Noah finally broke the contact between them. “Come on, woman. Let’s get this chore done.”
When they’d finished, he said, “I’m going over to the general store now. I’ll be a half-hour or more.”
She gave each horse a love pat on the nose. “Why so long? You don’t have that much to purchase.”
He shrugged. “There’s a particular way things are done in Prairie Dell. You don’t walk in and right back out. Talk—and gossip—is the lifeline of a small town. Put that in the guidebook.”
“I understand. I’ll be sure we’re ready to go when you return.”
Noah escorted her back to Mo’s door. “Be good.” He kissed the tip of her nose, and she went in.
As Jenny turned from closing the door, fear invaded every pore of her being. Riley Withers sat in a chair by the table, his ankles casually crossed in front of him.
“What the hell took you so long?”
CHAPTER 26
Jenny quickly took in the scene. Her aunt sat tied to the other chair. Her eye was huge, but her mouth was set in stone. She could see swelling already on one side of Mo’s face. The monster must have hit her hard.
Riley Withers twirled his Colt in one hand. She could see he made an effort to guard his temper because he took a cleansing breath and addressed her in a more pleasant tone.
“Let’s start again, shall we? Greetings, Miss McShanahan. Or may I call you Jenny? We have been introduced before.”
He looked over at Mo. “And of course, I know your lovely aunt. I was a guest here long ago.”
Her heart hammered so loudly, she was afraid it would leap from her body and scurry out the door. Though his tone was civil, the malevolent smile betrayed his true character. He was a man who enjoyed others’ terror.
Withers placed the gun on the table, on top of the folded map. “Mo tells me that Sam’s dead and didn’t bother to tell her where the bonds are. I tend to believe her after our little talk.” He stared at her a long moment. Jenny willed herself not to look away. She’d never been one prone to fainting. She was determined not to start now.
“You, on the other hand, know. I’d stake my last dollar on that. Sam was always sweet on his little girl.”
He stood and began pacing the small room. “Mo here tells me that a Texas Ranger, a fellow named Webster, is the man who escorted you to Prairie Dell.” He shot a look at her. She refused to react to his words. He continued moving about.
“Pity. Those Rangers are such straight arrows. I bet Mr. Webster will try to turn that loot over to the authorities and waive the finder’s fee. So much for Sam’s desires.”
He moved toward her, and she stepped away until her back pressed against the door. He bent close enough that she could feel his hot breath on her cheek. “I don’t think I much care for this Ranger. Do you, Jenny?”
He laughed softly and answered his own question. “I think you do. I saw you leave with him fifteen minutes ago. That’s an awful long time to feed a few horses. And you’ve come back with rosy cheeks and swollen lips. The kind that shows you’ve been up to no good.”
He brushed the back of his rough hand against her cheek. She flinched at his touch. He threw back his head and laughed aloud. “You and I are going after the money. I haven’t come all this way not to claim it. I want it all. Every dime. From what Mo tells me, this Ranger doesn’t have a clue where to look. But I know you do. I can see it on your face.”
Withers walked back and holstered his gun. He slid the map from the table and into his pocket. “Let’s go.” He walked toward her.
“I wouldn’t go anywhere with a murdering thief like you.” She spit in his face.
Withers backhanded her. The blow knocked her to the ground. She wiped away the trickle of blood that oozed from the corner of her mouth and stared up at him with hate-filled eyes.
“Oh, I think you’ll go with me.”
From the corner of her eye, she saw Mo rise, the chair still tied around her ample frame. Before she could warn her away, Mo rushed the outlaw, slamming into him. Both fell to the ground, Mo on top of the thief. Withers pushed her off him and the righted the chair in a quick show of his superior strength.
“You dirty whore.” He lifted the chair by its rickety arms and flung it backward. Mo struck the wall. The chair tilted and then toppled over. Mo lay still.
Jenny leaped to her feet to rush to her aunt, panicked that she’d struck her head and might already be dead. Withers had other ideas, though. He grabbed her about the waist and yanked her back.
“Leave the bitch,” he muttered. “She’s a worthless piece.”
Jenny struggled against him, tearing at the hands that encircled her. He turned her to face him, and she clawed at his face. He punched her then, a swift jab that caught her left eye. She saw stars whirl through the air. She grew faint.
“No, you don’t, you little twit. Don’t go passing out on me.” He shook her and threw her down on the worn cot. The stars began to fade as blackness raced up to meet her. Suddenly, cold water hit her in the face. She sputtered and sat up, her eye throbbing.
The outlaw wrapped his large hand around the back of her neck and brought her close to his face. It was mottled a bright red. Wrath pulsated from him. She knew he might kill her with one blow.
But he needed her still. That was her one ace in the hole.
