“I keep my eye out, señor.”
“Hayden’s got scars on one side of his face now. I don’tthink you’ve seen him since he was in that knife fight. He’s the meanest son of a gun that I’ve ever met. He has no more feeling for man or beast than a rattlesnake.”
“You see a snake, you shoot it, señor.”
“I will if the time is right. I should have shot him several years ago when he tried to knife me in the back. He blames me for his scars, but hell, I was just trying to protect myself when that Mexican renegade stepped in and sliced his face. He had been waiting for a chance to get at him. Hayden has enemies all over the Southwest. If it hadn’t been the Mexican, it would have been someone else. Thing is, Hayden doesn’t see it that way. He blames me and may decide to come here.”
“We be waiting for him,” Jorge said confidently.
Tate took another bite of his biscuit. “This shouldn’t take more than a day or two. Lyle’s a good man, the kind who doesn’t ask favors unless he really needs help. You and Yelena, keep your eyes open.”
“If you see a strange car coming up the lane, Yelena, get Emily and go to the cellar and bar the door.”
“Sí, Jorge, I know to do that.”
“By the way, Jorge, there’s one more thing,” Tate said, turning to his foreman. “I don’t trust Wilbur. He had dealings with Hayden several years ago, although he denied it to Lyle and it couldn’t be proven. Wilbur doesn’t know this, but Lyle found out he and Hayden are shirttail relations, and to Wilbur’s thinking, blood is thicker than water. Besides, he doesn’t like me very much anyway, because we’ve been able to capture some of the wild mares. I don’t think Wilbur is in on this kidnapping, but he’s got his eye out for easy money.”
“Wilbur girl like you, señor.” Yelena had a sly, mischievous smile on her face. “She come and make over our niña when you gone.”
“Sophie has too much of Wilbur in her to my liking. She seems like a nice enough girl, but I pity the man who gets her.”
“She not for you, señor?” Yelena teased.
“Definitely not. If I ever think about marrying again, and I’m certainly not planning to, you can bet I’ll think long and hard about it. I would have to find someone who would accept Emily, because she’s the most important thing in my life.”
Tate got up from the table and walked over to a bag that he’d yet to unpack from his trip to the fort. He pulled a parcel from it and walked back to the table.
“This is for Emily,” Tate said as he placed the package on the table. “I saved a present for her. You can give it to her after she’s had her breakfast. It’s a Sears catalog. That should keep her busy for a while.”
“Oh, sí, señor. She love to look at toys.”
“She cut up the last one I brought her.”
“She did.” Yelena smiled. “But she cut better now. She cut heads off the pictures in that catalog. I help her. We make up paste and put them on that white paper the cheese wrapped in.”
Jorge glanced proudly at his wife. “My bella amante. She know what baby like.”
Yelena smiled and shook her head. “You dulce, Jorge.”
“I’ve got to get going, sweet Jorge,” Tate teased as he pushed away from the table.
Tate went to Emily’s room and placed a kiss on her forehead. It seemed like only yesterday that he held his brand-new baby girl in his arms for the first time. She was growing up so fast. He knew she would be disappointed when she awakened to find him gone.
Why did I agree to do this for a woman who made me feel like a fool on the train?
Tate felt good to be back in the saddle again. The horse he was riding was a coal-black mustang he’d had for several years. Jack liked to run. As soon as he was out in the open, Tate let him stretch his legs and pulled him up when they reached the railroad tracks. The horse’s sides were heaving. From this place, it was only about a mile to the water tank.
Tate walked the horse alongside the tracks and approached the tank slowly. He dismounted and tied Jack to a sapling, then picked his way among the rocks, cacti, and bright red ocotillo flowers that bloomed low to the ground.
Scrutinizing the ground carefully for evidence, he tried to visualize where the engine had stopped and where the passenger cars would have been. Stepping over the train tracks, he went to the south side of the rails. The nearby woods would have been a good place to whisk the woman out of sight in a matter of seconds.
