Dark Warrior: To Tame a Wild Hawk (Dark Cloth) (30 page)

“Jake, this is White Wolf. White Wolf, Jake,” Hawk said by way of introduction.

Jake let his Winchester relax at his side and nodded. But it took a long moment for the menace to leave his eyes.

White Wolf grunted. “Shut the door.”

Jake did, and his eyes narrowed on Hawk. “You got the lives of a cat.”

Hawk looked at his hands, and Jake’s eyes dropped to them. “Yeah, well, I scaled most of it, probably grabbed everything that stuck out most of the way down. It was the last thirty feet that was the kicker.

“You alone?”

“Kat’s gone on up the trail.”

Hawk stood and grimaced, touching his wrapped ribs.

“Relax,” Jake growled. “We can’t go anywhere ‘til daylight anyway. You sleep. I’ll get you a mount.”

“Give the hands their orders.” Hawk slumped down into the bed White Wolf indicated. “Make sure they cover the ranch.”

White Wolf gave Hawk something to drink and the next thing he knew, he was being shaken awake.

“We’re burning daylight, old man.”

Chapter Thirty-two

K
id woke to a terrible pain in his arms
.
It took him several moments to realize he was hanging from them, and that they had beaten him—even while he was unconscious, if the injuries he’d sustained were anything to judge by.

He groaned.

He saw something yellow dart from one stall to another—and groaned again. Now, he was hallucinating. ‘Cause if that was his kitten he’d just seen streak by, he was going to blister her backside.

He licked his cracked lips.

She appeared at his side, and with a quick slice from her deadly blade, he landed, hard, on the barn floor.

She was by him in a flash.

“I-I’ll be—talk’n to you—later,” he gritted out, when he could catch his breath.

“Shush.” She disappeared and was back, seconds later, with two horses. She helped him to his feet, and after several attempts, managed to get him on his horse—face down. He’d have never stayed any other way. When he wouldn’t shut up, she tied him there—and gagged him.

She was never going to hear the end of it.

They were nearly off the deadly mountain when they came across Hawk. Jake had headed into what had always appeared to be a box canyon to try to find the hidden passageway. It had to be there. It was the only explanation. If it was there, Jake would find it.

Hawk’s eyes narrowed dangerously when they lit on Kid.

“He’s alive,” she grinned. “He was about to get us both killed.”

Hawk chuckled, then winced from the pain that shot through his head.

“And Mandy?” he said this in a deadly tone.

“She’s locked in a room in the back of the house, screaming the door down.”

Hawk’s eyes narrowed in question.

She held up her hand. “She was just screaming at him to let her out. Calling him every vicious name she could think of,” Kat laughed, “and every single way she was going to kill him. Could hear her all the way to the barn.”

Hawk chuckled. “That’s my girl.”

“Hawk,” Kat’s beautiful, cat-yellow eyes were serious now. “There’s probably five, six hundred head of cattle in that valley.”

Hawk nodded. “When you get down to the base, tell the men to wait. Tell them to be ready to go through the hidden passage, through the gorge,” he told her. “We’ll be ready to show them where.”

Kat cocked her head. “Hidden passage?”

Hawk nodded. “Jake’s looking for it now, should be right behind me soon.”

“Will do.” Kat tilted her hat at him and headed on down the trail to the ranch.

Hawk was heading up the trail. Jake had said he’d catch up as soon as he checked things out. Hawk peered over the edge. If anyone could find that passageway, it was Jake. That had to be the way they were bringing in the cattle. Half-way up the trail, Hawk heard a lone horse behind him. He muttered an expletive under his breath. That better be Jake, ‘cause he was wide open with nowhere to go, and whoever it was, was coming up fast.

He leveled his Winchester at the bend. Seeing Jake come around the corner, he sheathed the rifle.

It was Jake’s turn to swear, having been caught with his pants down.

Hawk chuckled. “Got the drop on ya.”

