Cole smiled, blowing the smoke froaa his gun.
"Dammit, Jamie, go get the girl!"
Jamie grinned and gave his brother a thumbs-up sign. Then he felt his blood run cold again. He was. going to have to kill von Heusen if he wanted to live hxnself.
"You, Miss. Stuart, have been a b.l.o.o.d.y thorn in my side since the beginning.
You should have died in that raid on the wagon train, and if you"d had any d.a.m.ned sense, you would have stayed with that bleeding Apache." : Tess winced. Von Heusen"s hold on her arm was vicious, and she could feel the cold steel presseft hard against her temple. She swallowed. If he killed her now, she was still the winner. She had to keep telling herself that, so she could keep fighting him.
"That bleeding Apache, as you call aim, is here to kill you, von Heusen.
The Apache and the cavalry are riding together. Just to kill you."
They had come to the top of the stairs. Von Heusen burst open the door to one of the rooms and threw her inside. Tess 279 staggered across the room as yon Heusen closed and bolted the door, putting a chair across it.
"What now, yon Heusen?" Tess demanded.
He cast her an evil glar~ with his near colorless eyes, and she felt fear creep along her spine. He strode across the room to her, wrenching her by the hair.
"You foolish, foolish little girl. You could have lived as that Indian"s squaw, but now I promise you that you"re going to pay dearly. One wrong move, and I"ll scalp you myself. What a beautiful trophy that hair would be, eh, Miss. Stuart?"
She spat at him. He pulled on her hair so hard that she was certain half of it left her head and, despite her efforts to choke back the sound, she cried out. She saw him smile at her pain, and it sickened her, and she realized that he liked hurting people, that killing gave him pleasure. "What now?
Now we wait. We wait for your ever gallant young cavalry hero to come running up those stairs. Then I shoot him dead. Then I use you to escape this town, and then maybe later I"ll let you go, but more likely, I"ll kill you.
I"ll kill you slow. I"ll have you first, and I"ll humiliate you every way I know how, and then I"ll kill you bit by bit." She managed to jerk away from him, backing toward the window, staring at him.
"You b.a.s.t.a.r.d! Why don"t you just kill me now?
I"ll make your life a living h.e.l.l. I"ll never take a single step with you.
Unless."
"Unless?" He drew out his knife, a wickedly sharp and long bowie knife that glinted in the fraction of sunlight that entered the room.
"You leave Jamie alone. We"ll go out by the roof right now and I"ll come along without a protest" -- "How touching."
"If you kill him, I won"t make a move."
"Oh, but I can make you," yon Heusen told her softly. And maybe he could. He was walking toward her, his knife before him, twisting in his hands.
"I"ll just make you bleed a little now, but you"ll feel it," he promised her.
She was going to scream or faint. She wanted desperately to fight, to be brave, but all she could see was the glinting steel. He was coming closer and closer, and she didn"t know how brave she could be once that steel touched her.
"I"ll make you bleed!" yon Heusen promised again. He was almost on top of her. She could see the razor sharpness of the blade, aimed toward her face.
The window shattered behind her, and a man came bursting through. Booted feet connected with von Heusen"s chest and he was sent flying into the room.
He landed hard and turned, ready to throw his knife straight at Tess"s heart.
Jamie fired his Colt without hesitating, without a flicker of fear or remorse.
And yon Heusen stared at him, startled. Then his colorless eyes closed for the last time, and he slumped to the floor.
Jamie strode over to Tess.
"Are you all right?" he demanded.
She nodded, her throat dry, her heart pounding. "Dammit, Tess, I told you that this had to be my way."
"I--I was trying to do it your way!" she said. But then she looked at von Heusen again, and back to Jamie. And she pa.s.sed out cold.
With a tender smile, Jamie lifted her into his arms and held her very close.
He didn"t look at yon Heusen. He car tied her into the light of day.
Chapter Fourteen.
It was really amazing when one looked around, Tess thought.
She was having a barbecue. Well, the ranch was hosting a barbecue.
