Bound For Eden (30 page)

There was a heavy silence, broken only by the slowing patter of the rain on the canvas roof of the wagon.

‘Hell,' Sebastian said in disgust, ‘it's a poor plan, but I'll be damned if I can think of a better one.'

Mal snorted. ‘I say we get a posse together and hunt the bastards down.'

‘I'm with Crawford,' Joseph agreed.

‘Did you see what was left of that horse?' Henry protested, still looking a little green. ‘We ain't dealing with a sane man here.'

‘I'll go alone,' Luke said, in a tone that brooked no argument. ‘We've got women and children in camp, and our first responsibility is to them. How are they going to fare if their menfolk get cut down in a gunfight?'

Alex saw, by the way Mal Crawford glanced back towards his wagon where his young family was huddled anxiously around their lantern, that Luke had won.

But she'd be damned if she'd let him go alone.

Twenty-Six

The kid was going to be the death of him.

Luke approached Delilah warily, amazed to see the runt had managed to saddle her. He couldn't believe that she'd dealt with the horse on her own. And she was up there in the saddle already, giving him an impatient look.

‘What took you so long?' she asked him archly, ‘Saying goodbye to Victoria?'

He refused to take the bait. ‘Down you get,' he ordered.

‘I don't have a horse, now that Jack . . .' she trailed off and swallowed hard. ‘We'll have to ride together.'

Luke gave her a hard look.

She gave him one right back.

He sighed. Shaking his head, he approached. ‘You're not going anywhere, darlin'.'

She got in one short scream before he had her gagged and bound and deposited on the floor of her wagon. ‘See that the runt stays that way till I get back,' he commanded. The Watts brothers were in charge of guarding the Alexanders for the night. Neither of them blinked an eye at Luke's instruction.

Alex turned her outraged glare on Victoria and Adam.

‘It's for her—' There he went forgetting again. He was as bad as they were. Luke darted a glance at the Watts brothers, to see if they'd noticed. They hadn't. ‘It's for
his
own good,' Luke amended, turning a stern look on Victoria. ‘If you let him free he'll only come charging after me, and I'll be lucky if I bring him back in one piece.'

Alex couldn't believe that they would leave her tied up like this. But then again, Victoria would jump off a cliff if Luke Slater asked her to. She bucked and strained against her bonds.

‘You'll only rub your skin off,' Luke warned her. ‘Relax, kid,' he said, lowering his voice, so that only she could hear, ‘I'll be back before you know it. There's no need to worry about me.'

Worry about him! Alex growled. Why that bigheaded. . . in his tiny little mind he'd come to the conclusion that the skinny little beanpole girl had a crush on him. And he thought it was funny. Just wait until she got out of these ropes. She'd give him something to laugh about . . .

It didn't take Luke long to find the Gradys' camp. By the time he got there the rain had stopped and the only sound was the keening of the wind through the low scrub. He could see their campfire from a mile away – they didn't seem too worried about being found. Luke left Delilah tethered a way out and crept in low to the ground. He could see the magnificent Arab (he still couldn't bring himself to call him Blackie Junior) by the light of the flickering fire. Thankfully, the animal looked healthy enough. Luke turned his attention back to the Gradys.

It looked like he'd walked in on an argument.

‘I don't recall anyone putting you in charge,' Silas was saying, poking the weaselly one in the chest with his finger.

Gideon shrugged him off. ‘I don't recall asking for your opinion.'

‘Let's just end it,' one of the bigger ones complained, from where he sat on his sodden bedding. Their camp was a mud puddle after the storm. Bert and Travis looked miserable as they regarded their waterlogged belongings.

‘We can't just end it, genius. Not until we get our money back.'

‘And killing animals is going to get our money back?' Silas asked in disbelief. He eyed his brother distastefully. They all knew about Gideon's proclivities. Ever since he was a boy, animals had been turning up with broken limbs and burned hides. Or, more often than not, dead. Then there were those slaves he kept down in the root cellar. Silas didn't want to know what went on down there. He tried not to think about why Gideon was never in too much of a hurry to hand them over to their owners, despite the reward money. If it weren't for the money Silas doubted he'd hand them over at all; he guessed there'd be a lot more holes in the ground out by the swamp.

Gideon gave a short bark of laughter. ‘You'd rather snivel around her skirts like a beggar.'

‘That's enough,' Silas snapped.

‘You really think she's going to wake up one day and realise she loves you? That's what you want, ain't it? A declaration of love?' Gideon snorted. ‘You should have just taken the bitch and got her out of your system.'

It took every bit of Luke's willpower to stay where he was. He couldn't believe anyone could talk that way about mild, ladylike Victoria. He was glad when Silas lunged at his brother, in an attempt to defend her honour. ‘That's my
wife
you're talking about!' Silas bellowed as he charged.

But Gideon was quicker, and meaner. In the blink of an eye he had a knife to his brother's throat. Luke didn't miss the way Gideon was breathing quickly, his face flushed and his eyes glittering. The bastard was actually excited by the thought of slitting his own brother's throat. And Silas knew it.

Which was why Silas held up his hands in silent surrender. And why Travis and Bert stayed frozen, afraid to intervene.

