When Terry saw her coming back, he yelled, “Ride, Kate! Get away!”
Instead of following his orders, she dismounted and ran to him. Injured and lying in the road, blood oozed from his shoulder. On her knees at his side, she ripped strips from her shirt, and put pressure on his wound.
A cry ripped from her throat when she was jerked to her feet by her hair. Slade wrenched her hair forcing her to look into his steely eyes. “Bitch, I would love to kill you.” He backhanded her across the face with enough force to throw her backwards to the ground. He griped the front of her shirt and pulled her to her feet.
He was mad enough to kill her. Temper simmered in his cold eyes. This time she had pushed him too far. When he raised his hand to slap her again she screamed, “If I’m scarred Bob Lewis will not pay one cent for me! That’s the only reason he wants me is because I’m pretty! Don’t hit me again!” She feared for her unborn child. She hoped he had not hurt her baby.
Slade released his hold on her. One beefy, hand clenched at his side as if he wanted to hit her again. Quickly, she dropped down beside Terry to check his wound. The bleeding had slowed. Hand to his cheek, she cried, “I’m so sorry, Terry. This is my fault.” Guilt swept through her knowing Terry would not have been shot if he had not helped her.
Trembling fingers wiped at the tears streaming down her face. “It’s okay, Kate.”
She raised his shoulder causing him to scream out in pain. The bullet had gone straight through and had not done any major damage, but his wound still needed attention.
Slade bent and jerked Terry’s gun from his holster. “Come on Kate, because of your escape we are well behind schedule. Bob Lewis is waiting for you.” Feet braced apart, he stood over Terry and pointed his own gun barrel at his heart. “I told you if you asked anyone to help you I would kill them. Too bad you didn’t take my advice.”
She tried to push the gun away from Terry’s chest. Slade shoved her to the ground, and pulled back the hammer aiming the pistol mere inches from the young soldier’s chest. Bolting off the ground, she put her hand on Slade’s arm, and pleaded, “Please Slade, don’t shoot him. I begged him to help me. He has done nothing wrong. Please don’t kill him. I’ll do anything if you let him live.” Hysterical, she pushed at his arm. Time seemed to stop as she waited to see if her friend was going to die. Worst part was Slade seemed to be enjoying her fear.
Slade grabbed her around the neck with his free arm and squeezed until her eyes watered. She scratched at his hand, kicked at his legs, but he had lost all control. An evil smile on his lips, he squeezed tighter. Just when she thought he was going to kill her, he released his hold. She dropped to the ground on her hands and knees taking in huge gulps of air to fill her lungs. He grabbed her by the arm and pulled her to her feet.
“If you promise not to try to escape again Kate, I’ll let him live. It is all up to you, but you must swear to God or I’ll shoot him dead now.” He made his point by aiming the pistol closer to Terry’s chest.
As much as she despised it, she accepted defeat. In a hoarse voice she promised, “Okay Slade, I swear to God I’ll not try to escape again. Please don’t shoot him.” She rubbed her neck where his fingers had probably left terrible bruises. Her throat burned as if a hot poker had been pressed against it.
“Leave her alone, Slade. Let her go.” Terry struggled to stand, but he was too weak to rise from the ground.
Putting his booted foot onto Terry’s shoulder, Slade pressed causing him extreme pain. He rolled into a ball and cried out in agony.
She screamed, “Stop, Slade. He has been punished enough by you! Have you no compassion?”
“No, I lost it when I threw my guts up because someone tried to poison me.” He dragged her to her horse and forced her to mount.
“We can’t leave him. He will die. Please, we have to help him.” Every word she spoke caused unbelievable pain in her throat.
“If you say one more word I’ll shoot him and this time I’ll do more than injure him!” She was the one Slade wanted to kill. He had been through agony because of her. If he didn’t need the money Bob was paying him, she was sure he would end her life right now.
He walked to his horse and also mounted. Leaning over in the saddle, he grabbed the reins from Terry’s horse and threw them over his head. With a swift slap to the rump he sent the horse racing in the opposite direction. Maybe the horse would find its way back to camp and someone would come searching for Terry.
