by Smith, Bobbi
Lucia was surprised by her fall, and she couldn’t stop the cry of terror that escaped her as she lost her balance. The stones and grit cut at her flesh as she careened downhill, and she almost fainted from the pain that shot through her when a craggy rock stopped her reeling plunge.
Lying breathless, Lucia found that for the moment she couldn’t move, and she lay perfectly still as the world tilted dizzily around her.
“Juan. Wait here,” Rick told his grandfather as he dropped the guns and ammunition he was carrying and ran to Lucia’s aid.
“Be careful!”
Rick’s answering nod was lost in the darkness as he raced to her side.
“Lucia!” His words were hushed yet filled with urgency as he knelt beside her. “Can you move?” he asked when he saw that she was conscious.
“Yes, I think so,” she whispered, her breathing strained.
“Let me help you.” As gently as he could, Rick slipped a supportive arm behind her shoulder and tried to lever her into a sitting position.
“Ah.” The low cry was muffled as she hid her face against his chest. “My side—When I hit the rock—”
“Lay back” Rick lowered her as gently as possible down flat on the ground. “Does it feel as though something is broken or bruised?”
“I don’t know. Let me catch my breath and I will try again. We must hurry and go on. They might have heard my cry and they’ll know.” Lucia drew a ragged breath.
“Don’t worry about Malo right now. Just take it easy for a minute.”
Her eyes were filled with tears as she gazed up at his night-shrouded features. How gentle this man was. Malo would have derided her at her clumsiness and left her behind if she couldn’t keep up; yet, Cazador was caring for her and worried about her, even though she was the one who had gotten him into all this.
“I’ll be all right,” she declared staunchly, determined not to cause him any further trouble.
With a reserve of strength she didn’t know herself capable of, Lucia sat up slowly and then managed, with his help, to get to her feet. Bracing herself against Cazador’s helpful arm, she stood swayingly for a moment before standing alone. Though her side was throbbing and she had difficulty taking a deep breath, Lucia managed a victorious smile at him.
“See, I told you. Now, let’s go before Malo has a chance to catch up with us.” Bravely she started up the incline on her own, but her strength failed her on the arduous climb.
Rick tightened his supportive grip on her and gently helped her to sit down. “Wait here. I’ll go back for Juan.”
Lucia sat, her head bowed in agonizing defeat, as he hurried off to get his grandfather. When she heard the sound of their footsteps returning, she looked up in their direction.
“I’m sorry.” She felt guilty and she was more than a little worried about what they would do when Malo came after them.
“It was an accident, Lucia, something that couldn’t be helped. We’ll just stay down in the canyon. It should make for easier traveling for all of us,” Rick explained. “Do you think you can try it again?”
“Yes.” Lucia stood up and, with Rick’s help, they started down the hill this time.
“Malo!” Ramon’s agitated call pierced the sleeping outlaw’s dreams of revenge.
“What?” he snarled coming awake abruptly.
“There was a noise. It sounded like a woman crying out,” he explained hurriedly, not wanting Malo to be angry with him for disturbing his rest.
“Do you think it was Lucia or could it have been Chica?” Malo sat up slowly, yawning.
“Chica—” Ramon frowned. “I had never thought of her. In fact, I haven’t seen her since this afternoon.”
“No loss,” Malo said. “Get Pablo and the two of you scout Cazador’s position from opposite sides. Try to draw his fire, if you can. I want to be sure they’re still up there.”
“Right.” Ramon moved to awaken Pablo, giving him quick directions as to what to do.
“Where is Luis?”
“I am here,” the other man called out from the concealing darkness just before he stepped close enough to be seen. “What is the matter?”
“Ramon just heard a woman cry out. He and Pablo are going to climb up there to check on Cazador,” Malo said and then turned to the two departing men. “Remember! No shooting! I don’t want to take a chance of hitting Peralta.”
They nodded as they disappeared into the night.
“Do you think it might have been Lucia?”
