Compromised Hearts (11 page)

A little surprised to perceive strong emotion in a man who had never displayed it before, James spoke softly and somewhat gently. “It’ll hurt them a lot less and you
know it. Just keep remembering what that scum’d do to them.” Cloud nodded and James, knowing his own reluctance to even think of what they might have to do, grimaced. “I’ll do the same.”

Emily finally stood up and moved towards the two men. She did not really need to see their frowning faces to know that whatever was out there pleased them very little. It was clear to read in their taut posture and the checking of their guns. Without a word, she knelt between them and looked out, frowning when she did not see what she had expected to.

“Those are not Indians.” There was the lilt of a question to her voice for she thought some of the men below did bear some resemblance to Indians.

“Some of them are.”

“I thought perhaps they were. They are nothing to do with the Indians who snatched Thornton, are they, Cloud?”

“Nope. These are renegades.”

“Not friends.”

Deciding that she might as well know the full truth, Cloud solemnly nodded agreement. “I doubt they’re friends to anybody, even each other. The Indians with them have been tossed out of their tribes and that doesn’t usually happen for a small crime. There’s some that are a mix of Indian and white and take the worst of both races. The whites are outlaws, probably with more than one noose waiting for them somewhere. I can see a
Mexican or two as well. And deserters, too, judging by the ragged uniforms.”

“You make them sound far worse than the rest.”

“Personal prejudice. Deserters killed my parents back in Arkansas near the end of the war.

“Em, what we’ve got down there is refuse. No one wants ‘em. No one likes ‘em. It’s all mutual, too. They hate everybody and wouldn’t blink over stealing from their own mothers—or worse. The only thing that holds them together is that, united, they might not get hanged so quick. To put it plain, honey, you think of anything evil that you can and they’ve done it or soon will.”

She shivered. “And they’ve found us.”

“Near to. They certainly know someone’s up here. Can’t say for certain if they know how many or who. If they don’t, that’s in our favor.”

“I am able to handle a gun, Cloud.” “That may be, but you’ll stay out of the way.”

“I could be of some assistance.”

“Em, the best help you can give me is to stay out of the way. Get Thornton and find some cover, out of sight. Oh, hell, and put out that fire. If they get much closer, they’ll sniff us out.”

She hurried to obey his order. It was doubtful that it would stop the renegades from finding them, but she was willing to try even the smallest chance. Once the fire was
out, she hurried to get herself and Thornton out of the way.

Using the horses and their supplies, Emily built a small barricade. She convinced James and Cloud to do the same for, although the cave was safety of a sort, they would have to expose themselves occasionally to battle the renegades.

Sitting behind her makeshift barricade, Emily held Thornton close, advising him sternly not to make a sound. The men remained tensely waiting for the confrontation that was sure to come. She knew Cloud and James were admirable soldiers, but she feared for their lives. The odds were heavily weighted against them.

Seeing Cloud’s saddlebags, she set Thornton aside and moved to open them. Keeping an eye on Cloud in hopes that he would not see what she was up to, she stealthily removed a pistol he had brought along to give to his brother as a gift and the box of ammunition to go with it. Quickly she sat back down next to Thornton and calmly loaded the pistol.

Cloud had clearly not believed her claim that she could handle a gun. It did not surprise her that he would be so skeptical even though she had never made any false claims before. She was able to do so little, was so utterly helpless and incompetent out in the wilderness, that it was quite natural for him to doubt her. With all her heart she prayed she would not have to prove her
claim, but she was ready to do so if the need arose. Setting the pistol in her lap, she sat tensely watching the men, sharing their taut anticipiation.

When one of the renegades suddenly gave a soft cry of surprise and pointed right at them, Cloud cursed viciously. He had hoped, against all odds, that the men would give up before they found them. Rechecking his pistol and assuring himself that his rifle was readied, Cloud waited. There were several ways the men could turn now. He just hoped they made all the wrong choices.

“Since they know where we are, why’re we waiting?”

“So we can be sure every shot counts,” Cloud replied in a cold, flat voice.

James nodded solemnly. “How do you think they’ll come at us?”

“I’m hoping straight on.”

