Compromised Hearts (12 page)

“I certainly would not be traipsing across thousands of miles to go to a stranger.”

“Thought he might be your fiancé or something.”

“My fiancé?” she squeaked. “Whatever gave you that idea?”

Before he could reply, James suddenly stopped grinning over the impending argument and murmured, “Here they come.”

Even as he hastily turned all his attention back to the renegades, Cloud grumbled, “We’ll discuss this later.”

The first shot erased all thought of Harper and Cloud’s strange behavior from Emily’s mind. One of the desperados got in some lucky shots straight through the mouth of the cave. He was clearly not aiming for the men, but for what he felt was the reason the men were righting so doggedly. Emily covered Thornton with her body as bullets struck the wall of the cave and they were showered with rock chips. She cast a wary glance up at the roof of the cave and prayed that it was sturdy.

Despite her need to protect Thornton, she kept a close watch on Cloud and James. They were the ones the outlaws really wished dead, the ones who were directly facing all the danger. They were also all that stood between her and what truly would be a fate worse than death for her, and for Thornton, if he were lucky, a quick death.

Thornton began to tremble and she knew all of the fears that woke him in the middle of the night were being drawn out by the battle. There were shots and the occasional
scream of a man wounded or dying. All that was lacking was the continuous noise of victorious Indians, although the renegades did not fight quietly. She tried to soothe the child by word and touch but felt sure she was not doing too well. All of her own fears and memories were being roused. It was only by gritting her teeth that she kept herself from trembling right along with Thornton.

Along with never having to ride a horse again, Emily decided she never wanted to hear another gun fired. It was a foolish wish and she knew it, wincing as another bullet hit the cave wall near her, some of the stone chips hitting her, but she wished it anyway.

“They’re rushing us, the bastards.”

Hearing James’s harsh cry, Emily quickly pushed Thornton down flat upon the floor. “Stay there, love, no matter what happens around you. Lie still and be very quiet.”

“No angels, no angels.”

His soft cry struck at her heart. It was evident that, in some way, Thornton did understand the things that had happened to him and were still happening. He had learned the hard lessons or death and danger. She bent to kiss the top of his head and prayed that, if he had to learn anything else this time, it was that the wrongdoers did not always win.

“Quiet now, Thornton. We can all fight better if we know you’re doing as you should.” She saw him nod and turned her attention back to James and Cloud just in
time to see the renegades appear in the mouth of the cave as they rushed forward.

The last clear thought Emily had was that the renegades plainly cared as little for each other’s lives as they did for their victims'. It was nearly suicidal to rush such rapidly firing men in a strong defensive position. Then the first renegade broke through the mouth of the cave, and she took up the pistol she had readied. Although her stomach clenched and heaved, the violence played out before her making her ill, she was ready to do her part to help Cloud if help was needed.

Cloud used every trick and skill he had ever acquired to fight back the rush of men. Only the relative lack of space in the cave’s opening kept them from being overwhelmed. It also helped that, although seeming to charge recklessly, the renegades tried to maintain some caution. That brief reluctance to hurl themselves into the line of fire kept the numbers coming at him and James manageable. Cloud doggedly continued to fight while praying, for the first time in a long time, that no sudden surge of men would come to bury them.

He also fought to bury a fear that knotted his insides, a fear for the safety of Emily and Thornton. It was far from the first time he had been responsible for other lives, women and children as well as men, but never had he found it so difficult to put all thought of them aside and concentrate on beating the enemy. He could not shake the image of the
two helpless innocents huddled in the rear of the cave or of what would happen to them if he failed them.

Then, when the renegades began to hesitate, to hold back, he began to lose that fear of failure. The knot in his stomach began to loosen as he began to feel that Emily was safe.

Emily sensed a change before she actually saw it. Slowly, she began to relax as the intensity of the fighting eased. She forced herself not to think of the deaths they had caused and sternly reminded herself that those men had intended to kill them.

