A muffled groan escaped him, and he abruptly let her go. She stumbled back against the horse. What had stopped him this time? His eyes were glowing dangerously, but was it desire, or anger?
Wordlessly he grabbed her wrist and dragged her along behind him through a rock-walled passage. She couldn’t break his hold. She couldn’t control him—or her own fate. Either Lucas would be in that passage or she was about to be ruined by his notorious brother.
Eighteen
The sight of horses roped off against the side of the cliff made Sharisse giddy with relief. Billy was squatting by a fire, roasting meat. He glanced up with surprise as Slade pushed Sharisse through a narrow opening and into this small area.
The rock walls ended abruptly on both sides of the improvised corral, the steep mountain slope continuing on from there. Huge boulders marked another level exit nearby. The whole rugged scene was bathed blood-red by the setting sun.
Billy stood up. He was dressed exactly as he had been when she’d first met him, looking every bit as savage.
“What’d you bring her here for?” Billy asked belligerently.
“She wanted to find Luke,” Slade replied tonelessly.
Sharisse moved quickly away from him, closer to Billy. Billy made her just a little less nervous than Slade did.
“Where is Lucas?”
“You’re crazy,” Billy told her plainly. “We’d have been on our way home tomorrow.”
“Well, how could I know that?” Sharisse said defensively. “Please, where’s Lucas?”
Slade came up beside her before Billy could answer.
“It’s good to see you again, Billy.”
“I was beginning to wonder if you were ever going to come around again.” Billy was relaxed, grinning now.
Slade shrugged. “Luke seems to be doing all right by himself. With your help, of course,” he added, looking at the corralled horses. “How many are his?”
“More than half,” Billy chuckled. “You taught him well before you took off.”
“Billy, where is Lucas?” Sharisse demanded sharply.
“Back yonder somewhere.” He nodded toward the exit opposite the opening she had entered through. “I ain’t seen him all day,” Billy explained. “He caught a young buckskin that was sniffing around the herd while the stallion was away. We couldn’t keep him with these mares. He was stirring them up too much. And with so much horseflesh to choose from, he wouldn’t settle down.” He grinned, thinking this subject awfully delicate for her ears, unaware that she had absolutely no idea what he was talking about. “Had to move him away from their scent. I guess Luke’s decided to keep him company.”
Sharisse was staring at that passage. It was growing darker by the moment. What if Lucas stayed away from camp all night?
She glanced hesitantly at Slade and found him watching her with dark amusement in his eyes. She moved away from him again, circling around the fire. His laugh sent shivers through her.
“Get my horse for me, will you, Billy?” Slade asked, his eyes following Sharisse. “It’s been a particularly trying day.”
Sharisse caught her breath. And leave them alone? No thank you.
“I think I’ll just go and find Lucas myself, rather than wait,” she said quickly.
“Well, hold on.” Billy stopped her, bending to scoop a large chunk of meat into a piece of rawhide. He wrapped it thickly, then tossed it to her. “As long as you’re going, you can take him this and save me the trouble—in case he was thinking of bedding down with the stallion all night.”
“He’ll join us, once he knows I’m here,” Slade said. “I’m looking forward to seeing him, so don’t keep him too long, beautiful.” His eyes held hers. “He and I have something to settle, and I don’t want to put it off.”
Sharisse nearly ran through the dark passage between the boulders. She didn’t feel safe at all, not even after leaving Slade behind. The narrow trail widened, but the light was nearly gone and she could barely see. Everything was dark, frightening shadows, especially on the side of the path that was a steep drop down.
She slowed, taking each step carefully. She had, of course, no idea how far ahead Lucas was, and she prayed the feeble light would last until she found him. She nearly ran into a tree as the path turned sharply. To the left was the beginning of a thick pine forest. Ahead the path continued through more walls of rock. She kept moving, then stopped. The path divided suddenly, one trail leading back the way she had come, or so it looked.
“Lucas?” Please let him answer. “Lucas?”
She waited breathlessly, but there was no sound at all. The sky was cut off behind her, and rather than move into the darkness to her right, she turned toward the forest. At least, up ahead, the sun was still visible.
