by Lana Dare
“There aren’t any tracks here. How the hell do you know they’re going for the ranch?”
Gideon pointed toward the other side of the rocks. “They went that way. Probably stopped at the pond and then headed the long way around. They don’t know these parts.”
Hayes lifted a brow, sharing a look with Wyatt. “Gideon, I never heard you string so many words together at once.” The fact that he did showed that they all shared the same alarm. He had to admit that he appreciated the sense of camaraderie, and that they all worked together to protect the women.
With a shrug, Gideon raced on. “Didn’t have anything to say.”
None of them spoke as they raced back to the ranch. The sense of urgency in the air increased as they got closer, until it became thick enough to cut with a knife.
Right before they cleared the trees, Hayes and the others stopped, the danger in the air unmistakable.
“Something’s wrong.”
Hart nodded. “Yeah.”
Wyatt cursed from beside him.
“Son of a bitch! Look. Back of the house. Left corner.”
Hayes couldn’t breathe. “He’s got Maggie and the baby.”
Fear, unlike any he’d ever known, had him racing for the house. He pulled up abruptly, his heart in his throat when he saw that the men of Desire were in a standoff with Savannah’s uncle and some of the roughnecks Jeremiah had pointed out to him in Tulsa.
Men for hire, they would do anything for money. The reverend had apparently decided his friends were useless and hired others to get what he wanted.
And Savannah stood right in the middle of it.
Seeing no way to sneak up on them, Hayes and the other men spread out, forcing the men with the guns to divide their attention. Since Savannah’s uncle wasn’t armed, that left the other six trying to keep an eyes on them while also watching Eb, Jeremiah, Duke, Hawke, and Blade.
Hayes kept his attention on the one holding the gun to Maggie’s head.
“That’s far enough. Get off those horses and drop those pistols real easylike.”
Hayes spared a glance at Eb and Jeremiah, both men white as sheets as they watched the man who hid behind Maggie, keeping the gun to her head and jerking her in front of him. The baby in her arms cried incessantly as Maggie struggled not to drop him.
His gaze slid to Savannah. Dismounting, he kept her in his vision, surprised to see that she still wore her gun in the holster she’d worn since she left Kansas City.
Either the other men didn’t see it or didn’t consider her a threat.
“Now lose the pistols. No, reach out with your left hands only and drop the holsters or the little woman and screaming brat get bullets in their heads.”
Hayes spared a glance at the reverend, unsurprised that the man seemed to have gathered some courage now that he had six other men with him that had guns.
Keeping his right hand in the air, he undid his holster and let it fall to the ground. His fear for Maggie and the baby had his heart racing.
He could only imagine what Eb and Jeremiah were feeling.
He couldn’t understand why Savannah stood so far apart from the others, and wanted her close so he could shield her if necessary.
“Savannah, come over here to me.”
“No.” Savannah’s uncle looked livid. “She stays right where she is. If we shoot Maggie and the baby, Savannah’s next. I want her right in my sights, but not too close to Maggie.”
For the first time since they’d arrived, Savannah turned her head slightly toward him.
He could see the fear in her eyes even from this distance, and it took every ounce of willpower he possessed not to run to her.
“What the hell happened?”
Duke spared a look at Eb and Jeremiah. “We had some trouble with the horses. Eb and Jeremiah came out to see what was going on, and these bastards broke in through the front door. Then all hell broke loose.”
“Shut up.”
With all eyes on Maggie, nobody moved.
Hayes went through a dozen scenarios in his head, but couldn’t find one that wouldn’t get Maggie killed. Inwardly cursing, he swore that he would never let Savannah out of his sight again.
Savannah stared at her uncle. “I told you I would come with you if you just let Maggie go.”
“We can’t go back, Savannah. Ace Tyler has the whole town against me. They have to pay!”
