by Reece Butler
Whistles of appreciation brought hard-eyed men out to gawk. Her stomach turned to jelly as they watched her pass. All her talk of bravery, of proving her worth, disappeared like dust in the wind.
These men oozed evil. They looked at her, no, through her, as if she was nothing but a thing to be used, abused, and tossed aside without further value. Kate’s stomach heaved as she thought of Molly. Along with other young girls, she’d been stolen by, or sold to, this man. Surely he must look even more monstrous than his men!
She pressed against Rusty, trying to get as far away from them as she could. He squeezed her belly slightly with his left hand, just enough to say he was there and everything would be all right.
Kate tried to swallow, but her mouth was too dry. She wished she was anywhere but here, even facing Father’s wrath. But, no. This was her chance to prove her worth. She’d sworn she could be part of their team, and she would do it.
Though she couldn’t see him, Ross MacDougal would be nearby. The posse following them would soon come over that hill and rescue her. Having the evil men watch her was the only thing keeping the posse safe. Her whole body shook in fear, but she pressed her tied hands against Rusty’s to show she was ready.
“Mr. Rivers,” called their guard without dismounting. “If’n ye like, there’s a gal here fer you to see.”
A shadow passed one of the open windows. Kate waited, unmoving, as the door opened. A medium-sized man strolled onto the raised porch. He wore an expensive black suit complete with vest embroidered with what looked like peacocks. When he stepped into the sun, she realized the suit must be silk by the way it shined. A black hat topped his dark hair.
Where was the horrid monster? From what he’d done, he should have fangs, green skin, horns, and a forked tail. His breath should shoot flames and stink like the depths of hell. But he looked…ordinary. No wonder he could easily hide amidst decent men.
“What’s this about?” demanded Rivers. He flicked his eyes over the men, lingering on her.
“We hear you like ’em young and clean,” said Rusty. “We got this gal fer you. We ain’t touched her, ’cept to keep her from runnin’.” He spit to the side as if he didn’t care a continental as to the reply.
Rivers looked her in the eyes and gave himself away. She didn’t have to pretend to be frightened of him. His flat, dead eyes dug away at her defenses, revealing all her fears as a young girl. She shivered with revulsion, but she had a job to do. She shifted on Rusty’s lap, waving her bare feet as if to balance herself. White showed around the black eyes as he stared at her toes. The tip of his tongue darted out and licked the corner of his mouth. First the right side, then the left, like a lizard catching flies.
“Untie her and remove her gag.” Rivers drawled as if bored.
“Mind if’n I get her down first?” Rusty winced. “She’s got a scream that’d peel paint. I want my ears to be a long ways away when she opens her mouth.”
“Put her there,” ordered Rivers, nodding at the dirt at the bottom of the steps. “If she opens her mouth, hit her. She’ll learn to obey my orders.”
The words, said as if he was talking about squashing a spider, hinted at his evil. Her heart contracted so she couldn’t breathe. She’d never faced someone like this before. She looked away before his eyes could catch hers again and contaminate her soul.
She’d shook her head when Ross said he’d be happier if she wore boots so she could put a knife there. When she asked why, he replied she might need to kill herself. She’d laughed, confident of her vow that she’d never take her life if she suffered what was gently referred to as “a fate worse than death.” Why would she kill herself because a man used her body? She would rather live than let a man’s attack determine who she was.
Now, too late, she began to understand the depravity of a monster. She could imagine this man doing things that would make a woman wish she was dead. The pain he would enjoy inflicting would be bad enough. Surviving the humiliation and shame, reliving it in nightmares, would be far worse.
Though she hadn’t met Molly or Sarah, her admiration for them grew. They refused to be victims, dying in shame and heartache. Instead, they were survivors intent on destroying the evil which had touched them, and so many others.
Kate had no knife, but she had her body and her brain. She would do whatever she must to distract Rivers. He had to be captured, put on trial, and hanged. One look and she had no worry of his guilt. Perhaps Molly’s nightmares would decrease once she knew the monster was dead.
