“Do you know where to find your brother?” he asked.
Carrie Sue wished he had replied in another way, had offered a safe and happy life with him far away. Perhaps he didn’t want that solution with her; or perhaps he hadn’t thought of it yet. She responded carefully, “When we split up near Sherman, he was heading for Oklahoma to lay low for a while. I figured I’d head toward Brownwood and leave messages at our old hideouts along the way. It’ll be hard chasing him with my poster nailed up everywhere. Maybe when he sees it or hears about it, he’ll come looking for me. I know he won’t come to Tucson because he promised to stay clear of this area to give me a chance to start over, and he knows I would take off the moment I sensed danger. While Quade was holding silent, Darby wouldn’t attack him, to protect me and the boys. Once he learns what Quade has done to me, he’ll go after him again.”
T.J. noticed the way she’d hesitated before answering him. Fatigue and depression, he wondered, or planning a devious reply? Lordy, he had to convince her to be totally honest with him, for both their sakes! “That’s why you want to head for Brownwood?” When she nodded, he asked, “That’s too risky with Quade Harding searching for you. Don’t you realize he’ll be on the lookout for Darby’s revenge?”
Carrie Sue lifted the frying pan and started cooking the Johnnycakes. “I guess you’re right, but what else can I do?” She glanced at him and said, “I didn’t want to drag you into this mess, and I’m sorry you’re involved. It will be too late to change things if you don’t back away from me and leave now.”
When she reached for a fork to turn the pork strips, he captured her hand, compelling her gaze back to his. “It’s already too late to back away, woman. I can’t leave you until this matter is settled.”
Settled how? she helplessly wondered. “If you have as much brain in that handsome head as I think you do, you’ll get out while you can. If you don’t, you’ll get in as deeply as me and Darby. Once you’re entangled with the law, T.J., there’s no going back to your old life. This isn’t the existence either of us wants for you. Nobody knows about you except that sheriff. It’ll be your word against his, unless you can provoke him into a gunfight and get rid of the one witness against you.”
“It’s already too late to turn back. He’s probably reported my actions by now.”
“It’ll be worth the risk to make certain you aren’t on the wanted list. If I were you, T.J. Rogue, I would call his bluff. I’ll be fine alone, so stop worrying about me and get on with your life.”
Defiance clouded his smokey gray gaze. “I can’t. You mean too much for me to desert you. I can’t imagine you being an outlaw on the run forever, much less being the notorious Texas Flame. You’re nothing like your reputation, Carrie Sue. If you give me some time, maybe I can think of a better way to help you.”
“People do a lot of things when they have to. Don’t waste your time and strength fighting my battle, T.J.; I lost it long ago.”
As if angered and challenged by her loss of spirit, he argued almost harshly, “No battle is lost until you’re dead, woman, and you have plenty of life and prowess left. If you want something badly enough, you’ll find a way to get it, and you can with my help.”
What she wanted most of all was the man sitting near her, that and a bright future with him, and her brother’s survival. If only the three of them could leave the West and start a ranch somewhere together. But where would they get enough money? And where could they go where the law couldn’t reach them? It was hopeless. “I’m starving, and I can’t think straight anymore. Can we finish this talk later?”
T.J. saw how agitated she was becoming. “You’ve told me enough to know I made the right decision joining up with you. Lordy, I wish I knew of some way to get you out of this mess. About the only thing I can do right now is get you back to your brother for protection. Much as I hate to think it, Carrie Sue, that’s the safest place for you because we can’t hide out here forever, or hide anywhere long. If I don’t find work by the time that reward money runs out, we’ll be forced to commit crimes for it and dig ourselves in deeper.”
“That’s my point, T.J.; one bad thing leads to another. I was going to withdraw some of Carolyn’s money and hide it for an emergency, but I forgot. I was too busy with the school and you and Martin. At least I did get a horse and supplies. Mercy, this will be dangerous.”
