“What? Why?”
“’Cause I said so, that’s why. I ain’t letting two strangers get hold of all my treasures. I don’t trust nobody. Until that big man is tied up, this gun is pointed at his head.”
Chloe bent down to pick up the rope, frantically trying to devise a way out of actually tying them up, but he stopped her thoughts with a harsh whisper.
“Just do it. We have nothing to steal but the packs we left in the bushes.” He held out his hands. “If she wants a battered tin pot, she can have it.”
Chloe wanted to protest but knew he was right. If the woman had a hankering for what they had, she could take it. After all, everyone seemed to be helping themselves to the Ruskin family’s belongings. Why not let her join in? Bitter thoughts raced around as she tied the rope around his wrist with a yank.
“Easy, little one. She said tight, not cut off his hand.” Gideon sounded as frustrated as she was.
“Sorry.” She loosened the knots a bit so his hand wasn’t turning purple anymore.
“Hurry up there, girlie. I ain’t got all day. Tie your hand to his.” The stranger watched closely as Chloe finished off the knot, leaving another six feet of rope dangling.
What if the woman made them walk behind the wagon tied like a dog?
Chloe wanted to pick up her knife and cut the rope, but again Gideon stopped her.
“We’ll get free. Don’t worry. I’ve escaped from knots tied by tougher folks than you.” He squeezed her hand.
Chloe turned to their captor. “Now what?”
“Now put your other hands behind your back and wait.” The woman climbed down from the wagon. As she moved closer, the smell hit first. It was worse than anything she’d ever encountered before, ten times worse. Obviously this strange peddler woman hadn’t bathed in a very long time, perhaps even a year. The rancidness of her body odor made Chloe’s eyes water. Gideon coughed, then cursed under his breath. The woman tied their other hands with the rope. She pushed it against Chloe’s mouth. “Now tighten it with your teeth.”
Chloe bit down on the filthy rope. It tasted of dirt and rotten potatoes. Frustration roared through her, and she wanted to spit at the stranger.
What else could go wrong?
Gideon gritted his teeth and barely avoided biting at the woman who had taken them captive. She was tall, much bigger than Chloe, and that shotgun had looked far too comfortable in her hands. If only the stranger had let them go about their business. But no, God had other plans, more frustration and obstacles, to throw in Gideon’s path.
As the woman came closer, the stench from her unwashed body made his gorge rise. She obviously didn’t take to soap and water, but she must not be able to actually smell, either. Chloe grunted and hissed as the stranger tightened the knots around her hands. Now he and Chloe were tied together, with enough rope to turn around and be chest to chest.
Clever. This way neither of them could get very far without the other, and there was such a huge difference between Gideon’s height and Chloe’s, he’d have to somehow carry her to run. The damn hag knew what she was doing.
“Now you can tell me what you’re doing threatening good folks like me and waving a knife around.” She picked up Chloe’s knife, which promptly disappeared into the voluminous folds of the woman’s gray skirt.
“We’re looking for my kin.” Chloe sounded like she was holding her nose—he didn’t blame her one bit. His eyes were watering enough it might appear as if he were crying. “Somebody took my little sisters and granny, along with the wagon and mules.”
“And my horse.”
“Oh yeah, and his horse, uh, Deuce.” Chloe was quick, he’d give her that. His horse was not named Deuce, but he wasn’t about to point that out.
The woman looked at them dubiously, her dark eyes hidden beneath the ratty hat she wore. “You are chasing these folks who took everything with nothing but a knife? You expect me to believe that pile of horse shit?”
Chloe’s entire body stiffened, and he knew she’d open her mouth and make things worse. As it always was in his everyday life, it fell to Gideon to be the peacemaker.
“It’s true whether or not you believe it. The girls are five, with light blonde hair and blue eyes. Hazel and Martha are a passel of trouble sometimes, but they’re good girls.” He watched the strange woman, ignoring Chloe’s elbow as it jammed into his side. “We were trying to catch up to them on foot because that’s all we’ve got right now. Our feet and a determination to take back what was stolen from us.”