Rusty dismounted, hauling her off with him. He held her in front of him like a shield to avoid getting shot, but it kept the men behind from seeing through her white cotton nightgown. Her dark brown hair spilled over her shoulders, hiding her chest. Rusty pulled off her gag, and she immediately inhaled deeply. Too late, she realized it brought unwanted attention to her breasts.
Low groans and mutters suggested her hair and Rusty’s body weren’t enough of a shield. She crossed her arms. Her feeble attempts to hide herself brought a couple of low, sinister laughs. She looked around, suddenly aware of at least six men watching her other than the one holding the gun and the mayor. She trembled, hunching over as if she could disappear. She didn’t have to pretend to look frightened out of her mind.
“We stole her offa that Bride Train afore it got to Virginee City,” said Gideon proudly as Rusty freed her hands.
“Heard about that,” said Rivers calmly. “Happened a while back. Why didn’t you use her?”
“We don’t take no woman against her will,” grumbled Gideon. “All she did was cook, clean, and complain.”
“Then why bring her here?” asked Rivers. “There’s many places wanting clean, white flesh in the city.”
“We brung her home to keep, but now we wanna sell her. Be too much trouble to head all the way to Bannack City,” said Gideon. “Heard you paid good money for fresh meat.”
“I don’t believe you didn’t touch her. She seems attractive enough.”
Rusty pointed to Gideon accusingly. “His Ma always said our cocks would shrivel up and fall off if we raped a woman. I ain’t takin’ no chances!”
“You’d not rape her, but you’ll sell her for another to do it?”
Gideon nodded eagerly. “Long as our cocks ain’t the ones touching her, we’re good. We kin sell her and buy lotsa other women who want our gold.”
Rivers stared at Gideon for a moment. “You look too much like a pretty boy to be selling a virgin.” He looked to Rusty, and back. His eyes narrowed. “You boys from these parts?”
Gideon sniffed, then spit to one side. “Usta be. Uncle Peyton had him some fun here a while back.”
Rivers nodded. His whole manner relaxed. “Ah, Peyton McInnes. That’s why you look familiar. Pity he’s dead. He was very good at what he did.” His eyes drifted to Kate. She immediately dropped hers. He chuckled. “I don’t want her if she’s been touched, but my men will be happy to take her. Off your hands, that is.”
Bawdy guffaws followed, as well as comments. She was glad she didn’t understand most of them. Though she didn’t look, she felt their eyes on her. Knowing they watched made her want to scrub herself all over with hot water and strong soap. But that was her job, why she’d insisted on participating. They would watch her rather than the approaching posse.
“Weren’t my hands I waz plannin’ on usin’ on her,” called out one man.
Kate couldn’t help looking up. He rubbed his cock through his pants. The comments took on an edge that scared her even more. Rusty pushed her to kneel at his feet. It would look like he was keeping her under control, but it made her a small target, out of the way. He sneered at the gathered men.
“She’s worth mor’n what hired guns’ll pay.” He pressed his palm against her forehead to rub the back of her head rub against his cock. “Way she screams, I figger her mouth might even fit around my big cock.” He leered down at her. “I bet Mr. Rivers can make you do anything he wants. You’ll suck his cock, a
nd bend over for him to take you anyway he wants. He won’t care none if’n you scream.”
Feet shuffled behind and around them. Did Rusty purposely arouse the men until they were so frustrated they didn’t notice anything else? She looked at Rivers from under her eyelashes. His expensive pants bagged out in front. She gagged, glad she’d eaten very little. She couldn’t imagine being forced to have crude men such as this touch her.
“I brung her fer you,” said Gideon impatiently. “If’n you don’t want her, say so, and we’ll get goin’.”
“I don’t think so,” said Rivers in a cold, smooth voice.
He made a small motion with his hand. Rusty shoved her head. She rolled to the dirt and curled into a ball. His gun was leveled on Rivers while Gideon’s was aimed at the man who brought them in.
“I do,” said Rusty softly.
Rivers stared back for a moment and then laughed as if a stranger holding a gun on him was a great joke. He clapped his hands slowly, deliberately insulting.
