They waited in the deafening silence in the express car. Trevor and James sat beside the safe waiting for the bank to deliver the gold and bonds on board.
No passengers boarded the train yet. They’d only be boarding in a couple of hours, right before it left the station. For security reasons, only the train personnel were there and of course the expressmen who would protect the safe and all the valuables in it.
Because of this, James and Trevor easily snuck Wild LaRue and her henchmen into the express car where the safe was housed without anyone noticing. Now they remained hidden behind a storage section in the car so they wouldn’t be seen by the bank guards when they arrived. But LaRue and her henchmen still had their eyes on them and would shoot to kill if they tried anything smart.
Trevor hovered on the brink of madness. His mind travelled miles away, worrying about Belle. Was she all right? What would they do to her? Ruthless LaRue was notorious for killing any and all witnesses in her path of heists, especially lawmen who stood in her way.
Since he and James were Texas Rangers who could identify her, he knew she would be killing them once she got the goods, but he prayed they would let Belle go. After all, Belle was an innocent bystander who got caught in the middle of this.
LaRue and her gang could escape to another town, maybe this time even high-tail it to Mexico. Belle wouldn’t be a threat to her or her gang. They could let Belle go free without fearing she’d have the lawmen after her.
And just as he stared out the car window worrying about her, he saw the top of a pretty head peek in.
Belle!
What the hell was she doing here? She saw him, and he signaled her with his eyes that LaRue was on the other side of the car hiding. She nodded and then disappeared from his vision.
His heart jumped to his throat, and his palms perspired. What would she do? God, he hoped the smart thing, which was let the other workers on the train know they were being kept captive and have one of them get the sheriff and his deputies.
He glanced at James, but he didn’t seem to have noticed her. He was dying to signal to him, but he didn’t dare. LaRue had the eyes of a hawk and she was focused on him and James now. So he just stood there waiting for the right opportunity.
And when the knock came at the door about forty minutes later, his heart dropped from his throat to his stomach and his legs went weak.
James walked to open it when LaRue whispered, “No heroics, boys, or Belle gets it.”
James nodded and just as he opened the door, he said in shock, “Belle?”
Trevor panicked.
Why the hell did she do such a stupid thing?
LaRue jumped out from behind the storage trunk and rushed to the door. She signaled with the gun.
“Damn it, get in here, or I’ll kill ’em,” she whispered.
Belle stepped in holding her hands up in front of her. “Don’t hurt them, please.”
As soon as the door shut, LaRue frowned, cursing, “What the hell are you doing here?” She took a quick glance outside. “Was this stupid idea Tom’s?”
Belle shook her head. “No. He’s tied up and unconscious back at the inn.”
Flabbergasted, LaRue stuttered, “W–what?”
“Mm-hmm, my brothers and I knocked him out and tied him up.” Belle nodded. “He’s the one who told us about your plans.”
“How the hell did your brothers know where you were?” In apparent confusion, LaRue shook her head.
Belle walked in closer to talk. Trevor opened his eyes wide in astonishment. Instead of shaking in her boots, she was as cool as a cucumber. The lady had spunk. Another reason why he loved her so.
Staring her straight in the eye, she replied, “You had them tied up in the room with me. You see, they are deputies in Little Rock, and now they are outside armed and ready to attack when I give the signal. My other brother, the sheriff, is also with them.”
She glanced behind her and added, “So if I was you, I’d give myself up.”
LaRue laughed. “Give up. Do you think a sheriff and two deputies can stop me? Honey, I’ve had bigger posses after me and my gang.” She peered out the window, and when she noted the coast was clear, she signaled her henchmen. “You boys, go out there and kill ’em.” She pulled Belle in front of her, wrapped an arm around her waist, and pointed the gun in Belle’s face with the other.
“I’m gonna stay in here and make sure this here lady and her lovers stay put and don’t cause any more problems.”