Savannah took a step closer. “Killing Maggie and the baby is only going to get you killed. You can’t shoot me. You need me. That’s why you told these men not to shoot me, isn’t it? I won’t go with you if you hurt Maggie or the baby. You know that. Let them go.”
Hayes ground his teeth. If these men left here with Savannah, Hayes would be relentless in chasing them down and getting his woman back. Even the thought of her riding away with them filled him with terror.
The red-faced reverend looked a little confused.
“No. You’re all coming with me. When we get away, we’ll leave Maggie and the baby somewhere where they can find them.”
Eb and Jeremiah stiffened even more. Shaking his head, Eb went whiter. “You can’t leave a woman and a baby in the middle of nowhere.”
Savannah took another step closer and kept speaking in that soft tone Hayes had often heard her use with her uncle.
“Leave the baby here. You don’t want to hear all that crying, do you?”
The man holding the gun on Maggie shook his head. “We ain’t takin’ this crying brat with us. People would hear us from miles away.”
Another of the men grinned. “There’s a cliff not far from here. We’ll throw it over that.”
Shaking with rage, Hayes watched as Maggie took her eyes from her husbands and faced Savannah. Adjusting the baby lower in her arms, she and Savannah exchanged a look.
To his amazement, Maggie smiled through her tears, a smile of encouragement.
“You’ve done it a million times. I know you can do it. Do it, Savannah. It’s a can. That’s all. Just a can.”
Hayes stiffened as everyone whipped their heads around to Savannah, his gut tied up in knots. He couldn’t breathe. He could barely think. Something was about to happen, and he couldn’t prevent it. He didn’t even know what it was.
Savannah closed her eyes and slowly opened them, nodding once.
He’d never felt so helpless.
Savannah shifted her stance and took a deep breath, letting it out slowly.
It all happened so fast, he had a hard time believing what he was seeing.
Savannah whipped out the pistols at her side with a speed that left him dumbfounded, shooting the man holding Maggie right between the eyes.
Before he hit the ground, Savannah shot each of the others in the hands holding their guns, sending men and guns flying in the dirt.
Before the last shot rang out, Hayes and the others were already moving.
As Eb and Jeremiah dragged Maggie and the baby from the dead man’s arms, and Duke and the others ran to kick guns out of reach of the other screaming men, Hayes and Wyatt ran straight to Savannah.
They reached her side before the smoke even cleared. Gathering her to him, he took one of the guns from her hands while Wyatt took the other.
“Savannah!” Christ, he couldn’t believe what he just saw. He’d seen it with his own eyes and still couldn’t believe it had happened. Gathering her shaking form against him reminded him once more of her frailty.
Her eyes glazed over, scaring him to death, her voice a raspy whisper.
“Told you I could shoot.” Her body slumped as she fainted dead away.
Hayes blinked, panic-stricken, and scooped her up in his arms, vowing that as long as he lived, he’d never stop loving this woman.
Chapter Fourteen
Savannah shot up, her heart racing, and struggled to get to her feet, only to be tumbled back against Hayes’s chest.
His arms felt warm and solid around her, the man himself a wall of strength she could lean on as he held
her on his lap.
“Easy, honey. You’re all right. God, I was never so scared, or so proud of you.”
Four hands moved over her back and shoulders, while two sets of lips kissed her hair as Wyatt moved in at her back.
“You scared the hell out of us. Are you all right? Do you hurt anywhere?”
With the realization that they were on the back porch of the Tylers’ house, Savannah closed her eyes against the looks of concern from several of the men standing in the yard only feet away.
“I killed a man. I killed him. He’s dead because of me.”
Hayes and Wyatt both stilled, but within seconds resumed their caresses. Hayes leaned back, tilting her face back.
“Yes, you did, and because you did, Maggie and the babe are alive and safe in their bed right now.” His tone, softer than she’d ever heard from him, reached into her chest and wrapped around her heart.
Wyatt pushed her hair back and wrapped an arm around her from behind, his hand rubbing her thigh in firm, smooth strokes.
