TheSurrenderofLacyMorgan (33 page)

“Really? You killed someone?”

“Yes.” She couldn’t believe she was telling a complete
stranger all this, but she’d promised herself not to lie about it again. Not to
anyone.

“You pulled out a gun and shot him?”

“No.”

“A knife? Or poison?”

“No. I didn’t actually kill him. But I caused his murder.”

“How exactly did you do that?”

“I wrote a letter that lured him to a bank robbery, and the
men who tricked me into writing the letter killed him. He was a marshal.”

“Ah, so you were an accessory to murder.”

“Yes.” She studied him a moment. “Are you a lawyer?”

“No, but I’ve studied law. Do you need a lawyer?”

She shook her head again. “No. I’m guilty and I’m willing to
pay the price for my crime.” She let out a sigh, thinking about how she’d hurt
Quinn. “I’ve already paid part of it.”

“Really? How?” He laid his hand over hers, stilling the
motion of her fingers on the silk.

“The last two men who touched her without her permission are
six feet under, your dukeship. Don’t make me put you there too,” Quinn
announced from the doorway across the hall.

Lacy’s head snapped up. She looked from Quinn’s stern face
to the smiling man next to her. “You’re Ian?”

“Ian Thomas Smythe, Lord Brookstone, at your service, Miss
Lacy.” He lifted her fingers to his lips in a soft kiss, eliciting a growl from
Quinn, who stalked over to them.

“We call him Ian Smith in the States.” Quinn snatched her hand
from Ian’s grasp then tugged slightly to pull her up beside him. “When we’re
not calling him an ass.”

Ian stood, his grin making his handsome face even more
dazzling. “Nice to see you too, brother.”

“Did you take care of that matter?” Quinn asked, tucking
Lacy’s hand in his elbow.

“Here it is.” Ian handed him something, which Quinn placed
in his pocket. “And I managed to find out that information you wanted. The
answer is, it’s up to the judge’s discretion and mitigating circumstances.”

“Good. There are definitely mitigating circumstances.” Quinn
turned to Lacy. “The new judge, Judge Parks, is going to hear your plea in his
chambers.”

She narrowed her eyes in confusion. “There won’t be a
trial?”

“Do you want one?”

“No. I wrote the letter. It was my fault your father was in
Cheyenne and killed.” She felt his arm tense beneath her hand, his anger still
strong.

“Then a trial won’t be necessary.”

Dakota, along with a dark-haired man with guns strapped low
on his hips and a white-haired, bearded gentleman, all stood as they entered
the book-lined room.

“Lacy, this is Judge Parks and the other man is our brother
Nicco DeCosta.” Quinn introduced the others then led her to the empty chair
next to the judge’s desk. He stood behind her, his hands resting on her shoulders,
while the others resumed their seats, joined by Ian.

“So, four of Anson’s five sons are here for this hearing,”
Judge Parks said, writing something on a paper in front of him. The scratch of
his pen on the parchment accented the silence in the room.

“Yes sir,” Quinn answered when the judge looked up. “Will
couldn’t leave the ranch.”

“Fine. Then you’ll be witnesses to my final decision.” He
turned to Lacy. “Young lady, Quinn and Dakota have filled me in on the details
of the robbery, Anson’s murder and the killing of the men responsible for all
of it. I’d like to hear your story and how you came to be here today.”

“My mother and I went to live in Devil’s valley when I was a
young girl. After she died, I had nowhere else to go, but I never participated
in any of his crimes.” She swallowed the dry lump in her throat. “Not until I
was convinced to write a letter to Marshal McCarthy informing him a bank
robbery was planned for the Cheyenne Bank in the Montana Territory.”

“Why did you write this letter? Did you want to see the
marshal killed?”

“Oh no sir. I thought the plan was to set a trap to capture
my stepfather and prevent him from robbing the bank. I had no idea the trap was
for the marshal, until I heard the gunfire.”

“So you were outside. You had no hand in the actual
shooting.”

“That’s correct, sir. But if I hadn’t written the letter,
Marshal McCarthy wouldn’t have been there, and he wouldn’t have been killed.”