Walking carefully, he scanned the earth until he found what he was looking for. Squatting down, he verified the print of a woman’s shoe in the sandy soil. It was faint but unmistakable. The imprints led him farther into the woods, away from the train tracks. Beneath a stand of juniper trees, he stood and wiped his forehead with his handkerchief. It was hot and getting hotter as the sun arched overhead. He followed the footprints to where he found the remains of a fire.
Only a greenhorn would have built a fire in this place. As dry as it’s been, he could have set the whole woods on fire. Luckily some of the wood used was green.
Circling the remains of the fire, he scanned the ground for further signs of the woman. Finally, on the ground in front of a Mexican piñon tree, he saw signs that someone had moved about in the dirt. Looking closer, he found blond hairs stuck in the bark, and he surmised that the woman had been tied to this tree. The back of her head had rested against the rough trunk. He looked around for evidence that she had been harmed, but could find none. Tate found the tire tracks of a car, a heavy car, on a nearby trail that had been cut through the woods years before. He went back for Jack and returned to follow those tracks.
Miles went by. Tate followed the tire tracks. The sun rose higher in the sky, and the temperature climbed along with it. High above, a lone eagle circled hungrily, searching for some smaller prey that might dart out of its hiding spot. He figured it wouldn’t be long before the bird gave up its hunt and waited for evening.
Seeing Katherine Tyler in his mind’s eye, he recalled her beauty. Nature had bestowed fine-boned, delicately carved features upon her as well as wide-set sky-blue eyes. Her soft-spun hair was a curious mixture of silver and gold, or maybe it had just looked that way in the evening light.
She was slender to the point of fragility. The set of her mouth and chin, the candor in her eyes, and the way her head rode proudly on her long neck all showed her strength of character. Tate had been wrong in his first impression of her. This was no empty-headed beauty the kidnappers had taken, but a strong-willed, determined, and dignified woman. Her eyes had looked unwaveringly into his. The straightforwardness of her stare had slightly unnerved him. Later he’d felt a strange quiver in his stomach when he lifted her undergarments.
Tate pulled his mind back from the image of the woman. After stopping Jack at the top of a rise, he looked over the landscape, then scanned the countryside with his binoculars. Tall crags of rock and clumps of brittle-looking trees were evidence that this was a wilder, more remote area. The whole place was desolate. Few ways to get in or out. The perfect place to hide.
The only building in sight was the old Billings cabin that had stood there for fifty years or more. A small tendril of smoke rose from the cabin’s lone chimney.
A greenhorn wouldn’t have brought her here, but someone like Hayden, who knew the area, would have. Tate had no doubt now that Hayden was involved.
Kate wasn’t sure exactly how long she had been at the cabin, but she thought that it had been three days. Her nights had been long and fretful. When she hadn’t been tossing in a fitful sleep, she’d stared at the door, afraid one of the men would burst through it. She was not sure that Eddy could protect her from the other two men. The man that they called Haydenscared her more than the repulsive salesman. With the scars on his face and the way that he stared at her with his mean eyes, he reminded her more of a wolf than a man. He always wore that wicked-looking knife, and when he spoke, it was usually a snarl. Eddy and the salesman seemed to be careful when they were with him, as if they fear
ed him too. She hadn’t been alone with him that she knew of. For that, she was thankful.
It was midmorning of the third day that a knock sounded on Kate’s door.
“Who is it?” she called out.
“It’s me, Kate,” Eddy answered as he pushed the door open and stepped into the room. He had large dark bags under his eyes, and his clothing was rumpled. “I need to talk to you.”
“I don’t have anything to say to you, Eddy.”
“Please, Kate. Don’t be difficult. I don’t have much time.”
“What do you want?” she asked from where she sat on the bunk. With each passing day, her dislike of Eddy had grown. Even hearing his voice caused anger to boil up inside her. “Haven’t you done enough to me already?”
“Hayden and I are going to town.”
“What?” Kate shouted. “You’re going to leave me here with that brainless fool?”
“He’ll not bother you. He’s got strict orders to leave you alone.”
