Texas Heat

by Holly Castillo

  Logan ran up alongside him. “Keep checking. I’ll take care of her. Send the rest that are capable of getting around on their own to me.”

  Trevor nodded and raced to the next couple of women that lay on the ground, but both had been fatally shot by arrows. Surely Serena was one of the few left that was riding towards him on a horse. Anxiously he jogged towards the remaining captives, some women, some children, some even slaves. They all looked exhausted and terrified, and most were crying. But Serena wasn’t among any of them.

  Ryder suddenly came up upon him, leading his horse by the reigns. “An Indian took off to the west with her. Go.”

  Trevor made eye contact with his friend and comrade, silently expressing his gratitude, before mounting his horse. And then his eyes were drawn towards movement in front of him as a small handful of Comanche came around the corner, drawing their bow and arrows against the captives.

  “Ryder!” Trevor shouted as he kicked his horse forward, placing himself between the captives and the Indians. Ryder raced to join him to form a complete shield, but the Indians had already released their arrows.

  At first Trevor didn’t feel the pain. He fired his revolver at the Comanche, catching each one right before they were able to pull their next arrow. They fell to the ground, never to move again, and that was when Trevor felt the pain.

  “Trevor!” Ryder moved closer to him, and, in a daze, Trevor let Ryder examine the arrows that were sticking out of his side and his leg.

  Trevor barely registered what was happening. They were getting away with Serena, and he wasn’t going to allow it. Gritting his teeth, he broke the arrows smaller, then gripped firmly, and pulled them out. He had known it was going to hurt, but hadn’t fully braced himself for the pain, and a low groan of distress came through. With agony he grabbed his bottle of brandy that he kept stashed in his saddle bag and doused his side and his leg.

  He cringed in pain, took a giant swig from his bottle, then stuffed it back into his saddlebag, before whipping his horse around and taking off in the direction they had last seen Serena. He could feel the warmth of his blood seeping from his wounds, but he didn’t care. He would do everything he could to get Serena back.

  He had been racing for several minutes when he could see two horses running ahead of him. He leaned low over his horse’s neck and his horse picked up speed and he was gaining on him. He saw the Indian look backwards and suddenly pull his horse and the other horse to the side and started to slow down.

  He checked his gun and saw he had two shots left. He didn’t have time to reload before he would run into them. And he was praying that the other rider was Serena, or he was about to face two fierce warriors, with only two bullets to use. Slowly he pulled his horse back from a full gallop to a canter, and then even down to a trot. The two horses ahead had stopped, and he didn’t know what he was riding into.

  When he saw the first Indian dismount rapidly and go to the other horse, his heart began pounding in his ears. He slowed his horse to a stop, a few hundred feet from them, and waited, watching, wondering.

  But when the Comanche came around the other side, he was carrying a limp, copper headed woman in his arms, Trevor slid off his horse and began to walk towards the man, even though he wanted to run. They were still several feet apart when he stopped, unsure of the man’s intentions.

  Serena was limp in his arms, her body covered in bruises and cuts, and he could see there was some type of wrapping on her right arm.

  Subconsciously his hands curled into fists, and he stared down the man that held her. “I told you before she was my woman,” Trevor spoke loud and clear, recognizing the man that had refused to allow him Serena when he had entered their camp.

  “I wish she was mine. You have a good woman here. A strong woman. She will make your family powerful.”

  Trevor was suddenly confused. “Why are you racing from me? Did you still intend to keep her? I would hunt high and low until she was in my arms. Which is why this ends now.”

  “It ends now because I cannot have the other Comanche see me hand her off to you. You have to understand—I cannot let them know now that I am betraying them.”

  Trevor stepped forward a few more feet. “What do you mean? What betrayal?”

  “I am leaving the Comanche. I have wanted to for a long time. But I’ve never been able to. Now I can leave and they will assume I died in the battle.” He held Serena out towards him. “Come, take your woman. I am sorry for all that she went through. But it is our—it is their way.”

