Love's Tender Fury

by Jennifer Wilde

  “So Rawlins has gone off, has he? Mighty convenient.”

  “He—he’ll be back any minute now.”

  “I ain’t heard no rifle fire. He’s still trackin’ down his turkey. He ain’t gonna be back for a good long while—”

  I took a step backward and glanced down at the rifle. That was a mistake. Quick as lightning, the man had hold of my right arm, twisting it, forcing it up between my shoulder blades. Before I could scream he clamped his free hand over my mouth, forcing my head back against his shoulder. Excruciating pain shot through my arm and shoulder as he tightened his grip brutally. I could feel his breath against my cheek.

  “We’re gonna play us a little game,” he drawled. “We’re gonna give ol’ Jeff a surprise. He’s gonna come back and find his little girl gone, and he’s gonna come lookin’ for her. Me and Billy’re gonna be waitin’ for him.”

  I knew who he was then. I should have known immediately, of course, after all that talk about the Brennans. This would be Jim, the one Jeff had shot in the shoulder. He had helped his brother Billy escape from a jail in Natchez, and they had killed two men in the process. “They don’t make ’em any meaner’n the Brennans,” Eb Crawley had said. “If I had my choice of runnin’ up against a pack of Chickasaws or runnin’ up against the Brennan brothers, I’d pick the Indians every time.” These words raced through my mind as Jim Brennan gripped my arm tightly and held his palm pressed over my mouth.

  “Yeah, reckon it’ll be a regular set-up,” he continued. “He’ll come stumblin’ through the woods, lookin’ for his property, and me and Billy Boy will be waitin’. Come on, move. You’re gonna make dandy bait.”

  I tried to struggle, tried to kick his shin. He gave my arm a savage wrench. I almost passed out from the pain. Whirling me around, he forced me to walk ahead of him through the shrubbery, still gripping my arm, covering my mouth. I stumbled. He wrenched my arm again. There was nothing I could do but walk. Branches slapped at me, tearing at my skirt, my hair. I couldn’t endure the pain much longer. If he didn’t let go of my arm soon, I knew I was going to faint.

  When Brennan finally stopped, we had come a good way from the clearing. I could no longer hear the waterfall. He removed his hand from my mouth and curled his arm tightly around my throat, causing me to gasp and splutter. He leaned backwards, applying even more pressure. Dark wings were fluttering in my head as consciousness slipped away. His lips were against my ear.

  “I’m gonna let go of you now, wench,” he drawled. “And you’re going to behave yourself. Understand? If you try to scream, if you try to run away, I’m gonna take out my knife and cut you bad. Understand? If you do, if you intend to behave yourself, nod.”

  Somehow or other I managed to tilt my chin forward in what might pass for a nod. Brennan hesitated for a moment, a moment that seemed to stretch into an eternity, and then he uncurled his arm from my throat and let go of my arm. I stumbled forward and would have fallen had he not grabbed my shoulder. I coughed. I rubbed my sore arm. He waited patiently for a minute or so, then gave me a vicious shove.

  “You’re all right now. Keep moving.”

  I stumbled against a tree trunk. Brennan frowned and took hold of my wrist, moving ahead with a brisk stride, forcing me to trot along beside him. They were going to set up a trap, using me as bait, so they could kill Jeff in cold blood, and then they would probably kill me. This man was utterly ruthless. He would kill as quickly, as casually, as another man might swat a fly. His brother was undoubtedly the same. I tripped, falling to my knees. Brennan jerked me back up, not so much as glancing at me, hardly breaking his stride. I wasn’t a human being, not to him. I was a thing to be used and then disposed of. I knew he hadn’t been merely trying to scare me when he mentioned the knife. I knew if I screamed, if I tried to break loose, he would kill me immediately.

  We pushed on through the woods. We must have come half a mile from the clearing. I had lost all sense of direction. We moved down a gulley, stepped over a rotting log, climbed up the other side. The sky was gray now. The sunlight was thinner. The ground seemed to slope upward gradually, leafy limbs stretching overhead, thick tree trunks a maze around us. We came to a stream, and Brennan scooped me up into his arms, carrying me across. I looked up at his face. It was devoid of expression. He set me down on the other side of the stream. I realized this must be the stream that made the waterfall in the clearing. We were at least a mile away now. Had Jeff returned to the clearing yet?

