Authors: Stolen Ecstasy
Hannah Howell (6 page)
“Yup. That’s what she was standing by.”
“Get it down, Henry.”
“Can’t do that.”
“Why the hell not?”
“Did it the first time it was nailed up ’cause I could recognize the description of you, vague though it was. That fellow came back through, nailed up another one. It’d look suspicious if I kept removing them. The wrong person might ask why. Don’t think it’d help anyways. The man was tacking those things up far and wide.”
“Damn it, Henry, the girl’s innocent.”
“Then why ain’t she at home?”
“The only thing that girl’s guilty of is rushing in without thinking.”
“That happens to a lot of folk.” Henry looked meaningfully at Hunter. “I can’t use that excuse for everyone with a price on his head.”
“I know, but it’s true this time. Who was this fellow nailing up posters?”
“The sheriff of that town—Martin.”
“Well, he certainly has found a unique way to punish a woman for resisting rape.” Starting towards the door, he added, “See what you can do about that poster. I’ve already got enough fools on my trail.”
“So many you might not finish what you’ve started?”
“It doesn’t look that way yet.” He looked for Leanne, only to see her still lurking by her poster. “Leanne, we’re leaving.”
She hurried over to him and was glad that he did not indulge in any protracted good-byes, simply lifted her onto his horse and mounted behind her. All she wanted to do was get away from that black and white proof that she was branded a criminal. It made her feel sick. It certainly made her feel terrified. Now there really was no chance that anyone would stop to ask questions. They would simply grab her or shoot her. She was as good as hanged, she thought morosely as they started on their way.
Henry Tuckman watched Hunter ride off. The girl had looked very young, very pale, and very scared. Shaking his head and wondering if he was just an old fool, he walked to the poster and ripped it down. He really could not afford to have too many people tracking Hunter.
Hunter frowned at the top of Leanne’s head. He was worried about her, he reluctantly admitted to himself. She looked pale and he was sure he felt her trembling slightly. The most worrisome thing was how quiet she had gone. Though she was not an annoying chatterbox, she was not usually given to such long silences. He felt sure that that wanted poster was at the root of what troubled her and decided the best thing to do was to get the subject out in the open.
“I know about the wanted poster, Leanne.”
Startled out of her brooding, she glanced at him. “But you didn’t see it.”
“The sheriff told me.”
“I expected to see one for you or one of the other men, but not for myself.”
“You’re the one they could all recognize. Probably even had some photograph to aid the artist.”
“And of course Sheriff Martin could never admit to knowing what you looked like.”
“Nope.”
“Who’s offering five hundred dollars? Why put such a big price on me? I’ve never done a thing wrong.”
“Feelings can run high when people think one of their own has turned against them.”
She sighed and fell silent again. It hurt that the people she had known all her life could believe she would steal their money.
Later, as she sat watching Hunter make up a fire she began to think about the money, the five hundred dollars offered so boldly beneath her picture. It was a lot of money. A man could get a good start with money like that. She would be hunted now, perhaps hunted more avidly than any of the others.
In fact, she mused, it was no longer safe for Hunter to drag her along. As far as she could see, the tables had turned. It was now more to her benefit to stay with the outlaws. They not only knew the country and how to avoid the law, but they were five guns that she might well need to hide behind.
She sighed. It might be to her benefit to remain with the group, but she could not in good conscience endanger the others. Tom and Luke could go to hell in a handbasket as far as she was concerned. But she would hate to see Hunter shot. Or Charlie and Jed for that matter. They were sweet, if somewhat dull-witted—not true desperadoes. In truth, she desperately wished she could turn them onto the straight and narrow before they paid too dearly for tagging along on criminal ventures. But she would have to leave before she could help them.
Hearing yet another soft sigh, Hunter sat down by the fire and looked at Leanne. “If you’re going to keep doing that, come sit closer to the fire. It could do with some stoking up.”
“How droll.” Leanne started to sigh again, then swallowed it. “I think it’s time I rode out on my own.”
“You do, do you.” He proceeded to roll a cigarette.
“I may have gone to school back East, but I am hardly a stranger to this area.”
“Which means?”
“Which means I fully understand what that wanted poster means. It’s as good as a noose around my neck.”
“Not everyone with a price on his head ends up dead.”
“Of course not. I suspect five or six out of a hundred are kept alive long enough to die on the gallows.”
He winced. There was some truth to her words. Even if the poster did not say dead or alive, it would be read that way. It was easier to bring in a corpse than a reluctant criminal. The men who collected bounty money always preferred the easier way. However, he wasn’t about to agree with her. His intention was to soothe her, not upset her even more.
“I doubt the prospects are that dismal. You’re not wanted for murder, just bank robbery.”
“All that’ll matter to anyone hunting me is that I’m worth five hundred dollars. The point is, there will be men hunting me.”
“There are men hunting us now.”
“Not paid killers. I think it’d be wise if I rode out on my own. Then at least you won’t have to tangle with bounty hunters.”
“Worried about my safety?”
“Not in the least.” She wondered crossly why when she was offering to rid him of a problem he was being so stubborn. “Up until today it wasn’t my fault that people were after you. Now it is.”
“We’re described on that poster too.”
“Vaguely. But your being with me tells anyone who’s seen that poster that you’re one of the wanted men.”
“And just where would you go?”
“I have a friend who would help me. O’Malley has known my family forever. I spent part of every summer with him and his boys at their hunting cabin.”
“Where?”
