by Paige Tyler
The Marshal banged on the door, louder this time. Heart pounding, Shayna looked around wildly for some other escape route. Her gaze immediately locked on the window on the other side of the small room. Not having to think twice, she dashed over to it. Instead of opening easily like it should have, however, the window didn’t budge. Dammit, the darn thing was stuck!
Tears of frustration welling in her eyes, Shayna dropped her bag on the floor and tried to force the window open, but it did no good. The stupid thing probably hadn’t been opened in ten years! Spotting a heavy bookend sitting on the low shelf beside the window, she grabbed it and was just about to use it to break the glass when the door burst open.
Still holding onto the bookend, Shayna whirled around with a startled gasp to see the handsome Marshal from the diner standing in the doorway, his weapon drawn and pointed at her.
“Shayna Matthews, you’re under arrest,” he told her. “Drop that and put your hands up.”
Shayna knew she should obey, especially since the Marshal had a gun pointed at her, but she couldn’t make herself do it. “You’ve got the wrong person. My name is Jane,” she said, her voice trembling. “Jane Cooper.”
His golden-brown eyes went to the bag sitting on the floor beside her. “Nice try,” he said sarcastically. “Now, drop what you’re holding and put your hands up.”
She swallowed hard, but still didn’t do as he told her. “You’ve got the wrong person,” she insisted.
The Marshal clenched his jaw. “I’m not going to tell you again,” he warned her. “Drop what you’re holding and get your hands in the air.”
Shayna didn’t move. She couldn’t let him arrest her. Running had only made her look more guilty, and if she went back to jail, they weren’t likely to let her out on bail this time. The thought alone was enough to make her stomach churn.
Her gaze darted to the door and she wondered if she could somehow get past the Marshal. Apparently, he must have read her mind because he started toward her even as she tensed to make a run for it. Shayna’s hand tightened on the bookend and before she even realized what she was doing, she drew back her arm and threw it at him.
Shayna just had enough time to see the Marshal’s eyes go wide before he ducked. Knowing she would only get one chance at escape, she immediately ran for the door. But she didn’t get more than a few feet before a strong hand closed over her arm and spun her around. With a cry that was half frustration, half rage, Shayna balled her hand into a fist and took a swing at the Marshal.
“What the...?!” he began, catching her arm before her fist could connect. “Dammit, take it easy!”
But Shayna wasn’t about to take it easy. If she didn’t get away from him, she was going to be spending a very long time in prison, maybe even the rest of her life. With that horrific thought motivating her, Shayna savagely tried to jerk free of the Marshal’s hold.
“Stop it!” he ordered her, his grip tightening on her arms. “Dammit, I don’t want to hurt you!”
“Then let me go!” she shot back, still struggling against him.
But it was obvious that the Marshal wasn’t going to let her go, and Shayna fought him wildly. Once she even managed to get her arm free long enough to try to scratch his face, but he quickly captured her wrist in his hand again.
Frustrated, Shayna tried to shove him away from her. To her surprise, she actually managed to catch the Marshal off balance long enough to knock him back onto the bed. She didn’t catch him that unaware, however, because instead of releasing her like she hoped he would do, he tightened his grip on her wrists and pulled her down with him.
Ending up sprawled across his lap, Shayna was so stunned for a moment that she didn’t even realize the Marshal had let go of her arms sometime during their fall onto the bed. As soon as she did, though, she immediately tried to push herself upright, but a strong hand on her back pushed her down again. She started struggling as hard as she could, anything to keep him from grabbing her arms again. She knew the moment he did, she would end up in handcuffs.
But Shayna was surprised when the Marshal didn’t even try to jerk her arms behind her back so that he could handcuff her. She thought for a moment that she might actually have a chance to get away, only to gasp in surprise when she felt his free hand come down hard on her jean-clad bottom. She stilled, her eyes going wide.
Had he actually just spanked her? What the hell did he think he was doing?
Before she could say anything though, he brought his hand down again on her other cheek, harder this time, and she yelped.