  “Come on,” Brennan said.

  “Let me—won’t you just let me catch my breath?”

  “There’ll be time for that when we reach camp. Reckon it’ll take Rawlins a while to track us down. Couple hours, at least. It’ll be good and dark by then.”

  “Why—why are you doing this?”

  “I got me a score to settle.”

  “How can you just—”

  Brennan slapped me across the face with such force that I fell to the ground. He stood over me with his hands resting lightly on his thighs, his face expressionless. His vivid blue shirt billowed slightly as a small breeze blew across the stream. The full sleeves fluttered, the silky material flapping. I sobbed, shaking my head. I had never been so frightened in my life.

  “I don’t like women,” he drawled, “particularly women who jabber. If you know what’s good for you, you’ll keep your mouth shut. Dead bait’s as good as live. If it wasn’t for disappointin’ my brother, you’d be dead already. Billy’s got a weakness for women. He’s gonna be glad to see you.”

  He pulled me to my feet and, keeping hold of my wrist, strode on into the woods. I stumbled along beside him, swerving to avoid tree trunks and thorny branches. Shadows thickened all around. Sunlight was fading quickly now. The woods seemed to be filling with dark blue-gray mist, brown tree trunks, and dark green leaves losing color, merging into black. Perhaps fifteen minutes passed, perhaps more, and then I saw orange flames flickering up ahead, through the maze of trees. Three or four minutes later Jim Brennan dragged me into a small clearing. Heavy tree limbs met overhead, making a leafy ceiling through which it was impossible to see the sky.

  It was dark now, but the fire cast a wavering light. The man standing beside it was blond and sturdily built, not as tall as his brother, not much taller than I, but muscular. He looked as though he would have the strength of a young bull, the hump of his nose giving him a belligerent, pugnacious appearance. He wore black boots and black breeches identical to his brother’s, but the loose-fitting, silky shirt was bright crimson.

  “What the hell?” he exclaimed.

  “I thought you’d be pleased, Billy Boy.”

  “Where’d she come from?”

  “You know when we were standing on that bluff this morning and you said you thought you seen some mules moving down the trail? Well, I figured if there was someone traveling they’d probably stop for the night at that waterfall. Sure enough, they did.”

  Billy stared at us angrily. He seemed uneasy, even jumpy. Whereas his brother was unlikely to display any emotion, Billy Brennan was obviously volatile, explosive. Fists clenched, jaw thrust forward, shoulders hunched, he seemed about to charge and snort.

  “Where’s the man? She sure as hell wuzn’t travelin’ alone.”

  “He was out shootin’ turkeys. I reckon he’ll be payin’ us a call before too long.”

  Billy moved closer, peering at me. He might have a weakness for women, but he was none too happy to see me. That much was clear.

  “Christ, Jim! You don’t mean—a woman looks like this, she can only be travelin’ with Jeff Rawlins. You snatched her from his camp! He’ll come back and find her gone and—Jesus Christ!”

  “What’s the matter, Billy Boy? You ain’t scared, are you?”

  “That Rawlins—”

  “I got a score to settle with him. So do you.”

  Billy was even more upset, his cheeks ashen. “He’s dangerous, Jim! There ain’t a tougher man in the whole territory. I just wanna steer clear of him.
We tangled with him once, and once was enough. That time we jumped him on the Trace—he put a bullet through your shoulder, busted my jaw, damn near broke my neck!”

  “All the more reason we should set up a little trap for him. There are practical reasons, too. We need them mules of his. We got one horse between us, and we ain’t gonna get nowhere that way. Relax, Billy Boy. I got it all figured out. He’ll come looking for us, and he’ll find us, and we’ll be ready for him.”

  “What about her?”

  “I more or less brung her along as a present for you, brother. I thought you’d be a bit more enthusiastic. After we get rid of Rawlins, you can amuse yourself with her. Hell, you can even keep her if you want to. Then when you get tired of her, we can sell her to one of them whorehouses, just like Rawlins was planning to do.”

