“Last time I checked, slavery was outlawed. Illegal—you do know what the word means, don’t you? I mean, you’re a lawyer.”
His face flushed; his mouth twisted in derision. “Don’t be stupid. Deals like this have been made for centuries. You’re the dowry I bought and paid for. Because of my name and fortune, you and your whore of a mother will enjoy the privileges and associate with the highest levels of Boston society, instead of existing on her brother’s charity.”
“I don’t care about privilege and money. I’m in love. Not that you’d know what love is.”
He continued as if he didn’t hear her. “Of course I can’t bring you home until you’re tamed.” He smiled down at her, a sickening scary lurch of his lips, as if they were unused to the effort. “And how I look forward to that.”
She threw back her shoulders and got in his face. “And just how do you plan to tame me?”
“There are ways. And I have so much privacy here. We’re miles from the nearest neighbor. No one to hear your protests, my dear.”
“You plan on beating me into submission? That’s your plan? Might not be as easy as you think.”
“Oh, I hope your screams of pain will turn to those of pleasure. There are many ways to elicit those. And I’m a master. I will be your master. You will be my slave and grow to crave my attentions.”
She swallowed hard, refusing to allow him see how much he revolted her. Scared her.
How the thought of his touching her made her skin crawl.
“As soon as the minister leaves, your lessons in becoming a submissive wife will begin.”
“That’s what you think. Cord will come for me. He’s a lawman—in case you’ve forgotten. He won’t allow you or anyone else to treat me this way.”
He grabbed her upper arm and dragged her down the hall to his room. “While we wait, why don’t I show you what’s in store…if you don’t behave.”
He shut the door behind them, locked it and slammed her against the door. Grinding his dry lips down on her mouth, he squeezed her breasts with his hands, kneading the tender flesh.
She bit back the cry of pain, refusing to give him the satisfaction. The pain distracted her for a moment then her anger flashed. She clawed at his eyes and jammed her knee upward. She wouldn’t play his sick games.
Never.
He screamed, called her a vile name then jumped back, but her knee missed the soft targets she intended.
Grabbing her wrists, he threw her on the bed then walked over to an oak wardrobe and opened it wide. Instead of clothing hanging inside, there were chains and leather implements of—hell-only-knew-what-instruments of torture they were. Only one was recognizable: as a leash and dog collar.
“You will heel, sit, stand, lie down and spread your legs on command or you will be punished severely. Sometimes I’m told the pain is quite exquisite.”
“You’re a sick son-of-a—bitch—that’s what you are.”
He got down in her face, so close she could smell the macassar oil in his slicked back hair. Her nose wrinkled at the obnoxious odor of the cigarettes he was so fond of smoking.
“And you are a self-indulgent little slut who nearly gelded me when I merely tried to sample the bride I bought and paid for.”
His hand snaked out and grabbed her breast through her dress and squeezed just hard enough she couldn’t hold back a whimper.
“See what I mean. You liked it.”
“Like hell, I did. Before I give myself to you, one of us will have to die.”
The house maid entered the bedroom without knocking. “Señor, the reverend comes.”
“Don’t ever enter this room without knocking!” He aimed a kick in her direction, but she scurried away just in time. “About damned time.” He grabbed Star’s wrist and jerked her off the bed. “Come on. I’ve waited long enough.”
“Ugh!” She hammered at his chest with her free hand and pulled back, but the bastard was stronger than he appeared.
Through the open door, she heard the sound of the minister entering the hacienda.
No.
Panic rose in her chest and threatened to cut off her breath. And the corset being so damned tight didn’t help one little bit. “Slow down. I’m going to faint.”
“Go ahead. When you awaken, you’ll be married all the same.”
When they entered the drawing room, the minister stood with his back to the room, staring out at the pack courtyard. He was tall and attired in an ill-fitted black suit, apparently a smaller man’s castoff.
Then the minister turned, removed his derby and bowed low. His black hair was slicked back from his forehead, but his dark eyes shone with triumph. She stifled a gasp, but her heart fluttered like a bird’s.