  Temporarily at a loss for words, Trevor walked forward hesitantly. He saw earnest in the Indian’s eyes, though, and he stepped forward, finally taking hold of Serena as he had dreamed of for several days.

  “She needs a medicine man,” Strong Tree said. “And so do you. Quickly, before you bleed to death.”

  “Come back with us. If you truly want to leave, you can have a life with us.”

  “I don’t have a life anywhere right now. I’m not able to fit with anyone. It is best for me to be alone for a while. But I thank you. You fought very hard. You have won her.”

  Trevor looked down at Serena, at the many varied-colored bruises on her body, at the cuts and marks, and all he wanted was to see her green eyes. To see them open and smile up at him.

  “Thank you,” he finally said thickly.

  He looked up, but Strong Tree was already mounting his horse. They both nodded in respect to each other, and then Strong Tree kicked his horse into a full gallop, tossing his headdress to the side as he raced away. He truly was giving up the Comanche life.

  Trevor hurried back to his horse and mounted as quickly as he could. But he was rapidly becoming weak due to the loss of blood, and all he could think about was getting Serena to safety. He whirled his horse around and pushed it hard, hearing the wind whipping past his ears as he tried to get closer to the battleground.

  It only took minutes for him to draw close, and he could see there were several Indians who had been captured, and many, many more that lay dead upon the ground. Spotting Cade’s blond hair, Trevor turned in his direction, fighting the fatigue that the blood loss was causing. He had to get Serena to safety.

  As he drew near, he saw Lorenzo was with Cade, and both men leapt into action when they saw Trevor with Serena. Lorenzo quickly grabbed a blanket and draped it over her nude body as Cade began to tear strips of cloth and he was suddenly trying to bind the wounds on Trevor’s leg and side.

  With help, Trevor dismounted, focusing his attention on the care being given to Serena. Lorenzo looked up at Cade as he carefully unwrapped Serena’s arm, and Lorenzo cast a glance at Trevor. Trevor feared for a moment he was going to be sick. Her flesh was burned so badly it was seeping and crusted all around it.

  “We have to get her to Gabby,” Lorenzo said firmly.

  “Who is Gabby?” Trevor asked, trying to focus on what they were saying.

  “We need to get Trevor there, also. But it would be rough going. Are you certain it is safe?”

  “We don’t have much of a choice. She’s our best chance.”

  “Who... the hell... is Gabby?” Trevor demanded again, fighting off the dark spots that waved in front of his eyes.

  “A healer. And Serena’s cousin. She’s her best hope. And yours, too. But we need to ride as fast as we can to get to there.”

  “Will Serena survive the journey?” Trevor forced his voice to be stronger than it really was.

  “We’ll take every caution necessary,” Cade said sympathetically. “She saved Olivia’s life before. I wouldn’t trust anyone more than I do Gabby.”

  Trevor looked over at the Indians they had captured. “And what will happen to them? Where will they go?”

  “The closest fort is San Antonio. We’ll take them there to be held until a decision is made by the president.”

  “And our other prisoner?” Trevor was finding it harder to stand.

  “He’ll remain a prisoner at the same fort,” Cade answered. “
Your men are well-trained. Ryder and Logan have everything under control. But you’ll be useless to them if you die out here.”

  Trevor felt himself faltering. “Let’s ride, then.” He turned towards his horse. “We don’t have any time to waste.”

  And then everything went black for him and he was falling into a bottomless hole.

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  There was movement, and it sounded like voices, but she couldn’t seem to open her eyes. Pain radiated throughout her body and tears began to slide from her eyes. God, if the Comanche saw her crying, they might kill her immediately.

  “Shh, pixie. Shh.”

  Serena’s heart skipped a beat. Was it truly Trevor who held her, or was nearby her? She tried to open her eyes, determined to see his face, determined to know if she really was safe finally. Her eyes opened with extreme difficulty, but Trevor’s face leaned over hers, and she couldn’t stop the smile that pulled at her parched lips.

  “Hello, ranger,” she whispered. “What took you so long?”