  Billy examined me with belligerent blue eyes, scowling as he did so. He began to warm to the idea. Lifting his lips at one corner, Jim Brennan shoved me toward his brother. Billy caught hold of my arms, gripping them tightly, studying me as he might study a horse he was thinking of buying. Some of his anger vanished, replaced by lust. He crushed me to him, slinging one arm around the back of my neck, the other around my waist. He attacked my lips like a madman, forcing them open, thrusting his tongue into my mouth, all the while holding me so tightly I thought my bones would crack. I tried to struggle. It was futile. His arms merely tightened, his mouth working even more furiously over mine.

  “Easy, Billy Boy. Easy. Save it for later, after we’ve killed Rawlins.”

  Billy Brennan lifted his head and loosened his grip on me, still holding me against his chest. He was breathing heavily, a virile young bull eager to stud. His brother, amused by the lusty exhibition, gave a dry laugh.

  “You do like the women, Billy Boy. Ain’t never seen nothing like it. Save it, fellow. After Rawlins is dead you can go at all night long, and if I know you, you will.”

  “She’s a dandy, Jim. A real dandy. What’s her name?”

  “Wouldn’t know.”

  “What’s your name, wench?” Billy growled.

  I tried to speak. I couldn’t. My throat was dry. My lips were sore. I was so terrified I could only shake my head. Billy caught hold of my hair and jerked my head back.

  “When I ask a question, I wanna answer!”

  “I reckon she’s stunned, Billy Boy. Hell, man, you went after her like a pack of starving wolves. Her name ain’t important. What’s important is she’s Rawlins’s property, and Rawlins is gonna be looking for her. Knowing him, it ain’t gonna take him all night to find us.”

  Billy looked nervous again. His forehead was moist. He released me and stepped back, his eyes filled with uncertainty.

  “I still don’t think this is such a good idea, Jim. That Rawlins is one mean bastard. So he comes lookin’ for us and we hear him comin’? What’s to stop her from yellin’ at him, warnin’ him to watch out?”

  The older Brennan sighed and gave his head a little shake. “You’re my brother, Billy, and you got lots of brawn, but when it comes to brains—” He shook his head again. “We’ll tie her up, gag her. There’s some rope looped around the saddle horn and a couple of rags in the pack. Get ’em.”

  Billy strode across the clearing, past the fire. I noticed the horse for the first time, tethered to a tree in the shadows, the saddle still in place. I saw the blond take down the rope and open the pack. His brother stood with his arms crossed over his chest, looking both weary and bored. Billy returned. He was perhaps twenty-five years old. While his brother possessed a cool native shrewdness, Billy was plainly both slow and dense. He was the kind of man who blasted his way through life with blazing temper and flying fists, leaving the thinking to someone else. Each man was dangerous in his own way. Together, they were deadly.

  “You want me to tie her up, Jim?”

  Jim Brennan sighed. “If it ain’t too much trouble, Billy Boy.”

  His sarcasm was wasted on Billy. He seized my arm and dragged me over toward the trees. I was still stunned, and I knew it would be foolish to struggle. My knees were weak. I felt faint. This was a nightmare, a terrible nightmare that surely must end. I told myself that, over and over again, willing myself to hold on. Billy wrenched my arms behind me and crossed my wrists, binding them so tightly I could feel the rope cutting into my flesh. He jerked and tugged, securing the knots, and I winced, gnawing my lower lip to keep from crying out at the pain. When the job was done to his satisfaction, he caught hold of my shoulder and whirled me around.

  “There,” he said gruffly. “You ain’t gonna get loose uv that.”

  “You—you’re not going to get away with this,” I whispered. “Jeff will come. He’ll kill you both.”

  “Shut up!”

  “He’ll know it’s a trap. He’ll—”

  “My brother knows what he’s doin’!”

  “He’ll never fall for it. He’s too—”

  He jammed a wad of cloth into my mouth, cutting me short, causing me to gag. He was angry again, his blue eyes flashing savagely as he tied the other rag around my mouth, knotting it in back. Then, scowling darkly, he spread his palm over my face and pushed hard. I tumbled over backwards, falling against a tree trunk. My head seemed to explode, and then I was whirling through a black void, spinning dizzily into oblivion.