“Do you recognize this lot?”

“Nope. Most of the ones I knew much about are dead now.”

“Unfortunately, there always seem to be more to take their place. They’re starting up—straight at us but careful.”

“There’s not enough cover for them to be careful enough.”

Emily had to bite her lip to keep from crying out when the first shot was fired. She held Thornton close, giving him the added protection of her body. She kept her gaze fixed upon Cloud and James and prayed as lard as she could.

The violence she was discovering in the West appalled her. It was far more visible and seemed to be more a part of everyday life than in Boston, a continually growing city that was not without its violent places and people. She could only hope that, if they got out of this confrontation alive, her brother’s home and the town he lived in would not prove to be as wild and dangerous.

The shooting seemed to go on for hours, but Emily felt sure her mind exaggerated the length of the battle. Her eyes hurt from staring so fixedly at Cloud. She felt a pang of guilt over her neglect of James, who was in equal danger, but knew that, if the battle started up again, she would do the same. Although she would grieve if anything happened to James, the thought of any harm coming to Cloud made fear grip her by the throat. When it came down to the line, he was far more important to her.

“Is it Injuns, Mama?”

She forced a smile to her lips and kissed Thornton’s forehead. “No, my sweet boy, not really. It is just a lot of bad men.”

“Uncle Cloud and Uncle James’ll make ‘em go away.” He patted her hand. “Don’t you be afraid.”

“How could I be afraid with three brave men to protect me?” Her smile came more naturally when the little boy’s thin chest puffed out with pride. “We will just sit here and be quiet and soon it will be over.” She hugged him when he nodded, then turned her
attention back to Cloud wishing she was near enough to hear what he and James so intently discussed.

“One round finished. Think that’ll be the end of it?” James began to recount his supply of ammunition.

After studying the group of renegades for a moment, Cloud shook his head and cursed softly. “Nope. They’re either real stupid or real stubborn. ‘Course, when you don’t care squat for anybody, it’s easy to throw lives away through sheer pigheadedness.”

“Even though they don’t know if we’ve got anything worth dying for or not?”

Forcing himself not to glance at Emily, Cloud sighed. “We don’t know that. One of them could’ve spotted us. Could’ve seen that we had some fine horseflesh, a cart full of goods—and one woman.” He nodded when James cursed. “Emily’d bring a fine purse from any number of sources.”

“And if they saw her when she didn’t have her bonnet on… .” James shook his head.

“Some don in Mexico’d pay a king’s ransom for a woman with hair like that.”

“And there’s plenty of unscrupulous bastards between here and the border that’d buy her quick too. Here, look, one of ‘em is approaching slow with a flag of truce.” He watched the man edging towards them, a dirty white handkerchief tied to a stick.

“We know who’s in there,” the man called.

“That’s odd. I don’t recollect you,” Cloud replied, “but then, I try to avoid scum.”

Emily gasped softly over that inflammatory remark. The man clearly wished to negotiate. It seemed unwise to slap him in the face before he had even uttered his terms. She said nothing, however. Her ignorance of the area and the people in it had been well displayed more times than she cared to recall. She would be silent and assume that Cloud knew what he was doing. He had so far, bringing them safely through an area littered with dangers.

“That ain’t real smart, mister. We know there’s only two men, one brat, and a woman in there.”

After cursing viciously under his breath, Cloud muttered, “They did see us. How the hell did I miss them?”

“You ain’t got a chance.”

“We haven’t been doing so bad. Looks to me like you’ve got four, five men dead or wounded and we’re still here.”

“You won’t be much longer. We can keep you pinned down in there for days if we have to. Look, send out the woman and we’ll let you two and the brat leave safely.”

“He really thinks I’m that stupid?”

“Cloud?” Emily called softly.

“Nope.”

“I have not said anything yet.” “You don’t have to, Em. I know what you’re going to say. The answer’s no.” “But, Cloud …”

“Em, do you have any idea what they’ll do to you?”

“I’m sure it will be most unpleasant.” She grimaced over her choice of words but could think of none stronger.

“Oh, yeh, most unpleasant.”