Cord. She swallowed her surprise. He’d come. Should’ve known he would.
And about damn time!
Chapter Fifteen
“Mister—sorry, I’m no good with names—”
The man, who was a hair’s breadth from being throttled, interrupted, “Theodore Darwin, Esquire! My name hasn’t changed since we first communicated, Reverend.”
“So sorry, Mr. Darwin. I presume this lovely lady is your intended.” Star’s eyes widened, the only clue of her surprise at seeing him. Unwilling, half-dressed and as yet unharmed. What more could a man what? He breathed a sigh of relief, even as he reined in the urge to flatten the uptight and oh-so-proper Easterner.
That weasel of a man thought he would make a suitable mate for a woman like Star? Apparently stupidity and delusion ran rampant back East. Why he’d followed her all the way to Texas from Boston was what he’d like to know. She’d better have some answers, too.
“Yes, let’s get on with it.” The groom-to-be straightened his cravat. “You’re half an hour late.”
Cord dipped his head obsequiously, keeping up the pretense a tad longer. “Beg pardon, sir, but just before I set out this morning, my horse threw a shoe. Had to—”
“Enough! Say the words and get it over with.” Darwin, as if he realized he didn’t sound like a typical bridegroom, gave a sickly smile. “I mean, I’m just so anxious to make this lovely lady my wife.” He held onto her hand tightly, making an obscene show of his affection.
Killing was too good for the bastard. Buried up to his neck in the desert with honey poured over his head—now that was more along the lines of a fitting punishment.
He eyeballed Star. “Ma’am, are you willing to marry this man, because I’m not so sure he’s much of a gentleman at all.”
Star jerked her hand from Darwin’s grasp. Her bosom heaved with deep breaths and threatened to spill from their confinement. “I most certainly am not willing to marry him. I’d sooner marry a billy goat.”
“I can see why that might be a problem. This man’s a jackass if ever I saw one.” He drew his pistol and shoved it into Darwin’s pale face. “Lady doesn’t look so willing to me. In fact, I’m of a mind to take her off your hands.”
“How dare you!” Star’s abductor opened his mouth and glanced over his shoulder.
“Don’t waste your time looking or calling for your two bodyguards. They’ve been tied up and taken into my custody. You’re here with only two men? I’d surely hate to overlook one.”
“What about my brother? And Fields?” Star asked then pummeled Darwin’s chest. “Did he really leave last night?”
“Fields?” Cord frowned. “Who the hell is Fields? And your brother’s here, too?”
“Fields is a Pinkerton. Tom took me from the ranch and met up with Fields at the old hideout cave.”
“No idea where your cowardly brother ran off to.” Darwin’s chin trembled. “Fields—he brought my fiancée here from her home and traveled quite some distance to do so. However he’s no longer in my employ. Fired him for insubordination.”
“Did you now?” Cord grinned.
Weapons drawn, Cord’s two brothers eased into the room. They quietly nodded. “Nobody left but the cook,” Nash said, “and a terrified housekee
per. What do you want to do with him?” He jerked his head at Darwin.
“He goes back to Kenton Valley.” He turned back to Darwin. “I have a cell ready for him.” He got in his prisoner’s face. “Just so you know, we Texans don’t take kindly to having our women dragged from their homes in the middle of the night.”
Darwin straightened his shoulders and stiffened his back, still stupid enough to think he could talk his way out of going to jail. “My betrothed came of her own free will. We were engaged whilst in Boston. This is all just an unfortunate misunderstanding.”
Engaged? News to him. He leveled his gaze on Star. “You were engaged to this bag of bones?”
Her body stiffened and her face grew red. “He means he paid my mother for her permission to marry me.”
“It was a contract. Very legal and binding. I saw to that myself. I am an attorney, after all.” He puffed up with pride at the last statement. “You’d do well to remember that.”
“Maybe you’re a hotshot lawyer in Boston, but you’re not in Boston anymore.” Cord nodded at his brother. “Restrain him.”