T.J. guided them back to his mission. “I like your idea of getting Darby to go straight in some town far away; that’s the only way you two can survive. When we find your brother, if I can help you convince him to take off for distant places, I will.”
Carrie Sue realized he did not say he would go with her or with them. She decided this was not the time to ask him if he was in love with her and if he’d seek a future together. She wanted him to recognize those facts and make those decisions for himself without any pressure from her; that was the only way it would work between them. Maybe he hadn’t confessed love and a hope for a life together because he was too honest or too proud to lie about his feelings for her, which could be nothing more than the passionate desire and kindness he had exposed to date.
She smiled and said, “Thanks, T.J.; I’ll probably need your help.”
Together they completed the meal and devoured every bit and drop. She helped him clean up the area, then he went to the entrance to wash the dishes and to check on the horses one final time. While he was gone, she spread out their bedrolls, on opposite sides of the cozy fire to prevent looking overly eager to spend the night in his arms. Since she didn’t know for certain what he wanted from her, she didn’t know how to act tonight.
T.J. returned and put away his belongings. He watched Carrie Sue take the lantern and vanish from the chamber for a while. When she came back, she sat on her bedroll. He had noticed instantly where she had placed them and took her unintended hint. Considering her emotional state to night, he didn’t want to press her romantically. He wanted her to realize he was with her for more than sex, and he didn’t mean his case or his revenge. He wanted her to see that he could be unselfish and understanding. He wanted her to realize that he could be a friend as well as a lover.
Thad Jamison admitted to himself that he loved and wanted this woman in bed and out! All he had to do was figure out how to pull off the impossible feat of winning her and being able to keep her. He wasn’t the kind of man who ran away from trouble like a coward, but he would leave his present life behind after this mission if he could save her and take her along with or without the law’s permission. Much as he hated the reality of using and betraying his love, he couldn’t turn his back on who and what he was. He couldn’t become a weakling just to win her. He couldn’t let that murderous gang go free any longer, and he was the only lawman with a path to them. With Carrie Sue involved, he couldn’t turn the case over to another Ranger or marshal. Yet, once she realized what he was doing or had done…
T.J. dropped those troubling thoughts. He withdrew a bottle of whiskey from his saddlebag and offered her a few sips to relax her and help her sleep.
As she smiled and accepted the bottle, Carrie Sue wanted to shout at him that all she needed tonight was him, but she didn’t. He looked exhausted, and he was jittery. Perhaps making love after their serious talk would intimidate him further. She needed for him to hold her, but she would settle for having him nearby and pledged to aiding her survival. Besides, she was tense too, tense over her tormenting confessions, tense over her doubts, and tense over the two bodies somewhere in this cave. Considering the twists and turns they had made between here and the entrance, Martin and Jess could be lying around that far corner! She almost felt as if Martin Ferris’s eyes were on her this very moment and his evil mind was plotting revenge. She knew that was ridiculous and only proved how fatigued and clouded her mind was. She returned the bottle to her lover and thanked him.
“Get a good night’s sleep, woman; we have a lot of lost ground to make up tomorrow. I don’t want anybody figuring out to look in the last pla
ce you should be, still near Tucson. That poster’s been out for a week or more, so there’s no telling who’s on your trial by now. I want us out of Arizona pronto.”
“Are there any bats or slithery critters in here?” she asked to change the subject. She didn’t like those flying and crawling creatures, but she wasn’t afraid of them.
He caught her ruse and grinned. “Nope. Besides no food supply, this cave system is too dry and rocky, and too dark back in here for anything without a lantern. If you get scared, you can join me over here. I promise I won’t let the fire and lantern go out.”
All she could hear was their breathing and movements and words and the crackling of the fire. There was a curious aura in this secret place, a spiritual one, an eerie one. Maybe there were Indian spirits here, or ghosts of unlucky men or ancient people who had died in this place. She wasn’t afraid, just uneasy.
“Did you hear me, Carrie Sue?” he asked, lifting his head and looking in her direction. “I won’t let the light go out.”