  He smiled down at her, too, but she noticed his face was very pale. Slowly she lifted her left hand up to his face, trailing it down the side of his scraggly beard. “What happened, Trevor? Are you hurt?”

  “I will recover, same as you. We will both be strong enough again to be able to get in plenty of fights.”

  The dark clawed at her, but she fought it hard, trying to stay aware of Trevor. Then another voice suddenly penetrated her small circle of consciousness. “Hey there, little one,” Lorenzo’s voice floated to her. “We’ve been waiting to hear you.”

  Serena shifted her head and saw her brother-in-law’s face and another tear slipped out of her eye. “Lorenzo,” she said softly. “What are you doing?”

  “Trying to rescue your wild hide. You and your crazy man.”

  Serena felt the pain digging at her, making it harder to understand everything that was going on.

  But she turned her eyes to Trevor. “You are hurt?”

  Trevor closed his eyes for a few long seconds, then opened them, the intense grey piercing her eyes. “Yes, I’ve been hurt. But nowhere near the way you are. We’re getting you to Gabby as fast as possible.”

  Serena tried to stay awake so she could watch Trevor’s face, but the pitch black darkness could no longer be denied, and she was pulled back into the abyss.

  Trevor didn’t remember the last two days of their journey. He had felt his strength fading rapidly. He vaguely remembered Cade taking Serena from his arms, and he had wanted to protest, but he didn’t have the strength to do so. Later, he remembered coming close to falling out of the saddle, and Lorenzo caught him. The rest was dark.

  But now, a slightly cooling breeze that smelled of the sea wafted around him. He didn’t want to open his eyes, as the soft bedding hugged him gently, lulling him to sleep. But he needed to know what had happened the last two days so that he would know what was going on around him.

  With force, he was finally able to open his eyes and was overwhelmed by the fresh white room he was in, with the crisp curtains and the blue trimmed windows wide open, allowing the cooling breeze of sea to come floating in. He turned his head, looking around the small room. There was a small dresser in the corner that held a pitcher and water basin for him to wash up, and a nice chair in the corner that was occupied by a slumbering Cade, his faint snore barely audible over the sound of the tide nearby washing up on the shore.

  Grinning, Trevor moved to roll off the bed, but then stopped, his heart slamming into his chest at the pain coursing down his side and through his leg. He fought to calm his breathing, gasping softly. The wind in the room was not enough to stop him from breaking out into a sweat. He tried hard to remember what had happened to him, grasping at wisps of memories that floated past.

  Serena. The vision of her smiling at him with her bright green eyes clashed with another vision of her bruised and bloodied, her body limp and unresponsive. He remembered pain, sharp pain in his leg and on his side.

  He looked down and saw bandages on his leg and side, and remembered previously looking down and finding arrows there instead. He shifted in the bed and, with gritted teeth, was able to push himself up to a seated position. He stayed that way for several long moments, enjoying the breeze that came through and played with his hair.

  He ran his hand down his face and was surprised to find himself clean shaven. Even his hair was neatly trimmed, though longer than what he liked to have. He heard the chair creak and he turned his eyes towards Cade.

  “Don’t thank me. Gabby’s the one who made you presentable again. That girl has some talent. I think she somehow knew you’d wake up today.”

  Trevor’s mind was whirling with questions. “Where are we?”

  “Corpus Christi. Gabby’s home. How much do you remember of the ride here?”

  “Only a day or two at best. Everything is very fuzzy.”

  “That’s probably for the best. Here”—he held out Trevor’s bottle of brandy—“this should take the edge off the pain.” His mouth ticked up in a smile and Trevor joined him, before taking a long swig from the bottle.

  “Now,” Trevor said firmly, “Let’s find some decent clothes so I can see Serena.”

  Cade frowned and took the bottle away from Trevor. “Serena’s injuries aren’t like yours, Trevor. You just needed time to rest and let them heal as much as possible and then you could have this energy and be ready to face the world again. Serena is... Serena is still ill.”

  Trevor forced himself to stand, ignoring the pain, and hobbled over to the armoire where he found pants and a shirt, all that he needed to go find her.

