"Why did she come to Fort Worth?"
"Because I encouraged her to meet me here." He shook his head. "Her brother didn't want her to travel until he and his wife could make the trip with her. It's my fault she's missing."
"You shouldn't blame yourself. How could you guess such a thing would happen?"
"Her brother sent three outriders with her, and I thought she'd be safe. But apparently Saber sent them home once she got to town, thinking she wouldn't need them when I arrived."
"Where is this Winna Mae? I need to know everything she can tell me."
"She's down the hall in room fourteen. According to Winna Mae, the men crept through the window of the hotel room and carried Saber away."
Reese's eyes burned with suspicion. "They didn't harm Winna Mae or attempt to take her with them?"
"They knocked her around a bit; the doctor had to bandage broken ribs. I think she's all right, but I couldn't tell for sure. Like most Indians, she's proud and doesn't reveal her suffering."
"Why do you suppose they let her live? Is there a possibility that she's involved in some way?"
"No. Not her. She's loyal to the Vincente family. I believe they let her live so she could give me the message about Saber's kidnapping."
"Sometimes people can deceive us. Are you sure of her loyalty?"
"She'd die for Saber before she'd let any harm come to her. I'd stake my life on that."
"I take it that the kidnappers haven't made any demands yet?"
"That's what troubles me. They haven't asked for anything." Matthew stared up at the ceiling. "I'm certainly not wealthy and neither is my family, so they couldn't want ransom from me."
"Which brings us back to her brother," Reese speculated. "He's the one with the money."
"Noble Vincente is not only wealthy in his own right, but he married Rachel Rutledge, who owns the ranch adjoining Casa del Sol, so his fortune has greatly increased."
"And Miss Vincente-does she have money of her own?"
Matthew nodded. "I don't know how much, but I believe she inherited a large fortune." He glanced into his friend's eyes. "I would marry Saber if she were penniless and barefoot. I love her. Do you know what it feels like to love a woman so much that you can hardly keep your mind on your duties?"
"No, I don't," Reese said flatly. Then he turned the conversation back to the kidnapping. "How did she arrive in Fort Worth?"
"By private carriage. Winna Mae said that Noble Vincente wouldn't allow his sister to travel by public stage." His eyes were filled with fear. "If anything's happened to her-"
"Have you sent word to her brother?"
"No. I have been so worried about Saber that I haven't given her family a thought. I suppose I should do that right away."
"Yes, I should think so."
Matthew doubled his fist and pounded his good leg. "My accident happened just ten miles out of town around the same time she was kidnapped. I should have been here to protect her!"
"It sounds like the kidnapping was a wellthought-out plan to me. What made your horse spook?"
"There was a sudden rock slide, and my horse just went loco."
"That might not have been an accident. Besides, I don't think you could have stopped them if you had been here with a whole troop of cavalry."
Anger rushed through Matthew, and he trembled from the intensity of it. "But you think you could have saved her if you'd been here is that what you are implying, Reese?"
"No, that's not what I'm saying, and you know it. Matthew, if your woman can be found, I'll bring her back to you."
Matthew's face whitened even more. "These men have no respect for women. Suppose they have..." He licked his lips. "What will I do if they have violated her?"
Reese looked long and hard at his friend. "Just how much do you love this woman?"
"More than my life. But if they've... touched her, I just don't know how I'd feel about marrying her."
Matthew's admission made Reese feel suddenly sick inside. If what he said was true, Matthew was the most selfish bastard he'd ever met. He jerked to his feet, anger tightening inside him like a noose. "If the worst has happened, she will need your love and understanding more than ever," he said coldly. He moved to the door, opened it, and glared back at Matthew. "I'm going to question the housekeeper, Winna Mae. I suggest you get word to Saber's brother about what has happened. We may need his help."
Matthew nodded. "I hate like hell to let him know. Noble Vincente will probably think it's my fault."
