Comanche Moon

by Virginia Brown

  And I will not participate in anything remotely against the law.”

  “Is it against the law to protect one’s property?” Don Francisco shook his head. “I do not think so. I have a right to place a dam on my property where I wish it, sí?”

  Clasping his hands together around his coffee cup, Macklin said heavily,

  “Yes, legally that is true. Morally, it can get sticky. There is a fine line that cannot be crossed. I suggest that if you are expecting trouble, you send for the sheriff.”

  “I value your suggestions, señor, but Sirocco is too far away for the sheriff to be of any help. We are the law out here.” Macklin sighed. “I find that to be true in many remote areas of Texas, but the end results are always regrettable.” Don Francisco’s voice vibrated with intensity. “Here, we are fighting for our homes, our very lives. I will not let that hombre steal what has been in the Velazquez family for over a hundred years. He is arrogant and greedy, and he will swallow up other lands without remorse. But I, Don Francisco Hernando Velazquez y Aguilar, will not allow him to take what is mine.” Deborah heard the undercurrent of tension in his voice and shivered.

  He meant it. And if what Zack said was true, Dexter Diamond meant to try and take the Velazquez lands. There would be a bloody range war, and she would be in the middle of it.

  Her glance moved to Judith, who was looking at Jeremiah Macklin. The brawny attorney occasionally cast her furtive glances, obviously admiring Judith’s golden beauty. In the time he’d spent at the Velazquez hacienda, he had made more than one effort to draw her into conversation. Judith had avoided him so far.

  Deborah looked down at her still-full plate. It was hard to think of food when she knew what was just ahead. She had to talk to Judith shortly. Zack might return before they were ready if she did not.

  Once the uncomfortable meal ended, Deborah managed to get Judith alone for a few moments before Tía Dolores joined them. She caught her by the back of her dress, a mint green organdie that billowed out like a fluffy cloud around her.

  “Judith—I must speak with you.” They stepped into an alcove near the veranda where the men had gone to smoke cigars and have after dinner drinks. Judith smiled, and put a hand on Deborah’s arm.

  “Everything will be all right,” she said softly.

  “No, Judith, I don’t think so. At least, not for a while. There’s going to be trouble.” As Judith’s smile faded, Deborah rushed on, “We have to be careful. And we need to get away from here before the trouble begins.” Judith stared at her, blue eyes widening. “I don’t know what you mean.”

  “You heard Don Francisco and Mister Macklin. There is going to be trouble. Do you understand what that can mean?” Judith’s hand tightened on Deborah’s arm. “No,” she whispered.

  “Shooting. And they won’t be careful. We could end up as hostages if things turn out very badly.” She watched Judith carefully. Her lips worked soundlessly for a moment as she digested what Deborah had said, and then she began to shake her head.

  “No. I can’t go through this again. Not again. Not guns and shooting and men screaming—”

  “No, no, we don’t have to,” Deborah said quickly. “Listen to me—we can leave here before it gets worse.”

  “Leave?” Judith’s face paled. “But how? And where would we go?” Inhaling deeply and praying Judith would hear her out, Deborah said softly, “Please don’t say anything until I’ve finished. I know how you feel about Zack Banning, but right now he may be our only hope. He has offered to take us to safety if we—Judith!”

  Jerking her arm free, Judith spun on her heel and pushed from the alcove. Deborah caught her arm.

  “You’ve at least got to listen! Please!”

  “Listen?” Judith shook her head, blond hair falling into her eyes in small wisps. “No. He’s bewitched you or something. I know he has. Besides, we haven’t seen him since the day he shot that man. His friend. If he’d do that, do you think he would help us?”

  “You’re getting things mixed up, Judith. Braden was not his friend, and Zack does want to help us.” Judith’s eyes narrowed. “How do you know that? Have you heard from him?”

  Not quite trusting Judith not to be angry if she found out he’d come to her room, Deborah said slowly, “He’s contacted me. He’s trying to warn us.”