Without moving from her back, she replied softly, “Thanks, but I’m not scared. I was just wondering because I hadn’t seen anything or heard any noises. It’s so quiet, not even any echoes. I can’t even hear the storm or horses.”
“The storm’s over. Most of the water should be gone by sunup. Those dry washes take it away quickly, what the ground doesn’t suck up fast. You’ll be surprised when you go out in the morning; you won’t even be able to tell it rained, much less stormed like crazy.”
“If the light did go out, would you be lost in here?” she asked.
“Nope. I could find my way out by feeling along the walls. I know which tunnels to take even in pitch black, and I know where the pitfalls are located, and believe me there are plenty of them. Don’t you get up during the night and go roaming. There are sinkholes, bottomless pits, narrow ledges, and worse. You’d be lost in less than five minutes.” He lowered his voice to a whisper as if relating a secret. “All through these caverns are trail markings, if you know where and how to look for them. With or without light, we’re safe.”
“So if we got trapped in here, you could douse the lantern and guide us to safety or into hiding?”
“Yep, so relax and get to sleep before I have to pour more whiskey into you to settle down that pretty head and silence that tasty mouth.”
Carrie Sue laughed before responding, “That’s all I needed to know, partner. Good-night, T.J.”
The redhead tossed aside her light blanket. She stretched and yawned contentedly. She rubbed her grainy eyes and sat up. Smiling, Carrie Sue turned to awaken her love.
Her smile faded rapidly and she paled. There was no bedroll across the small fire. There were no saddlebags or supplies in sight. There was no T.J. Rogue!
Carrie Sue jumped up and looked around in panic. Nothing except her, her bedroll, a campfire, and some brush was left behind!
The anxious woman frantically realized—except for her gown and bedroll—she had no clothes, no weapons, no boots, no supplies, no food, no water! Worse, she realized she was imprisoned in this hazardous labyrinth which would be Satan black when that pile of brush was used up within a few hours.
How clever, she ranted to herself, for him to leave her in the one place from which she couldn’t escape! How had she slept so deeply as to not hear his treacherous movements? It couldn’t have been anything in the whiskey because he had drank from the same bottle. She realized his wits and skills were far superior to what she had imagined, and she had imagined them to be the best. Where had he gone? Why had he left her here without even food and water? Was he fetching a posse? A partner? Was this a terrorizing tactic? A test?
Chapter Fourteen
“Damn you, you bastard!” she screamed as loudly as she could. “I hate you! I’ll kill you when I get my hands on you!”
Her previous thoughts echoed through her mind, In the one place from which she couldn’t escape…“Think, Carrie Sue. No man can outwit you or capture you if you keep your wits clear.”
The angry fugitive realized she couldn’t remain there and wait for the fire to burn up all the brush. She comprehended the perils involved in her decision, but she had to risk finding her way to the entrance. She closed her eyes, envisioned the cave opening, and mentally retraced their steps; first right, around a left bend, bear right after the first large cavern, pass a tunnel on her right, through that large chamber with the frozen waterfall, use last tunnel to left, horseshoe into this oblong chamber. All she had to do was reverse those directions and backtrack to safety; no, only to light.
Carrie Sue didn’t know what she would do when she reached her entrance in only her gown, but she would be in the light there to make her next decision. She left her sleeping roll where it was. She tied the tail of her gown in a secure knot above her knees to prevent tripping over it. She grabbed the largest piece of wood for a torch and held it in the fire until it flamed on the end. She headed toward freedom.
Just as she reached the end of the sleeping chamber, she nearly crashed into T.J. Rogue who eyed her strangely, then set down his lantern. She glared at him and accused, “You bastard! You’re lower than a sidewinder’s belly. I should have known not to trust you. Who did you fetch to turn me over to? Will I be allowed to dress first?” she inquired sarcastically. She accepted the fact she couldn’t pass the strong man who was blocking the tunnel, for now. She wanted to rave at him and tear into his handsome face with her nails, but she needed to conserve her strength for a better opportunity.