"Just do it," Reese said, going out the door and closing it firmly behind him.
Reese had half expected to find Winna Mae wringing her hands and hysterical, but that was not the case. Although she moved restlessly about the room, she held her back straight, and her steps were sure.
Her Indian heritage was apparent in her coloring and her high cheekbones. She was tall. Her gray hair had been braided and pulled away from her face. Her eyes were dark and intelligent. His gaze fell to her hands, which were scarred, as if she'd been badly burned in the past. He guessed there must be a tragic story behind those scars.
Winna Mae's voice betrayed her irritation when she spoke. "I suppose you are going to be as worthless as the sheriff and the witless men he called a posse. I told them which way the kidnappers went, but they didn't believe me, because late last night someone saw three strangers riding in the opposite direction."
Reese looked past the scorn in her eyes and saw the concern she felt for Miss Vincente. "Suppose you tell me everything you know. I even want to know your impressions, everything you suspect, and anything you can think of that might help me. When I've heard your story, then I'll decide which way to ride when I leave town."
"I'll tell you everything you need to know if you will take me with you."
Reese shook his head. "You know I can't do that, ma'am. You'd only slow me down. I have to move fast if I am going to find Miss Vincente."
At last she nodded and eased herself onto a chair, trying to hide her wince of pain. "I told the sheriff that the men made a big show of riding south. But moments later I heard horses gadloping to the north, and I know it was the kidnappers."
"There can be no mistake?"
"I have good ears, Mr. Starrett. They rode north. If Saber's brother, Noble, were here, he would believe me and act accordingly." She lowered her head. "But I have to rely on you because too much time will be lost before Noble gets here, and the trail may grow cold."
"It looks like I'm all you've got. Er, what do I call you?"
"Winna Mae."
"Winna Mae, you will just have to trust me."
"Are you saying you can find her and bring her back?"
"I'm saying I'm sure as hell going to try." He drew in a deep breath. "Now, did you overhear anything that would help me?"
Winna Mae frowned. "They hit me, and I do not know how long I was out. But when I came to, I kept my eyes closed so they would think I was still unconscious. I overheard one of the men say they had to meet a man named Felton in Dallas."
Reese looked closely at her. "Are you sure that's the name they used?"
"Yes. I am sure. Does it mean anything to you?
"Yeah. I've heard he's a bit crazed and that everyone fears him and stays clear of him." He shifted his weight and tried to remember everything he'd heard about Graham Felton. His gaze went back to Winna Mae. "Anything else you think I should know?"
"I heard one of the men brag that after the kidnapping, people would have more respect for the Miller brothers."
Reese's broad brow furrowed. "How many were there?"
"I saw only two. But I had a feeling that there was another waiting below with the horses." She looked into his eyes as if seeking the truth. "Do you know who the Miller brothers are, Mr. Starrett?"
Reese nodded, and he felt a knot tightening in his stomach. "I have a hunch it's Earl and Eugene Miller. They have a younger brother they could have brought him in on this. He could be the third one."
R
eese listened while Winna Mae talked. She had a keen memory for details. The sheriff had been a damned fool for not listening to her.
He stood up and walked to the door. "I'll do what I can, Winna Mae. Take care of those ribs."
"Which way do you ride?" she asked, her dark eyes staring into his.
He placed his hat on his head and gave her a grim smile. "I ride east to see if I can locate Graham Felton, and then north to find your lady."
There was respect in Winna Mae's gaze. This man was no one's fool. If anyone could find Saber, it was him. "Saber is not easily frightened, but she will be afraid of those men. Find her quickly."
Reese gave her a slight smile. "I'll do my best." As Reese rode out of town, he tried to fit all the pieces together. He knew Graham Felton only by reputation, and it was all bad. He'd once heard that the man owned a saloon, but Reese didn't know where. He did know that the two of them were about to meet. Destiny would throw them together, and he intended to come out the winner. He had heard of the Miller brothers they were little more than thieves and saddle tramps. They were not the danger that concerned him the danger would come from Graham Felton.