Grief poured out of her when she looked over her shoulder to see Terry lying in the road in a puddle of blood. If someone didn’t find him, his death would be on her hands.
****
A deep sorrow settled into Kate’s soul. They had been riding for several hours before she got up her nerve to ask Slade how he found her so fast. He was still extremely angry, but her curiosity was greater than her fear. “You should have been sick for several hours. How did you find a horse and gun in your condition?”
He reined his horse in front of her forcing her to have to stop. He gave her his most menacing stare. “I threw up for hours. If I could have gotten my hands on you, I would have strangled you to death.” His eyes dropped to the bruises on her neck. Was that regret she saw on his face? All the times he had been angry with her, he never laid a hand on her. Maybe he was a stone-cold killer, but he had never hurt her until today. But then he had proved he could be deadly if provoked.
He looked terrible. Haggard and gray around his lips, he looked as if he was still sick. His dark brown hair was dull and matted to his head. He even smelled of sickness.
“When I regained enough strength, I walked to a nearby farm. There I stole a gun and a horse. It didn’t take me long to find your trail. I wondered how you found someone to help you so quickly. Did he touch you? Lewis will not be so happy to know you are not chaste.”
Kate blushed crimson. “No, he did not touch me. He was a true gentleman, unlike you.”
“You have no idea how much of a gentleman I have been, Kate. Do you have any idea the nights I have laid beside you and wanted to make love to you? I have fantasized every night about opening your legs and plunging my shaft deep into you.”
Shocked and embarrassed, she put her hands over her ears and screamed, “Shut up!”
A hand snaked out and held her arm in a death grip. He might look sick, but he still had strength. His eyes had turned lethal. “I still want to strangle you. I suggest you keep your mouth shut until we arrive at Lewis’ plantation. It won’t be much longer. After the pain you put me through, you deserve whatever Bob Lewis does to you. You’re lucky I didn’t kill you for throwing my cigars away. I can’t believe I felt sympathy for you.”
The first thing Slade did when they were back on the trail was rummage through his saddlebag looking for a cigar. Cold rage had him screaming for five minutes when he discovered she had gotten rid of them. It was almost worth his anger not to smell the stinking cigars.
Her mind circled around what she tried to avoid thinking about. That had been her last chance to escape. If she made another attempt, Slade would kill her. A distant sense of dread swirled through her.
****
David and Scott had been following Kate and her abductor’s trail for days. They only stopped at night to rest their horses, hoping to catch up with them soon. David had come to the conclusion that Kate’s kidnapper was taking her to Bob Lewis. He was the only person he could think of that would want her returned to Durham since her family was dead. He wished he had figured it out sooner so he could have sent a telegraph to the authorities in Durham.
“What’s that in the road?” Standing in the stirrups, Scott stood to his full height in the saddle. “It looks like a body.”
Both dismounted. Fingers pressed to the young soldier’s wrist, Scott checked for a pulse. “I can feel a faint pulse. He’s still alive, but he has lost a lot of blood.”
He removed the make shift bandage from the wound. “Looks like a strip from a woman’s shirt. May
be it belongs to Kate.”
For the first time since leaving Richmond, David felt optimistic. Maybe Kate had not been harmed. “Let’s try to revive him.”
Scott ran to his saddlebags and got some supplies. David rolled out his bedroll and laid the young man on top to get him off the cold ground. He fetched his canteen and lifted him up to pour some water down his throat. The young man coughed and sputtered.
“Soldier, did you see who shot you?”
He opened his eyes. Dark eyes focused on Scott, but he couldn’t speak. It was as if his brain was too muddled.
Scott cleaned and bandaged the soldier’s wound. “The bullet went straight through. I think he’ll survive even though he has lost a lot of blood. Whoever packed his wound saved his life.”
Kate, it had to be her. “Soldier, can you hear me. I’m Captain David Harris.” He leaned over the soldier. “I’m looking for a young woman named Kate Monroe. She was abducted from Richmond and we have been tracking her and her abductor. Have you seen her?”