Just as she was about to check on Thornton, slipping the pistol into the pocket of her skirt, a hand covered her mouth. She tried to cry out despite the dirty gag, but an arm about her throat cut off her air. Her struggles were fruitless as she tried to stop herself from being dragged backwards. Panic stung her throat as she realized that there was a back entrance to the cave and the renegades had found it. She prayed to God that James or Cloud would turn around but they never did and were still facing away from her as she lost sight of them. She wondered frantically if she would ever see them again as her loss of air finally caused her to black out.

“Hey, look! The bastards are hightailing it. We did it, Cloud! We did it.” James slapped Cloud on the back.

Smiling with relief, Cloud turned to tell
Emily it was over, but his smile quickly vanished. Bolting to the back of the cave, he found only a shaking Thornton still pressed to the floor. It was another moment of frantic searching before he found the crevice that led to another entrance. Frozen in place, he stared into the darkness and realized that he had won the battle but lost the war.

“
D
idn’t you know there was two ways into this place?”

“No,” Cloud ground out as he threw their gear together. “I never bothered to look.”

“Angels took her. Angels took my mama.”

“There weren’t any damned angels,” Cloud snarled at the weeping little child, then immediately regretted it. Crouching down by the child, Cloud said gently, “No angels, Thornton. Renegades. Bad men. Your mama’s alive. We just have to find her.” He handed the boy a handkerchief and Thornton began to calm a little.

“Bad men?” Thornton dutifully blew when Cloud held the handkerchief to his nose. “We can find Mama?”

“We’ll find her. Now listen to me, Thornton. Listen very carefully.” The boy nodded. “This won’t be easy. It’ll also be dangerous. You’ll have to do everything I tell you to, do it exactly and without a whimper. If I set you down and tell you to stay, you stay.”

“Even if it’s dark?” he asked softly.

“Even if it’s dark. The mule and the mare, Carolynn, will be with you most likely.”

“Okay, Uncle Cloud. I’ll do everything and you’ll get Mama back.”

Cloud nodded and tried to feel as confident as he made himself sound. If he had some safe place to leave everything so that James and he could travel light, he would have an excellent chance. Instead, he had to try and trail men who would be moving stealthily yet quickly, while he had to drag along a little boy, a stubborn mule, and a cartload of supplies. It would slow him down dangerously and he had to reach the men before they crossed the border. Once the men got Emily into Mexico, it would be a long and arduous chore to get her back. He knew neither the land nor the language.

By the time they were ready to leave, Cloud felt tied up in knots. Already half an hour had been lost. He was painfully aware of how much of a lead that could give the renegades. The fear of all that could happen to Emily during that time gnawed at him.

“Cloud?”

Struggling to shake free of his dismal
thoughts without taking his gaze from the trail they followed, Cloud muttered, “What is it, James?”

“I don’t like to be the bearer of bad tidings—but a storm’s brewing.”

Cloud looked up at the sky and began to curse softly and viciously. James was right. A storm would slow the renegades, but it would also obliterate any trail they left. He could only pray that they were able to find Emily before that disaster occurred.

Emily was first aware of the smell of horse combined with that of a unwashed body. She nearly gagged on it as she slowly returned to consciousness. Then her memory returned and she tensed, slowly opening her eyes while dreading what she would see.

All around her rode the renegades. Some seemed badly wounded. Even as she watched, one man slid from his saddle. Another man dismounted, felt for a pulse, then pronounced the man dead. To Emily’s shock and disgust, the man then stripped the body, remounted and, taking the reins of the dead man’s horse, started on his way again. Emily decided that nothing else could have shown her more clearly that these men cared nothing for anyone.

No one spoke to her. She decided that was probably for the best, so she made no sound. The last thing she wanted to do was to draw any attention to herself. She did try to edge away from the odiferous man she rode with,
but the arm around her waist tightened painfully whenever she moved.

She tried not to think about all that could happen to her, but her mind refused to grant her that peace. Every word Cloud had said about the renegades echoed in her mind. It was far too easy to visualize the horrors that could be facing her.

