by Cat Cahill
“Of course! We’ll be great friends, and you can help me stay out of trouble.”
“I don’t know if I’ll be much help at keeping you out of trouble. I’m awfully inclined to finding it myself,” Penny said.
Adelaide smiled. “In that case, we’ll be trouble together.”
Penny returned her smile, hope slowly blooming in her chest. But . . . what would her life be like without her friends at the Crest Stone Hotel? Her heart ached at the thought of being away from Caroline, Dora, and the other girls. She could write, as Emma did, of course, but it wouldn’t be the same. She’d found a place for herself as a Gilbert Girl, a real home where everyone accepted her.
That’s gone now, she reminded herself. Gilbert Girls were held to the highest standards of propriety. As much as Mrs. Ruby might want to keep her, Penny knew it was impossible. She couldn’t ask Caroline and her husband to take her in—they were just beginning their lives together and were busy with the store. And even if they could, would people talk the way they did back in Wilmington? No, she was better off leaving.
But something still ached in her heart, and it had nothing to do with her friends or her work.
Ben.
She didn’t have him. She never really did. And now she never would, but . . . Didn’t she deserve the truth from him? He’d truly cared for her at one point, she was certain. He’d pulled away, and she knew why, but she wanted to hear him say it. To tell her what he really thought instead of simply shutting down.
When she got out of here, she’d ask him and demand the truth. And then she’d leave with Adelaide and start anew in California.
But first, she had to escape Hagan.
A determined fire lit inside Penny as she slid over to the iron spike. She pushed the rope against the iron with everything she had. She and Adelaide would survive this.
After all, they were not women who backed down easily.
Chapter Thirty-one
Hagan and his men didn’t even bother trying to disguise their trail this time. It was clear Hagan was confident his plan would work—hopefully too confident. Ben and his men followed their trail of hoofprints in the snow up the mountain.
“It’s getting colder,” Harry said, drawing up next to Ben.
Ben gazed at the dark sky above them. No snow fell now, at least. The moon glinted down onto the white ground, illuminating everything as if it were morning. “We’ll keep moving. When we get there and see the situation, we’ll decide what to do.” As much as Ben hated to admit it, they might be better off riding back down the mountain and gathering more men from the hotel to help them. It all depended on where Hagan was holed up and how hard it would be to get the girls out—and arrest Hagan. Ben wasn’t leaving the man to inflict this kind of pain on anyone else ever again.
Harry nodded and moved forward to relay the message to Eli, leaving Ben alone with his thoughts again. He shivered against the wind that found its way under the collar of his coat. Hagan was a good-for-nothing outlaw, but even he had to be considerate enough to keep the women inside somewhere. If Penny and Adelaide were sitting out, exposed to this weather, Ben had yet another reason to worry.
He rubbed a gloved hand against his frozen cheeks, trying to bring back some feeling. The action made him pause. Penny had touched his face just a few days ago, her fingers tentative but curious. That spirit . . . it both irritated and fascinated him. It was what drew him to her. He couldn’t imagine finding any appeal in another woman, not after Penny’s direct and lively ways. She was unafraid when it came to the things she wanted. Whether it was her work or finding Adelaide or even Ben himself, she didn’t hold back because of anyone else’s rules.
She’d been willing to risk everything for him with her crazy and dangerous idea. And now, if all went as planned, Ben would do the same for her.
He spurred his horse on faster to catch up with Harry and Eli. He arrived beside them just as they’d stopped. Harry held out his hand silently, indicating Ben should halt too.
Ben reined in his horse and then followed Harry’s outstretched hand.
There, just beyond some trees, Hagan and his men dismounted from their horses. There were no buildings in sight, but no sign of a camp either, beyond a roaring fire.
A large, black hole rose above the snow like a perpetual yawn, just behind where the men stood around the fire.
A cave.