  “I’m sure he is.” Judith’s tone was dry. “What makes you think we’d be any safer with him than we are with Don Francisco? Does he intend to take us to live with savages again?”

  “No. Will you come?”

  Agitated, Judith clasped and unclasped her hands. She whirled away, shuddering. “I don’t know,” she finally said in a quivering voice.

  “Judith. You have to decide. I know it’s frightening, but you need to take this chance.”

  “How,” Judith asked huskily, “can you trust that man after everything that’s happened?” She turned back to look at Deborah, her blue eyes swimming with tears. “Don’t you remember what he did to us?”

  “Yes. I remember. I also remember that he released us as he promised me he would. Now he promises to help us. Can you not trust me?”

  “Oh Deborah, I trust you. But you’re asking me to trust a savage, a man with no morals or conscience. If we trust him we’re liable to end up in a Comanche village again.”

  “No, we won’t.” Footsteps sounded in the tile hall behind them, and Deborah added in a quick whisper, “Say you will go, please!”

  “When?”

  “Tonight or tomorrow night.”

  “But how?”

  “He’ll come for us. Are you going?” Judith stared down at her still-clasped hands for a long moment. “Yes,” she said, her voice a whisper.

  Relief washed through Deborah, and she tucked her hand through her cousin’s arm. “Oh, thank God. You can’t know how anxious I’ve been.”

  “Anxious?” Tía Dolores echoed as she sailed into view. “About what?”

  “About our safety,” Deborah said quickly. “We are very concerned, of course.”

  “Sí, sí,” Tía Dolores said. “We all are. Horrible man, that Señor Diamond. I regret ever allowing him to call on us here. We should have had him sent away the first time.”

  “Perhaps he will not actually do anything,” Judith said softly. “This could all be for nothing.”

  “I hope so, chica,” Tía Dolores said. “I hope so.” Her brow furrowed.

  “But I don’t think so.”

  Chapter 20

  A howl sliced through the hot night air, seeming to hang suspended in time before it faded away. Coyotes.

  “You sure this is gonna work, Banning?” Zack slanted Diamond a quick glance. “Yeah. Sure as I can be, anyway.

  If nothing else, the dam will be gone for a few days before they can rebuild it.

  Long enough to water your cattle.”

  “Good.” Diamond gave a grunt of satisfaction. “Blowing it up was so simple, I wonder why I didn’t think of it.”

  “Probably because it was so damn hard to get near it.” Diamond dropped to his knees beside Zack and stared out over the ridge. The river glittered below; a huge earthen dam had been built, and above it, a vast pool spread over the banks and ran in newly dug ditches to watering holes. Below it, not even a trickle of water escaped.

  “This better work,” Diamond muttered after a moment. He peered at Zack in the press of moonlight when he didn’t reply. “Tell me somethin’, Banning.”

  Zack shifted on the balls of his feet and lifted a brow. “What?”

  “What did happen between you and Braden?”

  “You already know what happened.”

  “I heard what Carpenter said when he told me to pay for the burial. I never heard your version.” Zack’s voice was cool. “There’s only one version, and you already heard it, Diamond. We disagreed and he went for his gun. Plain and simple.” There was an irritated grunt, and Diamond looked away again. “You already set the dynamite?” he asked after a moment, and Zack nodded.


  “Yeah. Had to kill one of the guards. With any luck, they won’t find out he’s missing until the charges blow.”

  “Where are you gonna be when it goes off?” Zack stood up. “I told you. I’ve got something else to see to.”

  “I heard you say that, but it kinda bothers me that you won’t be around if there’s shootin’ goin’ on.” Diamond stared at him narrowly in the moonlight. “You scared?” Turning in a smooth, unhurried motion, Zack looked at Diamond with narrowed eyes. “What’d you say?”

  His mouth twisted, and Diamond looked away. “Hell, nothin’ worth repeatin’, I guess. Just can’t help wonderin’ what you got up your sleeve, that’s all.”

  “If you don’t trust me—”

  “Naw, naw, that ain’t it. I trust you to do what you say. It’s what you don’t say that bothers me.”