“Who knows?” Malo shrugged. “But at this point, we can’t be too cautious.”
“Why would she scream? She went to Cazador willingly, didn’t she?” Luis pushed.
Vicious hatred surged through Malo as Luis’s words reminded him of Lucia’s unfaithfulness, and it took all of his meager willpower not to shoot him.
“Yes, she went to him,” he ground out and then added with savage amusement, “but maybe she got more than she bargained for, eh? Maybe Cazador is not as nice to his women as I am.”
And they both chuckled cruelly at the thought of Lucia, suffering at Cazador’s hands.
Ramon climbed quickly up the rocky slope. He was angry that Malo had ordered him not to shoot for he felt certain that this was the perfect time to attack Cazador. Surely, the old man would be tied up, and if Lucia had cried out—Well, he knew what they must be doing.
Seeking cover behind a craggy outcropping, Ramon dropped to the ground and slithered forward on his stomach to within fifty feet of Cazador’s hideout. Stopping all motion, he lay still, listening for some sounds of activity coming from the gunfighter’s camp, but there was no discernible noise. Frowning, he scrambled on, trying to work his way above them.
Pablo, too, had been moving ever closer to their mutual goal, scurrying from cactus to rock for safety. Reaching the pinnacle of his climb and wanting to draw Cazador’s fire, he threw a rock in the direction of the shelter.
The sound of the stone’s hitting the boulder and bouncing away was magnified in the silence of the night, and both Ramon and Pablo were astounded when there was no movement from within the protected natural walls of the hideout. Confused but resolute in their purpose, they tried again, this time Ramon tossing the stone, but again there was no response.
Emboldened by their luck so far, the two desperadoes ventured nearer, pausing occasionally to listen for some indication that Cazador was still there, but the night was quiet, revealing nothing. Their nerves stretched taut, they began to circle behind the refuge. They had not expected to be able to get this close, and as they rendezvoused above the hiding place, they were uncertain as to what to do next.
“Why hasn’t he fired at us?” Pablo wondered aloud as he joined up with Ramon.
“I don’t know, but something isn’t quite right here.” Ramon frowned.
“That’s what I was thinking,” Pablo agreed. “Do you think we should go tell Malo that he wouldn’t shoot at us, or should we move down closer to get a better look?”
“We’d better check it out before we go back,” he replied uneasily, his hand unsteady as he inspected his revolver to make sure it was loaded.
“Malo said not to fire at them.”
“If you think I’m walking into Cazador’s camp, unprepared, you’re crazy.”
Pablo watched for a moment as Ramon cautiously began making his way, gun in hand, down toward the hideout, and then he went after him.
They covered the final distance almost in slow motion, measuring each movement to insure themselves against an unexpected attack by Cazador, but there was to be no sudden assault. In the tomblike hush of the night, they burst into the shelter to find it long deserted. The discovery that Cazador had abandoned his camp and slipped away without a trace, left them both astounded and furious.
“They must have already been on the trail when I heard Lucia call out,” Ramon concluded in disgust.
“We’ll catch them easily now. They are, after all, still on foot,” Pablo added in relief.
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“We’d better let him know. I’m sure he’s wondering what’s taking us so long.”
“Malo!” Their call in unison immediately drew Malo and Luis’s attention.
“What?” He was incredulous that his men would call out to him in such a tense situation. Were they fools to give away their positions that way?
“Cazador’s gone, Malo,” they yelled, and he cursed violently.
“Gone? Where the hell did he go? And when? Get down here now!” he thundered.
Pablo and Ramon raced back to camp, knowing that their leader would be in a rage over being outsmarted again.
“You say you heard a woman cry out. Which direction did you think the voice came from?” Malo demanded of Ramon when they had returned.
“It was hard to tell. You know how things echo out here, but I think it came from there.” Ramon pointed in the direction they’d just come that day.
