The Cowboy's One Night Bride (14 page)

Gianna kicked wildly and managed to land a blow on his shin. As he cursed and hopped in pain, she stumbled to her feet and ran for the door.

“You’re not going anywhere,” Drake shouted and pounced at her. He roughly grabbed hold of her and slammed her head to the wall. Gianna groaned as she fell to the floor. Drake kicked at her ribs and she screamed in pain.

“Fuck you, Drake,” she gasped and curled herself up to absorb the impact as he aimed another kick at her.

“You fucking slut. You’d better find a way to remove this from my dick or I swear that I’m going to cut your nose off your face. Huh? Acting like you’re all that. We’ll see who can still love you when you go around as the noseless cunt.”

He yanked her up by her hair and slapped her so hard across her face that she went flying. Gianna tasted blood and as she looked up at the murderous intent on his face, she felt a twinge of fear. Drake had completely lost control of himself and she had no doubt that he would inflict the worst kind of pain on her if he had the chance. She had to get out of there.

Gianna looked around the room, plotting her escape. She backed away from him and her foot touched something hard. Looking down for a second, she realized that it was the vase that he had thrown at her.

“You worthless whore,” Drake spat at her.

“Come get me,” she challenged him. “I don’t care if I die, as long as I know that you’ll spend the rest of your life suffering. Every single time you have a sexy thought, every time your dick as much as twitches, you’re going to feel inexplicable pain. Forget fucking, you’ll never even be able to jerk offagain!”

Snarling, Drake charged at her. Gianna was ready and she ignored the pain in her ribs as she bent down and grabbed the vase. Just as he descended on her, she clamped her hand on his dick and squeezed hard, pressing the spikes of the device down on him. As he yowled in pain, she lifted the vase and crashed it over his head.

She jumped over Drake’s writhing form and ran for the door.

Gianna sprinted down the stairs as quickly as her aching ribs would let her. Reaching the alley, she hurried down the empty street.

“Freeze!”

Hearing Drake’s voice, she quickened her pace.

A gunshot rang as a bullet ricocheted off the ground next to her. Skidding to a stop, Gianna’s heart filled with dread.
He’s armed
.

“Turn around slowly, you slut.”

Gianna turned and saw a disheveled and crazed-looking Drake standing down the alley. His smoking gun glinted in the moonlight.

“Don’t shoot,” she called out in a shaky voice.

With an evil grin, Drake pressed his thumb down on the trigger.

Chapter 14

Bang!

Gianna flew back as a searing pain exploded through the right side of her body. Blood flowed from a wound on her shoulder and she sank to her knees in pain.

Oh my God
,
she thought in horror.
He’s actually going to kill me.

“Fucking cunt,” Drake stretched his mouth in a caricature of a smile. He walked over slowly as he reloaded the gun and placed it against her head.

“Any last words?”

Gianna shut her eyes and held on to the one thing that gave her strength while facing her impending death.

Anthony.

She braced herself for the pain.

Bang! Bang!

Gianna opened her eyes in wonder. She saw Drake fall to the ground, a gaping wound at the center of his forehead. He was dead.

“Gianna!”

“Anthony?” she said in wonder as she saw him running towards her. She slumped to the ground in relief.

“Gianna, are you alright?” Anthony braced her up and examined her shoulder in alarm. “You’ve been shot!”

“That bastard shot me,” Gianna croaked. Her strength faded as the adrenaline rush diminished and she could truly feel the brunt of her injuries.

“You,” she coughed, “you have a gun.”

“Ex-sheriff, remember? I always carry a gun.” Anthony ripped a part of his shirt off and held it to her wound.

“I’ve got to get you to a doctor.” He lifted her gently in his arms and ran.

“My tummy hurts,” she whimpered.

“Hold on, sweetheart, we’re almost there.”

“Maybe it’s a miscarriage,” Gianna’s voice lifted a little in triumph. “Then this mistake will be flushed out of me.”

“Gianna, listen to me. Nothing is going to happen to you or the baby.”

“Anthony, I can’t keep my eyes open.”

“No, sweetheart,” he looked down at her in alarm. “Don’t go to sleep. Stay with me, Gianna.”

