Authors: Stolen Ecstasy
Hannah Howell (27 page)
“You shouldn’t let that man’s poison rob you of peace of mind.”
“I know, Sebastian. I keep telling myself that, but it just plain doesn’t work. Ghoulish as it is, I think my peace of mind will only come when that bastard is cold in the clay.”
“You’re not still thinking of staying for the hanging?”
“Not to watch it. Maybe just to be here to be sure.”
“Look, Hunter, the chances are slim that he can slip the noose this late in the game.”
“But, as you said, not impossible.”
“Nope, but where do you want to be if he does perform that miracle?”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean, do you want to be behind him, trying to catch him before he reaches Leanne, or do you want to be in front of him, standing between him and her?” The grim look on Hunter’s face was all the answer he needed. “Well—leaving at dawn, are we?” He stood up, picked his hat off the table, and set it on his head.
“Yeah, dawn.” Hunter frowned. “We? Are you riding with us?”
“Wasn’t I invited to a wedding?”
“You were—are. I just thought you had to be back on the job. You said you were reinstated.”
“I was. I’m on leave.”
“On leave? You’ve been relieved of duty for over a year. How can they put you on leave now?”
“Well, hell, I worked real hard that year as a private citizen. They figured I needed a rest before I started work.” He grinned when Owen and Hunter laughed. “My posting’s down your part of the country anyway. That was one reason I said I’d be at your wedding.”
“Fine with me.” Recalling the conversation about Leanne on their first night on the trail, Hunter asked, “Sure you want to be?”
Sebastian smiled faintly. “I’m not such a fool that I don’t look first to see how high a fence is before I try to jump it. That one was pretty damned high, so I reined in. Just couldn’t resist a peek now and again to see if it had been lowered some. ’Night, boys.”
“A good man,” Owen murmured after Sebastian had gone.
“I can’t help but be glad he’ll be riding with us.”
“Aw, Hunter, do you really think Watkins can get away? This is no small-town jail he’s sitting in.”
“I know it. The odds are real small, but I’m of a mind with Sebastian. I don’t believe in marking anything as impossible. Until that man’s six feet under I’ll see him as a threat.”
Martin shifted position, and the shackles on his ankles clinked. “Some damn lawyer you found. Did us a lot of good.”
“Stop whining, Chester.” Watkins leaned his back against the stone wall and rested his manacled wrists on his upraised knees.
“Well, I’m real sorry if I can’t be pleased about hanging. You said he was the best damned lawyer money could buy.”
“He is, and he’s done what he was paid for.”
“Getting us hanged?” Chester squawked.
“No, idiot. He tried every trick he could to stop that but—face up to it, Chester—no one could stop that sentencing. Not with our glorious past.” He lowered his voice, forcing his half-brother to lean closer to hear. “He played the game and he lost it. Now he’s playing out the rest of it. Neither of us will be dancing in the air for these bastards.”
Looking around the fortress-like cell, Chester Martin frowned. “Can’t get outta here.”
“If one uses one’s brains, no place is impenetrable.”
“If we do get outta here, think we can get safely back into Mexico?”
“We won’t be going there right away, not until I take care of a few things.”
“Hunter and that little bitch of his?”
“Nobody betrays me and gets away with it. When I’m done with them, they’ll welcome dying.”
“Well, before you kill that little bitch, I want her. Nearly had her back in Clayville, but Hunter snatched her up.”
“You’ll get your turn. So will I. She’ll give me what she used for bait to get me alone.”
“Might need some men, some extra guns. Hunter won’t fall easy.”
“It’ll all be waiting for us. We’ll see to Hunter Walsh and Miss Leanne Summers, then go to my place in Mexico. From there I intend to make this whole damn area bleed.”
Chapter Fifteen
A
FTER STARING DOWN AT THE RANCH FOR A
long time. Hunter grinned at the two men with him. “Surprising how good it looks.”