“So, he’s doubling-back, is he?” he said thoughtfully to himself. “That must be where the mine is. I’ll bet he’s planning on heading there next! How many hours until sunup?”
“Two at the most,” Pablo supplied.
Malo nodded. “At first light, we move out. I want Cazador by high noon, and I don’t care what the cost. We’ve been too nice in our dealings with him so far. Now, we’re going to start to play by our rules.”
Jennie lay wide awake on her bedroll. She had expected to sleep soundly now that she was back under her father’s protection, but it was not to be. Ever since she had returned from her time with Todd, she had done nothing but toss and turn.
Her thoughts were in a jumble and Jennie had to admit that she was scared. Had she done the right thing in accepting Todd? She genuinely cared for Todd, but the cruel thought that she was using him crept into her mind. She quickly denied it to herself, but still the lingering doubt about her lack of passionate response to his kiss haunted her.
Why was Cazador the only man who’d excited her in that way? Why couldn’t she feel the same passion for Todd? Jennie had no answers, but she knew that her future did not lie with a gunslinger. Most probably, she reasoned, he didn’t even have a future. Why after they caught up with them, he’d probably be—A chill of panic raced through her soul as she considered the possibility that Cazador might be killed in the upcoming shootout. No matter what had happened between them, Jennie realized that she didn’t want to see him dead.
Irritated with herself for even thinking about him, Jennie rolled over in a huff and sought elusive sleep. Her eyes closed and she rested until the sudden tormenting thought occurred to her: What if she were pregnant with Cazador’s child? She bit back a groan. In all of her wildest imaginings she had never before considered it, and now that she had promised herself to Todd—She swallowed nervously and ran her hand over her stomach. Could she possibly be? The answer was unescapable. Yes, she could very well be.
Jennie shivered. Pregnant by an outlaw. And no doubt he was probably a wanted man, too. An agony of misery overtook her as she remembered his touch and his kiss. Never again would she experience such bliss. She had loved him when she’d given herself to him, but it had all been one-sided. He had taken all she had to offer and then turned to Lucia for more. He had given her nothing in return for her love. Nothing except maybe his baby.
Curling up on her side, she wept silently in the night, knowing that it would be at least another week before she’d know the truth of her condition.
Rick shifted Lucia’s weight in his arms as he and Juan continued their trek through the canyon. Since Lucia had fainted from the pain of her injury, he had been forced to carry her, and the extra burden had slowed their pace considerably. Exhaustion was clearly evident now on his haggard features, but there was no time to stop and rest for the morning sun was already casting its rosy glow across the dark blue sky.
“Juan,” Rick called out in subdued tones. “See that ledge?” He indicated a broad, flat rock protruding from the canyon wall some distance ahead of them. “What do you think?”
“If we have time to make it up there and then get our tracks covered, it might work.” Juan paused for a moment to study the only viable shelter nearby.
“I don’t see anything else. Not down this low.” His gaze scoured both sides of the narrow canyon searchingly.
“Let’s go.” Juan led the way up the mountainside, struggling under the weight of the rifles and extra ammunition.
They advanced on the ledge slowly, each foot of ground they traversed seeming like a mile. When they finally reached it, both Rick and Juan were breathing laboredly from the arduous climb. Juan rushed to unload the gear he’d been carrying and then helped Rick lay Lucia down.
“How is she?”
“I don’t know,” Rick answered as he reached for a canteen. “She must have broken a rib when she fell.”
Lifting her head slightly, he tilted the water to her lips. At the touch of the cooling liquid, she stirred and opened her eyes, blinking in surprise to find Cazador leaning over her, his expression grave with concern.
“Lucia? Are you all right?”
“I’m not sure. What happened?” She glanced nervously around her.
“You fainted,” Juan explained drawing nearer.
“Oh.” Lucia tried to change positions, but pain jolted through her and grasped her side. “It’s my side.”
“Let me take a look,” Juan offered.
“I’m sorry I caused you so much trouble,” she said, wearily as she closed her eyes against the probing agony of Juan’s gentle fingers.