The soldier tried to say something, but nothing came out but groans. David poured more water down his throat. More coughing and sputtering, then he whispered, “Kate came back for me.”
David was ecstatic. It had been Kate who tried to stop the bleeding to his shoulder. Deep down he knew she was all right. He could feel it. He washed the dirt from the young man’s face, and poured more water down his dry throat.
Scott began to build a fire to warm him. The boy was almost frozen from lying on the cold ground for so long.
Food would probably help the young soldier regain some of his strength. David opened a can of beans, warmed them at the fire, and spooned some into his mouth. He swallowed and the warmth entered his cold body. “Soldier, can you tell me what happened? Is Kate okay?”
“We were ambushed. She called the man Slade. He was hired by Bob Lewis.” He could say no more because he was just too weak.
“The young man is too frail to travel. He needs care and rest or he could start bleeding again. Besides, his wound is too serious for him to sit on a horse. We’ll camp here for the night, and I’ll go after them in the morning,” Scott offered.
“I’m going after Kate now. You stay here until the soldier is able to ride.”
Scott followed him to his horse. “Wait until morning, Captain Harris. You are exhausted and shouldn’t travel at night. It is much too dangerous. Anyway, I am the better tracker. I should be the one to go after Kate.”
From day one David realized Scott was the better tracker. He couldn’t deny his skills were amazing. But Kate was his woman and he wanted to be the one to rescue her. “Kate detests Bob Lewis. I have to rescue her before he touches her. She’s scared and in danger.”
David swung into the saddle and looked at Scott. “If you think the boy recuperates enough to ride, follow my trail and join me as soon as you are able.”
Anger consumed Scott as he watched David disappear into the growing darkness. His shoulders slumped in defeat. He felt as if he had let Jacob down. More than anything he wanted to be the one to save Kate.
Chapter Nineteen
Kate’s future looked pretty bleak. They were in view of Bob Lewis’ plantation. The thought of seeing him again made her feel sick to her stomach. They veered to the left and took the winding back road to the house. Fear choked her when they topped the hill and she saw the house banked by four huge oaks.
The plantation was not as glorious as it had once been. It had fallen into disrepair. Paint chipped from the siding. Shutters were missing wood slats. Bushes were overgrown from not being manicured. Weeds had overtaken the once beautiful gardens. Everywhere she looked she saw despair.
Slade dismounted. “Get down and follow me.” When she was a little slow dismounting, he pulled her from her horse in frustration.
With a strong grip on her arm, he propelled her toward the back door. She wanted to defy Slade, but he was still steaming from the poison mushrooms so she did not push her luck. She obediently walked to the back door with her head held high.
He did not bother knocking. He swung the door and shoved her inside. She stumbled and would have fallen if she had not held to the wall. The house was extremely quiet. She looked at Slade and stated boldly, “Maybe he died.”
The comment caused him to narrow his eyes. “Better hope he is still alive, because if he’s not, I’ll enjoy ripping your clothes off and having my way with you until I tire of you.” He grabbed a handful of hair and pulled her against his chest. “I will rape you over and over. Then I’ll ransom you back to your grandfather when I’m sick and tired of you.”
He let her go and she stumbled backwards. In her mind she wondered which would be worse Slade, or Bob Lewis. She didn’t know who she hated more. Both were as evil as Satan.
“May I help you?”
She turned toward the timid voice. A beautiful slave girl stood in the doorway. Her skin was perfection, except for the bruise under her right eye. It was hard to believe someone so beautiful could look so unhappy. Unspeakable sadness filled her eyes.
“Yes, Tilley, will you please tell Bob that I’m here?”
It took all the strength Kate could muster not to turn and run from the room. The last person she wanted to see was Bob Lewis. Slade must have felt her apprehension because he gripped her arm tight keeping her from bolting.
It was not long before Kate heard heavy footsteps in the hallway. Her heart began to beat extremely fast. She clasped her hands to try to calm her nerves.
“Hello, Kate. I guess that’s you underneath all that grime.”