“Looks like your uncle taught you a thing or two,” he said. “He was quick on the draw as well. Maybe I should hire you. You’re fast, you know what I like, and you deliver it to my door.” He looked from Rusty to Gideon, calculating with cold reptilian eyes. “How’s your aim?”
“You want us to kill the one up in the barn, or the one sneakin’ ’round the corner?” asked Rusty.
“Both.”
Two shots immediately rang out. Kate gasped when a man she’d not seen flew backward, arms wide, and fell out of sight behind the house. She heard a dull thump and another landed in the dirt in front of the barn. A red stain spread into the dust. She covered her mouth as her stomach heaved.
“You’re hired.” Rivers tossed his head to one side and his men holstered their guns. “Come inside for a drink. Bring her with you,” he added.
Rusty, keeping his gun handy, grabbed the back of her nightgown and helped her to stand. She staggered as he pushed her in front of him into the building. Gideon followed, closing the door behind him. After a quick look to make sure the room was empty they holstered their guns. Rusty pushed her to the floor behind him.
Rivers strolled to the sideboard where a cut-crystal decanter held a golden brown liquid. He poured a couple of fingers’ worth into three matching glasses, ignoring them.
“Show me the goods,” said Rivers, gesturing at her with his glass.
“No! Don’t you dare touch me!”
“Shut yer mouth or I’ll shut it for you,” growled Rusty, turning around. He lifted his hand and stared down at her, his back to Rivers. He winked as she cowered at his feet. “My throat’s dry after that ride. I’ll drink first.”
“Pleasure before duty? I’ll allow it this once.”
Rivers handed Gideon both glasses. He quickly passed one to Rusty so they both had their trigger hands free. Rivers noticed and gave a nod, as if they’d passed another test. Rusty emptied the glass and held it out again. Rivers thought a moment, and then filled it with a wry look. This time Rusty took his time drinking. He nudged her bottom with his boot.
“Ain’t much to her. Expect you’ll git bored and want sommat else after a week or two.” Rusty sniffed, pulling his nose sideways. “She ain’t a bad cook, though. You could keep her fer cookin’ and keepin’ yer best men happy.” He winked at Rivers. “That’d be me and Gideon.”
Gideon gave a guffaw that would suit the men outside. “Yer right, cousin. By the time Mr. Rivers breaks her in, she won’t be saying no to us. Not if’n she knows what’s good for her.”
“I’ll only take her if I like what I see.” The mayor’s tongue darted out again, left, and then right. “Strip her.”
She scuttled backward like a crab across the floor, aiming for the window as planned. Rusty glowered, set down his glass, and followed her. When he got near, he startled and bent to look out the window. She saw his relief for a second before he grunted in disgust.
“What the hell?” He leaned on the frame of the open window and stuck his head out. He pulled back and yanked a handkerchief out of his pocket. “Damn. Gotta gag her agin. There a room I kin put her in so the posse headin’ this way don’t find her? We kin finish our bizness after we kill ’em all.”
Rivers paled. “Posse?”
Kate peeked over the sill. A group of very large men rode toward them. In the front was a man with a huge moustache. The star on his vest glinted. A couple more flashed on the men either side of him. They all had their guns out, pointed at Rivers’s men who now faced away from the house with their hands up.
“Don’t know what else to call a dozen men followin’ a sheriff,” said Rusty with another bored sniff.
Rivers rushed to the other window flanking the door. She inhaled to scream, then pretended to fight as Rusty gagged her. In fact, she bit on the fabric to hold it in her mouth.
“Barstow’s got nothing on me,” growled Rivers. He gestured at the closed door behind them. “Put her in the kitchen. There’s a chain by the stove that’ll hold her. Make sure that gag’s tight.”
Rusty hauled her up by her elbows and tossed her over his shoulder. He carried her, struggling and moaning behind her gag, through the door and into a large kitchen. He set her on the floor. Sure enough, one end of a rusty chain was hooked to the heavy stove. He made sure it clanked as he curled a length of it over her ankle to make it look as if it was attached to her.
“The stove’s cold,” he whispered. “Lie down behind it, or under if you can squeeze in. I don’t want you to get shot, by either side.”
She nodded and he kissed her cheek.