T.J. stared at her in confusion. “I heard you screaming while I was on my way back to awaken you for breakfast. What has you so riled? Did you sleep with burrs in your blanket? You cuss worse than I do when that temper flares. I’ll have to change that bad habit.”
Her violet-blue eyes narrowed and chilled. She balled her fist with the urge to strike him. “You filthy vermin! How dare you betray me, and leave me trapped here! Give me a gun and I’ll kill you!”
The ebon-haired man was still baffled. “What are you talking about, woman? I was up front cooking breakfast, right where I said I would be. I haven’t been anywhere, and you were never in any danger. I sneaked out to let you sleep as long as possible.”
“Sneaked out with everything and left me here defenseless!” she scoffed. “That fire will be out soon, and I want my clothes!”
Was that, he wondered, the problem? She had panicked when she found him and everything gone? But why? Didn’t she believe his note? “How else could I prepare our meal? I woke up early so I decided to save time by carrying our things up front and having our food ready. I figured you were exhausted because you didn’t even stir.”
Carrie Sue brought up the blazing torch in her hand to strike him forcefully across the head so she could escape this cunning rogue and cease his tormenting lies.
T.J. seized her wrist and wrestled the torch from her grip, casting it aside. He grabbed her and pinned her against his bare chest, which was difficult with her fighting him like wild. “Settle down, you little spitfire. I left a note by your bedroll so you wouldn’t panic before I returned for you.”
“Liar! There was no note!” she shouted again, struggling to free herself from his powerful grasp. She couldn’t, so she glared at him.
T.J. was mad, but he pretended to be angrier than he was. “I’m going to release you, you little wildcat, and you go look beside your bedroll. Go on,” he ordered sternly, freeing her and pushing her in that direction. “Damnation, woman, I’m telling the truth and I can prove it!”
Carrie Sue calmed slightly. He was blocking the escape tunnel, so she decided to put some distance between them. Since he knew these passageways and she didn’t, it was rash to flee in the other direction into the perilous darkness. She stalked to the bedroll and looked at the sandy floor around it. “Nothing here, Rogue.”
“Look again!” he shouted back at her.
Carrie Sue picked up the blanket which she had tossed aside upon awakening. A note was lying there.
She glanced at T.J. before scooping it up to read. Just as he claimed, the message said he was up front packing and cooking and would return for her soon. Had she accidentally concealed it? Or had he hidden it long enough for her to panic? She scolded herself for behaving like a fool and for instantly doubting him again. The vexed redhead crumpled the slip of paper and tossed it into the fire. She watched it burn before turning to face her sullen lover.
“Get your bedroll and follow me,” he commanded without a smile.
Carrie Sue was still edgy, but she rolled it and secured it with the leather ties. “What about the fire?” she asked contritely.
“It’ll go out soon. There’s no danger of it spreading anywhere.” He lifted the lantern and ordered gruffly, “Let’s go.”
Carrie Sue followed close behind the moody man who wasted no time guiding them back to the entrance where a campfire was going and their meal was ready to be completed. It was easy to see he had spoken the truth, and remorse consumed her. The smell of freshly perked coffee filled her nostrils, as did the odor of horse droppings. She glanced that way and frowned, not at the odor common to her, but at herself for her impulsive behavior. The horses were saddled, and her clothes were lying on the nearby ledge.
As if reading her mind, he said in an unapologetic tone, “Sorry about that oversight. We can stand outside and eat where there’s fresh air. What’s gotten into you, woman? I was just trying to give you as much sleep as possible. Get dressed while I finish here.”
Carrie Sue watched him kneel at the fire and begin working on their meal. She felt terrible about her behavior and words. “I’m sorry for what I said and did, T.J.; that wasn’t fair of me.”
Without turning, he replied in a cool tone, “No, it wasn’t fair, woman. After our serious talk last night, I thought you were beginning to trust me, but obviously I was wrong and that worries me.”
Kiss Of The Night Wind Page 26