The silence was broken only by the chattering of squirrels and a few birds calling to their mates. The woman stared at both of them while keeping her grip on the shotgun. If she didn’t believe them, she could leave Chloe and Gideon tied up on the side of the trail, or worse.
“Please, ma’am, we just want to be on our way. You can keep the knife.”
“That’s my knife.” Chloe wasn’t giving an inch.
“Not now, Chloe,” he snapped.
“It’s about all I have left from my brother. He gave it to me before he went to war.”
“It’s just a thing. You have your memories.”
“Says you. I don’t want to lose the only thing I have left of him.”
“That’s enough, Chloe.” Gideon turned until they were nose to nose. “Let her have the knife. It’s not worth your life.”
Chloe’s green eyes sparked like sun on a lake. She was obviously mad, but it wasn’t at him, rather at their situation. He understood that, but she had to stop and recognize hanging on to something for sentimental reasons was going to get her a one-way ticket to a hole in the ground.
The woman broke her silence. “You surely sound married, but there ain’t no ring on her finger.”
“Had to sell it to leave Georgia.” The lie rolled off his tongue too easily. “We wanted to start fresh in Texas and had no money to get here. It doesn’t mean we’re not married, just that we don’t need a ring to feel married.”
Thankfully Chloe stopped poking him with her sharp elbow.
“That’s right romantic of you, but I don’t believe it.” The old woman gestured with the shotgun. “Now get up in the seat of the wagon. I don’t care how you get up there, just do it.”
Gideon wanted to shout at the heavens at the stupidity of the request, but he didn’t. Chloe didn’t have the sense to do the same.
“Where do you think we’re going to go?” Chloe snapped. “I swear to all that’s holy, if you don’t let us go right now, you will live to regret it. We have to follow that trail, or we’re going to lose it.”
She was right, of course, and Gideon didn’t want to chastise her for caring about her family or what happened to them. This stranger had put them at risk because of her distrust and inhospitable way of treating people. He wanted his horse back and his things, but most of all, he wanted to get Chloe’s family back safely. It was a promise he’d made to her whether or not he actually said the words.
“Get a move on. Get up in that seat before I show you how sharp your woman’s knife is.” The woman jammed the shotgun into his side. “Which way they headed?”
“North. We were tracking them when we heard a wagon.” Gideon sucked in a breath at how damn hard she shoved that gun in his back. “We told you we thought you were them, which is why we were in the brush waiting.”
The woman tutted. “Lies, lies, lies.”
Gideon started to climb into the wagon without the use of his hands, not an easy task. He leaned forward to prevent himself from falling on Chloe, but the seat dug into his chest as he tried to climb up higher.
“I can’t get up there without using my hands.” Gideon puffed out a breath.
“Figure it out, soldier boy. I ain’t letting the two of you out of my sight.” The woman was either younger than she appeared or fast as lightning. She was already in the wagon, pointing the gun at his face. He had only a second to wonder why she called him soldier boy.
Chloe growled from behind him. She had s
caled the wagon enough to be almost on top of him. “Move it, Blackwood.” She bent toward him and used her shoulders to push him just enough to get up on the seat, then scrambled up beside him.
They both breathed heavily as their gazes met. Fury and fear warred in her eyes, and he understood she needed him to find a way to follow her family, no matter what.
“How am I going to drive the wagon if my hands are tied? You’ve got a pair of horses here. I need to be able to hold the traces, or we’ll end up dead in a ditch.”
“Just set still a moment and I’ll tell you how.”
Something tugged at his foot. When he glanced down, he saw the woman under the seat tying their feet together. His left foot was now attached to Chloe’s right.
“What the hell are you doing?”
“I’m going to loose one of your hands and one of hers. You can’t get far tied together, and you’ll have to figure out a way to drive the wagon with each other.” She cackled as she made quick work of loosing the knot on his right and Chloe’s left hands. This was the knot the woman had tied herself, obviously a slipknot she’d expected to undo. He was going to grab the woman, but she had the shotgun firmly situated at the base of his back. If his attempt failed, she could literally cut him in two.