‘Let me handle it,' Gideon warned, lowering the knife as the glitter faded from his eyes. ‘When I'm finished with her the bitch won't only return the money . . .' Gideon grinned wolfishly and Luke felt his skin break out in gooseflesh. ‘When I'm done with her she'll be begging to be your whore,' he told Silas. ‘It's my gift to you. Brother.'

Hell! Luke stole away, back to Delilah, his mind racing. There was no way to shake the Gradys – four men travelling light could keep up with the fastest wagon train. He wished he could pick them off, one by one. He was a good shot, but even so, he'd probably only get two of them before they came for him. He didn't like those odds. Although, if he made sure Gideon was the first one down . . . Luke grimaced. It would sure solve a lot of problems, but it was too close to cold-blooded murder for his liking. They'd just have to get to Laramie as fast as was humanly possible, and be vigilant in the meantime. Maybe he could send someone ahead to sound a warning. But who would he send? He'd go himself, but he couldn't leave the Alexanders unprotected. And no-one else knew the way, except Sebastian. And then who would he get to drive the chuck wagon? Hell and double hell.

Alex didn't sleep a wink. And that lousy bastard didn't come to untie her, even though she heard him ride in well before dawn. Everyone was asleep, except for Joseph Watts, who was perched on the edge of the wagon with his shotgun clenched in his lap. He chewed on his tobacco and sang bawdy songs to himself under his breath and generally irritated the daylights out of Alex. She saw Joseph straighten when Luke came back, and saw him lean so far out of the wagon he almost fell out as he tried to see where Luke was headed.

Alex lay rigid as she waited. But he didn't come. She heard the clink of Delilah's bridle as Luke unsaddled her and settled her. She heard the creak of his saddlebags as he hefted them; she heard his spurs jingle as he strode across the camp. That bastard. Didn't he realise that her hands were going numb? Not to mention her dignity, which was just about rubbed raw.

She lay there stewing until daybreak. It was only when the sky was lightening to a pearly gray that Luke appeared.

He couldn't help grinning. The mud had dried, leaving Alex looking like she was wearing a clay mask, and her clothes had stiffened, so they looked like they were made of cardboard. She even creaked when she moved. ‘See,' he remarked cheerfully, ‘I made it back just fine.'

She gave a muffled growl through the bandana and fixed him with a murderous stare.

The sound of his voice woke Victoria. She blinked and looked around. When she spotted Luke she gasped and bolted upright, her hand flying to her hair, which was tumbling from its pins. ‘You're back.'

‘I am. I thought Alex might want to dig free of all that mud. I'll give him an escort to the river, if he promises not to cause me bodily harm when I untie him.'

Alex would promise no such thing.

‘
You'll
take her to bathe?' Victoria echoed dubiously.

‘I'll be at a perfectly discreet distance. But she can't go alone, it's not safe.'

There was no way Victoria was going to let that happen. Suppose he happened to catch a glimpse of Alex out of her disguise? She looked at Alex now, unrecognisable beneath the filth. She preferred things exactly as they were. ‘I don't think Alex wants a bath,' Victoria said slowly. She was glad to see Alex shaking her head in vigorous agreement.

‘You can't be serious. She looks like a statue made by a bad potter. She'll have a bath even if I have to throw her in the river myself.'

The sisters exchanged alarmed looks.

‘Fine,' Victoria sighed, ‘but I'll have to come along as chaperone.' She brightened. Actually, this might be the perfect way to spend some time alone with Luke.

She just hadn't bargained on how angry her sister really was.

‘She bit me!'

‘I'll do more than bite you if you touch me again, you bandy-legged braggart!'

‘Bandy-legged?' Luke laughed. ‘I've been called many things, brat, but never that.'

She couldn't believe he was laughing. She should have bit him harder. ‘Don't you come near me,' she warned when he bent over her.

‘You want to stay bound?'

‘Victoria can untie me.'

‘If you say so.' Luke stepped from the wagon and waited, whistling softly to himself.

‘Why do you have to be so ornery?' Victoria complained, as she struggled with the knots.

‘The man tied me up, Victoria!'

‘For your own protection.'

‘I'm not a child!'

Victoria blinked.

‘Just because
he
thinks I am,' Alex grumbled.

‘I can't do it,' Victoria sighed.

‘What?'

‘I can't get these knots undone.'

Alex scowled. She'd be damned if she'd give him the satisfaction. ‘Adam!' she kicked her brother, none too gently, to wake him up. ‘Adam, untie me.'

‘No,' he moaned, rolling over and pulling the blanket over his head, ‘I promised Luke.'

‘Luke
wants
me untied!' she snapped.

Her only reply was a snore. She looked around for the Watts brothers, but found they'd taken their leave now that Luke was standing guard.

‘You're being ridiculous,' Victoria complained.

Alex wanted to scream. Instead she had to swallow her pride. ‘Fine,' she snapped, ‘he can come back and untie me.' Alex fixed her gaze firmly on a knothole in the wagon bed and seethed as Victoria called Luke back.

At least the oaf didn't speak this time. He made short work of the knots and Alex immediately tried to crawl away. But she hadn't counted on the fact that her legs had gone to sleep. They immediately collapsed beneath her and her face slapped against the floor. She clenched her teeth, bracing for the smart remarks.

But he was silent. It wasn't until they were close to the river, and Alex was hobbling along on feet shooting with pins and needles, that she heard him say quietly to Victoria, ‘She's sure got a temper on her, doesn't she?' Victoria giggled.