“It looks like you’ve broken a rib or two,” he told her, drawing away and pulling out the knife Rick had given him earlier. “I’m going to cut away some of the hem of your skirt and use the material to bind you.”
Lucia nodded quickly and lay unprotesting as he ministered to her, wrapping the wide strip of cloth tightly around her just beneath her breasts.
After pausing only long enough to catch his breath, Rick moved off to camouflage their trail as best he could. He was on edge with fatigue, and yet every nerve in his body was strung tight as he constantly kept watch for some sign of Malo.
As he worked, Rick thought briefly of Jennie and wondered at her safety. By now, he reasoned, she was with her father and well on her way back home to the McCaine ranch. In his heart, he finally acknowledged that he was glad she’d run away when she had for he had serious misgivings about their ability to survive this next encounter with Malo.
Yesterday they’d had the advantage of position and surprise, but today—Rick knew he was outgunned and, in his present precarious location, he also knew that he could easily be outmaneuvered. A heavy sense of foreboding swept through him, and his years as a hired gun had taught him not to ignore his feelings. Hurrying back to his grandfather, he hoped for once that his instincts were wrong.
The sun was shining brightly, wiping away all vestiges of the night’s shielding darkness, as Rick made his way up to the ledge. Juan had been watching him as he’d tried to destroy their trail, and he smiled warmly when Rick rejoined him.
“You’ve done well. We have a good view and we will know as soon as they’re near,” Juan said, trying to cheer him but also sensing his anxiety.
“I hope I’ve done enough,” he replied distractedly, his thoughts on Malo and the impending, unavoidable showdown. “How’s Lucia?”
“I’m much better,” she called softly and Rick went to kneel beside her.
“Good. They’ll be catching up with us soon, so I want you to stay right where you are. Don’t try to move. Juan and I will handle everything.”
“You won’t let me help?” Her dark eyes were anxious as she reached out to touch his arm.
“I appreciate your offer, but as badly as you’re hurt, there’s not much you’d be able to do. It’ll be easier on us not to have to worry about you.” Rick knew she was worried, but there was little he could do or say to encourage her.
“All right,” Lucia said meekly, knowing that he was right.
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Rick nodded impersonally and started to stand, forcing her to release his arm. “Rest easy,” he told her as he walked off to stand by Juan.
“We might as well try to relax while we can.” Juan glanced at Rick’s strained features and knew that they were sharing the same worries.
“You go ahead. I’ll just stand watch,” he encouraged, knowing that the older man had to be more tired than he was.
Sensing that Rick needed some time alone, Juan went to sit under the small overhang near Lucia, keeping a loaded rifle balanced carefully across his lap. Rick checked their firearms once more, verifying their state of readiness, and then positioned himself at the best vantage point from which to watch for Malo’s approach.
Almost an hour had passed before they rode forth into the canyon, and Rick spotted them right away.
“Get down!” Rick called out to his grandfather as he quickly stretched out flat on the rocky shelf. He grabbed his rifle and, bracing himself on his elbows, he took aim, carefully judging the distance they’d have to travel before they’d be within his range.
“Where are they?” Juan asked as he crawled up beside Rick.
“There.” Rick pointed out the four riders who were splayed out across the canyon, heading their way.
Juan nodded but didn’t bother to answer as they both concentrated on making the best first shot they could.
“I just saw something!” Ramon shouted to Malo and pointed toward the ledge where he’d seen the sun glint off their rifle barrels. “Up there!”
“All right, this has got to be them!” Malo grinned in victory as he reined in. “We’re going to split up and try to stay out of his range of fire. Ramon—Luis, you two ride up to the top of the ridge and then shoot down at them. I don’t know what kind of cover they’ve got from above, but I doubt that it’s much. Pablo and I will work our way along the other side.” Malo’s smile widened for he was pleased that finding them had been so easy. “Now let’s ride! I want to get to that gold mine, today!”