Dark Warrior: Kid (Dark Cloth Series Book 2) (18 page)

Liam’s Knowledge

When Kid met Liam, he’d slipped through the shadows on the side of the livery.
Liam stood on the other side of some trees in the yard, waiting. To his credit, he’d realized Kid was there. He didn’t move, didn’t glance around, careful to not give Kid away.

He seemed to just wait.

Kid thought that interesting. If he protected Kid—then maybe he really was on their side. Maybe Kat had been right. But, then again, Kid had always liked him. He’d just never got behind the idea that Liam had been behind this.

When he managed to come closer to where Kid stood in the darkening shadows, to the side of the house under some trees, he stood quietly, acting like he was just out for a stroll, in no hurry to get anywhere, just enjoying the night air.

Liam stood there for a long moment, not saying anything, and Kid waited. By now, he was sure Liam knew he was there.

“Did you take him?” Liam finally said under his breath.

Kid only grunted in reply.

“Will you take him back West then?”

“Yeah,” Kid said. “Her cousin didn’t send the gunman after her,” Kid said. “We need to draw out who did.”

Liam seemed surprised at this, but he only nodded. “I would have sworn it was him though,” he said. “He seemed to control the old man.”

Kid nodded, then realized there was no way that Liam could see him. “Any ideas if anyone else stood to gain anything by having her killed,” he said in low tones instead.

Liam seemed to think on this, but shrugged. “I think he only pretend to be ignorant of the workings of the estates,” he said. “But her uncle is the only one who seems to find a way to work them.” He shrugged again. “It doesn’t make any sense.”

Kid thought about this. “Then, perhaps Jake’s plan will work. Perhaps this will frustrate him enough—to make him want to follow. Perhaps losing control of the situation, his ego will call him out of hiding.”

Liam looked out across the lawn. “Instead of just sending some hired men?”

Kid nodded. “Anyone who would plan this kind of takeover will have to take care of this himself. The idea of having his prize stolen out from under his nose will send him into a rage. And yes, he’ll want to kill her himself.”

“Why?” Liam said. “Doesn’t he already control everything?”

Kid grinned, but Liam couldn’t see him, so he said instead. “Not anymore.”

This caused Liam’s head to jerk, but he remembered in time to keep from looking directly toward Kid.

“What do you mean?” he asked.

“Jake has been busy,” Kid said. “He once made a hell of a lawyer.” Kid turned to leave, but turned back, realizing it would be better for Liam to know. “You will run things now,” he said.

He was gone before he could hear Liam’s surprised reply.

When they had settled into their next hotel, Kat moved to the window, as she always did, looking down into the alley. How would they escape this time if they were found here? A little roof sloped down from the window. Surely Jake didn’t plan to toss her grandfather off the edge into the wagon?

She glanced up at him now. When she did, she felt Shae come up beside her.

“I will stay behind,” Shae said. “They’ll never mess with an old woman getting ready for bed.”

Surprised, Kat grinned at her. “What if it’s in the middle of the day?”

She smiled at her. “I’m still an old woman. I’ll tell them they’re interrupting my nap.”

Kat laughed out-loud at his. But she had to admit—it might be a good plan. She glanced at Shae. “Why are you willing to put yourself at risk for my grandfather,” she asked her.

The old woman smiled, glancing down into the alley. She went silent so long that Kat didn’t think she would answer.

“He once gave me a soft place to land,” she finally said, “when my own world had come tumbling down around me.”

Intrigued, Kat would have loved to hear the rest of that story, but Shae said no more. So they settled in. Shae gave her grandfather a sponge bath and fed him broth, while Kat set up a makeshift cot. She watched Shae tending to her grandfather, wondering what could have happened to Shae—that she’d risk prison to help him now.

She turned to face the wall. Shae was much too old to be taking such risks, Kat thought. And if she had any sense, she wouldn’t let her put herself in such danger.

But she couldn’t bring herself to stop her, either. She didn’t think she could—even if she tried. Kat had to wonder if she’d be much the same way—if she managed to live to her age—without getting herself killed first.

She imagined she would be just as stubborn, she thought. Still thinking about this, she fell asleep.

