Dance With A Gunfighter (21 page)

He sat with his legs and spurred boots stretched out
before him, his back resting against a barrel, and at his side was a half-empty
bottle of whiskey. A soiled kerchief was tied loosely around his thin neck, the
knot falling onto a hairless chest so thin and concave Gabe could practically
count his ribs. Only the bottom two buttons of his shirt were fastened.

As the group approached, Cramer's mouth curved into a
grin.

Gabe forgot all discomfort as she stared at one of her
family’s murderers.

At Cramer's side, and a little to the back, a heap that
looked like a pile of old clothes began to move, and Gabe saw a woman push some
netting off her face and arms and slowly sit up, rubbing the sleep from her
eyes. Her red hair was matted and tangled, and her tattered, filthy dress clung
far too tightly to her ample figure. Gabe could see the shock flicker across
the woman's face as she spied McLowry.

She placed her hand on Cramer's thigh and raised her head
defiantly, her eyes never leaving McLowry’s face.

Cramer's face twisted into a grimace as he glanced down at
her hand. "I cain't b'lieve you woke up from yer beauty sleep, Melissa. It
ain't even nighttime yet." He took a swig from his bottle then shambled on
thin legs toward the riders.

"So you got 'um both, boys!" Laughing, he
slapped his sides then thrust open his arms, his fingers waggling inward,
precariously holding the neck of the whiskey bottle with his thumb and first
finger. "Let's see her. Git her down fer me."

Slim and Dawes yanked Gabe off the horse. She began to
crumble to the ground, her legs unable to support her after the unrelenting
ride, but Slim caught her. He held her up as Dawes cut the ropes from her
hands, causing shooting pains to run through her arms as the blood began to
circulate again. When the gag was taken from her mouth, her jaw was so stiff it
spasmed when she tried to close it.

The other two men, Lefty and Red, dragged McLowry from his
horse and ripped off his gag, but kept his wrists bound.

Slim balanced Gabe before Cramer, then stepped aside.
Despite the panic that filled her, she found herself unable to look away.

"I heard you been lookin' fer me, girl," he
said, jerking her chin up as he peered down at her. "I wanna know
why."

 She recoiled at his touch, her lips drawn back in a
snarl, but her throat was so dry she couldn't order him to take his filthy
hands away from her. Her eyes said it, though.

"She wasn't looking for you," McLowry said, his
voice harsh and croaked. "Where’s Tanner?"

Cramer's eyes darted toward McLowry then he smirked.
"You don’t ask no questions, gunman. An’ don’ worry. I won't fergit ‘bout
you. Right now, she's more inturstin'...Lots more inturstin’."

Taking hold of a handful of Gabe's hair, Cramer pulled her
head toward him, close enough she could smell the stench of his body, feel his
hot, sour breath. "Looks like she's thirsty. What's wrong with you boys?
Didn't you treat her like a lady?"

He snapped his fingers and Lefty lifted a canteen from his
horse and gave it to Cramer. Cramer shook it, letting Gabe hear the water slap
the sides, then he took off the top, flung his head back, held the canteen a
couple of inches above his mouth and poured, letting the water slosh over his
chin, through his beard and onto the ground.

He licked his lips. "It's nice an' cold...jis' the
way I like it."

She said nothing.

Cramer put his long, thin forefinger in the canteen and
when he pulled it out, it was wet. "Thirsty, girl?"

He put the wet finger against her lips and despite its
dirt and long, grime-encrusted fingernail, her tongue darted out to lick what
liquid was there.

Cramer laughed. "Look at that. Like a dog, lickin'
its master. Good. You learn fast."

Gabe turned her head away, sickened. The taste of water
and anticipation of more had brought saliva to her mouth. She sucked it
together and spat with all the force she could muster, hitting him squarely in
the face. His hand darted out like a rattler's bite, and slapped her hard. Slim
caught her and kept her on her feet.

McLowry moved forward, but the two men at his sides held
him fast.

"Leave her alone, Cramer," McLowry said.
"She's just a kid."

Cramer snorted, "Kids shouldn't go askin' 'bout grown
men. They might git more 'en they bargained fer."

His eyes over raked the young woman, and he slid his
fingers in the belt of his trousers while he jutted out one boney hip.
"Later on, we jis' might see how thirsty you
really
are, girl. I
got some other good lickin' parts fer you."