Her men nodded and crept outside with their guns held up ready to fire. Belle glanced at them, and Trevor’s heart skipped a beat with utter worry for her safety. When she winked at him without LaRue seeing, his heart pounded erratically, making breathing difficult. He knew she would do something crazy.
She wasn’t trained for this. They were. Why didn’t she just leave everything to them and her brothers, the lawmen outside?
Glancing to the floor, Belle said while slowly slipping her hand up her sleeve, “I don’t think it was a smart idea letting your boys out there.”
“My boys are the best shooters in all of the West. Your brothers are no match for them, honey,” LaRue mumbled while scouting the perimeter through the windows when two shots were heard, one right after the other. She was too preoccupied to notice Belle took out a gun she had hidden in her sleeve.
Readying her gun in one hand, Belle responded, “That’s where you’re wrong. You see, my brothers are the best marksmen in all of Arkansas.” And with the other hand, she pulled LaRue’s arm roughly, freeing herself, and then she shot LaRue square in the shoulder in one split second. “And I’m even faster than they are.”
With an expression of shock, LaRue took two steps backward. Her gun fell to the floor. She never saw it coming. Trevor’s jaw fell at Belle’s speed. And when he glanced at James, he sported the same reaction. But an instant after that, James jumped forward to grab the gun LaRue dropped. He pointed it at her.
Wild LaRue put a hand on her bleeding shoulder and simply gawked at Belle.
Taking a deep breath, she replied, “Honey, I knew there was a reason why I liked you.” Then she forced a laugh as she saw the door open and three lawmen walked inside. “I would have never thought I’d be taken down by a woman.”
Moving to sit on the chair on the side, she added, “Well, I guess it’s better to be taken down by a woman instead of a man.” Then she cackled. “Except if you’re talkin’ sex. Then anythin’ goes.” She glanced at Belle and Trevor and James with her address. “Ain’t that right?”
Trevor saw Belle blush and wanted to run to her and hug her. But Belle looked at him for only a second and then diverted her gaze back to her brothers.
“Are they dead?” she asked,
The tallest brother answered with a frown, “Yes, they are.” He grabbed LaRue by her good arm and lifted her roughly. He spoke to his deputies. “You two, take her out of here and bring her to the doctor to mend her shoulder.” He then looked at Belle with serious eyes. “And you, I need to talk to outside.”
“All right, but can you give me a minute?” She nodded.
He looked at her and then at Trevor and James. “One minute.” Then, speaking to them, he said, “If you’ll come back to Little Rock with us, we’ll make arrangements for you to transport LaRue back to Texas.”
“Thanks. We appreciate all you and your men have done,” James replied.
The sheriff looked at his sister. “If I had been informed of my sister’s and brothers’ plan earlier, I would have been a better help.” He walked over to the door, pointed a finger as if to remind his sister he’d be waiting for her outside.
Once he left, Trevor started to swoop in to hug and kiss her. James tailed him, saying, “Pretty lady, you put us through hell.” But Belle put up her arm to stop him.
The look in her eyes bore a hole through his heart.
* * * *
How the hell would she pull this off? She had played it over and over in her head while she and John rode to the train
station. She promised herself she’d steel her emotions and not risk getting hurt anymore. What they had was over. They’d be heading back to Texas in a day or so, and she would stay here.
There was no room in their lives for their complicated fling to continue. The only person who would continue to get hurt was her because she had fallen in love with them both. And she couldn’t endure any more of it.
Taking a deep breath, she put her arm up to block Trevor’s advance. A lump formed in her throat, but she swallowed it.
“Look, boys, I’m sorry, but we can’t do this anymore,” she said with inner determination,
Trevor’s expression saddened while James asked, frowning, “Why not?”
She glanced at the window. “Because what happened between us wasn’t real. I planned the whole thing so I could find out what you were up to in Fort Smith.” She moved farther away to avoid their intense stare.
“You see, I came here incognito a few months back when the robberies started, to investigate them. My brothers John and Mat were in on it, but I didn’t tell my brother, the sheriff, Sam, because I knew he wouldn’t allow me to come.
