by Tracey Lyons
Swallowing hard, she blinked away the tears that threatened. They would find their way back to each other. She believed that with all her heart and soul.
She patted Bonnie’s neck. “Come on, girl. Another mile and then we’ll head back.”
Up over the rocky path they climbed until they came to stand on top of a flat ledge that overlooked the pond. Slowly she looked along the edge of the distant shore. She didn’t see any movement or sign that would indicate that the posse had been there. Doubts assailed her, what if they hadn’t come this way?
They would go a little farther and then turn back. Moving along, they meandered down a slope. Her heart began to beat a little faster when they came closer to the spot where she and Chase had made love. What a glorious day that had been! She could still feel the heat of his hot skin pressed against her naked flesh.
Making love to him had been the most natural, unquestionable act in the world to her. It was probably the one and only thing she’d ever done that didn’t carry any regrets. The temptation to dismount and linger for a while was great, but she knew if she stayed much longer she’d be missed back at the homestead.
They hadn’t gone far when the mare stiffened beneath her then stopped. Her ears perked up.
“What is it, girl?”
She followed her first instinct, which was to look down around the horse’s hooves, thinking maybe a snake had spooked the mare. After quickly scanning both sides of the mare, Hannah was relieved not to have spotted any of the creatures. Although she knew the dreaded snakes could blend in quite well with the woods, she was confident there were none writhing about underfoot.
“Come on, Bonnie, just a little further and I promise we’ll turn back.” Hannah urged the horse on. There still wasn’t anything to indicate the men had been here. She couldn’t find any trail markings or hoofprints.
Hannah turned Bonnie around on the narrow trail. “There we go, girl. Now we can go home.”
“Not so fast, Miss Jackson.”
Her blood ran cold. Shivers of fear raced up and down her spine. Hannah would have known that voice anywhere.
He stepped out from the shadows of the pine trees. His damp shirt was plastered to his skin. Even from where she sat, rigid with fright, she could see the dirt clinging to the fabric.
Amos Smithson advanced toward her. Each step he took made her heart skip a beat. He kept coming until he stopped in front of Bonnie. Hannah’s eyes widened in horror as she watched him raise his shotgun, taking aim at her heart.
She kneed Bonnie in the side, forcing the horse to lurch forward, but Amos’s reflexes were quicker. In one smooth movement he lowered the shotgun and, holding it in one hand, grabbed hold of Bonnie’s reins with the other, bringing the horse to an abrupt halt.
Bonnie reared up in fright. Hannah was frantic to stay on her mount and though she tried valiantly to keep a firm grip on the leather straps, within seconds her hold on the reins slipped away. She was thrown roughly to the ground.
Panting hard, she tried to catch her breath. She rolled onto her side, wincing as a sharp pain shot through her rib cage. She was just about to rise to her feet when Amos grabbed her from behind, wrapping his arms tightly about her. From behind them came Bonnie’s frightened neighing and then the sound of the mare’s hooves splashing along the muddied trail as she escaped into the woods.
“She’ll go back home, you know, and then everyone will be up here gunning for you!” She ground out the words through clenched teeth.
Grabbing a fistful of her hair, Amos yanked her head back so she was looking up into his dark, dangerous, flint-like eyes. “Do you think I care what that horse of yours does? I want you here with me. I want Malone here with me. The way I see it, the only way to make that happen would be for him to find that mare.”
She spit into his grubby face. Instantly she regretted the action as Amos pulled her hair harder. She yelped in pain.
Oh, dear God, what had she done? She should have stayed home and waited for Chase to return. A million thoughts raced through her mind as she continued to struggle with the foreman, the foremost being, she didn’t want to die at the hands of this monster!
“I see you’re still as feisty as ever, Miss Jackson. No matter, I like my women feisty.”
Twisting her body back and forth, she struggled to break free of his hold, but Amos only grabbed her hard, pulling her fast to his heaving bulk.