“I see.” He scratched some words on the paper again, then
set his quill down and leaned back in his chair. “As you boys know, your father
and I often discussed how best to serve justice. It was his belief that
punishments should fit the crime.”

The four brothers all nodded.

The judge looked at Quinn. “You’ve returned the gold stolen
from the Army payroll. What happened to the cash?”

Lacy started to answer but Quinn squeezed her shoulders in a
signal to remain silent.

“It was lost in a fire, sir,” he replied.

Lacy blinked at the half-truth. Why didn’t he tell the judge
she’d burned it?

“I see. Well, nothing lost there. The Army will just have to
ask for more from Washington.”

The men in the room laughed and some of the tension seemed
to seep from them. It was all so civil. Lacy tried hard to understand what was
going on. Why weren’t they demanding she be tossed in a cell?

“Miss Lacy, you don’t deny participating in the robbery?”

“Your honor,” Ian spoke. “We’ve established she was there
under false circumstances. We also know she never entered the bank, nor did she
shoot anyone. In fact, the letter she wrote Cap shows she tried to stop the
robbery before it began.”

“I see. You’ve made up your minds to defend her then?” The
judge looked at all four brothers in turn, each one nodding his agreement.
“Quinn, you and Dakota also told me Miss Lacy has already been punished for her
part in this crime?”

Punished? What was he talking about?

“Yes sir. Devil Morgan whipped her for taking the gold and
hiding it from him.”

Dear God. They’d told him about that?

Heat flushed her cheeks.

“I hate to ask, but do you have proof of this or am I just
to take your word for it?”

“We have proof.”

No. Quinn couldn’t ask that of her. Or did he mean to add
humiliation to her punishment?

“Lacy?” Quinn moved in front of her and took her hand. He
tugged enough to get her to stand.

Her legs wobbled and he held her by her arms as he turned
her to face him, her back to the others.

“It will be all right, darlin’.” His voice was soft and the
term of endearment the first he’d given her since her lie was uncovered. “Trust
me.”

She lifted her eyes to stare once more into his crystal blue
gaze, not daring to hope at the warmth she saw there.

“Unbutton your blouse.”

Her fingers obeyed his gentle command as if it were as
natural as breathing to her. Once she’d finished, he opened the silk ties of
her camisole and eased the material from her shoulders and back, pressing her
front to his chest to hide her naked breasts from the others’ eyes. Protecting
her.

“Damn.”

“Bastard.”

“Son-of-a-bitch,” the judge growled out.

Quinn waited a few minutes, making sure they’d seen the old
scars beneath the large angry welt left by the recent lashing in the valley.
When Dakota nodded that they had, he eased her clothes back on, shooing her
shaking fingers away as he refastened the camisole then the blouse.

“You okay?” he asked, his voice gruff with emotion.

She nodded, afraid to speak, as the words might come out in
a sob.

“That’s my girl.” He stroked her cheek then helped her back
into her chair.

She stared at her hands folded in her lap, trying to take
strength from the feel of Quinn’s hands on her shoulders and his presence
behind her once more.

For several minutes the pen scratching on parchment was
again the only sound in the somber room.

Judge Parks laid the pen aside, cleared his throat, then
looked directly at Lacy. “Young lady, it appears you have indeed been punished
for whatever involvement you had in the Cheyenne Bank robbery and the deaths
that ensued, even that of Marshal McCarthy. Although Anson would’ve agreed with
me, your punishment far exceeded your crime. In fact, you didn’t deserve that
torture at all.”

She started to protest but Quinn squeezed her shoulders to
remain silent again.

“Your honor, if I may speak in Miss Lacy’s defense?” Ian
said casually from his chair.

“Of course, when have I ever been able to stop you?” the
judge said, a spark of humor in his eyes.

“Since my brothers did recover the gold from the payroll and
ended Devil Morgan’s reign of robbery and murder in the territory not only with
Miss Lacy’s assistance but solely because of it, perhaps any charges that
might’ve been issued against her should be dropped.” He nodded toward the
burlap bag lying on the corner of the judge’s desk. “And as there was a reward
for both the return of the payroll and the capture of Devil Morgan’s gang, we
feel,” he indicated all the brothers, “that reward should go to Miss Lacy for
her efforts.”