With a slam of the shotgun barrel on his spine, she sat back. He couldn’t see her without turning around. Chloe’s left hand was a fist on her leg. The knuckles were white, nearly bloodless.
“Don’t lose them, Gideon.” Her whisper was harsh but full of emotion.
“I won’t.” He picked up the traces and handed her half. “I promise.”
They started off in the opposite direction they had been headed. It would mean another delay in finding the Ruskins’ wagon. He had to find a way to turn around or risk losing the trail completely.
As the afternoon wore on, the tension grew tighter with each passing minute. Chloe had never experienced such red-hot rage for someone, not even the damn Yankee bastard who’d stolen their last sack of corn when they’d been starving. This woman had destroyed the likelihood of tracking her family.
Chloe didn’t cry much, but the possibility she would never see Granny or the girls again brought tears to her eyes. She turned her head and watched the trees go by until she had willed the tears away. The wagon trudged on with the two of them driving the team of sorry-looking nags. To her surprise, Gideon’s right-hand method complemented her left, and they drove together with ease. Of course it required her to be hip to hip with him, their tied hands resting on his knee. His leg was exceptionally strong and hard—there wasn’t much about Gideon Blackwood that was soft.
His face seemed to be set in granite now, and she could see he was controlling his anger through iron will. While she gritted her teeth and cursed every two minutes, he stared straight ahead, a rock beside her on the wagon seat.
“What are we going to do?” she whispered harshly.
“I’m thinking,” was his cryptic response.
“Think faster.”
“You two better stop jawin’ up there. I ain’t gonna let you get away from me until I know exactly what you was doing at my wagon.” The hideous woman leaned forward, unleashing a fresh waft of rancid body odor.
“Fine, we won’t talk, just move back where you were.” Chloe breathed through her mouth to avoid the stench.
“Why? You conspirin’ to do somethin’?” She leaned even closer, and Chloe’s eyes began to water for a different reason.
“No, because you smell like an outhouse that ain’t been cleaned in two years,” Chloe snapped.
“Well, la-di-da, ain’t you the fine lady? I don’t like bathing, but that don’t mean nothin’. I’m smart and got this here wagon full of goods to sell to settlers.” The woman cackled again. “You two ain’t got nothin’ but an old knife and the clothes on your back.” She pressed the barrel of the shotgun into Chloe’s neck. “Now who’s a better person?”
Chloe didn’t answer, because she enjoyed having her head attached to her body. The peddler woman was completely loco. She would probably shoot them and leave their bodies by the side of the road for the vultures to pick at. Not a chance Chloe would let that happen.
Two excruciating hours passed before they stopped. Chloe had a feeling the woman had to relieve herself, and unfortunately, so did she. They all climbed down out of the wagon, with Gideon having the hardest time since they were now tied together at the ankle and wrist.
If it had been a different day, a different situation, Chloe might have laughed at the sight of him inching down like an old man. The peddler woman got annoyed with him and poked him in the back.
“Hurry up there, soldier boy. I ain’t got all day.”
He stopped and turned to look at her. “Why do you call me that?”
Her gap-toothed grin was feral. “Ain’t that what you are? A soldier boy? I could see it in your eyes and the way you move. Cain’t hide that from Annie. Them soldiers are usually desperate. They trade me favors for things.” She leaned in closer to Gideon, and Chloe saw beneath the dirt and grime. The woman was barely older than she was! Then she pressed her breasts into Gideon’s arm.
Chloe wanted to tear that bitch to pieces.
“I am not that desperate.” He started climbing down again.
His barb, however, hit its mark. The woman snarled and grabbed for Gideon. It was Chloe’s opportunity.
In a blink, she twisted away as far as she could, then kicked out with all her might. A crack resounded when her boot connected solidly with the woman’s arm. The gun flipped until it was pointing up.
Gideon moved like lightning. Chloe couldn’t even focus on him—he was a blur. When it was over, he held the gun, she was safe at his side, and their captor lay on the ground screeching and clutching her arm.