“Don’t make me wish I’d killed you that day at the mine.” His words came in quick, hot breaths against her cheek.
“Chase knew you were behind that explosion.” Her heart pounded wildly. She berated herself once more, this time for not having listened to Julia. If she had, she’d be safe at the farm right now, instead of in the clutches of a criminal.
“You set the barn on fire, too.” It wasn’t a question, it was a statement of fact.
He leaned close to her ear. “I just did that for fun.”
For the first time in her life, she was truly frightened. God only knew what Amos Smithson was going to do to her, but she wasn’t going to give up without a fight. Once again she struggled against his large bulk, and even though she was dwarfed by his size, she continued kicking and clawing at him.
His reaction was swift, much swifter than she anticipated.
In one smooth motion he dropped her hard on the muddy earth and pointed the shotgun right in her face. The cold end of the barrel rested against her forehead. Her breath caught in her throat when she heard the trigger click. Her world spun out of control. She could hear the sound of her pulse rushing in her ears. She fought to stay calm and not lose consciousness.
“You make one more move like that, missy, and I’ll blow your head to kingdom come. You got it?”
She pushed her hair back from her face and gulped in a breath of air, then managed to nod at him.
“Good, now get up!”
She stood, trying to quell the uncontrollable trembling that overtook her body.
In harsh, jerky movements, Amos yanked her arms behind her back, bound her wrists together with a thin piece of leather, and shoved her toward his shelter.
She looked around at the ramshackle lean-to only twenty feet off the trail from where she and Bonnie had stopped. How could she have been so stupid? Oh, dear God! She prayed Chase would find her before it was too late!
She thought he was going to lead her into the crude shelter, and turned in fear just as he slammed her up against a tall pine tree. Pain shot through her back, she caught her lower lip between her teeth, fighting back the tears. Taking a length of rope off his belt, he forced her to the ground, pressing her back up against the trunk. Tighter and tighter he wound the rope around her and the tree, until Hannah feared she would faint from the pressure against her ribcage.
“I can’t breathe.” It was a weak cry. Amos stood before her with his legs apart, an eerie figure silhouetted by the dusky twilight.
He seemed to take delight in her discomfort. He grinned in satisfaction, but his expression changed rapidly. Amos sneered. “That oughta hold you.”
When she attempted to kick at him, he grabbed hold of both her ankles and bound them together tightly, too. “I bet Malone likes you a whole bunch. You’re like a wild filly, just needing to be broken!” Amos laughed a deep throaty sound.
She cringed in disgust.
He leaned in close to her face. Her eyes widened in fear. “Malone will come for you, and then I’ll kill you both.”
The town was settling down for the evening. Off in the distance a dog yelped, a baby cried, and a screen door slammed shut. Chase lay on the bed, fully clothed, listening to the sounds that were comforting to some—a sign of loneliness for others. He wondered what Hannah was doing right now. He imagined her in the kitchen helping her grandmother put away the last of the supper dishes. Then she would sit on the front porch in her favorite rocker, or maybe she’d be heading off to bed.
Absently, he stretched his arm across the empty space beside him. If he tried ha
rd enough, he could smell the rosewater that she washed with. He could feel the silken strands of her hair sifting through his fingers.
“Ah, Malone, if you don’t stop this you’re going to be in serious trouble.” The coverlet was bunched in his hand. He missed her and wished he’d gone to see her. Just one kiss was all he needed to get through the night—just one kiss.
He closed his eyes. Surreal images of Hannah floated through the space in his mind—that was the time between reality and dreams. Her horse was racing across the meadow, Hannah sat proudly in the saddle, her hair drifting behind her like a river. She called out to him, he reached for her, but couldn’t catch her. She drifted away from him into the darkness. Then came the sound of laughter, a man’s laughter. Chase moved slowly through the dark void, his legs refused to take him any faster.
Hannah’s scream filled the darkness, taking up all the space inside him.
