CHAPTER FIFTEEN
THE FAMILIAR JANGLE and rattle coming closer and closer pulled Luke’s head up. It couldn’t be. He’d told her...
But it was. From out of the stand of scrub brush Glory emerged, hat bobbing, ears twitching, plodding along like his owner was in her right mind.
“I thought you told her to stay put?” Zach asked, the words slightly slurred by his bloody lip.
“I did.” And once he settled this, he was going to paddle that delectable ass of hers for not paying attention. As the wagon entered the yard, the men stood and surrounded it, funneling the occupants to the center of the small area. “I might have to bring up that whole obedience thing again.”
Josie was looking a bit green around the gills. Her hair hung in a straggle around her wan face. As he watched, she leaned over the side and retched.
“Perhaps you should wait until she’s feeling better,” Zach said.
She must have been puking for a while because she was down to dry heaves. The bastard driving the wagon didn’t even help her back up. Sick or not, however, her presence was causing the desperados to perk up. Shit.
“Do you know the young lady?” Doc Shane asked. Though he was bound like the rest of them, the only thing damaged on him was his hat. Dented with the crown listing at an odd angle, the jaunty bowler had definitely taken a beating, but the rest of him was relatively unruffled. Either the bandits had a respect for doctors or the bandits needed him. Luke was betting on the latter.
He forced the “Yes” out between gritted teeth.
Josie was upright again. Sort of. Luke didn’t like the way she stayed mostly hunched over. Had the bastards punched her? Broken her ribs? He renewed his work on his bonds. The rope was thick and strong. He wasn’t making much headway.
“I thought you gave her a pistol?” Zach asked again in that dry way he had.
“Apparently, my instructions weren’t clear enough.”
“She appears injured.”
“I noticed that.”
Doc Shane cocked his head to the side. Luke realized he was probably just a few years younger than himself.
“Do you suppose they hurt her?”
“For their sake, they’d best hope not.”
Doc nodded. “I understand. I don’t approve of gentlemen laying hands upon women.”
What good was his disapproval? Shane was an average-sized man with soft Eastern ways and a calm, understated manner that suited his profession. He’d moved into the area six months ago. According to Bella, people had talked for days about his hair. Luke could see why. It was so deep a red it resembled the banked embers of a fire. Bella’s letters had been littered with tales of young ladies trying to get the new and very eligible doctor’s attention. Tia had looked forward to those letters. So had he. Bella had a way with words.
Luke wasn’t expecting much help from him in a fight.
“Neither do I. Especially my woman.”
“Speaking of injuries—” Doc nodded toward Zach “—that lip needs stitching.”
“No offense, Doctor, but no one gets near my face with a needle and thread.”
Doc sighed. “We don’t actually use thread, you know.”
Zach just looked at him. With a shake of his head, he repeated, “No.”
With a shrug, Doc let it drop. “So, since we’re not the center of attention right now, are we going to attempt a rescue?”
The men were closing in on the wagon. Josie inched her way to the edge.
“Dammit, Josie. Don’t get down,” Luke ordered quietly, willing her to hear. “You’ll be too vulnerable.”
Josie half slid, half hopped to the ground.
“She really doesn’t listen well,” Zach observed.
“No, she doesn’t.”
Josie was standing now. Still hunched over. The big boss who’d introduced himself as Santino walked over to the little group. He started talking with the newcomers’ leader. Clearly they knew each other. There were a few gestures toward the wagon. Raised voices. A note of incredulity carried.
Santino probably wanted to know why the other man was bringing a hat-wearing horse pulling a peddler’s wagon and a sick woman into their midst. More words. The exchange got heated. Luke caught the word for gold. Maybe it was riches. For whatever reason, they thought the wagon was valuable.
Oh, Josie, what have you done?
Luke had no doubt she’d done what she’d had to in order to save herself, but in the long run, promising bandits wealth and not delivering was a risky option.
“Shit.”
At this point, her only way out was to wait for the right opportunity and then to run like hell. No heroics. No looking back.
As if she heard him, Josie looked up. She was a mess, pale and wan, her dress hanging oddly, her hair dragging down her back. But she was somehow still the most beautiful thing he’d ever seen.
Unbelievably, she gave him a little smile. If he hadn’t been attracted before, he was now. She blinked. Once. Twice. A couple times in succession. Damn. Was she about to pass out?
He mouthed the words Hold on.
He worked harder at his bonds. His wrists ached. His shoulders burned. His ribs throbbed. They weren’t getting any looser. Frowning at him, she braced her hand on Glory’s hip, leaning against the horse. No one paid her any mind. They were too busy arguing among themselves.
