by Linda Broday
“My wife would like you.” Clay leaned forward and touched her arm. “Her stepmother put her in Creedmore to get rid of her.”
“I heard the place burned down.”
“I made sure it did.” He rested his elbows on the table and leaned closer. “She suffered a great deal of pain in there. Now, we’re taking the stepmother to court. We really need your help. If I don’t find Dominick soon, the judge will throw out the case. Lucinda Shannon will get off scot-free, and who knows what she’ll try next.”
“So, you’re not really here looking for a job?”
“No. Dominick has information we need.” Clay finished his beer. “But that’s all right. I’ll find another way. I won’t put you in danger.” He reached for his hat.
“Wait.” She clutched his arm. “He has a hideout and he took me there once. I’ll tell you where it is if you take me with you. Please don’t leave me here.”
Everything stilled inside Clay. “Are you being held against your will?”
She nodded. “His lackeys kidnapped me and he says I have to work off my father’s debt.”
That was the Jude Dominick he knew—the lying, cheating, murdering bastard. Fury rushed through him.
“The big bear of a man at the end of the bar is watching us,” Clay said low. “Pretend we’re just having a good time. When I get up, slip your arm around me. I’ll put on a good show of lusting after you and say I’m taking you to my hotel room.”
“I hope this works or I’m dead.”
“Relax and trust me.” Clay rose and pulled her close. He nuzzled behind her ear and slid a hand down her body. “I’m paying for you the entire night, sweetheart,” he said loudly, slapping her on the rear.
“The whole night, handsome? That’ll cost you a lot of money,” she purred, running a fingernail down the front of his shirt. She slid her other arm around his waist and held tight.
“I got plenty for a wildcat like you, sweetheart.” He lowered his voice. “Okay, here we go, Amanda. Don’t stop for anything and keep laughing.”
Clay weaved between the tables, anchoring her to his side. She clung, laughing her head off along with him. They almost made it to the batwing doors before the big bartender yelled for Clay to stop. He kept striding forward until the man planted himself in front of him, blocking the exit.
The brute’s arms were almost as big around as tree trunks. Clay sized up his opponent and decided he’d opt for a bullet instead of a fistfight. “Hey, me and this sweet little Amanda are going to my hotel room right down the street. She’s going to show me a good time. Aren’t you, sweetheart?”
“I shore am, handsome.” She plastered herself against him.
“She’s not allowed to leave. If you want her, you use the rooms upstairs.” The man tried to wrench Amanda away and told her to get back to work.
Clay yanked back his duster, drew his Remington, and jammed it into the man’s stomach. “Step aside or take a bullet,” he barked.
The bodyguard slowly moved aside, his dark, glittering eyes promising death. “Better watch your back, mister.”
“I always do.” Clay moved past the huge mountain of muscle and guided Amanda onto the boardwalk. “Keep walking fast.” He kept his gun trained on Dominick’s hired man until they reached the café next door. He shoved his revolver into his holster, hurried her inside, navigating the tables to the kitchen, and went out the back door.
They weaved through the town until he knew he’d lost anyone following. He turned to Amanda. “Where can I take you?”
“I don’t dare go to my family or the few friends I have. That’s where they’ll look first.”
“Then you’ll stay with me. I’ll find us a place to sleep.” If only Sundown wasn’t in such dire need of rest. But he wouldn’t kill the animal by riding him out again so soon. “How far can you walk in those shoes?”
She glanced up and he saw strength and determination in her eyes. “As far as you need me to.”
“All right. We’ll walk out to the edge of town and try to find shelter.” He explained about his horse’s exhaustion. “In the morning, I’ll come in before dawn, get Sundown and whatever else we need. How far away is Dominick’s location?”
She wiped rouge off her face. “About ten miles due north. The cabin is well hidden.”
North was good. That would put him closer to Fort Worth and with a mere four days left before the trial…
Doubt turned his blood cold. What if he didn’t make it? What if Tally didn’t get justice because of him? Ice crawled up his spine. Clay rubbed the back of his neck. He could not, would not let down the woman he loved.