“I knew you was a soldier boy the second I laid eyes on you. That bitch of yours broke my arm.”
“Good. You deserve it for kidnapping us and forcing us to tie each other up.” He pressed the gun against her head. “Now tell me why.”
“I don’t know what you mean.”
Gideon pulled the hammer back. “Oh, I think you do. How much did they pay you to waylay us?”
Chloe’s mouth dropped open. “What the hell are you talking about?”
He pointed at the peddler. “I think whoever took the girls and Granny paid her to stop us from following. How much was it? Or did they get between your legs too?”
The woman snorted. “I ain’t gonna admit to nothing.”
Gideon leaned down to whisper to Chloe. “Get our hands untied, then our feet.”
She wanted to muster up some annoyance at him for bossing her around, but she found herself glad he’d been there. Life had turned itself inside out and upside down. She was comforted by his smarts and his presence. What if Gideon hadn’t been there when everything had gone horribly wrong? It was a bit like eating crow, but Chloe admitted to herself that she needed him.
Chloe untied them in a flash, glad of her calloused fingers against the rough rope. She had to use her teeth to get their hands untied. Other than his cheek twitching, Gideon showed no reaction to having her mouth on his wrists.
“Now tie her up.”
With something like vengeful glee, she did as he bade. The stench was even worse close up, and the crazy woman tried to bite her a few times. She even howled as the rope tightened around the injured arm. Chloe wondered if she was hurt at all, based on how many times the woman bared her teeth and snarled like an animal caught in a trap.
“Now, we’re going to do you the courtesy of leaving you by the side of the trail while we take your wagon and head back the way we came. If you’re lucky, we won’t send the law after you for at least a day.” Gideon squatted down and stared at her eye to eye. “I will make you a promise. If I ever see you again, I won’t hesitate to kill you. Your actions may have caused harm to two innocent little girls and their grandmother, not to mention what you’ve done to my wife. I don’t forgive, and I never for
get.”
Chloe had seen him angry, annoyed, amused and focused, but she wasn’t prepared for the coldness in his eyes. They were sharp enough to cut glass, even sent a shiver up her spine. He showed the world a mostly patient, helpful gentleman, but inside him was a controlled animal waiting to go to battle. This must be what the woman saw—the soldier boy beneath the curly brown hair and pretty blue eyes.
The peddler woman spit at him. “Big words, especially when I’m tied up.”
“I could dig a hole for you instead.”
The woman’s breath caught. His threat was real enough to make Chloe more than glad he was on her side.
“Bastard.”
“No, my parents were actually married.” Gideon poked her with the gun. “Now walk toward the woods.”
Her eyes widened, and she glanced at Chloe as if expecting an intervention. Slim chance of that happening.
“You cain’t take my wagon.”
“Oh yes I can and I will. We need something with wheels to catch the sons of bitches we’re chasing.” Gideon rose like an avenging angel, his eyes shooting sparks of fury. “Now move.”
His tone didn’t leave a smidge of room for arguing. Neither did the way he held the gun, with a sureness that told her he had spent a good deal of time in his life with a weapon. Chloe scrambled out of the way and watched as the woman shuffled toward the woods, her expression promising retribution. It didn’t matter though—they would never see her again, and she was certain Gideon would hold to his promise. If they happened to cross paths with the woman, he would kill her.
“Get in the wagon, Chloe.”
Again, she obeyed without a peep. Later on she’d have to speak to him about bossing her around so much. She got herself settled on the seat and held the reins. Gideon watched the woman until she was at least fifty yards away, then glanced up at Chloe. His smile was not a happy one.
“Now let’s get this thing turned around so we can find your family.”
Chloe wanted to whoop and crow like a rooster, but she kept that locked away for now. He was focused on the right task—finding her family. He took hold of the lead horse and led him around in a circle until they were pointing back the way they came. Then he climbed on the side and hung on as the wagon began to move. He kept the shotgun pointed at their kidnapper, never moving from his post until they were long out of sight.
Gideon: Devils on Horseback, Book 5 Page 7