Saber awoke slowly, groaned, and rolled her head from side to side. A dull ache started at the back of her skull and ran all the way to her forehead. When she tried to raise her head, the ache became a sharp pain, making her feel sick to her stomach. The room was spinning and wouldn't come into focus, so she closed her eyes again, hoping it would right itself.
Puzzled, she blinked her eyes and studied her surroundings. This wasn't her hotel room. It did resemble a hotel lobby, but it was dusty, the few furnishings were shabby, and there were cobwebs in every corner.
Where was she?
Slowly the events of her kidnapping came back to her, and she sat up quickly, but blackness threatened to engulf her, and she eased her head back down. The only furniture was a stove that gave off little warmth, a cot, two benches, and a rickety table. There were steps leading up to the second floor, but they were rotted and splintered, and she wouldn't want to attempt to climb them.
A deep voice spoke up beside her. "We was 'fraid you'd never wake up, Miss Vincente. We feared Earl'd hit you too hard."
Saber closed her eyes as sickness churned in her stomach. She turned her head to see who was speaking, but it was so dark in the room that the man was just a blur. She licked her dry lips. "Everything is spinning."
"You'll have to stay put for a while until the dizziness passes," the man told her.
"Who are you? What do you want with me?"
"It don't matter who I am. Just see that you don't try to get up. I don't want a sick woman on my hands. And don't think of escaping you'd never get past the door."
Saber wondered if she had a concussion. The inside of her mouth felt like cotton, and every time she moved her head the pain was unbearable. A horrible thought came to her, and she suppressed a sob: What if the men had violated her body while she was unconscious?
She shivered in revulsion and thought of Matthew. He would never want her now. Not if what she suspected was true.
She opened her eyes when she heard the man bend down to her. The look in his eyes terrified her. She cried out when he boldly put his hand on her breast, kneading and pinching until she shoved his hand away.
"What have you done to me?" she asked weakly.
He leaned closer and whispered in her ear, his foul breath making her gag. "What do you think of Eugene's done to you, sweet thing?"
"You wouldn't.. .you haven't..."
"Honey, you're a delicate flower that makes a man lose his head. You go ahead and picture anything you want, because it just might be true."
With considerable effort, she turned her head to the wall and rolled into a ball. She was ruined. "Why didn't you just kill me?" she whispered. "It would have been kinder."
His hand tangled in her hair, and he jerked her head around. "Killing you is the last thing on my mind, sweet thing."
"Leave her alone, Eugene," a hard voice commanded.
That was the last thing Saber heard. She was once more submerged in darkness where there was no fear.
It wasn't until two days later that Saber felt well enough to sit up. She looked around at the dusty room, wondering where she was. As she carefully eased herself to a standing position, her head throbbed, and her stomach still felt unsettled, but she managed to stay erect.
She moved toward one of the windows, walking awkwardly because her ankles had been hobbled like a horse so she could take only small steps. Her hands were tied at the wrists, and the rope cut into her tender flesh.
Rubbing her palm against the dusty window, she stared despondently out upon the deserted, weed-covered streets. The wind caught dirt and debris and whipped it aimlessly through the forsaken town. She remembered the gentle winds that blew off the Brazos River in spring, and how they had sounded almost musical; but this wind whipped around corners and through broken windowpanes, sounding like the howling of a hundred banshees.
She realized that this was a deserted town ---a ghost town. She glanced at the run-down buildings that gave evidence of a once-thriving community. From across the street, she tried to make out the faded lettering on a sign that swung back and forth on rusty hinges. The town had not been large, and there were only six or seven decayed structures still standing. The place seemed to have been erected in a haphazard manner, as if the builders had been in a hurry to construct it. The town must have been prosperous at one time, because she could see faint lettering identifying one building as a bank. She craned her neck and stood on tiptoe. She could see a cemetery at the edge of town with faded wooden crosses and crumbling gravestones.