Nash jerked the prisoner’s arms behind him and fastened the handcuffs, but the prisoner continued his protests, his tone growing more shrill with each syllable. “My man brought her here. It was perfectly legal.”
“With more than a little help from her brother who’s gone missing.”
“Wait,” Star said and grabbed Cord’s arm. “I don’t care about my brother, but I think Darwin’s men might’ve done something to Fields. When he brought me here and saw how Darwin really was, he promised he’d guard me through the night, but he was missing when I woke up this morning. Thing is he didn’t strike me as a man who’d go back on his word.”
“How about it, Darwin?” Cord gave the man a shake. “Where’s your man Fields?”
“He’s not Teddy’s man,” Star interrupted. “Fields is a Pinkerton agent. Old Teddy here hired him to bring me to him. Somehow he met up with my brother, and Tom’s the one who took me from the ranch. Killed one of his own men, too. You probably already know that.”
Cord nodded. “Yeah, I found the body.”
“So where is he, this Pinkerton?”
“I told you.” Darwin swallowed, and his gaze darted erratically. “I dispensed with his services. I suppose he left for the nearest train station to return back East.”
Cord shook his head. “Damnation. I hate a liar. And something tells me you wouldn’t know the truth if it bit you on the ass.”
“Such crudity.” The prisoner shook his head and whined, “I demand to be taken to Boston. I refuse to recognize frontier justice.”
Aiming his six shooter at the prisoner’s upper thigh, Cord leaned in close. “How about I start shooting body parts? Maybe I’ll start with your knee joints. Keep stonewalling me. One more time, where’s the Pinkerton?”
Darwin’s throat worked; his body started to tremble. “Storage shed—next to the stable.”
“Good choice.” Cord smiled and put away his pistol. “You get to keep your knees, as long as you don’t piss me off again.”
While Nash and Luis dashed off to locate the Pinkerton, Star rushed to Cord’s side and threw her arms around his neck. “You son-of-a-gun, it took you long enough to find me.”
“I’m glad to see you, too, darlin’.” He dipped his head and kissed her deeply. Her body softened against his then she stiffened and pulled back, her chin coming up a notch.
“I knew you’d come. I told ’em you would.”
“Could’ve left me a better trail. Might’ve been here sooner. Didn’t you have any bread crumbs?” he teased.
“Bread crumbs?” She set her hands on her hips. “Are you out of your ever-loving mind? First, my brother trussed me up like a pig in a poke and slung me over Dolly like he was taking me to market. Even after he brought me to the Pinkerton, my hands—”
He stopped her rush of words with another kiss. This time longer, deeper, hotter. Her arms crept around his neck. “I was afraid you’d never find me—not in time anyway.” She tiptoed and whispered so only he could hear, “Tom was here not an hour ago. Don’t let him get away.”
The Pinkerton was found and freed. He expressed his gratitude, and Cord allowed the agent to go on his way. The Pinkerton Agency was well-known and feared by many, and while quite a few of their agents were roughnecks and thugs, Fields appeared to be a man of honor. At least he’d protected Star to the best of his ability given the circumstances.
Cord and his brothers had searched the entire house and every single inch of the grounds, but without finding Star’s brother. His horse remained in the stable, but that didn’t rule out Tyler’s having gotten away on a different horse.
The three men stood on the porch waiting for Star to change clothes. “Much as I hate letting him go,” Cord said, “we need to hit the trail with this ’un. I can’t wait to see him in my jail so he can stand trial for kidnapping.” He nodded at Darwin, who’d finally shut his lying lawyer mouth. “We’ll drop off his two guards in Llano. Sheriff there can do what he wants with ’em.”
After what seemed like an eternity, Star emerged from the hacienda. She’d taken off the dress she was supposed to get married in and found something suitable for the ride home. And although he certainly enjoyed sight of her tits nearly popping out, he wasn’t overly fond of the fact his brothers could, too.