“Take me to Sam’s loot. Now. No more games.”
He slapped her once again for emphasis, not as hard as before, but enough to stun her while he wrapped a piece of cut rope around her wrists several times. He yanked it tightly.
She winced at the pain. Her hands would go numb within minutes. She had to do something. She opened her mouth to yell for help, but he was one step ahead of her and thrust a wadded handkerchief in her mouth. Before she could spit it out, he placed another handkerchief over her mouth and tied it behind her head. Her scream came out a muffled whimper.
He put on his long, dark coat and dragged her to her feet. He didn’t bother to shut the door as they left. Her heart cried out for someone to see them and find Noah, to stop him—or at least to find Mo and take care of her. With the temperature falling so low, Mo could freeze to death with that open door if she remained unconscious for long.
His horse was tied up behind a shack two doors down. Withers swung into the saddle and reached down for her, placing her in front of him. One hand went about her waist and pulled her against him. She almost gagged at the intimate contact between them.
He seemed to read her thoughts and chuckled. In a low tone, he said in her ear, “I have all kinds of plans for you, Jenny. We’re gonna have us some real fun as soon as the money’s found.”
Her insides heaved. She would retch if she didn’t get away. She threw herself from the saddle, taking her kidnapper with her. They landed on the hard ground, the blanket of snow too thin to cushion their fall.
He grunted as she staggered to her feet. He latched onto her ankle and pulled hard, causing her to fall face down. He rolled her over and said with a snarl, “Quit delaying us. If you think that Ranger’ll catch up to us, you’re wrong. And if he does, I’ll shoot him between those sky blue eyes of his.”
His threat hung in the air as he lifted her to her feet. He ripped her cloak from her and tossed her into the saddle. This time he wrapped a length of rope around her waist and tied it to the saddle horn. Between the taut rope and freezing weather, she was miserable. She also struggled to breathe with the gag in her mouth and the handkerchief threatening to cover her nostrils.
“Try it again, honey, and I’ll let you drag along a mile or two. Even your pretty little face might not appeal to me much after the hide’s been torn off it.”
She went cold inside. She had to conquer her fears. Even if she led him to Sally Gardens, Noah knew where to find her. Texas Rangers were l
egendary. Everything she’d heard or read—especially in Mr. Mulholland’s guidebook—said they could outshoot and outride and outsmart anyone on the planet. She put her trust in the man she loved. Noah would know how to handle Riley Withers.
They rode away hard and fast from Prairie Dell for a few minutes when Withers brought his horse to a stop in the middle of nowhere. He untied the handkerchief that held her gag in place and ripped the other one from her mouth. She greedily sucked in quick breaths of air.
Cold steel touched her jaw. She heard the click of a gun. “Now you need to give me some instructions, Jenny. If you’re lucky, I’ll take the money in trade for your life.” He nudged the pistol into her flesh. “So, where do we begin?”
Noah left the general store, his steps a little longer than usual. He was in a hurry to get back and start out. He’d spent longer at the store than he wanted to, visiting and even sampling some of the eggs and bacon the owner’s wife had made. Now with two breakfasts sticking to his ribs, he was sluggish.
The twitter in his neck stopped him dead in his tracks. That kind of tingle always meant trouble—big trouble—especially as fast as it came on. He drew his revolver. Thoughts of Pete’s killer danced before his eyes.
He wanted to break out in a full run down the little strip of a street, but if Withers were already here, he’d need the element of surprise. His neck was almost stinging now, leaving his entire body on edge.
He approached the shack carefully. His first surprise was seeing the door wide open. No sensible person would leave a door open in this kind of cold. Instinct told him Withers had already come and gone.
The second surprise greeted him when he saw a motionless Mo lying on the floor, tied to the remains of a chair, her breathing shallow. He quickly undid the bonds and eased her onto her back. He moved his fingers through her hair and found a goose egg-sized lump.
Her eyes fluttered open and tried to focus. “Noah?” Her voice was raspy.
“I’m here, Mo. You all right?”
She nodded, only to wince. She brought a hand to her scalp and rubbed it gingerly. “Jenny!” she cried out and pushed herself to a sitting position.
“Withers?”
“Yes,” she moaned softly.
Noah swallowed his rage. He needed a clear head. Anger wouldn’t do him any good. He had to put aside the fact that Withers had killed his own daddy and now held the woman Noah loved.
“Tell me what you can.”
Mo took a deep breath. “Showed up right after you left. Roughed me up some. Waited till Jenny came in.” She paused and took another breath. “Took her ‘n the map. Said it was all his. They left . . .” Her voice faded out. “I don’t know how long ago.” She began to weep. “You gotta find her, Noah. She’s all I got left.”