“Strict orders? He isn’t capable of following any order, strict or otherwise. He’s an idiot and you know it.”
“Keep that stout pole I gave you yesterday wedged tightly against the door. He’ll not be able to get in.”
The idea of being left alone with Squirrelly was almost as frightening as being left alone with Hayden.
Eddy was not happy that he had to leave her. But better she be here with Squirrelly than with Hayden. Neither Squirrelly nor Hayden knew the telegram would be addressed to Grover Electric Company and R. Edwin. (It was the name he and his uncle had agreed upon. ) And he had to take Hayden along because the bastard wouldn’t give him the keys to the car.
“You’ll be all right if you just stay in the room and keep the door braced with that pole. I won’t be gone long.” Kate could see that there was more that Eddy wanted to say, but he hesitated. He looked at her for a moment longer before blurting out, “I want you to know I’m really sorry about this, Kate.”
“How much?” Kate angrily asked.
“What?”
“How much money are you hoping to get out of my father?”
Eddy looked down at the floor. “It’s not just me, Kate. I’m taking orders just like the others. Someday you’ll know all about it.”
“Who are you taking orders from? What have I ever done that would cause someone to do this to me?”
“No one wants to hurt you, Kate. On that, I give you my word. But someone needs money badly, and your father has plenty of it.”
Anger washed over Kate like a warm flood. That some one was using her for simple greed was infuriating. Her father had given so much to charity and had supported numerous families with his generosity. Now these bloodsuckers wanted to bleed him dry!
“My father will pay, Eddy. Never doubt that. But remember this, Eddy: My father was brought up in the steel mills. He can be as tough as the steel he helped make. He worked hard to buy that plant. Anyone would be a fool to harm something that is his. He’ll find you and make you pay, if it takes the rest of his life.”
“Get a move on, Jacobs. Hayden’s waitin’.” Squirrelly leaned against the door frame, a loose-lipped smile on his face.
Eddy turned back to Kate. “I’ll hurry back. Keep the pole lodged against the door.” Then turning, he spoke sternly to Squirrelly. “I’m warning you. If you bother her, I’ll blow your head off.”
Squirrelly giggled. “You ain’t got the guts!”
“You’ll find out. You mess up this deal, and if I don’t kill you, I know someone who will.”
Squirrelly’s giggle turned into a hearty laugh. “Old William Jacobs has the guts. He’s got the guts of a government mule.”
Eddy pointed his finger in Squirrelly’s face. “Shut up, goddamn it.”
“Are you talking about Uncle William?” Kate demanded.
“Who else would we be talking about?” Squirrelly said, and then to Eddy, “I’m getting kind of tired of you pointing your finger in my face and giving me orders. You’re not the head dog of this.” Is Squirrelly saying that William Jacobs is the head dog? Kate thought. Eddy didn’t deny it.
The two men stood staring at each other after Eddy had closed the door and waited to hear the pole wedged against it. He then turned and walked out the cabin door. From the window, Kate saw him follow Hayden to the car and then watched them drive away.
She was frightened, really frightened. She looked around for something to use to defend herself. There was no doubt in her mind that Squirrelly would try to molest her. She had seen evidence of his lust when he jerked his hips toward her in an obscene gesture. If he tried anything, she would fight him until her last breath.
Kate looked out the window, for a long while, at the desolate landscape, listening for movement in the other room. She thought of the torment that her father must be feeling. Then she thought of Susie. What would her sister think when she learned Eddy’s true nature? Would she still be so madly in love with him? Susie saw only Eddy’s handsome face and glib tongue. Who could blame her? Kate had always thought of him as a nice young man, if a little full of himself. Never in her wildest dreams would she have thought he or William Jacobs would be involved in something like this.
After nearly an hour with no sound coming from the other room, Kate began to wonder if Squirrelly had left the cabin. Then, without a warning, bang. The door shook from the force of the blow against it, startling her. Kate ran to the door to make sure the pole was lodged tightly against it. She jumped back when another force hit the door. The third blow splintered it, and the pole fell away. Squirrelly stood in the doorway, a bottle in one hand, grinning like the idiot he was.