Jake more snarled than smiled.

“Did you find it?”

Jake actually grinned then. “Did you think I wouldn’t?”

It was Hawk’s turn to smile. “Come on, let’s make tracks.” The two lost no more time in finding the ranch house.

Late in the afternoon, they had located the cabin and circled the entire area, getting a good layout of the land. Jake went down to meet Kat and the hands. She had left Kid in Lydia’s care and returned. Kid was grumpy that he was about to miss all the action. One of the hands had gone for the doc. He was to let the doc know he might want to stick around . . . ‘cause it was time for a showdown.

“Got a plan for all those cattle you put the hands on?” Hawk asked when everyone was in place and they were within sight of the cabin again . . . as if he hadn’t guessed. Jake had taken several of the hands and been gathering cattle for the past hour. It hadn’t been too difficult. Kat had been right. There were several hundred head of cattle gathered in the valley, hidden beyond the passageway. Mandy’s cattle—their cattle—and cattle from every ranch from miles around.

Mandy couldn’t have stolen near as many cattle from McCandle.

“Yeah,” Jake drew up his rifle. “A stampede.”

Moments later, Hawk let out a chilling war cry, and within minutes they had several hundred head of cattle thundering towards the ranch. The thunder of hooves shook the ground like an earthquake.

Gunshots rent the air.

Hearing it, Ashley took out his field scope and got a good look at who was coming. Surprise had him swearing a blue streak when he got a good look at who was in the lead. “Man’s got nine lives,” he sneered. He ran for his office.

Seconds later, he hit Mandy’s door in his rage, sending it splintering against the wall. Mandy jumped when he entered her room, an insane gleam in his eyes.

She stared, wide-eyed, at the shackles in his hands.

“What are you going to do?”

“He’s coming.” Ashley laughed like a lunatic. “But he’ll never get you, my sweet.” He laughed. “You’re going down with me.”

Mandy tried to bolt past him, but he easily caught her around the waist. With the power of the insane, he shackled her to the wall. She never stood a chance in fighting him, though she bit, and kicked, and scratched his face.

He picked up the lantern and walked out the door.

“Goodbye love, may we be together again in paradise.”

“Goddess,” Mandy whispered, “he’s going to burn the house down.” She tore at the shackles, tears rolling down her face, oblivious to the fact she was tearing her fingernails from their beds. “Oh, Hawk,” she cried. But Hawk wasn’t there. He’d never help her again. Perhaps it was just as well if she died. For her, life would be an empty shell without him.

Something wooden, and far too calm, stole over her. She was surprised to realize her panic was gone. She slid to the floor, her back against the cabin wall—to wait.

Tears rolled from her eyes, and she centered on her
Grandmothers.

Have faith, child. Your time has not come yet.

Oh sweet Goddess, she could hear them again.

How, Grandmothers? The house is on fire.

Have faith, you will soon see.

Even Mandy couldn’t see how she would escape this one, so she couldn’t believe what she saw appear at the door through the shimmering haze of her tears.

“Hawk?”

He’d never looked so good, striding straight for her.

Her tears came now, in ragged sobs. “You’re alive. Oh, Hawk.” She wanted to put her arms around him, but the shackles brought her up short.

Hawk’s eyes narrowed on the shackles. “I’ll kill him.” He grabbed them and tried to yank them from the wall. Again and again he yanked at them, but to no avail.

“I love you, Hawk.”

“I’m not leaving you here,” he growled.

Jake came through the door, and seeing Hawk give a thunderous pull on the chains, quickly joined him. With a violence born from deep hate for the man who’d killed his wife and was now trying to kill his sister-in-law, Jake yanked on the chains.

“You’ve got to get Hawk out of here,” Mandy pleaded with him.

“We’re not leaving without you,” Jake answered. His tone brooked no argument.

Mandy wasn’t listening. She only knew they’d die if they didn’t get out of there now. “You have to get him out of here.”