“Up there.” She pointed towards the San Juan Mountains which loomed against the horizon.
“And of course the bounty hunters won’t follow you into the mountains.”
Leanne felt her heart sink. Even the mountains would not be safe. In fact, bounty hunters were probably used to chasing criminals into the hills. She would arrive at O’Malley’s door trailing a pack of trouble that could easily get her friend killed.
“He might be able to get me to someone who would listen to my story,” she mused aloud.
“Which is just what I don’t want.”
She suppressed a sudden urge to scream in frustration. If she stayed, she put them all in danger, but if she left she would put O’Malley in danger.
Hunter noticed how the color had returned to her cheeks, how that frightened, cornered look had eased. She was looking more normal, as if she wanted to hit him with some very solid object. He might not have soothed her, but at least he had put the spirit back into her and he was satisfied.
“I’ll just get us something to cook up for dinner,” he murmured and abruptly walked away.
Leanne was only a little calmer when he returned with a brace of prairie chickens. She was tempted to tell him to cook his own meal, but then recalled the dismal culinary talents of the outlaws. By the time the others returned, she was finished with the preparations for what she confidently felt would be a fine meal. Her pride in her accomplishment was forgotten as she saw what an agitated Charlie held as he approached her and Hunter.
“Look, Hunter. They’re asking five hundred for her.” After thrusting the poster into Hunter’s hands, Charlie squatted by the fire and helped himself to some coffee.
“Five hundred.” Luke’s rough voice rose in a near whoop of joy as he too helped himself to some coffee. “And we wouldn’t have to hand that over to Watkins.”
“You can’t turn her in,” Jed protested.
“Why the hell not?”
“Who are you going to turn her in to, Luke?” asked Hunter. “The sheriff? He’ll grab you too.”
“Yeah,” Charlie agreed. “They describe you too.”
“Ain’t a very good description,” Luke muttered. “Fine then. We’ll just leave her behind.”
“You can’t just desert her.” Charlie looked deeply shocked.
“And what’s wrong with that idea? She’s been nothing but trouble. Now she’s going to bring the bounty hunters after us.”
“And she can do that even better,” Hunter pointed out, “if she’s left behind to give a clearer description of us.”
Luke caressed the handle of his Colt. “Then let’s shoot her. That way she can’t talk when we turn her in, and we can take the money and run.”
Tom looked up from helping himself to some food, his dark gaze cool as he looked over the group. “I won’t turn bounty hunter.”
That silenced Luke, but not for long. He repeated his suggestion about leaving her behind. It took Hunter quite a while to end the dispute.
By the time Leanne sought her bed, she had a pounding headache. Fear knotted her insides. Luke was more of a danger to her than any bounty hunter. She began to wonder how long Hunter could keep the man in check, or even how long he would want to bother.
Curling up beneath the blanket, she wrapped her arms around herself, closed her eyes, and prayed for sleep. It was the only time she was free of her fears. It was also the only time she was free of the increasing temptation Hunter presented, although her dreams reminded her of it in a rather scandalous manner.
Sleep was still stubbornly eluding her when Hunter slipped in beside her. She tensed when he wrapped his arm around her waist and tugged her close to him. The way he nuzzled her hair sent shivers through her.
“I’m trying to go to sleep.” A telltale huskiness entered her voice as he nibbled her earlobe, and she silently cursed it.
“Of course you are.”
“I am.”
“You seem to be having a little difficulty.” He could sense her fighting to maintain her tense resistance to him.
She resisted the urge to snuggle against him as he smoothed his hand down her side. It was so easy for him to shake her resolve, she thought with self-disgust. He probably knew it too, she supposed. She had always been so good at hiding her feelings before.
“That could be because I have a few little things on my mind, such as a five hundred dollar price on my head, the knowledge that every bounty hunter in the area is probably oiling his gun this very minute, and the distressing feeling that I have presented Luke with a terrible quandary—should he turn me in for the reward or just shoot me.”
Gently, he turned her onto her back. He found himself heartily wishing he could ease the fear she felt. She was too smart to swallow any lies, however, and it would require lies to make her believe she had nothing to fear.
“You’re going to fret yourself into an early grave, Leanne Summers.”
Before she could reply, he was kissing her. She succumbed helplessly to the heated intoxication of his lips. It was only when she reminded herself that this man was an outlaw that she found the strength to push him away. She noted a little groggily that he only allowed the distance between them to be a very small one.
“Stop that,” she ordered.
“You don’t really want me to stop, Leanne.”
She wanted to deny his words, and to her dismay, she heard herself speak with far more truthfulness than she wished. “That may be so, but it’s far from wise. I intend to continue to struggle for some common sense.”
“Do you now.” He slid his hand along her side to her breast.
Leanne gasped softly as his hand covered her breast, his thumb moving back and forth over the tip. How could she fight him when he took unfair advantage like that? He undid her shirt and she couldn’t stop him. When his warm, soft lips enclosed the nipple he had taunted to aching hardness, she moaned, burrowing her fingers in his thick hair.
For a while she sank beneath the surging tide of her own passions. The feel of his calloused hands and warm lips against her skin robbed her of all coherent thought. It was not until she felt him undo her trousers that she began to come out of her stupor. He eased his hand beneath her waistband and between her legs. The shock of such an intimate touch brought her back to reality. With an unsteady hand, she grabbed him by the wrist.
Hunter looked up at her as he let her tug his hand away from the sweet warmth he had been so thoroughly enjoying. “You are very slow to say no.”
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