  “You’re paying me, Diamond, and as long as you are, I’m on your side.

  If I decide to change sides, I won’t mind telling you.”

  “Did I say anything about that? I know your reputation, and I know you don’t mince words none.” Shrugging, Zack didn’t reply. He had absolutely no intention of telling Dexter Diamond what he planned. The man would either object or insist upon helping, and he didn’t want to take the time to argue.

  After a half hour had passed, Zack said, “I’m leaving.” Diamond didn’t argue, but he stood with his thumbs snagged in his belt loops and his face dark with irritation as Zack left on foot. He could feel Diamond staring at him, and he had the thought that he might have him followed.

  After several minutes of running, Zack heard the faint chip of a hoof against rock and smiled to himself. He’d been right. Diamond wasn’t a fool, but he didn’t like to have a man buck him, either. Laughing softly, Zack promptly lost the man following him.

  It was close to midnight when Zack got within the boundaries of the Velazquez hacienda. He waited, watching as the guards changed. Don Francisco was taking no chances. He had armed men strung all along the perimeters of his ranch, as well as around the house. It had been a lot harder to get close this time than the last, but any self-respecting Comanche could manage it.

  There was a trick to it, he’d learned. One had to think of themselves as part of the landscape to blend into it. It had taken him years to learn the patience of waiting, watching, and waiting some more. If a man allowed himself to get in too big a hurry, he failed.

  So Zack waited. He wore dark clothes, so that not even the ragged moonlight could reflect from bare skin, and his moccasins were soundless in the dirt and dust. His pistol was stuck in his belt beneath his shirt, and he carried a knife in one hand, still sheathed so that no chance runnel of light along the shiny blade would betray him.

  He wished he’d warned Deborah to wear dark clothing, but he hadn’t thought about it. Too late now. He’d make her change if she was foolish enough to wear white. And her cousin too, though he doubted that Judith would go with them. He knew how terrified she was of him, and regretted it for Deborah’s sake.

  Sometimes it happened that way. A white woman rescued after years of Indian captivity, even if she had been treated as an honored wife, often denied that she had been shown any kindness or decency at all. Sometimes she was right. And sometimes she’d been so brutalized that she reacted with hatred and terror to any Indian. Like Judith.

  Judith’s fear could make things difficult for them if she hesitated because of it. This would be dangerous enough without worrying about her reaction, and Zack hoped she refused to go.

  Crouched behind a clump of bluethorn and cactus at the corner of an outbuilding, Zack waited until the men who were on guard duty crossed to one of the bunkhouses. It would take them maybe five minutes to exchange places, not exactly as efficient as a military post.

  He seized his chance when they went inside, and he could hear their faint discussion and laughter. Running in a low, half-crouch, Zack crossed the open yard to the house, keeping to shadows when he could. Tonight, his purposes would have been served much better by no moonlight.

  The adobe wall of the courtyard around Deborah’s patio was cool against his back as he edged around it. Vines tugged at him, and he had to go slowly. Everything depended on time. If he was off even by a minute or two, it would be too dangerous to continue. When the explosion distracted Don Francisco’s guards, he would have only a very few minutes to get Deborah out of there. It was the best he’d been able to come up with. Don Francisco had covered all details pretty well.

  A sound came from his left, and Zack froze. A vine stirred in the breeze, brushing against his cheek, and he could hear the scrape of something moving. He waited, but when no other sound followed, he moved cautiously forward.

  It wasn’t hard to leap up and grasp the top of the adobe wall, and he hauled himself up and over, landing with a soft thud on the other side.

  Deborah had left only a small lamp burning in her room; she sat in a chair with a book in her lap, easily visible from the patio. It appeared as if she was ready and waiting, but something made him pause.

  He didn’t know what it was. Deborah was alone. It was quiet. Maybe that was it. It had grown too quiet. There should have been some noise, the sounds of a ranch at night. Instead, a hush seemed to have fallen.