He sat up in bed, drenched in sweat. “Hannah.” He called her name, it echoed off the walls of his room. Swinging his legs over the side of the bed, he sat waiting for the trembling to subside. Never in his life had he experienced a dream—no—a nightmare like that.
An uneasiness settled over him. This time there would be no shaking off the feeling.
Chapter Twenty-Four
After several minutes, Chase went downstairs. He walked into the smoky saloon. There were five men standing at the bar. Jeb was pouring a whiskey for a tall man who stood at the end of the bar. Chase’s attention was fixed on the man whose back was to him. He was dressed in black from head to toe. He picked up the whiskey glass and sipped, then he shifted his weight so that one foot rested on the brass rod that ran along the bottom of the bar.
Chase took a spot two feet away from the man. “I’ll have what he’s having.” He indicated the half-empty glass in front of the man in black.
“Sure thing, Chase.”
While Jeb hustled to get his drink, Chase turned to look at the man next to him. “You’re always full of surprises.”
“This wasn’t supposed to be a surprise visit, Malone. I sent a message off two days ago informing you of my arrival.” Radley looked at him, his gaze cool.
Chase could sense his anger. “I didn’t get your message.”
“I don’t know how that could be true. The man that was sent here told me himself that it was delivered.”
He rubbed the back of his neck. The feeling of unease increased. “When?”
“Noontime.”
Chase picked up his whiskey and tossed back half the glass. He grimaced at the sour taste left behind. Slowly he turned the glass around in his hand, wondering who could have intercepted Radley’s message and why. He set the glass on the bar.
“What was in your communication?”
“We caught up with Hank. He didn’t have any garnets on him, but he seemed to think that Amos was more than likely sitting on them.”
“Did he happen to say where he was sitting on them?” He turned, leaning his back against the bar. That feeling was slowly making its way up his spine.
Radley drank the last of his whiskey and then waved Jeb off when he came over with the bottle in hand. “He seemed to think that Amos might be hanging around the pond that sets up behind the mine.”
Chase’s blood ran cold. “Crane Pond.” He breathed the words out. This time the feeling of dread wasn’t creeping up on him, it was slamming through him like thunder.
In four strides he shot out of the saloon and nearly knocked the sheriff off his feet.
“Malone, slow down there, boy!” He placed a hand on Chase’s chest to steady him.
“We’ve got trouble.” Chase tried to move around the sheriff and was stopped by the sight of Matthew Jackson. He hadn’t realized he was there. “Matthew, what’s wrong?”
“I think our girl’s got herself in a pickle.” Matthew couldn’t even look him in the eye.
Chase willed himself to remain calm. “Tell me what happened.”
Taking hold of his arm, Sheriff Curtis led him away from the saloon. “It appears that my Julia intercepted a missive that was meant for you.”
Radley walked along behind them with Matthew. “It’s like I told you, Malone, the message was received. Now at least we know who took it.”
While they walked toward the stables at the end of town, Sheriff Curtis calmly told Chase the rest of what happened. “Julia took the message out to the farm, thinking that Matthew would go after you. She gave Hannah the note and the next thing she knew, Hannah had convinced her that she could handle this. As near as we can tell, Hannah rode out shortly after noon to find you.”
Chase felt as if someone had taken an ax to his heart. “Why? Why would she do something so foolish?” Anguish and terror ran through him.
It was Matthew who gave him the answer. “My guess is, she wanted to prove to you that she could be trusted, but more importantly that she believed in what you were doing—she loves you Chase. This was a way for her to show you.”
He wanted to throttle her—he wanted to hold her in his arms and never, ever let her go. Darkness had fallen a short time ago. The men stood outside in the cool night air deciding on what plan would be best.
“I think we should retrace our steps from this morning,” Sheriff Curtis spoke first.
Radley was next. “We need to go out in two groups; that way we can cover more ground.”