“And when my brothers told me you were hired as the new expressmen, I found it odd that out-of-towners would be hired instead of lawmen from here. I figured you were the ones responsible for the train robberies happening around these parts.”
Trying to keep her emotions buried, and right now it pained her unbearably to do so, she stared at them purposely with a blank expression and added, “I decided to seduce you to try to find out the truth about why you came here.”
“No, it was more than that.” James shook his head.
“Belle.” Trevor tried to take her hand.
She felt the tears brimming, and she wanted to jump into his arms, both their arms, but she couldn’t.
Breaking free from Trevor’s hold, she ran out of there mumbling, “I’m sorry, but I can’t.”
Chapter 12
Two weeks later
She dragged her feet as she stepped into the office. John took one look at her and frowned. “Boy, did you wake up on the other side of the bed this morning or what?”
“Don’t start with that again, John.” She knew she didn’t look great. Her hair was tied in a tight bun, she wore no rouge, and her extremely conservative dress looked more like a housecoat than a dress. Plain and baggy. But she could hardly care less. The past couple of weeks had taken their toll on her. She had no energy to enjoy life anymore.
Now that her spying work had ended and Isabelle LaRue and her gang caught or killed, there was no reason for her to continue her charade of singing at the saloon. The fact was, she didn’t really enjoy it. She loved to sing and play piano, but to have horny, perverse men drooling at her night after night turned her stomach.
There were only two men she wanted horny and gawking at her, and they were many, many miles away in Texas. They left the day after they captured LaRue. They tried to talk to her several times that day and the day before they left, but she refused. She hid out at John’s place and asked him and Mat to make excuses for her. She knew if she’d seen them, then her heart would shatter into a million pieces and never mend again.
But unfortunately, it still shattered in a thousand pieces, and so far, she still hadn’t put it back together. Hopefully, with time, she’d be able to move on. In the meantime, when Mat came to her room this morning telling her Sam wanted her to come to the office to talk to her and that it was important, her spirits lightened a bit.
She hoped her eldest brother had finally come to his senses and realized what an asset she’d be as one of his deputies in Little Rock. She asked him time and again to let her try out for the job, but he refused.
After both their parents died in an accidental fire when Belle was only thirteen, he took it upon himself to take care of his little sister. Even though, she grew up before his eyes, he obviously still saw her as his baby sister. The job would be too dangerous for a girl, he had told her over and over again.
Mat and John disagreed with him and let him know their opinions, but unfortunately, their reasoning landed on deaf ears. He was the sheriff, and his decision was final.
To prove her overprotective brother wrong, Belle came up with this whole complicated plan of going to Fort Smith. Mat and John refused to help her in the beginning, but once she explained her detailed scheme, they agreed with hesitations.
She found out Eden’s Paradise looked for a singer, and she decided to try out for the job. She knew Eden’s Paradise was the most popular saloon in all of Arkansas and if the bandits responsible for the train robberies in these parts were still here, then that would be the place they’d frequent.
She’d been right. Of course, she didn’t figure out Sally was really Wild Isabelle LaRue and that she and her gang had been responsible for all the heists. But when all the cards were played, she did end up catching the criminals responsible. So it had to count for something, right?
Looking around in the office this morning, she asked, “Where’s Sam?”
John pointed to the office in the back. “In there. He’s with someone.”
“Okay, then I’ll wait.” She moved to sit next to him.
But before she could sit, he added, “No, he told me he wanted you to go in. Whoever it is wanted to talk to you.”
Creasing her forehead, she stood straight and mumbled, “Hmm,” as she headed for the door.
Knocking, she heard her brother respond, “Come in.”
When she opened the door, her eyes registered a tall, husky man stand to greet her. Her brother did the introductions as she closed the door behind her.
“Belle, I’d like you to meet Captain Peak. He was the Texas Ranger captain in charge of the train robberies case you solved.”