“It looks like there might be a challenge for leadership,” the doctor offered.
Maybe. Now they just needed a way to take advantage of it.
“How are you doing over there, Zach?” Luke asked.
“Not so good. The ropes are not giving.”
Josie started fiddling with Glory’s harness.
“What is your woman doing?” Stefano asked.
“It appears to me that she’s unhitching that odd-looking horse. Do you know why it’s wearing a hat?”
“It keeps him calm.”
Doc raised his eyebrows. “Any calmer, and he’d be dead.”
She moved around to the other side.
“Now, what is she doing?” Luke muttered.
“I think Doc’s right. She’s unhitching Glory,” Zach said, his muscles bunched as he strained to loosen his bonds.
“Glory is the horse?”
“Yes.”
“A very impressive name for a very unimpressive animal.”
“Don’t let Josie hear you say that. She sets a store by that horse.”
“Are we rescuing her yet?”
Luke had to admire his pluck.
There were twenty bandits all told. And four of them if he counted Josie. Even if they weren’t bound like hogs waiting for the slaughter, it would be an impressive feat to pull off a rescue. “Yup. Just as soon as I get my hands free.”
“Would you like help?”
He’d like his guns, the Hell’s Eight and five minutes with the bastard who’d killed their men and hurt Josie, but right now he’d settle for his hands being untied. “If you’re so inclined.”
It was a rhetorical statement.
To his shock, he felt the unmistakable saw of a blade against his bonds.
“I’ve been waiting for our opportunity,” Doc explained.
“Where the hell...?”
Doc grinned. “I am a surgeon, you know. Knives are my stock and trade.” One strand of the thick rope broke. “It’s amazing how many people forget that when they see a stylish bowler hat.”
“I will never again underestimate a bowler hat.” Zach angled his body to disguise what Doc was doing. It was a small hope. If anyone truly looked, they’d be suspicious immediately. But at the moment they had a distraction, and sometimes the difference between life and death lay in one distraction.
Stretching his wrists as far apart as possible, keeping tension on the rope, Luke grunted. “Now, if only Ace could learn the value of style.”
Zach abruptly ordered, “Stop.”
All three men stilled. A tense minute passed. “All right. They’re back to arguing.”
Doc went back to sawing. “Ace the gambler?”
“You’ve heard of him?” Luke asked.
“Who hasn’t? I look forward to meeting him across the table one day.”
“You know, Doc...” Luke felt a bit more give. “I think I’m looking forward to seeing that, too.” Considering how Doc Shane had managed to keep a knife on his person after being taken captive... “I bet you’ve got one hell of a poker face.”
Doc chuckled. “So I’ve been told.”
“What’s your lady friend doing?”
“Still working those traces.”
“I have to wonder why.”
So did he. “She’s damn fond of that horse.”
“Women do have a fondness for the ugly and unwanted.”
“That explains her attraction to Luke,” Zach joked before suddenly hissing, “Stop.”
Luke froze. Why was she surreptitiously getting Glory out of his traces? Why had she told them the wagon was valuable?
Doc leaned in and warned, “This last cut will do it. Don’t jerk when the tension releases.”
Luke nodded. “Go.”
The bonds gave. Luke held perfectly still. Watching. Waiting. He sent a mental message to Josie. Just a little longer, my darlin’. Just stay strong a little longer.
The men were walking around toward the back of the wagon. One of the guards noticed what Josie was up to and barked out an order. She ignored it. Instead, she grabbed Glory’s bridle and started walking him out of the traces.
Another shouted order and once more it was ignored. Clearly displeased, Santino signaled for four of his men to go after her while he followed the other man toward the back of the wagon. Luke watched in horror as the four men closed in. In another few steps, they’d have her.
Run!
Instead of running, Josie lifted her skirt and grabbed something from beneath. There was flash of sun on metal and then Glory screamed and bolted. She had a knife and she’d used it on Glory. A cold sick feeling filled his gut.
“Hurry it up, Doc.”
With a glance, Doc took in the situation, swore and abandoned all subterfuge. He sawed aggressively at Zach’s bonds.
Uncaring if the bandits saw that he was free—hell, preferring it—Luke jumped to his feet and yelled, “Run, Josie. Now!”
With another nervous glance over her shoulder, she did, bolting through the men like a rabbit in front of hounds, heading straight for him. A heavyset bandit caught her skirt as she flew past, hauling her up short. She spun around, knife raised. The bandit laughed and reeled her in. Hand over hand. She slashed frantically at her skirts, hacking through the material. The wagon door squealed open.