FTER STARING DOWN AT THE RANCH FOR A
long time. Hunter grinned at the two men with him. “Surprising how good it looks.”
Sebastian shifted in his saddle. “It’s a fine place, but to be honest, any place with a roof’d look good to me now. And a soft bed.”
“And a bath,” added Owen, his companions mumbling agreement as they simultaneously spurred their horses forward.
Hunter sensed something was wrong before he even reined in at the main house. There were too many men lingering around the main house. They should have been out on the range. They were also well armed. His father’s face was grim as he greeted them and tersely ordered them into the parlor. No one said anything until all three new arrivals had a brandy. Hunter did not like the implication that he was going to need it.
“You’ve had trouble,” Hunter said abruptly.
“Not yet, but we might.” Sloane sighed. “Watkins and Martin have escaped. Tuckman sent a wire to warn us. There’s a chance they’ll head our way.”
Sebastian swore. “So much for slim odds.”
“Where’s Leanne?” Hunter demanded, suddenly alarmed that she had not already greeted him.
“She’s not here, son.” Seeing the horrified look on Hunter’s face, Sloane hastened to add, “Watkins had nothing to do with her being gone. She left—hell, over three weeks ago. Her and those two men, Charlie and Jed. They took horses and supplies.”
“I don’t understand. Why would she just up and leave?” Suspicion slipped through his shock and he looked at his mother, who sat slightly apart from the group of men. “Did you have something to do with it?”
“I will admit I was not pleased with your choice, but I did not send the girl packing. She obviously had a change of heart.”
“No. You changed it for her, Mother.” Laurie stepped into the middle of the gathering, half-smiling at the surprise her appearance caused everyone.
“You’ve got to stop sneaking around like that, child,” Sloane grumbled. “Startle the wrong person and you could get shot.”
“Sorry, Pa. It’s become a habit.”
“What are you saying—Mother changed it for her?” Hunter pressed her.
“The child refers to the fact that I was less than welcoming—but really Laurie, that would not have made the girl run off. Everyone made it very clear that my opinion was of little importance.”
“The
child
refers to far more than that,” Laurie replied and tugged three pieces of paper from a pocket in her skirts, handing Hunter the largest of the three. “Mother gave this to Leanne.” She idly watched her mother’s face as Hunter read the letter. A brief flare of panic in Lorraine’s eyes was quickly hidden, the still lovely features swiftly composed.
child
refers to far more than that,” Laurie replied and tugged three pieces of paper from a pocket in her skirts, handing Hunter the largest of the three. “Mother gave this to Leanne.” She idly watched her mother’s face as Hunter read the letter. A brief flare of panic in Lorraine’s eyes was quickly hidden, the still lovely features swiftly composed.
“What is this?” Hunter frowned at his sister. “This has to be—what, six years old? How is this important?”
“What is it?” Sloane asked.
“A letter I wrote Patricia before she married Colin Spotford, Pa. Remember? Fool that I was, I thought I was in love with the woman and I was asking her to wait for me until I solved that problem with the Cutter girl.”
“Oh yes, I remember—the one who tried to say her baby was yours. Turned out it was Simon Taylor’s. He’d scared that poor girl into pointing the finger at you because he had arranged himself a better marriage. Monied girl. Cutters didn’t have a penny to spare.”
“That’s old history, Pa. So’s this letter. What does it have to do with Leanne? She could see it was old.”
“How, Hunter?” Laurie tapped the top of the letter with one finger. “You wrote the date on the inch or so that is missing, didn’t you?”
Lorraine met the furious gazes the men of her family turned on her with outward calm. “I have no idea what the girl is talking about.”
“Then how’d this letter get here?” Hunter crumbled it in his hand and angrily tossed it toward her.
“Perhaps Patricia was playing some devious game. Being a widow now, she needs a husband, poor girl.” Lorraine turned a sad, hurt look upon Laurie. “What have I done, child, that you wish to hurt me with such lies?”