In just five short months he had aged. His dark hair was sprinkled with gray. At least twenty pounds heavier than the last time she saw him, he struggled to breathe. It seemed as if the stress of the war had taken its toil on Lewis as well as his plantation. She felt no compassion for him. God was punishing him for his sins.
Bob raised a questioning brow. “What took you so long? By my calculation you should have been here two days ago.” Violence in his eyes, he snapped, “What did you do to my intended. She’s black and blue.”
Before Slade could answer, he stepped in front of her and touched his fingers to her bruised cheek where Slade had hit her. He sniffed. “You need a bath, my dear. You absolutely stink. Tilley, come and assist our guest! She needs a good scrubbing!”
Kate blushed crimson. Grabbing a handful of hair, Bob snorted, “What in the hell did you do to your hair?” Unable to tolerate him touching her, she took a step back. She stood staring at him without speaking.
Tilley moved to Kate’s side. She gazed at Kate obviously curious as to why she was there.
“Tilley, this is my fiancé, Kate. She has come all the way from Richmond, Virginia on horse back to marry me. I’m sure it was a harrowing trip.” His eyes swept to Slade. “Especially the way she looks. Someone has abused my sweetheart.” He turned his attention back to Kate. “Will you please assist her in getting cleaned up?”
Tilley locked her arm inside hers.
Slade jerked Kate away from Tilley. “Wait just a minute, Bob. I want my money first. The reason it took us two more days is because the bitch almost killed me with poison mushrooms, and then she escaped while I retched my guts out. I should be compensated for all the agony she has caused me. I lost several days because I had to chase her all over the countryside, not once, but twice. Let’s say $1,000, more than we first agreed upon should suffice.”
“The girl is no use to you. You’ll get your money. Let Kate go with Tilley. We’ll move to the parlor, and have some brandy while I get your money. I have some of those cigars you like. It’s late and I’m sure you’ll want to spend the night, sleep in a soft bed for a change.” He gestured toward Tilley. “I’m sure a little female companionship will also help to ease your bad mood.” Fear showed on Tilley’s face.
Slade tightened his hold on her arm causing her to wince. “Kate will stay right here with me until I get paid. Don’t try anything crazy, Bob. If I don’t get my
money, I’ll ransom her back to her rich grandfather. He’ll probably pay double what you are paying. The only reason I did not return her to her grandfather is because we have done business together in the past and I hope to do so in the future.”
Bob left the room and returned with a satchel, which he threw to Slade. “Here’s your money.” When Slade moved away from Kate to pick up the satchel, Bob pulled a pistol from behind his back and shot Slade in the chest. Blood poured from the wound, several twitches and he was dead. His lifeless eyes stared straight up at the ceiling.
Screams echoed off the walls as Tilley darted out of the room. Rooted in the same spot, unable to move, Kate fought the urge to follow Tilley. It frightened her that Bob Lewis had just committed murder right in front of her. The man must have lost his mind.
“Sorry you had to see that, Kate. It was him or me. I knew he would kill me since I didn’t have the money to pay him. However, I couldn’t let him leave with you. You are all mine now.” As an afterthought he added, “And no one abuses my fiancé.”
She tried to compose herself. She did not want Lewis to know how upset she really was. In a calm and collected voice she stated, “One down, one more to go.”
Bob gently chided, “You know you don’t mean that, Kate. We are going to be married tomorrow. You wouldn’t do anything to harm your husband now would you? You are much too young to be a widow.”
Anger came immediately to replace her fear. “I hate you, Mr. Lewis! I wouldn’t spit on you if you were on fire! You have taken me from a happy home. I am engaged to be married to a wonderful, prominent doctor. I found my grandfather and was enjoying my time with him. You have ruined everything for me. I warn you not to turn your back. If I get the chance, I will kill you so I can go back to Richmond to my fiancé, my grandfather and friends.” She replied with such menace in her voice he would be a fool not to take her serious.
“Maybe a little time alone will change your mind. As soon as I find the corner Tilley is cowering in, I’ll send her to assist you with your bath.”
Desperate (Harris Trilogy Book One) Page 27