Chapter Thirty-two
“I’ve gotten it!” Penny said, breathless. The last of the rope holding her wrists behind her fell away. She drew her arms forward and rubbed her hands over them, trying to regain full feeling. Pins and needles tingled from her fingers to her shoulders. “Here, give me your hands.”
Adelaide turned, and Penny crawled to her. Adelaide had done a lot of work sawing through the rope, but a few stubborn strands held fast. Penny began pulling at the knots. She didn’t know how much time they had left before Hagan returned, but he’d been gone a while. It had taken a lot longer to cut through the ropes on the iron than she’d thought it would.
Tugging hard and breaking more than one fingernail, Penny finally gained purchase of the rope. She undid the knot as fast as possible. Adelaide breathed a sigh of relief as the ropes fell free. “That feels wonderful!”
Penny couldn’t even imagine. She’d only been sitting in that position for a few hours, but Adelaide had been here for who knows how long—a few days at least, maybe longer depending on how often Hagan had moved them.
Penny led the way, drawing her skirts up to crawl toward the cave’s entrance so the man likely standing guard outside wouldn’t see them right away if he wandered in. Even though it had been Adelaide’s idea, Penny felt responsible for her. She was older, and she knew how much the girl meant to Ben. And now they were so close to freedom that Penny almost didn’t dare breathe.
They were just a few feet from the cave’s entrance, skirting around bedrolls and various items the men had left lying on the cave floor, when voices floated into the cavern.
Adelaide grabbed hold of Penny’s ankle, and they both stopped still on their hands and knees. Penny cast her eyes about in the hazy light, but it was no use. She couldn’t see beyond the mouth of the cave. Silently, she sat back on her heels, thought for a second, and then worked her way toward the cave wall. Adelaide followed suit until their backs were flush with the wall.
Inching cautiously toward the entrance, Penny kept her ears pinned to any sound from beyond the cave. The voices grew louder, accompanied by horse hooves and the occasional snort from one of the animals. Hagan and his men were back, at the worst possible time.
Penny froze when a figure peeled itself off the edge of the cave mouth not six feet in front of her. It had to be the man they’d left as guard. She squinted again into the darkness. She and Adelaide were past the oil lamps inside, hidden in the shadows past where the light was cast. No one could see them for now, and Penny said a quick prayer of thanks.
The guard laughed at something one of the men said. They all stood around, the horses stamping their feet, and the men talking.
It was now or never.
Penny turned and nodded at Adelaide. Then, ever so silently, she moved forward again, an inch at a time, until she was at the entrance. She hovered there a moment, waiting to make sure the men were completely occupied. One of them worked on starting a fire, while a handful of others led the horses a short distance away. Hagan was having a lively conversation with several of the men. No one was even looking at the cave, much less—Penny hoped—thinking about her and Adelaide.
She took a deep breath and stepped outside, keeping low to the ground and careful to hold her skirts in her hand so they didn’t brush against any underbrush that rose above the snow. Penny felt more than heard Adelaide behind her. The air stung Penny’s face, making her eyes water, but she kept to her course, heading around the cave’s entrance into a copse of trees.
They had almost made it when the first gunshot rang out.
Chapter Thirty-three
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The shot split the air with a loud crack. On instinct, Ben slid from his horse, yanked the Colt from his holster, and ducked behind the nearest tree. Next to him, Eli and Harry did the same.
Another shot rang out. Ben’s horse whinnied, but the sound fit in with the shouts from the men in front of the cave and their horses. He reached out to pat his horse’s nose. How had Hagan spotted them already? He’d hoped to observe the situation for a while before deciding whether it was possible to rescue the girls without more men behind him. Now they’d be lucky to get out of here alive.
Carefully, Ben peered around the trunk of the tree that shielded him, gun at the ready.
Hagan stood, flanked on both sides by a few of his men, all of them with their guns drawn. They watched the moonlit trees, but . . . Ben furrowed his brow. They were facing away from him and his men. That didn’t make sense. He looked in the direction Hagan pointed his gun—into another stand of trees. Immediately, another shot cracked through the silence from those trees. One of Hagan’s men jerked backward, his hand flying to his shoulder.