“I’m telling no lies. You are, Mother. It took me a long time to see how often and how easily you do. I’m sorry, but I can’t let you hurt Hunter and Leanne with them.” She handed Hunter the two notes Leanne had left. “One is to Mother and one is to me. Just read what she says and you’ll know who is telling the truth. Mother and Patricia plotted together. If I had not been dragged off to town that day, I might have stopped her.”
After reading the notes, Hunter stared at his mother with a mixture of fury and confusion. “Why did you do this?” he demanded.
“I was doing what any mother would if she saw her child making a terrible mistake. That girl was not good enough for you. She would have held you back, cut you off from decent society. I was looking out for your future.”
“You were putting your damned nose in where it didn’t belong. Leanne wasn’t any damned mistake.”
Sloane grasped a rising Hunter by the shoulder and held him in his seat. “Don’t waste yours breath, son.”
“When I have Leanne back, we’ll not be coming here to live, Pa. I won’t have Leanne suffering Mother’s scorn and insults.”
“But you have to bring her back here. That’s why I worked so hard to find out why she left.” Laurie blushed when everyone looked at her in mild surprise. “Well, you won’t be too far away, will you?”
Hunter smiled faintly. “No. Not too far away.”
“You will be right here.” Sloane strode into the library, leaving everyone staring after him in confusion.
“Pa,” Hunter began as soon as his father stepped back into the room, “I really think it’d be best if I leave, live elsewhere.”
“You’re not leaving,” Sloane repeated. He looked at Lorraine. “Your mother is.”
“Sloane!” It took Lorraine a moment to recover her composure. “You can’t be serious.”
“Oh, I am very serious. To be honest, I don’t know why I have tolerated your scheming and snobbishness and lies for as long as I have. That you were my wife in name and the mother of my children wasn’t really enough. We haven’t been man and wife for years. You were no mother to the boys, only to Laurie, and I’m beginning to think you weren’t too good a one.” He looked at the paper he held in his hand. “We are getting a divorce.”
“A divorce?” she croaked.
“Yes. I looked into it when the trouble with Hunter started. I’m ashamed to admit it, but I did hesitate in believing his story over all the evidence to the contrary. However, while I hesitated, you completely turned your back on him. The scandal was all that worried you. I suddenly saw what I’d been trying to ignore for years. You don’t give a damn about any of us. So I decided to have John Cooper look into the possibility of divorce on the grounds that you deserted my bed fourteen years ago and have never returned.”
“Don’t speak of such things. Not in front of everyone,” she hissed.
“You’re a fool if you think our children don’t know. They’re concerned in this, and they have a right to know the why of it.”
“Well, you can forget this idiocy right now. I will never agree to a divorce. Never.”
“Oh, but you will. You have two choices. You refuse to sign the papers agreeing to the divorce, and I simply throw you out to make your own way. Or you. sign them and I will see you reasonably supported wherever you decide to live for the rest of your life or until you marry again.”
“You can’t throw me out with nothing.”
“I can and I will unless you agree to sign these papers.”
“You realize you will probably never see your daughter again.”
“Yes he will, Mother.” Laurie spoke softly and the look she gave her mother was a mixture of sadness and determination. “I will stay here with Pa. If he doesn’t mind, that is,” she added.
“I don’t mind at all, child.”
“Thank you, Pa. Mother, I will visit you anytime you wish me to. I’ll write to you. However, I don’t want to leave here.”
“You ungrateful child. How can you treat me so after all I have done for you?”
“What you have done is treat me like some little toy doll, a clay one for you to shape as you see fit. I woke up one day and realized there were seven other people in my family besides myself, but I only knew you. I had no friends. I have never even been allowed to play. All I know is etiquette and how to be a society matron. I believe I will stay here and maybe not be such a lady all the time.”
“All right, Sloane. You win.” Lorraine got up, snatched the papers from his hand, and marched off to the library, Sloane following her.