Into the Darkness

When Kid entered the hotel room, Kat glanced up at him.
She’d missed him. She always missed him whenever he went off somewhere. He had dark, mysterious looks, and she loved to look at him. He was the kind of guy that a girl had a hard time taking her eyes off of.

She realized, when he looked around the room and caught her gaze—he’d missed her too.

Jake stood in the shadows near the bed, watching him, as always, his hat in his hands. Kat knew she wasn’t the only one who could see that Kid had something on his mind.

“How did you get that judge to set his estates in Liam’s hands?” Kid asked Jake, his head jerking toward her grandfather, lying in the bed sleeping.

Kat stared at Kid, then turned and looked at Jake.

Jake looked away. He grunted. “It wasn’t that difficult,” he replied. “All I really had to do was get that doctor, who’d betrayed him, to realize it was in his best interest to set the record straight.”

Kat grinned at this. “I’ll bet,” she said, laughing.

Jake’s steely-gray gaze lit up at this. “Now we just had to get him to sign some documents, leaving everything in the hands of Liam, the way he’d originally intended.”

Kat’s gaze shot up to Jake at this. “How do we know that for sure?” she asked. “I know that’s what Liam told me, but….”

Jake actually smiled at her. “Because that’s what he’d been trying to tell his doctor, every time he’d come to see him—and, again, when I brought him to see him last. He was muttering, but his intent was clear. That was also in the paperwork I had the doc sign, attesting to that fact. And I’ve also been trying to make sure your grandfather
wants
to come West with us, so that we don’t inadvertently do anything similar to what your uncle has done to him.” Jake shook his head, slightly, pressing at the brim of his hat in his hands. “But he’s been pretty out of it since they got their hands on him last.”

Kat looked over at her grandfather. “Why
does
he sleep so much now?” she asked, concern edging her voice.

Jake grunted. “Well, they poisoned him pretty bad. He just about didn’t make it. Now, I’m guessing here, but I think he might actually have come through the worst of it, and he might actually be healing up now—not just from the last batch they gave him—but from all that poison they’d been feeding him all this time.” He eyed Kat. “Kat—if they’d given him the dose they gave him last, at the start—it probably would have killed him.”

Kid came to put his arm around her, as Kat stared at her grandfather. “Are you saying he built up some kind of tolerance?”

Jake stared down at her grandfather. “No way to know for sure, but if we’re just guessing—I’d say it’s a possibility.”

Kat’s head jerked up at a thought. “But won’t they just kill Liam?”

“They could try,” Jake said, “but I’m thinkin’ they haven’t found that so easy so far.”

“And that wouldn’t change who still controls the estates,” Kid reasoned out.

“Grandfather,” Kat said, realizing what he meant.

“Yes,” Kid said. “Even if they managed to find him, and they killed him too….”

“It wouldn’t give them back the control over his estates,” Jake said. “They’d have to kill him. They’d have to kill Liam.”

“And they’d have to kill me,” Kat said.

Jake nodded. “They’ve already lost the war,” he said, then glanced at her. “All they’re after now—is revenge.”

Kat waited in the shadows. She’d been told they would move her grandfather, but they hadn’t moved him soon enough. Right now, she watched as the magistrate swarmed the building. She watched quietly, until she could safely move, and then she ducked into a room as they passed her, moving quickly down the hall and into the next room.

Shae stared at her as she came in, and Kat quickly went to the window and peeked out into the gathering darkness. Well—at least they had the evening shadows on their side. She knew Jake had picked this room because of that alley below, saw Kid pull up in the wagon below as she stood there. He saw him look over at someone and followed his gaze to where Jake stood, precariously on the edge of a nearby roof, getting ready to jump near the stairs just below.

So he’d seen the magistrate too. Good.

Kat opened the window, sticking her head out to make sure that Jake had made it to the landing, to one side. She still couldn’t imagine how he’d thought he’d get her grandfather to the wagon, one floor beneath them.

Kat moved to her grandfather’s side, as Jake came through the window, biting her lip, worried.