“Get out of here,” she shouted.
“Make me.” He continued to grin and walked into the room. He took a big swig from the bottle. Some of the dark liquid ran down his chin, staining his shirt.
“Get away.” She grabbed up the pole that had been against the door. “Get away.”
Squirrelly jerked the pole from her hand. “Ah, come on, sweetie pie. You’ve been giving me the eye ever since we got on the train in New Orleans. Admit it … you like me.”
“I don’t. I don’t like you at all. I don’t want anything to do with you. Get out of this room!”
“And if I don’t?” Squirrelly took another step toward her.
“Eddy will kill you when he comes back.”
Squirrelly threw his head back and laughed hysterically.
Fear made Kate’s knees weak. Out here in this wilderness, she was alone with this treacherous man. She stiffened her knees and held up her head. Damned if she would let him know she was afraid of him.
“There’s no reason for you to be hoity-toity, little Miss High-and-Mighty You think you’re better than me ’cause your papa’s rich? You’d be surprised to know that my papa is rich too.”
“What is he? A crook?”
“Yeah, but he’s a rich crook. You’d also be surprised to know how many of your society friends I’ve screwed.”
“Shut up! I don’t want to hear about your sordid affairs.”
“Oh, don’t give me that. You know what screwing is, don’t you?” Squirrelly gyrated his hips at Kate, simulating his description of sex. He moved so forcefully that a bit of liquor spilled from the bottle onto the floor.
“Shut up and get out of here.”
“We could have a good time while your lover boy’s gone.”
“He’s not my lover boy. I don’t like him any more than I like you.”
“In that case, I’ll be your lover boy.”
“I’d rather have a warthog than you,” Kate said coldly.
“Maybe you’d rather have Hayden. I hear he’s plenty rough with his women. Likes to smack ’em around a bit. I’ll be nicer to you than he will.” He walked closer, until only a couple of feet separated them.
“Get away, you mud-ugly guttersnipe.”
With that, Squirrelly’s teasing attitude disappeared, and what replaced it frightened Kate. His eyes glinted wi
th anger as he snarled, “Call me that again, you high-toned bitch, and I’ll screw your eyeballs out.”
“Just try it, you guttersnipe,” she said again, goading him recklessly.
Squirrelly took two big steps toward her, pulled back his hand, and slapped her so hard her head bounced back against the wall. Pain shot through her skull. For a moment, she was dazed, her eyes unfocused. When reality returned, he was there, his knees on the bed, grinning at her.
“How do you like that, Miss Prissy-Tail? Maybe you’re the kind that likes it rough.”
“My father will kill you,” she mumbled through the pain and shock. She could taste blood inside her mouth.
“Yeah? He won’t be able to swat a fly when we get through with him.”
“We? Who do you mean?”
“Who do you think? Your old papa is so smart he don’t know what’s right under his nose. In the meanwhile, I’m gonna have me some fun with the cream of New York society. You can tell your snooty friends about it when you get back home— if you get back home—that you were screwed by a real man.”
When he slapped her, the bottle of alcohol had slipped out of his hand and landed on the bed. The dark liquid had soaked the mattress, the strong stench filling her nostrils. The odor mingled with Squirrelly’s foul breath and unwashed body.
“Don’t touch me! Get away!”
“Not on your life. I’m about to plow you. It’s somethin’ I’ve wanted to do from the moment I saw you.” He grabbed her and yanked her close to him. “Mmmm, you smell good, sweetie. How do you want it? Rough? Or are you going to lay back and spread your legs for me?”
Kate pushed against him with all her might. Squirrelly smirked at her attempt to push him away and stepped away from the bed. When she looked again, he was taking off his belt. Desperate to stop what was about to happen, she grabbed for the whiskey bottle. Her hand grasped the wrong end to swing, so she threw it at him. He dodged. She swung her fists at him with all the strength that she had left. Still smirking, he shoved her down on the cot. As his weight pressed down on her, she grabbed a handful of his hair and screamed and screamed and screamed.
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