Walking over to her mare, Star smoothed the folds of her riding skirt, probably wishing it was a pair of breeches. “Tom has to be here, and he deserves to hang for murder. Not that I didn’t want to kill him myself more than once,” she muttered then checked the cinches.
“Can’t afford to wait any longer. Are you sure you’re up to another day and night on the trail?”
She straightened, rubbing her back. “I’m stiff and sore, but I’m as anxious to get back home as you are.” She glanced up at the sky, shielding her eyes with her hand. At that moment a shadow fell across her face. She frowned. “What—?”
A shot spit over his shoulder and close to Star’s head. Cord shoved her to the ground and covered her body with his then rolled over, drawing his Colt at the same time and emptying it. Somehow he was vaguely aware of her scurrying for cover under the porch.
Tom Tyler teetered on the edge of the tile roof and slowly fell headfirst to the hard-packed ground below. Cord walked over to his body, kicked Tyler’s gun from his hand and stared down into the bank robber’s lifeless eyes.
Finally. The bastard got what he deserved. For the bank robbery that ultimately killed Cord’s wife and unborn baby. For abducting Star in the night and treating her like dirt all for a payday he hadn’t earned.
Dreading her reaction, he turned and faced her. Her face paled to the color of chalk, her hands shaking. “I-is he…?” Her voice quivered.
He nodded. “Yeah. He’s gone. Sorry. Didn’t have a choice.”
“He w-was shooting as us. Like he d-didn’t care who he hit as long as he hit someone.”
Her shoulders shook and she looked like her legs might give out any second. He slid his arm around her. “Darlin’, you lost your brother a long time ago. Today just made it official.” He clenched his jaw. “I didn’t want to be the one who killed him. But it would’ve happened sooner or later.”
“You’d rather have seen him hanged?” An edge gripped her voice, and she stiffened in his arms.
“Justice is justice, however it comes.”
“That’s convenient.”
“No less true.” Women. One minute she wanted to kill her brother herself and now she was pissed off because the deed was done. All right, so he’d told a half-truth: he had wanted to be the one to do it—just not right in front of her.
“It’s not easy.” She gazed up with teary eyes. “I don’t know what to feel. I keep thinking back to when we were kids on the ranch. I don’t know what happened to him.”
“Started running with a rough bunch. They stayed drunk half the time, gambling, fighting. Next thing you
know he and his gang robbed a stage coach and never stopped to look back.”
“He said you stole Annie from him.”
“Damn fool. He wouldn’t leave her alone. She was a gentle gal, didn’t want anything to do with him and his wild ways. I kept an eye on her—that’s sort of how we started keeping company. You were long gone. We just sort of fell into marriage.”
She nodded. “I’m all right now. Let’s go home.”
Relief stole through his body and leached some of the tension. “You sure?”
“Yes. As long as we’re all right.” She made it sound like a question.
“We are.” He linked his fingers together and helped Star mount. Walking back to his stallion, he shook his head. Why the hell wouldn’t they be all right? They’d just weathered him killing her brother. What else could go wrong after that?
Cord turned to his brothers who were staring at the horizon or their boots, anywhere to avoid the scene in front of them. “Wrap him up and tie ’im to his horse. Best get a move on before he ripens.”
The ride back to Kenton Valley didn’t seem as long or as arduous as the earlier trip. For this trip Star rode at Cord’s side on her well-rested mare. His brothers rode ahead with Darwin who, thankfully, was the one trussed up like a turkey instead of her. And her brother’s body. Let her not forget that.
Only two days ago, her heart was light and her mind was filled with plans for their future. She loved this tall, handsome man even more than she ever thought possible. He’d saved her…from a horrible fate. Tied to Theodore Darwin for the rest of her life wouldn’t have been a marriage. It would’ve been torture of the sickest kind.
Stop. This was no time to be thinking about Teddy Darwin and his wardrobe full of sick gadgets. Today was… She edged her mount closer to Cord’s and grinned. “It’s Sunday, isn’t it? We were supposed to get married today.” She said it softly and with a degree of shyness that surprised her.
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