Her face flaming from embarrassment and anger, Shayna tried to push herself off his lap again, to no avail. “Let me up, you jerk!” she demanded.
The Marshal gave her ass another hard smack. “Not until you agree to behave yourself,” he growled.
Shayna cried out as his hand connected with her bottom yet again. “Owwwww! You have no right to spank me!” she told him.
“If you had just come quietly like I told you to, then I wouldn’t be forced to do this,” he retorted, punctuating each word with a sharp slap to her derriere. “But you leave me no choice. Trust me; spanking you into submission is a lot better than the alternative.”
Shayna didn’t know what the alternative might be, but she had certainly never been spanked in her life, and she couldn’t believe how much it stung! But every time his hand came down on her ass, it felt like her cheeks were going to catch on fire.
“Now, if I let you up, are you going to behave yourself?” he asked, pausing momentarily.
Shayna gritted her teeth. Damn the man! “Yes!” she hissed. “Just let me up already!”
Taking Shayna’s arm, he set her back on her feet. Though she really wanted to slap his handsome face, she settled for rubbing her sore bottom instead, only to stop when she realized that the Marshal was reaching for his handcuffs. She couldn’t let him take her in, she thought. She had to do something!
Shayna knew if she were going to make a run for it that she was going to have to distract the Marshal somehow.
He was standing right in front of her, and she’d never get past him if she didn’t come up with something good.
But she had to try. She wasn’t letting him take her in without a fight.
Her gaze darted to the open door and the empty hallway beyond, an idea springing into her head. This had better work, she thought.
“Help me!” she cried. “He’s...”
Her shout had the desired effect. At her words, the Marshal half turned toward the door, clearly looking to see who she was talking to. Shayna immediately grabbed the clock from the bedside table and tried to hit him with it.
Of course, it probably would have worked better if the clock hadn’t still been plugged into the wall at the time.
Unfortunately, it didn’t quite reach, and instead of knocking the Marshal over the head like she meant to, all she did was knock everything off the night table and turn his attention back to her.
Clearly angry at her attempt to attack him again, the Marshal immediately snatched the clock from her hand and flung it to the floor. “You don’t give up, do you?” he growled.
Shayna opened her mouth to retort, but before she could get the words out, the Marshal grabbed her arm and bent her over the bed. The next thing she knew, his hand was coming down on her ass again! What the heck was with this guy? she thought.
“I guess you didn’t learn anything from that spanking I just gave you,” he said.
He moved back and forth, administering a hard smack on first one cheek and then the other, and she bit back a cry as she glared at him over her shoulder. She refused to give him the satisfaction of letting him know how much the spanks really stung.
“I learned that you’re a brute!” she snapped.
His jaw tightened at that. “Still feisty, I see,” he said. “Well, then I guess I’m going to have to make sure I don’t let you up this time until I spank all the fight out of you!”
Obviously intent on keep
ing his word, the Marshal proceeded to do just that. Much to Shayna’s dismay, he smacked her bottom over and over, and while she thought he had spanked her hard the first time, it had been nothing compared to how hard he was spanking her now. It felt like her bottom was on fire! Thank God, she was wearing jeans, she thought. She couldn’t imagine what the spanking would feel like on her bare bottom!
But if he thought that a simple spanking would take the fight out of her, he was wrong! It might have stung like crazy, but Shayna still fought him wildly. She squirmed and wiggled as hard as she could, but it did no good. The Marshal had wrapped his arm around her waist and held her down more easily than she would have thought possible. She didn’t think she’d ever seen a man so strong!
“Okay, Okay!” she cried. “I get it! I’ll stop fighting you and go along peacefully!”
At her words, the Marshal stopped spanking her, much to her relief. “Really?” he said sarcastically. “It seems like you’re giving in a little fast to me. For all I know, you’re trying to trick me again. Well, I’m not falling for it this time!”