“Good job,” said a quiet voice. They both whipped their heads around to find Ross standing in a dim corner. He put his finger over his lips. They nodded.
“And stay there,” yelled Rusty. He slapped his leg. She cried out behind her gag. “Shut up, or I’ll belt you so hard you’ll not speak again!”
He followed the loud order with another wink, and returned to guard his new boss. She spit out the gag. Rusty left the door to the front room open an inch. Ross glided across the floor like a ghost, stopping behind the door. She quietly lifted the chain off her foot.
“Orville Rivers,” came a bellow from out front. “Put your hands up and come on out. We’ve got your men, and the place is surrounded.”
Shots and screams rang out. The kitchen door slammed open. She leaped to her feet as Rivers ran through, Rusty following. She saw Ross lift his hand, a knife poised to throw, but Rusty got between them. She raised her fist as Rivers looked over his shoulder. He turned back, lifting his hands to grab her. She set her feet and slammed her fist into his chin.
“Ow, ow, ow!”
Pain erupted in her fist, bringing hot tears to her eyes. She hopped around, cradling her hand, but it didn’t help.
Rivers thrashed on the floor for a moment before Ross had him trussed. After the initial shock faded a bit, Kate stomped over to the groaning man. He looked ridiculous in his expensive suit, complete with hat. She drew back her foot and kicked him, hard, right between his legs. He screamed and curled into a ball. Now her foot hurt as well as her hand.
“That make your hand feel better?” asked Ross, pointing to Rivers, still rolling and moaning.
She shook her head, managing to crack a smile. “Not really, but at least I’m not the only one hurting.” She wrinkled her nose. “I should have worn boots.”
Rusty choked a laugh and hugged her. She rested her head against his broad, strong chest. His now-familiar scent soothed her, as did the warm hands rubbing her back. Her fear, bottled up all day from necessity, leaked out and was absorbed by his strength and power. The shaky feeling that threatened to make her burst into womanly tears faded. She sighed and finally relaxed. His arms tightened around her. He rested his chin on her head. After a moment he pushed her back, hands on her shoulders, and glared.
“You could have been killed!”
Though he barked the words like a vicious dog, his forehead wrinkled in concern. The
ring around his stormy blue eyes seemed thicker and darker than usual.
“But I wasn’t,” she shot back.
She pulled away and crossed her arms under her breasts. She knew her answering glare was more of a pout, but it was the best she could do. His eyes dropped from her mouth to her breasts.
“Dammit, Kate!” He lifted his hands over his back, grabbed his oversize shirt and hauled it over his head without bothering to undo the buttons. “Stand still!”
He shoved it over her head and pulled it down, bending to yank it as far as possible. She stuck her hands through the arms. He folded back the sleeves until her hands were free, being very careful with her right. When she was covered as decently as possible he tenderly examined her hand. She bit her lip to hold back a cry of pain as he gently manipulated it.
“Nothing’s broken, thank God,” he said. He released her hand and glared down. “I swear, Kate, if you try anything like this again I will—”
“We’d better show Zach you’re safe,” said Gideon, interrupting.
Barstow pushed his way through the door, closely followed by Zach. He closed his eyes for a moment when he saw her. Then he opened his mouth and roared.
“Never again! You’re going to stay on the ranch where we can keep an eye you!” He hauled her into his arms and gave her a tight squeeze. “God, Kate,” he whispered. “I thought it was you screaming.”
“The lady can take care of herself,” said Barstow drily. He looked down at Rivers, now merely groaning, and winced. “Sure hope he can talk by the time the trial starts.”
Chapter 23
“No one can say anything against me!” Rivers clutched the bars and roared from his cell. Only two men stood near him, the banker, Hugh Jennet, and the newspaperman, Buford Hames.
“This is outrageous!” puffed Jennet. He looked at Hames scribbling madly beside him. “Make sure you write how a well-respected elected official is being treated with ridicule!”
“And that we got a witness to his crimes,” added Sheriff Barstow.
Rivers screwed up his red face like a child having a tantrum. He tried to shake the bars loose. “You can’t take the word of a whore over mine!”