Chase ignored them and went into the stable. A single lantern burned inside the door. He took it down from the hook and walked over to the stall where his mount was. Placing the lantern on a shelf, he didn’t take more than ten minutes to ready the animal. As he led the horse out the back door he came face-to-face with Matthew.
“You going by yourself?”
“Those two could argue whose plan is best all night long, but they won’t find her.”
Matthew nodded in agreement.
“I’m going to the pond.” Chase mounted up, then grabbed hold of the reins, tugged hard to the right and galloped out of town.
It didn’t take long for Radley and the sheriff to catch up to them. “Mind telling me where you’re off to in such a hurry, city boy?”
“You just keep up with us and let me worry about where we’re heading.” Chase felt the fear rise up in his throat. What if they didn’t reach Hannah in time? He wouldn’t be able to live without her. He kneed the horse in the flank and raced through the darkness.
Lightning flashed off in the distance.
“Looks like the rain is coming back,” Curtis grumbled behind Chase. “I was hoping it would hold off a little while longer.”
Behind the mountaintop the lightning flashed, illuminating his face. Hannah shuddered. The storm had Amos jittery. She’d lost the feeling in both her feet and her hands some time ago. A fine drizzle had begun to fall on the already-sodden earth. She squirmed beneath the ropes that held her fast to the tree, the wet strands threatening to cut off her breathing altogether. She prayed that Chase would find her soon.
“So, Hannah…”
Each time he spoke her name she felt like vomiting. Swallowing hard, she looked across the darkness to find the place where Amos’s voice had come from. He continued pacing in the darkness.
The lightning flashed repeatedly, allowing her to catch glimpses of him. His blond hair hung in sticky strands around his eyes and was matted to the skin along his forehead. His miner’s clothing looked as if he’d been in it for days. The knee on one of his pant legs had been torn open, exposing a jagged cut that ran across his kneecap. He looked dirtier and even more disheveled than she remembered him, if that were at all possible. “Have you ever seen a ruby?”
She didn’t utter a sound. He was kneeling by her side now. She could feel his hot, sticky breath against her cheek. She could smell the stench of his unclean body. The rank odor curled under her nose.
“I asked you a question, Hannah….have you ever seen a ruby?”
“Yes.”
Picking up a handful of her hair, he ran the
strands through his yellow, tobacco-stained fingers. “Rubies are better than gold. Your man, Malone, he ruined everything for me.” Dropping the strands of hair, he traced a grimy finger along her jawline.
Sucking in her breath, Hannah pressed her back against the hard trunk of the pine tree. The bark bit into her back, she felt the stab of pain against her flesh. “Please…”
“Please, what, Hannah, girl? Do you want me to kiss those ripe lips of yours?”
A cry escaped her. As hard as she tried not to show her fright, she couldn’t seem to stop it. “No. Tell me more about your rubies and garnets.” It wasn’t much of a diversion, but it was all she could think to say.
“See this here pouch?” Amos held up the velvet pouch in front of her. “Inside here are enough garnets to keep me a rich man for the rest of my life. Do you know why?”
She shook her head.
“They’re perfect. Once they’ve been ground and polished up real pretty, not even the best city jeweler will be able to tell them apart from a ruby. No one will ever know that they were once lowly garnets.”
He stopped talking for a minute and looked off into the shadowy woods past Hannah. Did he hear a noise, or the sound of someone coming? She looked around frantically, but couldn’t make out much in the darkness. She strained to hear any noise besides the sound of her own breathing. There was nothing. Looking back at her again, Amos placed a finger under her chin and tipped her head up so she was forced to look directly into his tallow eyes.
“Do you know the one thing I can’t seem to figure out? Why is your man so dead set on getting my stones?” Amos sucked in his breath waiting for her answer.
He tightened his hold on her face by stretching his fingers across both sides of her jaw. Hannah tried to pull away, but the movement only caused him to apply painful pressure.
“Answer me, Hannah, or I will break this pretty jaw of yours.”