He moved Amanda off the road into the brush. By the time they made it beyond the lights of town, she had started limping and slowing down. He’d had to stop and wait a few times and finally gave in and carried her. He scanned the area, thankful for the moon’s light. A rocky formation ahead should offer some type of cover. A few minutes later, he lowered her underneath a small outcropping hidden by brush. Not ideal, but it would have to do.
The thin dress she wore offered little in the way of warmth. He shrugged out of his duster and draped it around her.
Amanda smiled up at him. “Thanks.”
“We might as well get comfortable.” He sat with his back against the rock wall and put an arm around her trembling shoulders. “Try to get some sleep.”
“When you strolled into the saloon tonight, I knew I could trust you. You have kind eyes, not hard like most men I see there.” She leaned back to look up at him. “I tried once before to ask for help, only the bastard told Dominick and it went real, real bad for me.”
“I’m sorry.” Clay could just imagine. He’d protect her with his life.
She snuggled into the duster. “I heard some things that might interest you.”
Clay’s ears perked up. “What things?”
“Lucinda Shannon, only her name back then was Kirkpatrick. She used to work at the Crystal Palace, and from what I hear, she and Dominick have been lovers for a long while. A friend of mine there said she overheard them plotting to get her married to Mr. Shannon and take everything he had. She also said Cormick Shannon frequented the saloon and that’s where Lucinda met him.”
“Very interesting indeed. Does this friend have a name? Where can I find her?” If they could get her to testify, that would give them a rock-solid case.
“I don’t know if she’ll talk. She’s really scared.”
“It doesn’t hurt to ask. If she says no, I’ll disappear and she’ll never see me again.”
“Okay. Her name is Kate Marshall. She works at the Crystal Palace, but now you’ll never be able to get inside to even talk to her. They’ll kill you if you show your face back in there.”
“I’ll manage something.” The muscle in Clay’s jaw tightened. He’d face a firing squad to talk to Kate Marshall. Early tomorrow would be the best time. After that, he’d ride to Dominick’s hideout. He pulled his hat over his eyes. “Get some sleep. We’ll need it.”
“Your wife is a lucky woman,” Amanda murmured, laying her head on Clay’s shoulder.
“No, you’re wrong. I’m the lucky one.”
There was a time when he’d have been tempted to offer Amanda more than a shoulder, but Tally was the only woman who interested him now.
Clay listened to the night creatures pawing around for food and thought of his warrior angel. He couldn’t wait to see her, to feel her sweet lips, her body moving against him.
He’d crawl through a mile of cactus to get to her.
But would he survive to make it to Fort Worth?
Forty-one
The Crystal Palace appeared like a silent tomb in the early morning light. Clay climbed up a back trellis to an upstairs window that Amanda had said opened into a hallway. He carefully maneuvered himself inside without too much noise.
/> The carpet runner down the center of the hall muffled his footsteps. He paused in front of the second room on the right. As he raised his hand to knock, a man hollered from below. “Who’s up there?” He froze, his heart racing. When no one answered, someone, probably the guard, began to climb the stairs.
Clay quickly glanced for a place to hide but found nothing. The heavy steps approached the top. Dammit to hell! He slid his gun from the holster, ready to use it if he had to. Holding his breath, he turned the knob of Kate’s door, praying it wasn’t locked. It swung open on rusty hinges. He slid inside and eased it shut just as the man stomped onto the landing.
“I said who’s sneaking around up here? Martha? Kate? Jolene? Answer me, dammit.”
His breath suspended in his chest, Clay moved into the deeper shadows. He hunkered down low against the wall just in case the guard looked inside. The man went the length of the upstairs, opening each door. When he got to Kate’s, Clay held the knob so it wouldn’t turn and would appear locked. After a moment, the guard grunted, then left.
