The Runaway (7 page)

The force of his blow picked her off the ground and flipped her over on to her back.

“Get away from my woman!” Carson shouted.

He burst out of the barn, buck naked and wild with rage. His Arkansas Toothpick gleamed menacingly in his hand, but the bright morning sun caught him in his eye, blinding him so that a rifle butt connected with the side of his head.

He sprawled to the ground and the Colonel’s two men commenced beating him, alternating between blows with the stocks of their rifles and the boots on their feet.

The Colonel took in Carson’s appearance and turned on Delilah in a rage. “Cheating on me? You no good little whore!”

He kicked her again, driving the toe of his boot deep into her side. Then he stomped on her with his heel before grabbing her by the hair and slamming her head into the ground.

Still holding her hair, the Colonel yanked Delilah to her knees and dragged her over to Carson. He had curled up in a ball, trying to shield his bloody head and body from as many of the blows as possible. “Is this what you left me for?” the Colonel shouted.

He sneered at his men. “Let’s cut off his balls!”

Carson proved to still have some life in him. He fought like a bobcat as they tried to stretch him out, but the Colonel’s two men were too much for him. While they held him down, the Colonel rammed Delilah’s head into the barn wall and dropped her to the ground. He picked up Carson’s knife and crouched down over him.

He grabbed one of Carson’s nuts and ran the knife over the flesh. “You never should have touched my nigger,” he said.

Red fury clouded Delilah’s vision and she threw herself at the Colonel’s back. “I’m not your nigger!” she shouted.

Surprised the Colonel stumbled forward. Jake leapt out of the way to avoid the knife, releasing Carson in his effort to avoid the blade. Carson took advantage of his captors’ distraction by wrenching hard on Ross’ arm and toppling him to the ground. His knee came up into the Colonel’s gut and in half a moment’s time, Carson was on top of the pile, driving his fist into the Colonel’s face.

“Run, Delilah! Run!”

She looked about in panic. Where could she go? They’d be back up in moments and kill them both.

Jake kicked Carson off the Colonel but didn’t drive him far enough away. Delilah’s man grappled with the Colonel for his knife, but with three men against him, he wasn’t going to win.

Carson was going to die!

And Delilah might well die right after him.

Her eyes came to rest on one of the dropped rifles. It was the only hope they had.

Scrambling around the side of the fight, she scooped the long gun up in her hands. She had no experience with weapons like this but she’d seen the Colonel use them often enough. She pointed in the direction of the men fighting with Carson and pulled the trigger. It bucked so hard the weapon jumped out of her hands while a cloud of black powder momentarily obscured her view.

All four men stopped fighting and looked at her, frozen as if waiting for the smoke to clear.

She hadn’t hit any of them.

With one mind, the Colonel and his two men lunged for the other rifle.

Carson pulled Ross down and began to slam his head repeatedly into the ground.

Delilah darted toward the other gun. She beat the Colonel to it, but not quickly enough to keep him from getting his hands on it as well. He spun her around and the weapon went off in a cloud of awful black smoke. A red spot appeared on Jake’s chest and then the Colonel pulled the weapon free from Delilah and drove its butt hard into her stomach.

“First I’m going to kill your man,” he told her. “Then I’m going to make you wish you were dead.”

He turned around to find Carson holding the other rifle. He didn’t hold it like he intended to shoot—which was good because the chamber was empty. His hands were spaced eighteen inches apart on the stock and barrel and he looked very comfortable despite being naked.

The Colonel took a step back from him. “Who’d you serve with, boy?” he asked.

Carson spit blood. “My pa served in New Orleans under General Jackson,” he said.

The Colonel glanced at his horse and the rifle still sheathed beneath the saddle.

Carson stepped in and swung the butt of his weapon into the side of the Colonel’s head. It was a fast movement, up and back, followed up by a jab to the gut. The Colonel squealed—eyes open wide with what had to be fear. His own weapon moved clumsily by comparison and to Delilah’s shock, she realized he wasn’t the big man she’d always thought him. He’d always had others to do his dirty work. He wasn’t prepared to fight a real man on his own.

On the ground behind Carson, Ross groaned and began to move again.

Carson risked a glance back at him and the Colonel barreled forward, knocking him off his feet. He swung his rifle like an axe, breaking it in half on the ground next to Carson’s head. The sodbuster brought his knee up hard between the Colonel’s legs, but Delilah’s owner jumped back out of the way to avoid the blow.

Ross rolled onto his hands and knees. He was going to get up and help the Colonel kill Carson. Delilah couldn’t let that happen. She started to run for the Colonel’s horse when she saw Carson’s Arkansas Toothpick lying on the ground. She picked it up, feeling the weight in her hand, then stepped forward and drove it hard into the Colonel’s back.

He stiffened, trying to look behind him at her, but Carson took advantage of the moment to drive the barrel of his rifle deep into the Colonel’s groin.

He screamed and Carson scrambled to his feet and swung his rifle stock hard into the back of the man’s head.

The Colonel collapsed to the ground and Carson turned his attention to the last living man. Ross saw him coming but couldn’t act to save himself. It only took two more blows to see him dead.

Chapter Seventeen

Going West

Delilah watched Carson mount the Colonel’s horse and turn the stallion toward the west.

They’d been busy since the slavers had attacked—burying the three men, gathering up Carson’s meager belongings, and packing them with the best of the farm equipment in an old two-wheeled cart. They even had money in their pockets as the Colonel didn’t have any more use for it. With enough distance to put all of this behind them, they had enough to make a fresh start in life.

Carson extended his hand to her and she let him pull her up behind him. She loved the strength in his lean body and the way it felt to sit against him on the horse. “You ready?” he asked her.

“Where are we going?” she asked.

“Doesn’t much matter,” he said, “California or Oregon, I reckon. All I really care about is that we’re together.”

She couldn’t have said it better herself
.

The End

Other Books by Veronica Tower and Red Rose Publishing

Christmas Wagers

House Rules

My Son’s Roommate

Not Another Dateless Valentine’s Day

One Night Stand

Strip Poker

Tricky Business