Her eyes widened in shock at that. He couldn’t mean to spank her more; her bottom couldn’t take it! But before she could cajole him anymore, his hand was coming down on her tender asscheeks again.
Shayna squealed as the Marshal continued to spank her. Right then her ass stung so much she thought she probably would have promised him anything, but all he wanted was her assurance that she would behave herself and go with him quietly. And if it would make him stop spanking her, then she would give it to him. But the moment his back was turned, she would be gone, she promised herself.
“Stop, please!” she begged. “I promise I won’t try to run! Please just stop spanking me! Pleeeease!”
This time, the miserable whine in her voice must have swayed him, because he stopped, and Shayna let out a sigh of relief. She would have immediately reached back to rub her throbbing ass, but the Marshal grabbed her arms and held them captive behind her back. So that he could handcuff her, she supposed. Every instinct told her to struggle, but she forced herself to remain still while he snapped the cold steel tightly around her wrists.
Taking her arm, the Marshal pulled Shayna to her feet and led her to the door. Once again, she had to fight the urge to try and run as he escorted her down the stairs and outside. She had to be smart about this and bide her time, and wait until the opportunity to escape presented itself. She wasn’t going to get far with handcuffs on, and told herself that she would just have to wait until he took them off during a bathroom break or something.
But to her surprise, and utter dismay, the Marshal didn’t lead her to his vehicle like she had expected, but toward the sheriff’s station down the street. Her steps faltered as panic set in. She had naturally assumed that the Marshal would take her back to Denver. There was no way she would be able to escape locked up in jail.
Swallowing hard, Shayna allowed him to lead her down the street through the snow. As they passed the diner, she kept her face averted, not wanting to look over and see all the people she knew staring and whispering about her.
It was going to be humiliating enough to be dragged before the sheriff; the man came into the diner every day for lunch.
The sheriff was talking to one of his deputies in the outer office, and both men looked up when they entered.
Upon realizing that the Marshal had her in handcuffs, the sheriff’s gray eyes narrowed. Before he could say anything, however, the Marshal showed the other man his badge and explained that Shayna was wanted back in Denver for embezzlement and suspicion of murder.
“He’s confused me with someone else,” Shayna told the sheriff after the Marshal had finished.
The Marshal tightened his grip on her arm and held her back when she tried to take a step forward. “Save it,” he growled.
Turning to the sheriff, the Marshal produced a folded piece of paper from his pocket. At first, Shayna thought it was a copy of the warrant for her arrest, but as he handed it over to the other man, she saw that it was a wanted poster with her picture on it. She felt her heart sink as the sheriff read it over.
Madoc was watching the sheriff, too. At first, the other man had looked like he wasn’t going to take Madoc’s word that Shayna Matthews was a fugitive. He never liked dealing with these small-town sheriffs; sometimes, they got really prickly about someone poaching on their jurisdiction. But it should be obvious from looking at the wanted poster that Madoc had made no mistake.
“Looks like you’re right,” the sheriff said as he folded the paper and handed it back to Madoc. “What do you want me to do about it?”
Madoc was stunned by the man’s words. “I want you to hold her, of course,” he said. “I’ll talk to the district attorney when I get back to Denver, and he can arrange to have her transferred. It should only be a week or two.”
“’Fraid not, Marshal,” the sheriff said. “You’re not gonna be able to leave her here.”
Madoc frowned. “Why not?”
“Son, have you looked outside?” the older man said, gesturing toward the window. “There’s a big snow storm coming. Me and my deputies will be pulling cars out of ditches and saving livestock for the next couple of days.
Ain’t gonna be no one around to watch your prisoner. I was just getting ready to close down the jail when you came in.”
Madoc’s frown deepened. How the hell could the sheriff just shut down the jail? “You’re kidding me, right?”
The other man shrugged. “No, son. I can’t have her here if there’s no one to watch her.”
Madoc shook his head in disbelief. That had to be one of the most stupid things he’d ever heard. “That’s why they put locks on the cell doors,” he pointed out dryly. “So you don’t have to watch the prisoners all the time.”