The breath Clay had been holding rushed out. He stood, glancing around the room. The lowered window shades blocked the light of the rising sun. The sleeping form had to be Kate Marshall. She hadn’t stirred. He tiptoed toward the bed, hating to wake her but knowing he must. He put his hand over her mouth as a precaution.
She came instantly awake, struggling against him.
“Shhh, I’m not here to harm you. Amanda sent me. I’m Clay and I’ll remove my hand if you promise not to scream.”
Kate nodded and Clay released her. “What do you want? Where’s Amanda?”
“She’s safe. I just want to talk, hopefully appeal to your sense of justice.”
“There ain’t any of that left.” She rose and slipped a filmy wrap over her equally thin nightgown. “Amanda did a foolish thing, leaving here last night with you. It’s going to get her killed.”
“Staying will get her—and you—killed. Nowhere in Waco guarantees living.” Clay relayed everything that Amanda had shared, as well the details of the upcoming trial. He ended with, “My wife and I need you to testify to what you know.”
“Colby, if I go within ten miles of that courtroom, I’m dead.” Kate paced back and forth in front of him. The guard would return any second—the noise she was making assured it.
“Please, can you sit? I’d rather not draw the guard back up here.”
She pulled a key from her pocket. “Better lock the door.”
While Clay obliged, she went to a decanter on a table and poured herself a jigger of whiskey, tossing it back. Then she came back to the bed and sat down. The lines of her once-beautiful face were set, a dark bruise covering one cheek.
Clay knelt in front of her. “I’ll protect you. I’m going to drag Dominick before that judge, no matter how I have to do it. You and Amanda can come by a separate way.”
Kate glanced around the sparse room in which only a few personal belongings were in view. “I didn’t choose this life. I hate selling my body, men taking piece after piece of me until I have nothing left.” Her voice lowered to a whisper. “Everything is gone.”
“How did you wind up here?”
“My folks died, leaving me with a sickly brother. I had to provide for him somehow, and no one else would give me the time of day. He passed on several years ago, but by then, Dominick refused to let me go.”
Clay thought of Rebel. “It’s never too late for change.”
“And what would I do?” She snorted quietly. “Who would hire someone like me? This is all I’ve ever known.”
“You need to talk to my wife.” Clay rose and sat down beside her. “Doing the right thing can set you free of these chains and help you reclaim yourself.”
The door suddenly rattled. Both of them jumped. Clay was glad he’d locked it. He’d been so intent on what Kate was saying, he hadn’t paid attention to noises outside the room. He slid his gun from the holster and moved to one side of the door.
“Kate, what are you doing in there? Why is this door locked?” the guard yelled.
“I’m sick, you bastard,” she moaned. “Don’t come in. I’m throwing up. You’ll step in it.”
“Is anyone in there with you? I heard voices.”
“No, George. Oh God, I’m sick. I think I’m dying. Get the doctor.” She let out several moans and the footsteps faded. Clay assumed he went downstairs.
“Please, we don’t have much time. Get dressed and come with me, Kate. Take this chance that I’m offering. You can have a better life. What do you really have worth staying for?”
“All right, you’ve convinced me.”
He listened at the door while she quickly pulled on some clothes, then dragged a worn carpetbag from beneath the bed and began stuffing various and sundry items into it.
Once she was done, Clay grabbed the bag and eased out into hallway, listening to the voices below. “Come on, we have to hurry.”
The words no sooner left his mouth than she moved past him. Clay hurried her to the window, tossing out the carpetbag. In no time, they were on the ground and running to the horses. Kate mounted the one he’d gotten for Amanda. He had barely swung into the saddle of the other before George leaned from the open window, firing shots.
Bullets peppered the ground around them. The horses took off at a gallop, their long strides eating up the ground. Within a short time, Clay and Kate reined up where he’d left Amanda. The two women embraced.
“I hoped you’d come,” Amanda said. “They really need your help.”