No one spoke. Laurie moved to sit in the chair her mother had occupied. Hunter suspected that everyone felt as uncomfortable as he did when Sloane returned alone. Who would have suspected Sloane Walsh would even contemplate divorce? It was something deeply frowned upon and rarely done. But, Hunter admitted to himself, it was the only real solution to the problem.
“Let’s put that aside for now, shall we?” Sloane murmured. “I let my anger get the best of me. That could have waited. This business with Leanne gone and those two killers loose can’t.”
“Hell, I don’t even know where to look for her,” Hunter said despairingly. While some of his sharp fear had been eased by the knowledge that Watkins had not taken her, he was deeply worried about her being out there somewhere with no warning of the danger she could be in.
“I know she has a father but not where he is. She didn’t know either. Somewhere near Denver was all she knew. She spoke of a friend called O’Malley in the mountains, but I don’t know where. I only know where Charity is, and I don’t believe Leanne would ever go there. Not after what that woman did.”
“Just how did Watkins and Martin get out of that place?” Sebastian asked Sloane.
“It was quite well thought-out, Tuckman feels. There was a switch of the guards, which got them the keys to the cell door and manacles. Good men were replaced by Watkins’s loyal dogs. After that, it was fairly easy. They got out of the compound concealed in a wagon. The lawyer had horses waiting for them. It’s pretty sure the pair hasn’t gone back to Mexico.”
“No, they haven’t.” Hunter ran a hand through his hair. “Both of them swore to come after us—me and Leanne. Damn it. If only I knew where to look.”
“I was about to say I could help you some on that, son, but Sebastian diverted me for a moment. I know where that father of hers is,” Sloane said.
“How did you find out? Did he finally get in touch with her?”
“Nope. She told me about him, said you two thought you’d try to find him when this mess was straightened out. Well, I took it upon myself to look into it a little. I do know a few people who know a few people and so on. I didn’t get any word until after she left though, and it might not help. He’s about fifty miles south of where Leanne lived with that woman in Colorado.”
“Are you sure? That’d put him just inside New Mexico Territory, nowhere near Denver.”
“He has a business in Denver. A partner who lives there and his eldest son handle most of it. I reckon he used that address for privacy.”
“Or to be sure the daughter he deserted couldn’t find him.”
“Don’t be too quick to judge, son. Most of what I was told points to him being a good man, honest and hard working. Course that doesn’t mean he’s a good father. Still, it could also mean he had a damned good reason for what he did.”
“Fine. Judging him’s not my biggest worry now. Finding Leanne is.” Hunter started to rise, only to have his father urge him back down again. “This is getting to be a habit with you, Pa. I have to find her before those two madmen do.”
“I know. Just remember those madmen don’t have any idea of where she’d go either. There’s only a few hours of daylight left. You won’t get far before nightfall stops you. Wait until morning. Eat, wash, get some rest.”
“Pa’s right,” Craig said. “You’ve got three days start on the men anyway.”
His other brothers quickly joined in with even more reasons for Hunter to wait at least until morning. Hunter finally conceded that he could do with a rest, although he wondered if he would get much sleep with worry over Leanne gnawing at him. For such a long and possibly dangerous journey, there would also be preparations to make. By the time he finished mentally reviewing all he needed to do, he strongly suspected he would need most of tomorrow as well before he could leave.
When that assumption proved right, he was far from pleased. Craig and Thayer had had to make a mad dash to town, leaving when dawn’s light was barely visible to get some of the supplies required as well as cash for the journey. It would take them the whole day to make the round trip. Time was needed simply to map out as best they could the fastest route to Leanne’s father.
The delay also meant he was home to see his mother’s departure, something he had torn feelings about. He could feel no real regret over her leaving, yet he was sorry it had come to that. While he usually cared little about what others thought, he found himself wincing slightly over the word ‘divorce’. In the hope of pushing aside his own confused emotions, he turned his attention to Laurie, who looked somewhat lost as she stood on the veranda watching her mother leave. He moved to stand by her.
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