  For a long moment he just stood there, pressed up against the wall with the vines curling around him. Leaves quivered in the wind. A sweet-scented blossom brushed his cheek. The fragrance reminded him of the last time he’d come here, and the blossom Deborah had tucked behind her ear. It had fallen unnoticed by her, but he had picked it up and tucked it into his shirt pocket for some reason. He thought of that briefly before turning his attention back to the quiet night.

  He could see Deborah, her head still bent, the lamplight making her hair shine with deep fire. He moved from the wall, taking cautious steps around the edge of the patio and toward the open door. Bending, he picked up a small pebble and tossed it so that it rolled and bounced over the floor toward her. She looked up, her eyes wide and dark in the dim light.

  She shut the book and stood up, smoothing the skirt of her black dress.

  A faint smile curled his mouth. He was glad she’d had enough sense to wear dark clothing.

  When Deborah stepped out onto the patio, he was waiting at the side, and touched her gently on the shoulder. She drew in a sharp breath, but didn’t scream.

  “Zack?” she whispered.

  “Yeah.” He slid his hand to her elbow. “You alone?”

  “Yes. Judith will be here soon.”

  “How soon?”

  She turned, eyes finding him in the shadows. “I don’t know. I told her to be ready, and she said she would.” He made an impatient sound. “We can’t afford to wait too long. I’ve arranged a distraction, and we’ll have to go then or not at all.”

  “A distraction?” He hadn’t thought it possible for her eyes to get any larger, but they did. “What kind of distraction?”

  “Don’t worry, nothing deadly, only loud.” He pulled her against him.

  “Got your gear ready?”

  “I have a small carpetbag and that’s all.” He nodded his satisfaction. Deborah was not a woman to insist on frivolities, and he was glad. She was sensible and level-headed.

  “Can you go get your cousin?” he asked after a moment. He wanted to keep holding her, but there would be time enough for that later. Now, he had to focus on getting her to safety.

  “I suppose I can.” Deborah leaned into him for a moment as if needing reassurance, and he felt a peculiar tightening in his chest. He couldn’t remember ever having felt so drawn to a woman, so connected. And he’d never felt this overpowering need to protect a woman.

  He tilted her face toward him with a finger under her chin. “Be careful,” he murmured. He wanted to say more, but the words wouldn’t come. He didn’t know how to say more, or what to say. When he bent his head, she lifted her mouth willingly to his, and he kissed her gently, then drew back.

  “I’ll wai
t here.”

  Deborah nodded. He watched her glide back into her room and pass through the square of light thrown by the lamp, then go into the hall. Still uneasy, Zack melted back into the shadows of the patio, trying to dispel that sense of unease. Nothing seemed amiss. It was quiet, and no alarm had been given.

  When Deborah returned, she slipped through her bedroom door with Judith in tow, both women obviously nervous. Zack watched them through the open patio door, his eyes narrowing slightly. They were alone, but Judith kept looking over her shoulder as if they were being followed.

  He waited until Deborah stepped out on the patio, then said quietly,

  “Over here.”

  She came to him swiftly. “We’re ready.”

  “Then we need to go now.” His hand closed around her wrist, and he pulled her to him. When he glanced up, he saw Judith staring at him, her eyes wide and dilated, her face pinched with hatred. Her expression shot through him like a lightning bolt, and he instinctively pulled Deborah closer. “Are you ready to go?” he asked Judith warily, and she gave him a strange look.

  “Yes. I’m ready.”

  Zack shot Deborah another guarded look. She was looking at Judith with concern.

  “Judith darling, you don’t look well. Are you nervous?” Judith pushed at her hair, and her hand was trembling. “A little.” Deborah went to her and put her arm around her. “Don’t be. Zack will take care of us. He’ll get us to safety.”

  “She needs to wear something dark over her gown,” Zack pointed out.

  “That pale color will show up at night.”

  “I’ll get her my cloak.” When Deborah stepped back into the bedroom, Judith turned to Zack.

  Her eyes were bright, and her mouth curved in a slight smile.

  “You can’t have her.”