“Wasn’t easy. I had to do some persuading.” Clay reached into his saddlebags for the breakfast he’d bought, handing biscuits and slab bacon to the women. “Eat up. We should get far away from here. Amanda, draw me a map to Dominick’s cabin. I’ll go there while you both head for Fort Worth. When you arrive, find Phineas Hargrove and he’ll take care of your needs.”
He scribbled on a piece of paper and handed it to Kate. “Give this to him.” Clay took a bite of bacon. “Amanda, when this is over, I’ll get you and your family safe. I won’t forget what you’ve done for us.”
“Sometimes you just have to take a chance. I’m glad I did.” Amanda’s smile conveyed deep gratitude.
Kate tugged her hair down around her face to hide her bruised cheek. “I’m not a bit sorry for coming. I’ll tell that judge all about Jude Dominick and anything else he wants to know.”
“I appreciate it more than I can say.” Clay washed his food down with water, wishing for a hot cup of coffee. He fished three silver dollars from his pocket and handed the money to Kate. “This should get you by until you reach Fort Worth.”
Amanda set her food aside and drew a map, handing it to Clay. “Follow this and you’ll find him.”
“Thanks.” He nodded, sticking it inside his shirt. In no time, he slipped into his duster and helped them onto the extra horse. “Head straight north and keep a sharp eye out for trouble. Ride steady and you should get there in a day and a half easy. Be careful.”
“You too.” Kate leaned down to shake Clay’s hand. “I have no regrets.”
With parting waves, they left. Clay watched until the two women vanished from sight, then turned down his own trail in the direction Amanda’s map indicated. Since the guard from the saloon would certainly have hightailed it out to inform Dominick of the two escapees, Clay avoided the well-traveled path, opting instead to navigate through tangled vines, briar patches, and thick saplings.
The sun was high in the sky by the time the run-down cabin came into view. He tied Sundown a short distance back and moved closer on foot, taking cover in the brush.
The door opened and a shirtless Jude Dominick stepped out. The man’s hair hung to his shoulders and he had a gun strapped low around his hips. Thick arm and chest muscles said he did more than push paper and order supplies for a saloon. That didn’t
concern Clay though—getting him to Fort Worth did.
He drew his weapon and was about to order Dominick to raise his hands when a rider galloped up in a cloud of dust. Clay faded back into the trees, recognizing the guard he’d tangled with.
“What are you doing here, George?” Dominick growled. “Someone could’ve followed you.”
“I was careful. Trouble in town, boss. Kate and Amanda are both gone.”
“What do you mean ‘gone’?”
“Some tough fellow came in last night and Amanda must’ve spilled everything. All I know is he drew his gun and forced his way past me.” George mopped his forehead. “I didn’t recognize him, but I could tell he was a desperado and had experience with weapons. Had this hardness in his eyes.”
“So, you just stood there twiddling your thumbs while he waltzed right past you with our merchandise.”
Clay grinned. Dominick was ready to swallow a horned toad backward. Angry men grew careless.
“Boss, he had this long-barreled gun out and stuck in my belly before I could draw a breath. I ain’t gonna die for those whores. So I moved aside.” George rested his considerable weight on a porch support with one hand. Dominick knocked it away, making the man jump back.
“By God, George, you’d better get to talking. What happened to Kate? Did she just pack up and march out? Or did this desperado you’re so afraid of come back?”
“He came back this morning—alone. Climbed the flower thingamajig out back and slipped in upstairs.” George told about Kate pretending to be sick and then described her crawling out the window with the same stranger. “I did all I could. Woke up the whole blamed town, shootin’ at ’em.”
“Hell and be damned! While you’re here bellyaching to me about it, this desperado is probably getting the rest of my girls out.”
“No, he’s not. I locked ’em in the cellar where we keep the beer kegs.”
“At least you did one thing right.”
“You know, I don’t have to take this.” George marched to his horse. “I quit. Find yourself another poor bastard to take your abuse. You never paid nothing to start with.” He stuck one foot in the stirrup and turned. “You might just have to find another hidin’ place after I tell that lawyer who’s looking for you where you’re at.”