A faint hope that Cloud could save her flickered in her heart, but she struggled to douse it. There were at least a dozen renegades, although some seemed to be in poor shape. That represented odds that she dreaded to see Cloud facing. He was strong, knew the territory, and had a fighting skill even she recognized as notable, but she felt sure he would be hard-pressed with no sturdy defensive position to take up. She was terrified and dreaded what was to come, but she did not want her freedom bought at the cost of Cloud’s life. Unfortunately, she could not see any way to gain that freedom for herself.

It began to grow dark, but Emily was sure it was still too early for nightfall. Glancing up at the sky, she marveled at the blackness or the clouds rolling across the sky and obliterating the sun. The sky looked malevolent and she found that fitting.

The horses began to grow restless and Emily sensed a tension growing amongst the men. It was finally decided that they would stop and try to shelter themselves in some
meager way from the impending storm. She shivered as a chill entered the increasing wind and wondered just how bad a storm they were in for.

When they halted, she was roughly set down, then kept a close watch on. Even if she had been able to loosen the bonds that held her wrists behind her back she knew she would not have gotten very far. She sat down and watched as a camp was erected in the shelter of some large boulders, a camp she doubted would offer much shelter if the sky delivered the torrents of rain it seemed to promise.

As soon as everything was settled to the leader’s instructions, she was leashed to a stake by a rope tied to her ankle. She was seated with her back to a large rock, sticks and a worn blanket providing a flimsy shelter. If the rains did come, she knew she would be dangerously soaked and chilled. Settling back against the rock, she listened to the men talking as they sat a few feet away around the campfire. Their words frightened her, but she felt she had to know it all.

“Why can’t we do nothing with her, Burt? Ain’t seen such a fine piece in a real long time.”

“'Cause I said no. You have a bit and the rest’ll want some. That’d probably kill a little thing like her and a dead woman won’t bring us any money, you fool. Now leave it, Bob. Corey, you set out extra guards like I told
you?”

“I did, Burt. Sure it’s worth it? There wasn’t any sign of them following.”

“Don’t mean they aren’t.”

“You think they’d risk that much for the woman?”

“As Bob said, she’s a fine piece. Women ain’t that plentiful and pretty ones ain’t found too easy at all.”

Burt glanced her way and Emily shivered. He had the coldest eyes she had ever seen. Cloud could look cold, but she knew that, for the most part, it was simply an expression donned to hide his thoughts or feelings. Burt was hiding nothing. The coldness went to his soul. His eyes revealed his lack of humanity, of all the things that could raise a man above the beasts or, she thought with a tremor, in Burt’s case, a rabid beast.

“Rodrigo will pay plenty for this one. Fair, pretty and clean.”

“Burt, she ain’t untouched.”

“What makes you so sure, Bob?”

“Well, she was traveling with them two men and she had that kid hanging onto her skirts.”

“So you figure you can have a bit.” “Well, how’s Rodrigo gonna know if we do?”

“He’ll know. He always does. He won’t cut the price much if she ain’t virgin, but he won’t give us a cent if she’s like the last one we brought him. He don’t want her bad used or beat. You’ll leave her be, Bob.”

There was no threat put into the words, but Burt’s voice held all the threat they needed to hear. Emily relaxed a little. She might face horror at the end of her journey, but she would not have to suffer it the whole way there. It was comfort of a sort and she tried to pull some strength from the knowledge. She knew she would need all she could muster.

Just as she started to doze off, Burt approached and crouched before her. He held out a plate of beans. Her stomach rolled with hunger, but she lifted her gaze from the food she wanted so desperately to meet Burt’s steady gaze with a look of haughty disgust.

“You expect me to lick my meal from the plate?” She did not like the way his eyes widened slightly, a mercenary gleam lightening their cold depths for a moment.

“I mean to loose your hands. You ain’t going nowheres.” Setting down the plate, Burt did just that.

Picking up the plate, Emily said, fighting for a calm she did not feel at all, “I am not without family that will search for me.”

“Let ‘em search. Once Rodrigo has you, they’ll never find you.”

Since she suspected that was true, she had no reply and concentrated on eating the beans. She then drank the too-strong coffee he pressed upon her. The last drop had barely passed her lips when he retied her wrists behind her back. She tensed when he
took a strand of her hair between his dirt-blackened fingers, studying it closely.