“Anthony …” her voice trailed off as the darkness overcame her.

++++++++

“Richmond!” Anthony roared as he kicked open the door of the clinic. “Richmond, I need your help!”

“Good heavens!” Dr Beauchamp rushed into the room. “What happened to her?”

“She’s been shot.”

Raising his eyebrows, Richmond didn’t pursue the question. “Get her on the bed, quick. Matilda! I need your help.”

Mrs. Beauchamp rushed in, dressed in her night robe. “What is it, Rich? Mister Davies? Oh my gosh, what happened to Gianna?”

“Matilda, I need you to get my tools ready for me. She’s been shot.”

“Shot!”

“Yes, I need ether and iodine, and some clean bandages.”

“I’ll get them.”

“Anthony,” Richmond stopped him as he tried to follow them into the operating room. “I need you to wait out here.”

“Like hell I will.”

“Anthony,” Richmond’s voice was firm. “You’ll be a lot more help to her if you don’t get in my way.” His tone softened at the sight of Anthony’s lost expression. “She’ll be in good hands.”

Anthony nodded. “Please save her.”

“I’ll do my best.”

++++++++

Anthony paced around the waiting room of the clinic for what seemed like hours.

Oh, Gianna, no.

He had just been leaving the saloon when he heard a gunshot from the alley behind. As he turned around to investigate it, he had heard a second gunshot and a scream from a voice that sounded horribly familiar.

Anthony had never felt such fear in his heart as he saw the gun aimed at Gianna’s head. For a horrible moment, he thought that he might actually lose her. Even now, there was still a chance that she might slip away from him. She had been covered in so much blood.

Please, don’t leave me, Gianna.

“Anthony!”

Matilda and Richmond exited from the room. He looked frantically around them.

“How is she?”

“Anthony, relax,” Richmond said as he placed his hands on his shoulders. “She’s alright. She lost a lot of blood, but I’ve got her stabilized. It’s fortunate that it was a clean shot. The bullet went right through her. I’ve stitched her up and she’s resting now.”

“Thank God,” Anthony sunk down on a chair. “And the baby? She said that her tummy was hurting.”

“The baby’s fine, Mister Davies,” Mrs. Beauchamp said soothingly. “Gianna has a couple of bruised ribs and some bruises on her tummy, but other than that, she’s fine.”

“What happened, Anthony? Who did this to her?” Richmond asked, with a grave expression on his face as he sat down next to Anthony.

“It was Drake Edwards. He attacked her.”

Mrs. Beauchamp gasped.

“And what happened to him? Where is he now?” Richmond continued.

Anthony hesitated and looked Richmond right in the eye.

“I shot him. He’s dead.”

Heaving a sigh, Richmond said, “I see.”

“He was going to shoot Gianna. I had to do something.”

Richmond held up his hands. “Hey, I understand. I won’t say anything to anyone, but for your safety, you know you can’t stay here. He had some dangerous friends who might trace his death back to you.”

Anthony nodded. “I’ve thought about that. I plan to go to Markleeville and stay with Annie for a bit, just to lay low for a while.”

“That’s a good plan.”

“Of course, I’ll have to leave the hotel and the horses to someone. I was hoping that you could take over the hotel for me, Matilda.”

Mrs. Beauchamp gasped. “Mister Davies, that hotel is your home.”

Anthony smiled, “My home is wherever Gianna is. Don’t worry, Matilda. I can’t think of a better person to hand the hotel over to.”

“What will you do for money?” Richmond asked.

“I have some savings in the bank. I’ll have someone in town wire the money to me when things have died down.”

“That’s a good plan. You can stay with us here until Gianna’s fit enough to travel.”

“Thank you, Rich, Matilda.”

Rising, Richmond nodded at Anthony. “Alright, you should go check in on Gianna. She’s still under, but she should be waking up soon.”

++++++++

Gianna thrashed. She was being chased down the street: Drake was right behind her, shouting out her name. “You won’t get away, Gianna!” he called, laughing maniacally. “I’m going to get to you, and I’m going to kill you. You and everyone you’ve ever loved.”