The sheriff drew himself up to look Madoc squarely in the eye. “I’m not locking no one up without someone here to watch them, especially someone like this poor, little lady here,” he said. “With the snow they’re predicting, it could be days before one of my deputies or I can get back here to check on her.”
Madoc wanted to point out to the man that Shayna Matthews wasn’t a “poor, little lady,” but a wanted fugitive, and then figured it would only be a waste of time. “If you won’t lock her up, then what the hell am I supposed to do with her?” he said instead.
The sheriff shrugged. “Well, you can get a room at the motel, I suppose,” he said. “Or you could just take her back to the boarding house. It’s not like she’s going anywhere in this snow.”
Madoc stared at the other man, dumbfounded. What the hell kind of Podunk town was Flint Creek anyway? He shook his head. “Well, if you won’t hold her, then I’ll take her to the U.S. Marshals office in Billings.”
The sheriff’s eyes went wide. “Billings is almost two hundred miles from here,” he said. “There’s no way you’ll make it that far in this snow. You’d be better off staying here.”
Right, Madoc thought in disgust. “I’ll take my chances with the snow,” he told the other man. Tightening his grip on Shayna Matthews’ arm, he turned toward the door. “Come on,” he growled.
Outside, the snow had started to come down heavier, and Madoc swore under his breath as he led his prisoner to his SUV. Damn, he wished he’d never stopped at that diner!
“The sheriff’s right,” Shayna grumbled beside him. “It’s crazy to try and drive all the way to Billings in this weather. We’ll never make it.”
Madoc gave her a hard look as they came to a halt beside his SUV. “I don’t remember asking for your opinion,” he said coldly as he brushed snow from the door handle.
“Well, I’m giving it to you anyway!” she shot back. “You might be willing to risk your life, but I don’t want you risking mine!”
Madoc glared at her. “Like I said, you don’t get a vote.” He yanked open the passenger door. “Get in.”
Shayna hesitated for so long that Madoc thought he would have to forcibly put her in t
he vehicle, but with a baleful look, she climbed into the SUV. With her hands cuffed behind her back, the whole thing was a little awkward, but she managed, and once she was inside, Madoc slammed the door, and then walked around to the other side and got in.
“You’re making a huge mistake,” Shayna said as he started the engine and put the truck in gear. “I’m innocent of those crimes.”
He snorted. “That’s what they all say.”
“If I had done it, don’t you think I would have run?” she asked.
Madoc gave her a sidelong glance. “You did run,” he reminded her as he merged onto the snowy highway.
Shayna sighed in exasperation. “I meant before I got arrested,” she said. “If I had really stolen all that money, do you think I would have run off to Flint Rock, Montana?”
He shrugged. “Maybe you figured that no one would look for you there.”
She shook her head. “That doesn’t even make sense! If I had embezzled half-a-million dollars, I sure as heck wouldn’t be working as a waitress in a diner.”
Madoc didn’t answer. Though he had to admit that waitressing at a diner in some Podunk town after stealing half-a-million dollars didn’t make a whole hell of a lot of sense, he couldn’t deny that it had actually been rather smart on her part. If he hadn’t decided to stop at that diner to get something to eat, Shayna Matthews would still be back there working and no one would have been the wiser.
“Dammit, why won’t you at least listen to my side of the story?” she snapped. “I was framed, I’m telling you!”
His hand tightened on wheel as the tires hit a slippery patch of road. “Enough already!” he told her harshly. “Save your conspiracy theories for the courtroom, Ms. Matthews, because I don’t care. As far as I’m concerned, you’re a fugitive, and it’s my job to bring you in. Now, shut up and let me drive.”
Madoc waited for Shayna to argue her case further, but to his surprise, she fell silent. A moment later, he heard the soft sound of crying. He swore silently. What did she think, that he would be moved by her tears and agree to let her go? Yeah, right. He didn’t buy her innocent act, or her fake tears. She could cry all the way to Billings, for all he cared.