“Howdy, Miss Belle.” The captain’s smile widened as his hand stretched out before him. “It’s a pleasure to finally meet the lady who took down one of the most notorious outlaws in the West.”
“Thank you, Captain Peck.” Her cheeks heated at the compliment as she shook his hand.
He gestured with his hand. “Please, have a seat.”
He glanced at Sam, then continued. “I came in a few hours ago and have been talking here with your brother. He has been filling me in on all the details of Isabelle LaRue and her gang’s capture and just how much you were involved in the takedown. And that is why I asked him to call you here.”
“Oh?” Belle looked at her brother in confusion.
The captain turned more to his side, toward her, and leaned his elbows on his knees as he continued. “Well, the Texas Rangers are in need of more Rangers, and from all I’ve heard about you and your quick draw and cunning, I believe you’d be the perfect Ranger. There is a particular case that’s been on my desk for the past few months, and we’ve been having one hell of a time solving it.”
He took a deep breath. “Truth be told, we need a female Ranger spy on this particular case, and unfortunately we have no female Rangers at this time.” He paused a second and then asked, “So, Miss Belle, would you be interested in joining our team?”
She could hardly believe her ears. Could this be happening? She stared at her brother, waiting for him to show his opposition to his offer.
Instead, he nodded and said, “Belle, I think you’d be a great Ranger. You proved to me just how good a law woman you are.”
Her jaw fell even though she tried to keep it closed. She wanted to pinch herself to see if this was all a dream, but figured she’d look pretty foolish if it wasn’t. What the hell, she’d play along with it, and if she woke up and it had been a dream, then it was fun while it lasted.
Smiling broadly, she gazed at the captain. “I’d be honored to become a Texas Ranger. Thank you, Captain Peak, for offering me the job.”
He stood up and reciprocated her wide smile. “Now that’s what I like to hear.” He put his hand into his jacket pocket and took out a ticket. “I was hoping you’d say yes and brought a train ticket for you
for Austin, Texas. That’s where our division is situated. The departure date is in a couple of days. Will this be enough time for you to get your things together by then? If not, we can change the date for later, but I would prefer you get started on the new case as soon as possible.”
Her eyes sprang open with her will to register the realness of everything happening so fast.
“Oh, that’s fine. I can leave then. There’s no problem.”
“I must be going now. I have further business to take care of in Fort Smith, but I’ll see you when you arrive back in Austin.” He looked at Sam and back at her. “I’ll have someone pick you up at the train station.” He extended his hand first to Sam. “It was a pleasure meeting you, Sheriff Samson.”
“The same goes for me, Captain Peak.” Sam shook his hand vigorously, smiling back.
The captain turned to her and grinned wide while he shook her hand. “Welcome to the team.” Then he walked over to the door and left, saying, “Bye,” right before he shut the door behind him.
Belle slumped into the chair behind her, sighing and gazing at the ceiling. John walked in then and looked at Belle and Sam with wide eyes.
“So who was that? And what did he want with Belle?” he asked.
Sam replied for her since her giddiness made her slow to react. “That was Captain Peak, a Texas Ranger, and he offered our sister, here, a job as a Ranger. She leaves for Austin, Texas, in a few days.”
“Austin, Texas?” A frown came over John’s face.
Then it hit her. She’d be leaving her family behind. Suddenly, the high she had been riding on came crashing down and sadness began to choke her.
Chapter 13
Belle waited in Captain Peak’s office, fidgeting with her gloves. She was excited, terrified, and exhausted all at the same time.
Throughout the long and tiring train trip, she had been thinking about her brothers and how hard it would be leaving Little Rock and them behind. But Sam convinced her it was an opportunity of a lifetime, and she shouldn’t throw it all away. It was time she stood on her two feet and forged her way in law enforcement. Only good things were on the horizon for her from now on.
Frost, Jessica - The Good, the Bad, and the Naughty Page 13