“No, no,” she gasped. As she turned the corner, she skidded to a halt. Coming at her from every direction were countless Drakes, each with a bullet wound on their forehead. Their skin was white, and their dead eyes rolled upwards as they advanced upon her. “Gianna,” they laughed. “We’re going to kill you, Gianna.”

“No!”

“Gianna, Gianna.” Strong hands held her steady as she struggled. “Baby, it’s me, Anthony. You’re safe.”

“Anthony?”

Gianna opened her eyes. She was no longer in the alley. She was lying on a bed in a stark white room that smelled of iodine and bleach. Anthony sat right next to her, his face tight with concern.

“Are you feeling alright, Gianna?”

“Oh, Anthony!” Gianna burst into tears. “I was so afraid,” she gasped. “I thought that I’d never see you again.”

“I’m here.” Anthony held her hand tightly. “And I’m never letting you out of my sight again.”

Gianna looked at him questioningly. “I thought you wanted a divorce.”

Anthony laughed wearily. “Oh, Gianna. After spending hours thinking that I might actually lose you, there is no force on Earth that can ever part me from you again.”

He leaned over and touched her lips with his: a sweet, chaste kiss that melted her heart.

“I never meant it, you know,” he admitted. “I would have come crawling after you on my knees before I would have allowed you to leave me.”

Gianna tensed, “But the baby—”

“The baby’s fine, Gianna,” Anthony said quickly. “Richmond checked things out. Our baby is safe.”

“Our baby …?”

“Gianna,” Anthony caressed her cheek. “When you were under, you kept going on and on about how you had betrayed me, and how much you feared that this baby wouldn’t be mine.

“Well, I promise you this. I’m going to put everything behind me. We’re starting afresh for real this time, and no matter what that baby looks like, I’m going to love him or her with every fiber of my being. I don’t care if he has brown hair or black hair, blue eyes or black eyes. He could have purple hair and orange eyes for all I care.”

Gianna felt her heart soar as tears of joy rolled down her face. Anthony stroked her hair tenderly, and kissed her on the forehead.

“There’s just one thing,” he told her cautiously. “We can’t stay here anymore. Drake is dead, and his friends are currently on the search for the culprit. Sheriff Forbes is helping us to send them on a false trail, but I don’t want to take any chances.”

“But where would we go?” Gianna’s eyes widened in concern.

“I was thinking that we could go to Markleeville for a while. We’d stay with Annie and her husband for a bit, just until you’ve had the baby. They have wonderful doctors in California.”

“California sounds amazing,” Gianna said without hesitation. “Let’s go there.”

Anthony laughed. “What, you didn’t even have to think about it? We’d be like paupers, you know. God knows where I’d be able to find a job at my age.”

“You’ll figure it out. Those white hairs on your head have got to count for something.”

Anthony’s eyes shone as he looked down upon her with love. “I’ve missed you.”

Gianna smiled up at him. “And now, you’re stuck with me forever.”

“And ever.” He kissed her. Gianna’s heartbeat began to quicken. She darted her tongue into his mouth and deepened the kiss. Anthony laughed and she pouted as he drew back. “What? Here? This is a clinic, little wildcat.”

“We’ve got a bed,” she protested. “That’s got to count for something.”

“No,” Anthony’s voice was firm. “You’ve got stitches in you.”

Sinking back on the bed in resignation, Gianna sighed. “Oh well. I guess I could hold out until the train ride. They have private cabins, right?”

Anthony’s face lit up with amusement. “So, you’re really okay with California.”

“Of course,” Gianna breathed. “I’d go anywhere with you. As long as I’m with you, I’m home.”

Anthony raised an eyebrow. “You know, that’s exactly what I think.”

“What can I say? I have excellent taste in men. Hey, wait!”

Gianna looked at Anthony with concerned eyes. How could she have forgotten something so important?

“What are you going to do with the hotel?”

“I’m signing the deeds over to Mrs. Beauchamp.”

“Oh,” Gianna looked at Anthony sadly. “I’m so sorry that you have to lose your hotel.”

“I’m not.”

“You’re not?” She looked at him incredulously. Anthony laughed as he gave her a deep, smoldering kiss that set her entire soul on fire.

“Who needs the Chinese Lantern Hotel? I’ve got my Chinese Lantern Bride.”