Zach and Doc jumped to their feet.
Men hollered and swarmed. Josie cut herself free, spun again and ran straight for Luke, waving her arms, eighteen bandits in pursuit.
She’d never make it. He ran toward her. Hell, he’d never make it.
They were going to need a goddamn miracle.
* * *
THE MIRACLE CAME in the next second. It came in the form of a violent, sensory bombardment of light and sound that unfolded so fast the world seemed too slow to accommodate it. A fireball exploded upward and outward followed by an ever-expanding cloud of smoke. The sound came next. A deafening roar that ruptured his ears. And after that, the devastation of an invisible wave that picked up everything in its path, before pitching it violently aside.
First, the bandits. The percussion ripped them apart, tossing them in pieces in a prelude. Next it caught Josie, lifting her off the ground and chucking her toward him. He had a quick glimpse of her face, the shock, the terror, before he caught her. The force of the blast threw them both to the ground. Clutching Josie tightly, spinning as they fell, he took the brunt of the impact. Searing pain shot through his already hurting ribs. His vision blurred, sound distorted. He turned his head. Where the wagon once sat was a roaring bonfire. In front of it, four sinister shadows separated from the ground.
“Josie!” She wasn’t moving. Goddamn, Josie. Rolling her beneath him, he tapped her cheek. She wasn’t conscious but she was breathing. Fuck. He shook her again.
Sound grew louder. Took shape. Time sped up bit by bit until it kept pace with reality. They were lying on the ground like sitting ducks for Santino’s men to pick off. He had to get up. He had to protect her. He made it as far as his hands and knees. The ringing in his ears wouldn’t stop.
“Don’t.” The cock of a hammer by his temple punctuated the order.
“Shit.” He was temporarily out of options.
The muzzle prodded his temple. “Now move.”
And leave Josie in the line of fire? “Not a chance.”
“Then die.”
Josie moaned and twisted beneath him. Something cold and hard pressed against his stomach. He’d recognize that shape in his sleep. A gun, she’d given him a goddamn gun. Now he had an option.
Taking it, he dove to the side, took aim, palmed the hammer and fired. The victorious expression on the bandit’s face switched to shock and slow-dawning comprehension. First his face went slack, then his hands. His gun dropped to the ground. He stared blankly at it as his knees buckled and he sank slowly to the ground, his arm dropping over Josie in a sick parody of a lover’s embrace. Screaming, she shoved the body off and scrambled backward.
“Stay down.” The threat wasn’t over. The other bandits were out there somewhere. Kneeling beside her, he covered her as much as he could, using his body as a shield.
“Zach, you got the others?”
“I can’t see them.”
Doc pointed to the left of the wagon. “They rolled out of sight over there.”
Luke exchanged a glance with Zach. “The riverbed.”
“Cover me.” Luke crept carefully to the edge. Before he got there he heard the hoofbeats. Peering over the edge, he looked down and saw what he expected. Riderless horses—some of theirs and some of the bandits—were scattering like the wind down the dry riverbed. In front of them rode the missing bandits. Damn.
Holding his ribs, he spotted a familiar horse. Taking a breath, he whistled for Chico. The horse tossed his head and kept running. Nothing Chico liked better than a good run. Luke whistled again. With another toss of his head, Chico swung around. Confused, his companions slowed, and dropped to a trot.
The cautious tweet of a bird joined the slowing sound of hoofbeats. Life was getting back to normal.
The bandits slowed, too. Wheeling their horses, they looked back. Luke took aim. Zach put his hand over the barrel and pushed it down. “Don’t waste the bullet. They’re too far away.”
Shit. They were. Luke lowered the revolver. “I want to kill something.”
“You already did.”
“I want to kill more.”
“I’m sure we’ll get another chance.”
He watched the riders, memorizing every nuance of their posture. “No doubt.”
“At least they left us our horses.”
“Yeah.”
Luke’s fingers twitched on the trigger. He kept seeing Josie hunched over, sick and hurting. Flying through the air as the inferno reached for her. He should never have left her.
Holstering the revolver, he turned on his heel and headed back. Doc was sitting with Josie. She was propped against a rock and he was running his fingers through her hair at the temples. Luke reached for his gun again. Zach caught his arm.
“He is examining her, m’amigo.”
So he was. Luke raked his hand through his hair, winced and clutched his ribs. “Where the hell’s my hat?”
Zach ran a hand through his own hair. “With mine, making a fancy home for some mice out there on the plain.”
“Damn.” That was his favorite hat.
He whistled again for Chico. The horse ambled over.