He guffawed at his own joke, and his men joined in.

Melissa stepped to Cramer's side, then jerked her head
toward McLowry. "What about him?"

Cramer glanced at her "You know him?"

Melissa's eyes turned wide and watery. "He...he attacked
me, darlin’."

"What?"

She clutched at the bodice of her dress and tried to pull
the edges closer together without success. "He raped me. I was in Tucson.
He was a gunfighter. Thought he could take anything he wanted, and he wanted
me." Her voice was small and mewling as she looked up at Cramer. "I
refused him, but he wouldn't take my 'no.' It was terrible, the things he
forced me to do! I wanted to kill him, but I'm not strong or powerful like you
are."

Cramer stroked his stubbly chin as he glanced over at
McLowry. "That so? You attacked my woman?"

McLowry answered without expression. "That's a woman
no man would ever need to rape. She’s mad ‘cause I didn’t even want her free of
charge."

Cramer chuckled.

Melissa's jaw clenched, and she tugged at Cramer's arm,
her body jiggling like loose set custard. "You can't let him talk to me
that way, Tack."

Cramer looked from one to the other then he shrugged,
"Goddamn, Melissa! We’re gonna kill him anyway, once Tanner shows up.
Cain't kill him twice, can we?"

Cramer chuckled again and Gabe's flesh ran cold as she
took in the sick little scene. Cramer was crazy as well as easily swayed. The
combination was deadly.

"Dying's too easy." Melissa tossed back her
carrot-colored mane. "He needs to be taught how it feels to be used...
humiliated."

McLowry’s eyes narrowed. Melissa continued, undaunted.
"Break his spirit, Tack. For me. Let me hear his cries of pain, just like
he heard mine."

Cramer smiled and gazed at McLowry with new interest.
"You might be on to somethin', sweetheart. We was jis' gonna hog-tie him
and be done, but we could use a little entertainin'. As fer her," he
stroked Melissa's arm while regarding Gabe, "I know cookin' and meetin'
the needs of us boys can be a little wearyin' on you, sweetheart. Might be you
could use a helpin' hand--least ‘til Tanner gets here and decides what to do
with her. I could offer a few ideas, myself." He grabbed Gabe’s arm.
Twisting it behind her back, he caused her to lean into his narrow chest.
"I never did hear why you was lookin' fer me."

"I wasn't," Gabe rasped. "I just...heard
about you and I was curious...I wasn't looking..."

He yanked her arm upward. A sharp, searing pain made her
scream. "You think I was born in some turnip patch? You had a powerful lot
a questions, girl, fer someone jis' curious."

"She didn't say what part she was curious
about
,
Tack," Dawes said, a smirk on his lips.

Cramer raised her arm higher, and she cried out again as
her legs threatened to buckle. "I think I wanna hear what you heard about
me."

Her arm hurt so badly she had to bite her lip to keep
tears of pain from falling. "Only that you were...uh...the...the best
outlaw in these parts..."

His hold relaxed a bit. "The best? Who said
that?"

"Everybody." The pain of her arm, the stench of
his body and the rank odor of his breath made her empty stomach lurch. The
world turned black and purple and began to spin.

"Better’n Tanner?"

She forced herself back to reality. "
Yes!
"

"Let her go, Cramer!" McLowry’s voice reeked
with disgust. "She can't hurt you."

Cramer shoved Gabe aside and gulped more whiskey before
ambling in front of McLowry. "Yer too bossy, big man. There's only one
boss here."

"Right, and it’s not you, is it, Cramer? You’re
nothing."

Cramer’s eyes glinted murderously. "A little time in
the sun'll be good fer learnin' how to talk to yer betters, gunman."

McLowry lifted his head and peered down his nose at
Cramer.

Cramer’s eyes blazed. "Dawes!" His voice was
shrill. Dawes jumped to attention. "We got us a wild stallion here. We
gotta break him. Now!"

Dawes smirked, then tramped toward the shack. Gabe watched
in horror, knowing Jess had insulted Cramer just to divert his rage from her.

Cramer’s gaze glombed onto the two men at McLowry’s side.
"Don’t just stand there scratchin’ yer asses!" he shrieked. "Tie
him good an' 'tight. We don't wanna make it easy on him."

As Lefty reached for McLowry’s arms, McLowry kicked at
him, tripping him, then McLowry rammed his shoulder into Red. Slim and Lomax
jumped on him, beating him while his bound hands stopped him from protecting
himself from their punches.

