Her instincts screamed at her to flee. Could she make a run for it?
No. He would shoot her well before she reached the barn.
So she held her ground. Panic threatened to engulf her, but she fought hard to keep it at bay. Her survival depended on her ability to think clearly.
He halted two strides away from her, close enough that the rifle would kill no matter which part of her his bullet struck.
"What do you want?" Her voice trembled, no matter how much strength she tried to force into it.
His smirk returned. "Justice. For Walker. And probably a nice little reward for taking you back to Virginia City."
Her heart thundered so hard she couldn't breathe. "I'm not going with you. No matter what you do." She would rather die than end up in a brothel.
But maybe…she managed a tiny breath. If she could delay him, perhaps Two Stones or one of the others would come back and help her.
God, if You're up there. If You care at all, help me. Please. Send Two Stones.She lifted the silent prayer even as her attacker edged forward.
"Don't think your injun is gonna save you this time neither." He glared. "He's busy with a little distraction I set up. Plenty long enough for you an' me to get far away from here."
Distraction? What did he mean?
He motioned to the snow beside her. "Git to the ground. On yer belly. Hands behind yer back."
With that rifle pointed at her, she didn't have a choice.
"If you give me even a blink o' trouble, I'll kill you as fast as you killed Walker. No question about it. I'd rather have the reward from Tyson for bringin' you back to Virginia City, but if you make it hard, I'll be done with ya here an' now." The ice in his tone said he meant every word.
She slowly dropped to her knees where he'd pointed. She just needed to buy time. The snow seeped through her skirts in seconds, and when she lay flat on the ground, her legs burned from the cold. Thankfully, her coat slowed the wetness reaching her upper body, but she would feel it soon enough.
"Arms behind you." The man's bark made her jerk.
She obeyed, and when he gripped her wrists with a rough hold, the powerless feeling that swept through her felt far too familiar. The weight of despair nearly suffocated her, bringing back every memory she'd tried to block out. Every time Winston...
She couldn't breathe. She couldn't think.God, help me! Help me.Her prayer was nearly smothered beneath the deafening roar of her own fear.
And as the cold darkness closed in around her, her world closed to a single thought.Send Two Stones. Please.
CHAPTER 11
Two Stones coughed from the acrid smoke as he scooped another armful of snow and threw it on the billowing flames engulfing the shed. The fire only licked higher into the gray winter sky.
Snow still blanketed the ground all around them. The shed catching fire couldn't be an accident. Was someone trying to get to the crates of sapphires stored inside? But why would they set fire instead of simply stealing the treasure?
His blood turned to ice as realization struck. A distraction.
He spun, staring toward the house, though he couldn't see it for the trees.
The women.Heidi and Dinah and Naomi—and the baby—were alone in the cabin. Vulnerable.
"Jericho!" Two Stones turned once more to find his friend, yelling over the roar and crackle of the blaze. "I'm going to the cabin! The women."
Jericho's face showed question for half a heartbeat, then his eyes widened as the same truth sank in for him. He turned and yelled something to Jude.
Two Stones sprinted toward the house, and as he left the burning building behind, the sound of Jericho's steps poundedbehind him. It usually took a quarter hour to walk the distance from the storage shed to the cabin, and they were traveling uphill this direction. He feared he didn’t have fifteen minutes. He had to get to Heidi before someone hurt her.
Who would have gone through so much to distract them all? Immediately, an image of the younger man they'd met on the trail flashed through his mind. Fitz. Would he have traveled all the way out here for vengeance on his friend? He'd seemed to only want them to leave. But when he'd had a chance to think, had he changed his mind?
Could the brothel owner from Virginia City have come all this way for Heidi? He was likely desperate for beautiful young women, and she certainly fit that description. But this far?