Ben whipped back around the tree. He exchanged glances with Eli and Harry. The outlaws weren’t shooting at them.
Hagan had himself a land-mutiny on his hands.
It couldn’t have been better timing, so long as Ben and his men could stay away from the gunfire. He motioned to Harry and Eli, pointing in a roundabout way to the cave entrance. Leaving the horses tied to tree trunks, they carefully made their way around, staying hidden behind the pines and aspens.
More gunshots sounded. They were exchanging fire now. Ben kept low and prayed Hagan’s mutineers were decent shots. As they grew closer to the cave, a flash of something moved around a tree just ahead.
Both Harry and Eli stopped still, their guns pointed at whatever the thing was. Ben moved ahead of them. It was likely one of Hagan’s men fleeing. The Colt stretched out before him and his men flanking him, Ben moved forward. The man didn’t move from the tree where he hid.
When he got close enough, Ben motioned for Harry and Eli to stop just as another barrage of gunfire sounded from behind them. Holding the revolver in his right hand, he crept closer to the tree until he was able to reach around and grab the man’s collar.
He jerked him up to standing. Except this was no him.
“Penny?” he whispered.
Her face ran the gamut of emotions before landing on disbelief. “Ben! You’re here.” She threw her arms around him.
He caught her, wrapping his own arms around her and reveling in the feel of her very alive self against him. Then, almost as quickly as she’d embraced him, she pulled away. Arms at her side, eyes narrowed, she took a step back. “Thank you for coming, Sheriff,” she said formally. Then she nodded to her right.
Ben was still processing the change in her reaction when another face appeared from behind the tree. “Adelaide?”
She nodded at him, her eyes filling with tears.
A strangled sound erupted from his throat, and he reached for his sister, pulling her to him. She was here. She was alive. When he finally let her go, he stepped back to assess both of them. Adelaide was dirty and looked thinner, but she was whole. And Penny was rumpled, her golden-brown hair falling in strands around her face, but she too was here and in one piece.
Something sharp pierced Ben’s heart, and it took all his self-control not to lunge forward and pull Penny to him. He had both her and his sister back, and he’d never let either one of them go again.
But you have to, a voice echoed in his head. Just the thought of it felt like pulling away a part of his soul. He knew he needed to get the both of them away from him if he valued their lives, but it would be like he was no longer living himself if he did that.
More gunshots sounded, closer this time. Ben leaped forward and pushed the women back farther into the trees. Harry and Eli stood, their guns pointed toward the clearing in front of the cave. There were more shots, and then silence.
“Come on,” Ben whispered. He pointed toward where they’d left the horses. They needed to get out of here. He’d come back to deal with Hagan as soon as he got the women to safety—if Hagan’s mutineers hadn’t dealt with him first.
Crouching behind the trees, the group made their way back toward the horses. They were just yards away when someone came crashing into the trees, right in front of Ben.
He drew himself up straight and threw out a hand to keep Penny and Adelaide from going any farther.
The man turned back toward the clearing, his gun drawn. Ben stood stock still, Eli and Harry at his back and the girls behind them. The outlaw’s eyes combed the clearing, not even seeing the men standing at his side.
Ben leveled his Colt at the man. “Hagan.”
Hagan turned, his eyes landing on Ben. “You. You’re behind this, ain’t you?”
“If you’re blaming me for your men revolting, that’s awfully generous of you. But I didn’t have a thing to do with that.” Ben kept his hand steady. Between the three of them and Hagan, they had the upper hand.
“Thieves will be thieves,” Harry said from beside him.
Hagan’s icy blue eyes flicked to Ben’s friend and then back to the clearing. Seemingly satisfied no one was shooting at him at the moment, he returned his attention to Ben. “You came all the way up here after me with two men?”
Ben said nothing. It had been a foolhardy move, and both he and Hagan knew it.