“He was one of those troublemakers from town. He and the others have been in trouble with the law ever since Eb and Jeremiah got here. Don’t think for one minute that any of us wouldn’t have killed him if we’d had the chance. You were brave enough to take the shot, and you were the only one who could have.”
Savannah opened her eyes in the hopes of getting rid of the image of looking straight into the other man’s eyes before taking the shot that killed him.
“Maggie and the babe aren’t hurt?”
Wyatt stiffened. “Eb says her arm is covered in bruises from being jerked around and that her head is already bruised and sore as hell from where that bastard kept pushing the gun against it. All that ended when you were brave enough to take that shot, Savannah. You’re a heroine around here.”
Feeling very old and distant from everything going on around her, Savannah sat up, pushing out of their arms.
“Where is my uncle?”
Hayes kept a hand across her legs, rubbing her knee. “He and his other friends are the first official guests of the new jailhouse. We’ll be taking them to Tulsa in a day or two.”
Savannah nodded, looking out to the yard, but carefully avoiding meeting anyone’s eyes.
“I want to see Maggie, and then I want to see him.”
Coming to his feet with her in his arms, Hayes started toward the back door. “You can see Maggie and the babe, but I don’t think seeing your uncle is a good idea.”
Savannah didn’t have the energy to argue with him, or to push out of his hold. She felt numb and disoriented. It was as if she could see and hear everything around her, but she was no longer a part of it.
She’d killed a man. She’d taken the life of another human being and didn’t know if she could live with it.
* * * *
Wyatt left Hayes talking to Eb and Jeremiah in the kitchen and went out the back door, in need of air. As he approached the fenced area, Hawke turned.
“Hell of a woman. How’s she doing?”
From beside him, Phoenix stepped forward. “She looked really shaken. Is she hurt?”
With a sigh, Wyatt hooked a foot over the bottom rail.
“She’s not hurt, but she’s shaken. She can’t get over the fact that she killed a man. She did the same thing when she thought she’d killed the man in Tulsa. We should have expected it.”
Hawke patted his shoulder, rare for a man who never touched anyone. “After this afternoon, I think we’re all shaken. We’ve already spoken with Jeremiah. We’re going to have to increase patrols around here, and strangers are going to be watched even more closely than ever.”
Phoenix glanced toward the house.
“Doesn’t she realize she saved Maggie and the babe’s lives? I just can’t believe she made that shot. I don’t know if I would have had the courage to take it. Hell, even thinking about having to take that shot—”
Hawke turned back toward where Hart worked with an especially headstrong stallion.
“None of us would have relished taking that shot, but there isn’t any one of us who wouldn’t have taken it to save their lives. She’s an expert shot. Everyone’s talking about it. It looks like we’re all going to have to practice more. Eb tells me that he and Jeremiah taught both women to shoot and that Maggie’s as good as Savannah.”
Wyatt blinked. “You’re kidding.”
Hawke’s lips twitched, the closest he ever got to smiling. “I’m not. She was damned brave, lowering the baby and telling Savannah to take the shot, knowing Savannah could have been too nervous or that that bastard could have jerked her around again. She knew that once Savannah shot, it would be over, and at least the babe would have been saved. Brave women—both of them.”
Duke spoke from somewhere behind them, the large man not making a sound as he crossed the yard.
“That courage is what’s going to get Savannah through this. That, and a lot of patience. Do yourself a favor, though, and don’t treat her like a child. She’s in shock. She’s probably numb. Get her mind off of it as much as you can and get her back to her old self again.”
* * * *
With Maggie’s words of thanks and praise still ringing in her ears, Savannah faced her uncle through iron bars.
“How could you do this? What kind of man are you?”
Savannah stared at him, shaken to realize her uncle was a stranger. Ignoring the lecherous comments from the other men jailed with him, she cleared the lump in her throat.
“I don’t even know you. I killed someone because of you.”