Cloud cursed when ne saw her flush. There was no need to sneer at her. She could have no way of knowing what sort of men they were dealing with. He was feeling frustrated, backed into a corner, but it was not fair to lash out at her. He doubted that telling her all they would do to her would stop her from wishing to save them, but he would try to make her see more clearly exactly what sort of men they were dealing with and just how little their word meant.

“Em, if you go with them, you might get lucky and the man they mean to sell you to will have a few rules about not abusing the merchandise before it gets to him. ‘Course, that don’t mean that scum’ll follow the rules. Most likely they’ll use you, repeatedly, until they kill you or find someone who’ll pay a little for you. Each one of ‘em, any time they want and any way they want, will have you.

“And it won’t save us, Em,” he continued quietly. “They’ll still kill us. They won’t want us on their trail and they won’t want us telling anyone about them. Not only are they probably wanted in every town between here and the border, but folk out here don’t take kindly to the stealing, abusing, and selling of women. If for no other reason, there’s too damn few of you.”

“Well, for most of us anyway,” James murmured,
smiling faintly when Emily gave a soft, nervous laugh. “He’s right, Em. There’s no dealing with this lot. They’re just hoping we’re fool enough to think there is.”

She knew they told her the truth. It had been but a small hope, a faint chance to keep Cloud, Thornton, and James alive. Any price she had to pay would have been worth it. However, she had no inclination to toss herself to the wolves if it gained nothing. She would rather die with the people she cared for then see them cut down as she was dragged off.

“Well, it was just a thought.” She hugged Thornton a little closer. “No mercy at all?”

“I’m afraid so.” Glancing at the wide-eyed little boy, Cloud sorely wished he could tell her otherwise. “So, we’ll show none to them.”

The coldness in his voice made her shiver. This was the Cloud who had faced death and learned how to treat those who would deal it out, first in the war and then as a scout. He would do all he could to keep them alive. It would be ungrateful to quibble over the methods he employed to do that or what dark side of his character had to be called forth. Looking down at the little boy huddled so close to her, she decided she did not really care how Cloud did it, so long as he succeeded.

“You decided yet?”

“Yeh.” Cloud forced back the urge to simply shoot the outlaw in answer to his
loathsome offer. “Well? What’s your answer then?” “Nope.”

“She must be damned good if you’re willing to die for her.”

“Who says we’ll be the ones doing the dying?”

“You ain’t got a chance in hell.”

Cloud knew James was watching the outlaw as he scrambled back to the others, so he covertly watched Emily. The way she held Thornton, talking softly and calmly to the frightened boy, touched him in a way he did not fully understand. He doubted that any mother could share a stronger bond with a child than Emily did with Thornton. It was not only sympathy and a liking for the orphaned child that would make Cloud take Thornton on. Cloud knew he would never get Emily unless he did.

“Cloud?”

“Yeh, Em?”

“If this goes—well, wrong will anyone ever know what happened to us?”

“I can’t say for certain.” He scowled as he suddenly realized why she would concern herself about such a thing. “Worried about Harper?”

Although puzzled by the sharp tone of his voice, she replied calmly, “Yes, he is expecting me. I would hate to think that my brother might be left with no knowledge about what has happened, or think that I have simply disappeared between Boston
and his home. I have seen how that can be on a person. Sailors leave port never to return. Their loved ones know, yet do not know what has happened to them. It is assumed that the ship sank with all hands lost, yet no one saw it, no one can tell them the fate of their loved one, and there is no body. There is no real sense of finality.”

Cloud opened his mouth to say something comforting, then snapped it shut as he stared at her for a moment. He carefully rethought what she had just said but did not fully trust his hearing. He had not been listening that closely.

“Your what?”

“Pardon?”

“You said that who will never know?” “Harper.”

“What did you just call him?”

“My brother.” She wondered what he was getting so angry about.

“You never told me he was your brother.”

She looked at Cloud in slight surprise and wondered, a little crossly, if he was quite right in the head. They were trapped in a cave with a score of ruthless desperados eager to slaughter them. It was a very strange time to get into a huff over her neglecting to mention that Harper was her brother, especially when he had made it rather clear that he was not interested in Harper in the least.