes covered in dried mud and blood.

  He narrowed his eyes. If the man thought he was going to intimidate him, he had another thing coming. Glancing down at his holster, he pulled out the gun and lifted it to the window, ready to kill the bastard. But when he looked down at the yard, the man was gone.

  Stupid! How he could have been stupid enough to look away? Well, no matter. He’d take care of the man soon enough. Then he’d come back in and search for the money. It had to be somewhere in the house. Maybe it wasn’t even upstairs. Maybe it was downstairs. As he made his way down the stairs, he scanned the room. Granted, Prudence was smarter than he gave her credit for, but there were only so many hiding places in the cabin, and if he had to, he’d tear down the whole thing to find the money due to him.

  He slowed as he went to the door. It was the only way out. Undoubtedly, the man would be waiting for him right outside. He went to the kerosene lamp and turned down the wick, engulfing the entire cabin in darkness.

  Now, what he needed was a distraction, something to give him an advantage because right now, he was no better than a mouse trapped in a hole.

  “Time to throw the cat off the trail,” he muttered.

  He retrieved the lamp and a match then huddled behind the door. Outside was nothing but silence. No doubt the man was waiting on the other side of the door, ready to put a bullet through his brain. If he was going to do this, he had to be quick. He glanced at the window and didn’t see anyone there. He lit the wick but kept it dim so as not to alert the man outside that it was on. He slowly rose to his feet and got his gun ready. Then he opened the door ever so slightly, pointing the gun at anyone who might enter.