  I don’t know how long I was out. When I finally opened my eyes, it was to see the Brennan brothers sitting before a fire that was little more than a heap of glowing orange coals. Jim perched on a log, and Billy sat on a large rock nearby, gripping his knees tensely. Their faces were shadowed, Billy’s blond hair gleaming in the semidarkness. I could see the horse behind Billy moving restlessly. Beyond the circle of light from the dying fire there were layers of darkness. The forest seemed to close about the clearing ominously, trees pressing nearer.

  “When’s he gonna get here?” Billy exclaimed.

  “Should be soon now,” his brother replied. “It’s been dark for nigh on two hours now. He’s gonna be real careful, and he’s not gonna do anything impulsive because of the woman. Keep your britches on, Billy. When he gets here we’ll know it.”

  “What if he shoots first?”

  “Rawlins don’t play it that way. He’ll step right into the clearing. He’d be afraid to do anything before he sees the woman’s all right. Don’t worry.”

  “You gonna—”

  “Soon as he steps through them trees, I’m gonna lift this here pistol and blow his head off.”

  “Man ’ud be a fool to just come marchin’ into—”

  “I told you, Billy, I got it all figured out. We ain’t gonna hear him, see? We’re gonna be sitting here real casual like, like we’re not expecting him at all, and he’ll think he’s taking us by surprise.”

  “I still don’t like it!”

  “Shut up, Billy,” his brother said patiently. “Just think about the woman. Think what you’re gonna do to her after Rawlins gets his.”

  My head was throbbing viciously. The rope was biting into my wrists. I desperately needed to swallow, but I was afraid to, afraid I would strangle on the wad of cloth Billy had crammed into my mouth. When I had fallen against the tree, I had slumped on down to the ground, and I was leaning against the tree now, my legs spread out in front of me. Jeff would come. He would be here any minute now, and he would do exactly as Brennan predicted. He would see them sitting there, and he would step into the clearing with his rifle raised, thinking he was taking them by surprise. Then Jim would raise his pistol, quickly, before Jeff could see what was happening. That was why they had let the fire die down, so he wouldn’t spy Jim’s hand gripping the pistol at his side.

  Several minutes passed. An owl hooted in the night. A frog croaked. Leaves crackled as a breeze stirred through the trees. Jim sat as still as a statue, waiting. Billy shifted about nervously. He was obviously terrified of Jeff. Jeff must have given him a terrible beating, and that wouldn’t have been easy to do. Billy was stocky and strong. It would take an incredibly a
dept fighter to get the better of him. There was a side to Jeff I had never seen. It was hard to believe that the raffish charmer could be the same man who made Billy Brennan tremble, the man who had risked his life to rescue Lita from the Indians. Now he was going to step right into the trap Brennan had set for him, and I was responsible. I couldn’t let it happen. There had to be some way I could prevent it, some way I could warn him.

  I tensed. There was something behind me. I could sense a presence, feel it strongly, even though there hadn’t been a sound. Someone was there, just behind the tree. I could hear breathing now, soft, so soft, and the faint sound of a body inching nearer. Fingers touched my own, and his whisper was so low I had to strain mightily to catch the words.

  “I’m going to cut you free. Don’t make a move. Keep looking straight in front of you. When I’ve cut the rope, keep your arms in back of you and keep still—”

  My heart started to pound. It pounded so loudly I felt sure the Brennans could hear it beating against my chest. Neither of them so much as glanced at me. They thought I was still unconscious. I could feel the cold metal sides of the knife rubbing against my wrists as he sawed at the ropes with the razor-sharp blade. I could feel the rope giving as strand after strand was severed. He cut swftly, silently. A moment later the ropes fell away. It was all I could do to keep from flexing my wrists and rubbing them, but I dared not make a single movement that might draw their attention.

  “Just sit there like a good girl,” he whispered, “and then, when the shooting starts, I want you to jump up and dart behind this tree. You got it? Don’t make a move till I fire.”

  I had to warn him! Somehow I had to warn him. Yet I couldn’t possibly do anything now. If I tried to reach up and unfasten the gag, the Brennans would see. I heard the faintest scraping noise, and I knew he was gone. The sense of presence was missing. How long had he been there? Long enough to hear their talk? He was planning something. That’s why he had cut me loose. What was he going to do? The tension was almost impossible to bear. Several more minutes passed, and then there was a loud crash on the other side of the clearing.