by Tess LeSue
“Why not? We did it all the time when we were children. Out you go, Adam. Be careful. When you get to the bottom, run for cover in the woods. If we get separated, we’ll meet at the old fishing spot.” She turned back to Victoria as Adam disappeared down the tree. “Did you hear me?”
“The old fishing spot, I heard.” Victoria coughed. “If I die climbing down that tree, I’ll never forgive you.”
“Fair enough.”
“Alex?”
“What?”
“What if Bert and Travis are out there too? They might have circled the house.”
It had occurred to Alex that there were still two Grady brothers unaccounted for. But what choice did they have? They could hardly stay here and burn, could they? And walking straight into Gideon’s arms wasn’t an option. “I saw them heading into town earlier. They’ll be out drinking all night,” she reassured Victoria, although she wasn’t sure it was true. Gideon might have fetched them home after all the kerfuffle.
She heard the crackle of wood and winced. “Hurry, before the whole house goes up.” The two of them scrambled into the tree. Alex heard Victoria’s shallow breathing. “Don’t look down,” she counseled. By the time they reached the bottom the house was an orange blaze.
“Oh, little pigs!” Gideon was coming around the house, his mad voice high and clear, even over the crackling of the fire.
Alex grabbed Victoria and they went belting toward the woods. And ran smack bang into Silas. Victoria screamed.
“Shut up,” he growled, covering her mouth with his hand.
“You let her go!” Alex shrieked, clawing at him.
“Shut up the both of you, or he’ll find us.” Silas’s eyes widened suddenly and he went very still.
“Adam!”
Her brother still had his knife, the tip of which was pricking Silas in the kidney. “Knives are sharp,” he said, “knives cut.”
“Spineless?” Gideon’s voice was coming closer. “Have you caught a little pig?”
“Let her go,” Alex hissed at Silas.
“Let me help you,” he begged.
“You?” she scoffed. “I’d sooner trust an alligator than a Grady.” Alex took the knife off Adam.
Silas regarded it with disdain. “That won’t be any match for his shotgun.”
“Run, Victoria. Take Adam and run.”
“Where?” Victoria was wild-eyed with panic. “And what about you?”
“If we leave him, he’ll only come after us. Get away. I’ll meet you at that place I mentioned.” She shooed them with her hand. “Go!”
She couldn’t risk looking away from Silas. She was afraid he’d make a lunge for her. She could hear the crunch of bracken under her siblings’ feet as they ran, and then they were gone and she was alone with Silas Grady.
“What are you going to do now?” He sounded smug. He had her. She couldn’t run; he would throw her to the ground the minute she turned her back.
“I’ll tell you where the gold is if you promise to let me go.”
He shrugged. “Gideon will make you tell us where the gold is anyway.”
“Spineless!”
She jumped. Gideon was so close.
“I can protect you, Alex,” Silas whispered. “Your brother and sister are free. They can stay free. I can keep you safe.”
Like hell. Alex’s fingers tightened around both the knife and the fire iron. She would rather die than give herself to Silas Grady. But she couldn’t die, she thought desperately. Victoria and Adam would never survive without her. They needed her.
“You promise you can keep me safe from Gideon?” She crept closer to him, playing for time. The longer she kept him occupied, the better the chance of Victoria and Adam getting away safe. The hilt of the knife was slippery in her sweaty palm. Did she have it in her to use it?
“I’d do anything for you,” he said. It was hard to see his face in the falling darkness, and the glow from her burning home backlit him, rimming him with orange light. It was a mercy not to see his expression. She didn’t want to see his stupid look of adoration, or the uncompromising lust in his eyes. She shuddered.
“Anything?” She crept closer, until they were almost touching. One thrust would send the knife sinking into his belly. Her fingers tightened around the hilt.
She broke out in a cold sweat and the knife trembled in her hand. She couldn’t do it. She just didn’t have it in her to murder a man. She pictured Vicky and Adam waiting for her at the fishing hole, huddling together in the darkness as the bullfrogs sang and the mosquitoes whined. If she didn’t kill him now, she would have to sacrifice herself. She clenched her teeth. One thrust and it would be over . . .
No. She couldn’t. The knife fell from her fingers and she tasted ash. “You win,” she said softly.
“Oh, Alex.” Silas’s foul mouth crushed down on hers and his disgusting tongue jabbed at her lips. The minute she felt that thick, hot slug of a tongue she came to her senses. Revolted, she spun around and struck out. The fire iron whistled through the air and came down hard on the back of his head. Silas made a grunting sound and then slumped to the ground.
She heard Gideon closing in, still mocking her with a sound like a squealing pig. Panicked, she ran. Behind her, the black cherry tree had caught and blazed like a roman candle, and there was an almighty crunching noise as the house collapsed in on itself. Sparks flew skyward into the night. There went home.
Alex ran like the devil himself was after her. She had to find Adam and Victoria and get out of Grady’s Point before Gideon caught up to them. She heard a gunshot echoing through the firelit woods. Never mind getting out of Grady’s Point, they had to get out of the state, maybe even the south. She wouldn’t rest safe until she’d put a thousand miles between herself and Gideon Grady.
About the Author
Tess LeSue writes sexy and adventurous romances set against sweeping historical backdrops. Her current love affair is with the wild landscapes and even wilder men of the Wild West. Bound for Eden was her first Western. Tess also writes literary fiction under the name Amy T. Matthews and teaches creative writing and literature at Flinders University in Australia.
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