“No! Get that out of your head.” Hawk growled. “We are not going anywhere until we get you free.”

“That’s right,” Ashley said from the doorway. “Nobody’s going—anywhere.”

Mandy knew they were in real trouble. She could see it in Hawk’s eyes. She looked up at Jake, saw him register the same realization. The two of them still had their guns strapped to their sides, but in such a small room—they’d all die.

Hawk rounded on him. “What is your problem, brother?” he sneered.

Ashley’s eyes were filled with menace. “You are my problem
.
You! He just had to go looking for you. Year, after year—hunting for you!”

“So daddy wasn’t there for his baby boy,” Hawk growled. “That doesn’t explain why . . . .”

“It explains everything!” Ashley eyes held an ugly gleam. “The bastard took me with him. And . . .” he paused, “they took me!”

Mandy frowned. “Who took you?”

“I never knew what tribe they were from,” Ashley sneered. His eyes took on a feral gleam, staring off into space, seeing what no one else could see. When he spoke again, he was speaking to someone visible only to him. “But we took care of those heathens. They got what was coming to them in the end.” He stopped when he realized what he’d revealed.

Mandy swallowed. “Who, Ashley? Who took care of them? What did you do?”

Ashley cocked his head to the side, staring at her as if to contemplate how much to tell her. “I suppose it wouldn’t hurt anything, telling you.” He waved the gun at Hawk, and then Jake, as if to remind them he still watched them. “
We’ll all be dead soon anyway.”
He smiled that nasty smile that he’d perfected so well.

Mandy caught herself wondering if he’d stood in front of the mirror for hours, practicing it.

“We sent them the blankets.” He watched her face. She knew he wanted his final great act, his grand finale. She schooled her face as her brain fought
not
to understand what he’d just said. She didn’t want to understand what he had done, what he’d been a part of, but her brain was putting the pieces together in rapid succession, and she saw the feral gleam in his eyes as dawning struck in hers.

She saw Hawk and Jake both step forward at the same time, and Ashley waved the gun like a lunatic bent on destruction. “Go ahead. Give me a reason to shoot you right now. I’ve been waiting for this moment all of my life.”

He looked back at Mandy, smiling at the shock in her eyes. “Yeah, you know what blankets I’m talking about.” His lip curled around his words like he was sucking on sick-sweet syrup.

Mandy hit the end of her chains in her rage to get to him.
“How could you, Ashley? How you could you do such a thing! There is nothing more evil than that. Do you have any idea how many people died of that small pox? How many women and children died?”

“They can’t be allowed to live,” was his only answer.

Mandy was taken back by the nasty gleam in his eyes. “Why? For protecting their homes? For protecting their way of life?”

McCandle just smiled for a moment, waving the gun around at the three of them. “No. I can respect a man protecting his home. But they would have known. They would have seen,” he nearly whined.

“They would have seen what?” Mandy nearly yelled, and then, for the second time, dawning came, and with it, realization. “They would have seen who was responsible. What few can see.”

Ashley saluted her with his pistol tip.

And that was all the time Hawk needed. His gun cleared leather in the blink of an eye, but Ashley was just as fast, and his gun was trained on Mandy.

Hawk glared at his brother with deadly intent.

“Yes, brother, I can see just how bad you want to kill me,” Ashley grinned.

Actually grinned.

He looked at Mandy. “So you see? We can’t have people giving us away.”

“Us?” Mandy asked. Her delicate brow shot up. “Oh, yeah. You mean the man who wears the dark suit in the middle of summer in a hot, dusty cattle town. That ‘us’.” Her sarcasm wasn’t lost on McCandle, who glared at her for her effort.

“They needed him to be sure their work was being done correctly,” he sneered. “Damn waste of money, if you asked me. They had me! Nobody hates those damn renegades more than me. I was bound to do a better job than any one of them!” He backed towards the door.