“I’ll find her. I promise.” He lifted Mo to her feet and walked her to the cot, where she collapsed. “I’ll get someone to help you.”
He grabbed his Winchester and raced out the door, hurrying back to the general store. He didn’t have time for long explanations.
“Mo’s hurt. I’m going after the man that did it.”
He knew that would be enough. The residents of Prairie Dell would pull together and help one of their own. He quickly saddled Star. As he rode out, a prayer formed on his lips.
“Please, God. Let me find her. Let her be all right.”
CHAPTER 27
Jenny tried to fight the tremors that ran through her body. The day held no breeze and a moderate amount of sunshine, but it was so cold. It seeped into her pores and tickled her bones. She didn’t want Withers to have the pleasure of knowing how her body ached within her woolen dress.
Her hands, too, had absolutely no feeling in them. The cord around her wrists cut off all circulation. The rope around her waist rubbed and chafed at her skin. For once she wished she had the protection of her thick, heavy corset.
She pointed them in the general direction of what Sam called Sally Gardens. She had a good idea of where to go, but she wanted to slow them down as much as possible in order to give Noah time to catch up. He would remember the details of the map even if it wasn’t in front of him.
She refused to allow her teeth to chatter, so she’d clenched her jaw for miles now. She had to forcibly relax it in order to speak.
“We need to stop. I’ve got to look at the map.”
Withers grunted but slowed the horse. He removed the pieces of map from his pocket and opened them both. He placed them against the saddle horn, his hands resting on her thighs to keep it in place. She fought the wave of revulsion.
She studied the map several minutes without speaking, trying to buy as much time as she could, but she sensed his impatience.
“I will do the best I can, but Sam’s instructions are in some kind of code. I might have figured it out, but I won’t be sure till we get to where I believe it’s leading us.”
He cursed under his breath.
“Look for yourself. It’s very unusual. I’m filling in the blanks the best I can.” More than anything, she wanted to protect the knowledge that Noah would know exactly where they headed.
“We need to continue north. I’ll tell you when to change direction.”
He seemed satisfied for the moment and refolded the map. After he tucked it back into his pocket, he pulled her closer.
One hand had the reins. The other slipped from her waist back down against her thigh. She froze in fear.
His rough stubble grazed her ear. “We will have us some fun, Jenny McShanahan.” He nibbled on her lobe. “You’re not a pretty sight now, but there’s still plenty of you to use up before I sell you to a brothel.”
Her eyes filled with tears, but she refused to let them spill. She wouldn’t give him the pleasure of seeing that.
He laughed softly. “Wouldn’t old Mo get a kick out of it—sluts running in the family and all.”
Her thoughts strayed back to Mo. Jenny desperately wanted her aunt to be alive. She wanted Noah to find her. She wanted this nightmare to end.
Withers spurred the horse, and she fell back against him. If she’d had a gun at that moment, Jenny knew she could have shot Riley Withers through his black heart and never looked back.
They rode on in silence. Her mind wandered a bit. The dime novels she’d read had never been this realistic. They told stories of outlaws and robberies, gunfights and heroes, but none of that prepared her for Riley Withers.
Or Noah Webster.
Despite everything, a glow ran through her as the thought of him—his laugh, his touch, his burning kisses. A dime novel could never describe the feelings he stirred within her.
They pulled up fast. She returned to the reality around her.
“Damnation and hellfire.” The words were a whisper.
She looked out to see three riders coming their way. Their own horse turned in the direction of the approaching men and would have taken off if Withers hadn’t held it back.
He jerked her against him. “Don’t say a word, especially about where we’re headed. These boys are trouble, through and through, and stupider than a prairie chicken. Just keep your trap shut. I’ve got some fast talking to do.”
He held a hand up in greeting as they approached. She saw three dirty riders. All wore an angry look upon their unshaven faces. It was obvious they weren’t happy to see Riley Withers.
“Helluva place to run into you boys.”
One man in his early twenties jumped from his horse and marched straight to them. “Why in the hell did you take Old Paint?” He glared up at Withers for an eternity before breaking his gaze. He turned it to the horse instead.
“How’s my girl?” he cooed.
Withers laughed. “What are you talking about, Jack? Some kid gave me Paint when I left the train. You said I could take a horse.
Remember?”
The one named Jack scratched his head. “I did?” He frowned as if trying to remember what had been said.
“Sure you did. And I was much obliged to you fellas for letting me get about my work.” He shifted slightly. “Hey, how did your train robbery turn out?”
An older man still in the saddle replied. “Not a bad day’s work, Riley. Wish you coulda stayed around and celebrated with us.” His eyes sparkled with meanness.
“Thanks for the offer, Jake. I’ll have to take you up on it sometime.”
Ballad Beauty Page 22