“Oh no,” she started to interrupt, but again Quinn squeezed
her shoulders, harder this time to stop her protest.

“For once, Ian, I concur with your argument.” The judge and
the brothers laughed. He stood and walked around his desk to stand in front of
Lacy. He lifted her hand in his older but firm grasp. “Young lady, the people
of Wyoming Territory are indeed in your debt, and you can rest assured that the
charges against you in the case of the Cheyenne robbery and murders have been
dropped.”

“Truly?” An ache of joy filled her heart, but she didn’t
dare hope it was true.

He chuckled and patted her hand. “Truly. And as Mr. Smith
has so eloquently pointed out, the reward offered by the Army and the
government is all yours.”

Stunned, she could only smile. “Thank you.”

He lifted a pouch of coins from his desk and placed them in
her hands. “This reward definitely belongs to you. And might I say, it has been
an honor meeting a young lady with your courage.”

The brothers gathered round to kiss her cheek and thank her
for her part in bringing Cap’s murderers to justice before filing out, followed
by the judge, leaving Lacy and Quinn alone.

After the door clicked shut, she stared at the small bag in
her lap.

“Lacy?”

She looked up to see Quinn kneeling on one knee before her.
“What do I do now?”

“With the money? It’s a large amount. You could live
comfortably for years if you spend it wisely.”

“No, I mean with my life. I spent so many years trying to
avoid Devil and his men, now they’re gone and I don’t know what to do.”

“You could travel. See the world.”

“By myself?”

He tucked a loose curl behind her ear. “I’d be happy to go
with you, if you’d let me.”

“Have I ever been able to stop you?”

He leaned in and kissed her softly, then looked at her,
concern etching the lines around his eyes. “First, I need to beg your
forgiveness, darlin’.”

“My forgiveness?”

“I used you to get what I wanted, without thinking of the
cost to you.” He stopped her protest with a finger to her lips. “You tried to
warn me what would happen, but I put my need for vengeance above your welfare.
My arrogance got you injured and nearly killed. Cap taught us a man should
never risk those he loves.”

Loves?
She blinked back the tears that suddenly
sprang to her eyes. “You love me?”

“Somewhere along the trail to Devil’s valley, you worked
your way into my heart. I fought it as much as I could, trying to stay focused
on finding Cap’s killers. Hearing the news about the letter shocked me into
handing you over to your worst nightmare.” He gave her a soft smile. “When I
saw you strapped to that pole, I knew I’d do anything to save you, to protect
you.”

“But you were so angry with me over the letter.”

“Yes. Because I’d thought you didn’t trust me about the
letter, not because you’d written it. I’d known for some time you’d been used
by Devil and Santos. I knew you weren’t responsible for Cap’s murder.” He
kissed her again, letting the heat build between them, then pulled away. “I
expect you never to fail to tell me something so important ever again, but I
can’t imagine living another day without you beside me.”

Her heart swelled in her chest and she realized the man
before her was exactly what she wanted in her future. Letting hope and love
rule her heart for once, she took a leap of faith. “The day you rode into
Beaver Run, I knew my life would change. You taught me things about myself I
didn’t even know.”

“That you like to be controlled during sex?” he asked, a
twinkle of mischief in his rogue eyes.

“Yes. And that by obeying you and bringing you pleasure, I
also bring myself more pleasure. That I can also make you lose control when I
do.”

“That you do, darlin’.”

“You asked me over and over to trust you. And I did. Mama
always said, you can’t give trust without love.”

The joy that filled his eyes let her know just how loved she
was.

He slipped his hand into his pocket and pulled out a gold
band with an emerald stone. “I asked Ian to pick this up on his way into town.
This reminds me of your beautiful eyes. Will you do me the honor of becoming my
wife? I promise to love and protect you forever.”

She studied his face a moment, then held out her hand for
the ring and gave him a mischievous smile of her own. “Does this mean you won’t
want me just as a sex slave anymore?”

“Oh, I’ll always want you as that. I plan to teach you more
ways to please me, kitten,” he said, slipping the ring on her finger. Then he
stood and pulled her into his arms for a long, deep kiss.

“What about Dakota?” she asked when they broke apart.

“Would you want to be shared with him on occasion?”