Gabe flung herself toward them. She was trying to pull
Lomax’s gun from his holster when someone grabbed her hair and spun her around.

Cramer's insane grin flashed before her eyes a moment
before she saw his fist sailing toward her face, then all went black.

o0o

Gabe awoke to a boot toe jabbing her in the back.
"Get up, whore. You don't want to miss your high and mighty boyfriend now.
Not when he's going to be screaming and begging for mercy."

She was vaguely aware of a canteen being held to her lips.
She drank greedily. Her ears rang, her head throbbed, and her entire jaw was
sore and puffy. Her eyes barely opened. Slowly, the woman before her came into
focus. Melissa. The realization of where she was and what was happening came
back to her in a rush. "Your boyfriend," Melissa had said,
"screaming."

No! Gabe rolled her head from side to side. This wasn't
happening, none of it. She reached for the water.

"Forget it!" Melissa yanked it from her.
Grabbing the shoulder of Gabe’s dress, she tugged her to her feet and twisted
her around.

When she saw McLowry, she would have fallen again except
that Melissa held her tight.

His shirt had been ripped away, baring his back and he'd
been tied, spread eagle, against the wall of the old shack. His hands and
ankles were tightly bound with rawhide strips attached to the shack's outside
wall. His fine hands were swollen and fiery red while he braced his forehead
against the wall, panting hard. She could see blood dripping from his nose and
mouth, and ugly reddish purple bruises over his body. He strained against his
bindings, but it did no good.

Dawes slowly walked toward him, in his hand, a bullwhip.

"Stop this!" Gabe ran forward two steps before
Lomax grabbed her. She turned to Melissa. "Don't let them do this.
Please.
He didn’t hurt you. He never even touched you. You know he didn't!"

Melissa's eyes were cold. "But he did. Your precious
Jess McLowry is a first class bastard."

"No!"

"Watch!" Melissa turned from Gabe, all her
attention on McLowry.

Gabe could see him lick lips that were dry and cracked.
Squeezing his eyes shut, he turned his head away from her. She could no longer
see his gaze, and for that she was thankful. She didn't think she could bear to
see the pride and beauty in his eyes reduced to this.

Her heart and breath seemed to stop. Her throat ached to
cry out to him, but no sound came, only a silent rage and desperation.

She heard the shuffle of footsteps as Dawes moved closer.
Cramer and the others stepped to the side as if to get a better view.

Then everything went still. Gabe saw McLowry’s body tense
as he waited. She heard the whistling sound of the whip then saw it land, with
a sickening crack, across his bare shoulders. She jerked back, a cry escaping
her lips, her senses horrified.

McLowry’s fists clenched and unclenched, his forehead
pushed harder against the wall, but he didn't make a sound.

Her body still trembled from the first blow when the
second hit. A streak of blood lined McLowry’s back where the whip struck.

Gabe dropped to her knees. "Please, God," she
whispered, "stop them."

The whip slashed again, tearing through skin and muscle.
"No!" she cried, her body quaking with rage and agony as Melissa and
Lomax pulled her to her feet. They held her head and forced her to watch as
Dawes struck without mercy, again and again.

McLowry didn't cry out, and his silence seemed to enrage
Dawes and Cramer until Gabe's vision swam with blood. She screamed until she
had no voice left, and fought them, unable to stop herself or her outrage,
unable to stop the cruelty before her. What had been McLowry’s strong, broad
back was torn, bloodied flesh. Gabe saw his right arm tense so forcefully from
a blow that the rawhide on his wrist pulled free of the wall. Then his body
sagged, and he fell unconscious.

Gabe shut her eyes, covering her face with her hands. It
was over.

But then she heard another blow. She stared at the madmen before
her, her senses raging with disbelief. Dawes wasn't stopping. He would keep
going until Jess was dead.

Melissa and Lomax must have also thought the beating was
over and relaxed their hold because, suddenly, she was free of them. The two
bolted after her when she first got loose, thinking she was escaping, then
stopped, intrigued at the direction she took.

She ran between McLowry and Dawes, then faced Cramer.
"You still want to whip someone, Cramer, whip me. You've hurt this man
enough."

Dawes grabbed her arm, his eyes murderous, but then he
glanced at Cramer as if he wasn’t sure what to do.