Zach squinted against the setting sun. “Do you think the others made it back to Rancho Montoya?”
Luke shrugged. “We bought them enough time.” He looked at the burning wagon. “Leastwise, they won’t have much trouble finding us.”
“Yeah. And, Luke, the little photographer...”
“Yeah?”
“I would not make her angry, my friend.”
Looking around at the carnage, he couldn’t argue. “I’ll keep it in mind.”
“But you will have to replace her wagon.”
Among other things. “Yeah.” He stumbled.
Zach groaned. “I’d hold you up, but I need to sit down.”
“Me, too.”
The bandits had been mean-assed fighters.
Zach slowly sat down where he stood. Luke managed the ten steps to Josie’s side. As soon as he got there, he sank down. That inner shaking didn’t stop until he gathered her in his arms.
Doc cocked his head at him. “I am not done examining her.”
Luke shifted his position until the rock supported him, wincing as his ribs protested. “No one’s stopping you.”
He just needed to hold her.
Doc opened his mouth and then closed it.
Josie leaned her cheek against his chest. Her hand came up and covered his heart. “I saved you.”
“We need to talk about that.”
“I didn’t think I could.”
“I shouldn’t have left you.”
“You had to save the doctor. Bella needs him.”
And Luke needed her in a way he couldn’t define.
“I shouldn’t have left you.”
“But I saved you.”
“And I you.”
“It’s not a competition.”
“She’s a little disoriented from the blast,” Doc explained, “but I think she’ll be all right.”
She wasn’t disoriented. She was her contrary self. “I need better than a ‘think.’ Is she going to be all right or not?”
“Time usually determines these things.”
Josie patted his chest. “I’m fine.”
Doc stood. “She needs to be kept quiet. Rest for at least a week. I’m not sure if she has a concussion.”
Luke overrode her “No” with a “Yes.”
Doc squinted at him. “I don’t suppose you’ll let me take a look at you now?”
“Later.”
He sighed. “You know, back East, people flock to me for my opinion.”
“Then head back East.”
“Right now, west is my direction. Mrs. MacGregor needs me and from the messages I’ve been getting, there isn’t any time to waste.”
That was true. Even now it could be too late. Luke waved to the smoldering wagon. “The Montoyas that got away will bring help. They’ll be here soon.”
“Then there’s time enough for me to look at those ribs.”
It wasn’t happening. He’d have to put Josie down for that. “I’ve cracked my ribs before.”
“But now I’m here with all this medical training—”
“No, thank you.”
Chico entered the clearing, snorted at the stench of death and stopped.
Doc sighed. “I see I’m getting nowhere here so I’ll go waste time with your friend Zach instead. See if I can convince him to let me stitch his lip.”
“Good luck with that.”
“Yeah. Hopefully, they left my bag on my horse.”
“You stay the hell away,” Zach called from where he sat. “I’m resting over here.”
They couldn’t rest for long, but for this moment? Luke rested his cheek on Josie’s head. Yeah, he could do that.
Doc shook his head and headed toward the horses. “You are some distinctly odd sorts.”
When he was out of earshot, Josie said, “I’m not staying quiet for two weeks.”
“I don’t think he meant mute.”
She smelled of smoke and vomit and horse. He’d never thought he’d associate those scents with bliss.
“I’ll go crazy being in bed for a week.”
“I don’t care.”
“You have to care. I saved your life.” She sighed with satisfaction. “Dane Savage would be proud of me.”
“The hell I would.”
She didn’t catch the slip.
“Luke?”
“What?” She still had her hand over his heart. Looking up at him, she asked, “Why didn’t you run away?”
“When?”
“When I told you to.”
“When you were waving your arms? That was a little late, my darlin’.”
“No, before that.”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“When I was blinking at you.”
Leaning back, he glanced down at her. “You’re going to have to elaborate.”
“Haven’t you ever heard of Morse code?”
“Morse code?”
Bracing her hand on his shoulder, she moved her fingers in code. “You know, the tap-tap-tappity-tap that makes telegraphs possible.”
“I know what it is, but I sure wasn’t looking for it in your blink.”
“Well, why not? Didn’t it at least strike you as odd that I was doing that?”
“I thought you were about to pass out.”
“So I’d blink out b-o-m-b because I was woozy?”
Zach laughed.
Luke growled. He didn’t find it funny at all. “Shut up, Zach. Bomb? That’s what you were trying to say?”
“Of course.”
There was no “of course” about it. “What the hell were you doing making a bomb?”