  Cade stood also, his blue eyes intense. “What do you think you’re doing?”

  “I’m going to find Serena. With or without your help.” He’d already pulled his pants on and was reaching for his shirt when Cade grabbed him by the shoulders.

  “You don’t want to do this, Cade. Trust me. You don’t want to see her like this.”

  Trevor shoved his hands away. “The hell I don’t. If she’s sick, she needs me. And that’s all I care about.”

  Cade placed his hand on Trevor’s shoulder, blocking him from shrugging on his shirt. “She’s dying, Trevor. I’m sorry, I didn’t want to have to tell you like this. But you’re so damned stubborn. There’s nothing you can do for her.”

  Trevor felt as if he had been punched in the stomach. “Wh—how? She was beaten badly but—but nothing to—”

  “The burn on her arm was severe. Gabby did her best to treat it, but it developed a massive infection. That infection seems to have spread. Gabby called it a blood infection. Serena has been unresponsive for the last two days. Her body is just shutting down.”

  Trevor didn’t understand the burning in his eyes. It was an unusual sensation, and he stumbled backwards away from Cade, pulling on his shirt and buttoning it quickly. “No. I won’t give up on her. She would never give up on me!”

  Before Cade could stop Trevor, he yanked open a door, finding his room was at the end of a short hallway. Each step hurt, but nothing hurt worse than the thought that he might lose Serena. He didn’t know when he had fallen in love with her. Most likely it was from the very first moment he had seen her smoking on top of the roof overlooking the saloon. Never had a woman fascinated him more.

  He walked out into the hallway and into what he could only assume was it was the reception area of the home. It had a beautiful couch arrangement over an ornate rug, with what appeared to be a family heirloom grandfather clock softly counting off the time.

  “Whose house is this?” Trevor asked, trying to find the next room where he might be able to locate Serena.

  “It’s Gabby’s. Her mother died about a year ago and she’s been running everything since then.”

  “What do you mean ‘running everything’?”

  “He means that I take care of the patients that come to me, including the ones who should be in bed right now and aren’t following orders.”


  A young woman, who appeared to be Serena’s age, appeared from another side of the sitting room, her hazel eyes snapping with frustration at him. She was beautiful, with dark brown hair that had streaks of blonde running through it. She was tiny, just like Serena, and just like Serena, she looked like she could fight the toughest man who came at her.

  “And you are...”

  “Gabriella Torres. This is my home and my area of work. I’m a healer and a midwife to the people of Corpus. Serena is my cousin. And, from what I’ve gathered, she was quite fond of you, so I’d prefer to not have you pull loose one of your stitches and start bleeding everywhere again.”

  “I’m sorry we weren’t aquatinted earlier. I’m Captain Trevor—”

  “I know who you are, Captain Daniels. The boys have done a great job of telling me about you, as well as the lengths you went to try and save our Serena. I will forever be grateful to you. But that doesn’t mean I won’t treat you like a stubborn patient if I have to.”

  Trevor flexed his hands, realizing that his strength seemed to be returning, albeit slowly. “I want to see her.” When Gabby began to shake her head he implored her. “Please, Ms. Torres. Please, I need to see her.”

  Gabby looked at him with sympathetic eyes, then glanced over at Cade.

  Cade nodded to her. “He knows.”

  “Are you sure this is the last image you want to have in your mind when you think of her? Wouldn’t you prefer to remember her differently?”

  “She isn’t going to die,” he said firmly. “I won’t let her die.”

  Gabby exchanged another glance with Cade, then took Trevor’s hand and slowly began to guide him down another hallway toward a room in the far corner. All along the walls were portraits of the family through many years, testifying to their proud heritage. Trevor was beginning to feel tired, but was still fascinated by the home. This family was obviously well-off, far more than most anyone else he’d known.

  Finally, they were at the door at the end of the hallway and she opened it slowly, then gestured for Trevor to step inside. His hands were suddenly sweaty, and his heart was racing as he approached the bed across the room.