Hagan’s eyes narrowed as he looked around them. That sinister smile curved his lips. “I see. You’re going back on our deal.”
“There was no deal.” Ben nearly spit the words at the man. “You took two women against their will and then demanded money for their safe return. And when you got that money for one of them, you refused to let her go.”
Hagan raised an eyebrow. “So now what are we going to do?”
“I’m going to leave here with these two ladies on horseback and you under arrest.”
Hagan laughed. “You forget that while half those men out there want me dead, the others remember who’s paying them.” He waved at the clearing, where an occasional gunshot punctuated the night.
Ben nodded, considering Hagan’s words. He didn’t see the carpetbag of money Hagan had taken. The loose ends of an idea formed in his mind. It wasn’t a good one, but it was his only option if he didn’t want to start shooting it out with Hagan.
“How are you going to pay them if you don’t have my money?” Ben asked, stalling for time.
“I’ll get it back,” Hagan said. Another gunshot rang out, and he looked off to his left again.
In that split second, Ben rushed at him.
Chapter Thirty-four
Penny gasped as Ben’s head connected with Hagan’s stomach. Hagan’s gun flew from his hand and landed somewhere in the snow. Adelaide grabbed her hand, and the two of them watched from behind Mr. Caldwell and Mr. Jennings.
Hagan toppled to the ground. For a moment, Ben had the upper hand, but then Hagan fought back. He hit Ben hard across the face.
Penny started forward. He was hurt, and if Mr. Caldwell and Mr. Jennings could pry him off Hagan, then—
Adelaide pulled her back. “Leave him be.”
Stuck behind a wall of men with Adelaide’s hand on her arm, Penny felt every blow almost as if it hit her. But despite Hagan’s fight, Ben stayed on top, and it wasn’t long before Hagan gave up.
Ben fell back, breathing hard. Mr. Jennings grabbed hold of Hagan and forced him to his feet while Mr. Caldwell cuffed his hands together. And finally, Adelaide let go of Penny’s arm.
In a matter of steps, Penny was by Ben’s side, kneeling in the snow. His hat had tumbled to the ground. She brushed the dark hair, damp with snow and sweat, from his eyes, and then tenderly placed a hand on his cheek. He flinched a little, and she drew her hand farther back toward his ear. He’d likely have a bruise on that cheek, though it was impossible to tell in the dark. She found a handkerchief in the pocket of her skirt and lifted it to his bleedin
g nose. He raised his hand as if to take it from her and do it himself, but then let it fall. Instead, he leaned his head back against a tree and watched her as she worked.
She was vaguely aware that the gunshots from the clearing had ceased and that Adelaide drifted through the snow after the men dragging Hagan back toward their horses. But Penny’s focus remained on Ben. “I don’t think your nose is broken,” she said, pulling the handkerchief away.
He gripped her arm, his eyes still on her.
Penny swallowed. Would he push her away? She wouldn’t demand answers from him now, not while he was in this state. But later . . . She at least deserved to know why he’d been so good to her and then so distant. Then she could move on with her new life in San Francisco.
“Penny,” he said, his voice raspy against the silent air.
Just the sound of her name on his lips made her heart quicken. How long would it take her to stop longing to hear it? “Shh. Just let me tend to you. Then I’ll leave you be.”
He shook his head, then grimaced at the motion. His hand still held her arm captive. She dropped the other hand, preparing herself to hear the worst.
“I’m sorry.”
Penny looked up at him. At least he was being kinder this time. “Why?” she asked, against her better judgment. So much for waiting.
He let go of her arm and pushed himself up into a better position. Snowflakes swirled between them, a reflection of the butterflies in Penny’s stomach.
“I was afraid. For you, for my sister. For myself,” he said with a grimace.
“I understand. Your work is important. But . . .” He hadn’t said it, but she needed to know the answer. “Was it me? Was I too forward? Too . . .” She shrugged. Too everything?
“No,” he said emphatically. “Never. You were—you are—perfect.” His hand found hers, clasped in her lap.