“I couldn’t think of anything else to do. And it wasn’t exactly like I made it. I merely created the right conditions.”
“You could have run when I told you to.”
“I couldn’t. I wasn’t sure about the timing.”
A cold chill went through Luke. He’d worked with Tucker, who was a big fan of dynamite, who knew everything about it. He could tell by looking at the fuse exactly how long it would take for a stick to blow. But the one thing Tucker always said was you could never underestimate the unpredictability of an explosion. That was why you should never ignorantly proceed with an explosive. “Would you care to explain that?”
“I saw you from up on the cliff. They made sure that I saw you. They wanted me to know there was no hope anybody was going to come save me, that I wasn’t going to escape. And I remembered what you told me. That I had to be strong, that I had to use my brain.”
“I believe I told you to pay attention and set off a warning shot if you needed help.”
“You didn’t send off a warning shot when you needed help.”
“A warning shot would’ve been lost amid all the other gunfire.”
“Well, so would mine.”
With a groan, Zach got to his feet. “I’m going to help Doc find his bag.”
With a flick of his finger, Luke waved him off. “We’re getting off track. You were explaining this insane plan of yours.” With a finger under her chin, he tipped her face up to his. “What happened after I left, Josie?”
“I stayed in the wagon just like I promised.”
“But?”
“But I got caught up developing the tintype I’d just taken.” Her whole face lit up. Her fingers wrapped around his wrist, binding him to her excitement. “It’s beautiful, Luke. Gorgeous. Perfect. A completely new technique. That technique will get me recognition from the photographic society. Recommendations lead to introductions that lead to paying opportunities.”
“Where does a husband fit into your plans?”
“I’m not sure one does.” With a wave of her hand she dismissed the whole concept. “A husband is no guarantee of anything. A husband is more a gamble than security. But if I have a position in which I can make enough money, then I’ll be free.”
She meant every word. The truth was written in her expression. In her eyes. “Does love fit anywhere in this grand plan of yours?”
She tried to duck her head. He didn’t let her. “No more hiding, Josie.”
With a sigh, she let him go. Her fingers clenched in a fist on her lap. How the hell could she let him go?
“I don’t believe in love, not for a life plan. It’s too unstable. It comes and goes on some invisible whim.”
“No, it doesn’t.”
“Oh please.” She rolled her eyes.
“Infatuations come and go, I agree. Lust definitely does. But love?” Rubbing his thumb across her parted lips, Luke shook his head at her. “If you think that about love, my darlin’, you don’t know what love is.”
“And I suppose you do?”
“Oh yes, I do. I’ve seen firsthand the kind of love people die for. The kind of love that gives people hope. The kind of love that creates the foundation futures are built on. The kind of love that creates a space rather than closes doors.”
“When?”
“I saw it in my parents, I saw it between Caine and Desi. I see it every time that Tracker reaches for Ari. Whenever Bella smiles at Sam. Look at any of the Hell’s Eight. Look at Tia and Ed.” He pressed his thumb lightly against her mouth, parting her lips. Feeling her breath flow past as she inhaled deeply. “I feel it every time I look at you.”
“No...”
“Yes.”
“This isn’t the place.”
“I know.”
“I don’t think...”
Replacing his thumb with his index finger, he silenced the impending ramble. “I know you just lost everything. More than I expected.”
“I saved one.”
“One what?”
“One tintype. I couldn’t let it go.”
He should have known. “So your dreams aren’t over?”
She shook her head. “No, I don’t think they are.”
Curiosity wouldn’t let it rest. “How did you save it?”
“Before I opened the ether, I tucked it up under my dress.”
“You managed to get a lot under that dress.”
“That reminds me, thank you for forbidding me to wear a corset.”
With the softness of her breasts against him, he didn’t have to lie. “That was my pleasure.”
He felt along her back. “So where is it?”
“Doc took it for me.” She wrinkled her nose. “It’s not the most comfortable to lie on.”
“I want to see it.”
“I’m not ready.”
“Why?”
She scooted out of his lap. “Stop asking so many questions.”
He caught her wrist. “Stop giving me orders.”
“Is this a private argument or can anyone join in?”
Josie pushed to her feet. The tatters of her dress hung about her stockinged legs. Luke had a choice to force her to stay or to let her go. He let her go.
“No, we’re done,” he said, then slowly got to his feet. Running his fingers through his hair, he watched Josie all but dive into the circle of horses surrounding Sam. Reinforcements had arrived. Dammit he felt naked without his Stetson. “Anyone ever tell you your timing sucks, Sam?”
“Nope. Can’t say they have.”
“Well, let me be the first.”