Heavy sadness enveloped her this had once been a place where people lived, laughed, raised families... and died. She read the faded lettering of Gregory's Saddlery on the third building across from her. She wondered whether Gregory had been buried on the hill, or had survived to find another town in which to set up his trade. What had caused the town to be abandoned? From the number of headstones she could see in the graveyard, she would not have been surprised if some kind of sickness had made it into a ghost town. Whatever had happened here, this town was the final legacy of the former inhabitants, and for many of them it had become their final resting place. The neglected tombstones and the weed-choked graves were almost all that remained.
Her small frame trembled, and she turned away and hobbled back to the cot. She sat down, trying not to think about the vermin that lived in the creases of the lumpy mattress. She had no hope that anyone would find her here. The only inhabitants of this town were the men who had abducted her, unless she counted the rattlesnakes and jackrabbits.
Saber wondered why the men had stolen her away under cover of night. Although she'd asked them repeatedly, she received only ominous silence in response. Just by listening to their conversation, she had learned that the three men were brothers, and their last name was Miller.
Earl Miller appeared to be the eldest. It was easy to see that he made all the decisions, and the other two deferred to him most of the time. She thought he must be in his late thirties. He had black hair and even blacker eyes. He was shorter than his two brothers and much more serious, seldom saying anything that wasn't an order to the others.
Eugene, the middle brother, had thick arms and a barrel chest. A wide scar ran the length of his thick, black beard and along his jawline. Saber was more afraid of him than of the other two. He seemed to have no redeeming qualities he was spiteful and mean, and he was always watching her. Every time he was near her, he would manage to touch her or bump up against her. She still feared what he might have done to her while she was unconscious.
Sam was the youngest. He couldn't be much over sixteen, because he was too young to shave, and there was an air of innocence about him, as if he hadn't yet grown callous and mean like his two brothers. Sam attempted to emulate his brothers by swaggering around with two guns on his hips, bragging about how he was going to spend
his share of the money they would get from someone called Graham Felton.
So far Saber hadn't been mistreated, unless she counted the lump on the back of her head or what might have happened to her while she'd been unconscious.
Sam had offered her one of his shirts and a pair of his trousers, since she had been abducted in her nightgown. She'd refused to wear them until she saw the way Eugene kept leering at her. Of course, the trousers had been too big for her, so Sam gave her a length of rope to tie around the waistband. One day Earl had ridden out, and when he returned he had a pair of slippers for her. She didn't even want to know whom they'd belonged to as she slid her feet into them and found that they were a comfortable fit.
Later she'd heard Eugene laughing as he told his brothers how he'd spent the night with a whore at Digger's Saloon, and afterward how he'd stolen the woman's slippers. Saber swallowed the revulsion that threatened to choke her. She'd never even met a painted lady, and now she was wearing shoes that had belonged to one of them.
Reese rode up to the Miller place and looked about him cautiously. He didn't really believe that the brothers would be there, but he had to be sure. He could see inside the barn, and there was only a swaybacked plow horse inside.
He saw immediately that this wasn't much of a spread a squatter's farm with a run-down log cabin, a small barn with two milk cows, and a rotting fence around the corral that was falling down. He noticed the curtains being parted, and a woman's face appeared at the window.
As Reese dismounted, the woman came outside, her gaunt face creased with worry; her eyes were wide and watchful. She was a woman in her later years, probably looking older than her actual age. He assumed she must be the Miller brothers' mother.
"What you want, mister?" she asked warily.
He gave her a smile. "I'm looking for your sons, ma'am."
"You a friend of their'n?"
"No, ma'am. I've never met them."
Sadness lingered in her eyes as she brushed a wisp of gray hair from her face. "Well, they ain't here, and I don't know where they are. I don't know as I'd tell you iffen I did."
Ride The Wind (Vincente 3) Page 2