Her uncle glared at her. “Where’d you learn to shoot like that? I thought I told you to stay away from guns.”
Savannah wanted to throw up. “Did you hear me? I had to kill someone because of you.”
Her uncle’s shrug shocked her. “He was nobody. Listen, we can pray about it. Why don’t you go get the keys hanging there beside the door, and let us out of here? We’ll head south. We’ll set up somewhere new, and you can do your penance for killing him. We’ll have a fresh start.”
Shaking her head, Savannah wrapped her arms around herself and sank into the only chair. “I can’t believe this. You want to use the fact that I killed another man to get me to be your slave again. Just like before. You blamed me for my mother leaving, saying that if I’d been a good little girl, she never would have left me. You never meant any of it. It took me years to figure out that being good wouldn’t bring her back. You’ve used me all my life.”
Anger at herself and her own stupidity made her stomach roll. “I’m not letting you out. I’m not leaving here. Ever. I’m happier here than I’ve ever been in my life. You can rot in hell for all I care.” She stood and went to the door, glancing at him as she opened it.
“I hate you.”
Her uncle wrapped his hands around the bars, his knuckles white. “You’re going to pay for that! I’m not the one who’s going to rot in hell. You’re the one who took a life, not me.”
Savannah closed the door behind her and ran, not wanting to hear any more.
She felt dead inside. Empty. Confused. Lost.
Everything she’d ever believed in meant nothing now.
Her uncle, a professed man of God, was even more evil than she’d ever suspected. He cared even less about her than she’d ever thought. The years wasted had saddened her before, but now made her sick.
Once on her horse, she paused to look again at the house Wyatt and Hayes had built for her. One day soon, it might be home, but right now it was empty.
Only one place in the world felt like home, and that was where she needed to be. Wiping away tears with her sleeves, she headed in the direction of the ranch, anxious to be in her husbands’ arms.
She found them sooner than she’d anticipated.
Both looked frantic with worry as they approached only minutes later.
Wyatt pulled her from his horse and across his lap, holding her tightly.
“Where the hell have you been? Ever
yone’s out of their mind with worry, looking for you. Why aren’t you wearing a gun?”
Sobs broke free before Savannah even realized they were there. Shaking so hard she could hardly speak, she pressed her face against Wyatt’s chest and held on, crying harder when his arms closed around her.
“Hold me. Just hold me.”
Safe and warm, she cried for herself, the man she’d killed, and the unwanted child who’d only wanted to be loved.
She cried in fear that she would never be able to fit into the new life she’d chosen for herself, and that the numbness surrounding her would never go away.
She’d killed a man.
Wyatt held her close, rubbing her back.
“Anytime, sweetheart. I’ll hold you anytime you want. I love you, Savannah. Never forget that.”
The tenderness in his tone had her crying even harder.
“Don’t let go of me.”
“Never.”
Savannah slumped, knowing he would keep his word. She needed something real to hold on to, and she trusted Wyatt and Hayes to keep the rest of the world away until she could handle it again.
Chapter Fifteen
Her scream scared the hell out of Wyatt.
She bolted upright, her face wet with tears, her words coming out in a rush.
“I killed him. He was looking right at me and I pulled the trigger. I pretended it was a can. Maggie and I practiced with cans. But, it wasn’t a can. It was a man, and I killed him.”
Hayes eased her back and rolled on top of her.
“You had to do it. He had to die so Maggie and the baby could live. He would have killed them, Savannah. I’d give anything to have been able to take that shot for you, but you did it. You’re strong. Don’t let that bastard take that away from you.”
Savannah’s whimper tore at him, and he couldn’t deny the flare of jealousy that he wasn’t the one on top of her when she lifted tear-filled eyes to Hayes.
“Take me. Make me feel.”
While Hayes made love to Savannah, Wyatt stayed beside them, kissing her and caressing her hair, listening to the soft sounds of Savannah being eased into the ultimate pleasure and let down slowly.