He came over and picked up her grandfather and, in one easy swoop, placed him over his shoulder, walking back to the window. He slipped her grandfather easily out the window, out onto the little roof that sloping down. Climbing out, he pulled him back over his shoulder, walked to the edge of the roof and, as nimble as a cat, leapt off the edge into the wagon bed below.

Oh, Kat thought, grinning. She should have figured. She went out the window and stood a moment on the edge, then followed him off the roof, but she landed on her horse, tied to the back of the wagon.

She glanced up at the window, as Shae waved them away. Her movements were quick—telling them to get going—now.

They slipped down the alley and into the busy street, leaving the magistrate behind to search the rooms above. Kat knew Shae had climbed into the bed, where they would find her. She could only hope they didn’t think she had any connection to them—or found any reason to detain her.

If all went well—Shae would meet them in the next town.

Once again, Jake led them through the darkened roads, turning here and there until he had them going down a darkened road. Only the moon provided light, and Kat had the feeling they were going to have to pull off somewhere and wait for the first rays of daylight to light their way.

Jake seemed to have other plans and kept them on the road. Though the way was slow-going, he eventually led them down the streets of yet another city, by the time the sun rose for them to greet another day.

Kat worried about Shae, as they set her grandfather up in yet another room and got him comfortable. What had seemed like a good plan at the time, letting Shae remain behind to throw off the magistrate—didn’t feel so great now. Kat paced the floor, no longer convinced they’d leave Shae alone—just because she was an old woman. Instead, Kat suddenly found herself gripped by thoughts of them beating her half to death, in some room somewhere.

Finally, she approached Jake with the idea of going to rescue her.

Jake frowned at her, as she told him of her concerns. Kid walked into the room and she explained to Jake, again, this time including Kid.

Kid frowned at her, much like Jake. “Kitten, we can’t risk your grandfather by going after her,” Kid said, pulling her into his arms and holding her. He tucked her blond curls behind her ear. “She chose to do this. If she’s caught—don’t make her sacrifice be for nothing.” He peered down into her eyes. “She wouldn’t like that.”

Kat swallowed, then nodded. But she
didn’t
like it. She didn’t like it
at all
. Suddenly, she wondered at what she could have been thinking, to go along with such a stupid plan to begin with.

Jake went out later that afternoon to scout for ways to get her grandfather on the train. Morose, Kat sat next to her grandfather, trying to do the things Shae had been doing for him. But she only had a slight idea of what the old woman had done to help him heal.

She stared down at him. They needed to get him on the train. They needed to figure this out—now. She couldn’t just keep dragging him all over the country side. He still hadn’t woke—and Kat wasn’t convinced he ever would. He’d die, for sure, if they didn’t get him some place where he could rest—only then could he finally heal.

Kid came up behind her, massaging her shoulders, and she reached up and covered his hand with hers. She felt bad about her attitude. She’d couldn’t remember a time, when she’d been like this—well—except when they’d kidnapped Kid. She’d always just worked—done her job. She’d been busy staying alive, so long, she couldn’t remember a time when she’d known any other way. She couldn’t remember when she’d had time to worry about her feelings. Feelings got people killed.

Now—she had all these feelings—and she didn’t know what to do with them. She didn’t even know how to respond to Kid, so she leaned back into his massage, letting his touch take her away from her problems—letting him soothe her. She didn’t know how else to react—but to just let go—to stop trying to be the one in control.

Kat hadn’t ever known the meaning of the word surrender. But she surrendered now. She surrendered to the feelings Kid invoked in her. She surrendered to the realization that they could only do what they could, to help her grandfather recover. And she surrendered to the fact that they were doing their best to help him escape her uncle—and that’s all they could do.

Most of all, Kat surrendered to the understanding that she was a woman—had always been a woman—with womanly feelings and emotions. She loved her friends. She loved Kid. And she wanted to survive this with him. She wanted to go home to her ranch—and she wanted to marry the man she loved so much that her heart ached with it.

Kat sat by her grandfather’s side for most of the night, finally falling asleep in her chair. When she woke, Jake took over, while she and Kid went to scrounge up some breakfast, where they slipped into the hallway and moved out of the building into the bright morning light.