Huge sides of beef were being roasted all around the property, the wine and beer and whiskey were flowing freely and all manner of entertainment was going on.
She was having a party--and the cavalry and the Apache and the townspeople and even the wh.o.r.es from the saloon were in attendance.
Nalte was her honored guest. She and Jamie had discovered that the Apache had never intended to leave the area, that he meant to find out about the man who would betray so many people. It was Nalte who had called in the cavalry, taking a tremendous chance when he had sent a messenger to the fort.
Tess was glad of the party, and she was grateful to feel a part of a huge family. She didn"t have to be the only hostess.
Kristin, always calm and capable and serene, was handling most of the social duties.
Still dazed from the events of the day, Tess wanclered through the crowds rather aimlessly, welcoming the men who had been her friends after the wagon train had been raided, keeping the peace when it seemed that the rowdy Indians were getting too close to the rowdy whites. But she didn"t need to take care of much of that. Cole and Malachi and Jon seemed to have a good eye on things, and Hank knew how to take care of the place.
She had just wandered into the kitchen when Jamie caught up with her.
As always, he didn"t stand on ceremony, but caught her hand and told her bluntly that he wanted to talk to her.
"But Jamie, we"ve people" -- "Now, Tess."
She was alarmed when he started to drag her up the stairs, and she tugged on his hand.
"Jamie" -- "Tess!" He groaned. She was too slow. He turned and swept her into his arms and ran the rest of the way up the stairs.
"d.a.m.n you, Jamie Slater" -- "I told you, Tess. Things were going to go my way today!"
They reached her room. Setting her down firmly upon her feet, he closed and locked the door and leaned against it.
She backed away from him distrustfully. She moistened her lips. She still hadn"t really talked to him. There had been so much commotion when she had first come to. Kristin and Shannon had insisted on taking care of her, and she hadn"t realized until tonight that they had won not just a battle but the war.
"Thank you. Thank you for saving my life."
"You"re welcome," he said briefly, striding across the room for her.
"It seemed the least I could do."
"Yes, well, it"s done now."
"d.a.m.n you, stand still."
"Jamie" -- He caught her. He caught her arms and he pulled her against him.
He buried his face against her neck and he murmured softly.
"Just think, you could be carrying a child. And it would be a fine child.
Cute, beautiful, just like my brothers" kids."
"Jamie" -- He moved away from her, his eyes flittering silver as they met hers.
"I told you, we"re doing things my way today. And we"re going to get married."
She gasped, stunned.
"Wh-what?"
"Married. Now."
"But why?"
"Well ..." He touched her cheek, softly, gently, studying the movement of his fingers upon her face as if he were seeing it for the first time.
"Well, for one, I"m d.a.m.ned afraid that if I don"t, l~lalte will determine to ride away with you again. He"d already warned me that I really better make you my woman in truth."
She stiffened.
"Jamie, I heard you say yourself that no one could force you" -- "Then there"s Kristin and Shannon. They"ll never give me a moment"s peace."
"Jamie" -- "Then I"ll be d.a.m.ned if you"ll be having any children of mine without me being present."
"But we don"t even" -- "Then there"s this," he said softly, and his lips touched hers more gently and tenderly than she had ever imagined possible, as if the moon itself touched her. She closed her eyes and she was back, back to a beautiful valley where they had made love beneath the moon, where their love had seemed so very right. Where magic had touched them despite all the odds.
"And this ..."
He touched her forehead with his kiss. Then her cheeks, and her throat, and her lips again.
"And most important, there is this. I love you, Tess. I love you. I want to marry you. I want to be beside you from this day forth, and I want to cherish you forever. Of course, I still want to throttle you. But most of all, I want to love you, and I want to be loved by you. I want to kn w your strength and even fight it sometimes,.
and I want to know your tenderness and your love and hold tight to them forever. How is that?"
" Oh, Jamie!" she whispered. Words failed her.
She came up on her toes and kissed him. She teased his lower lip and his upper lip with her teeth and tongue, and she met his hunger with a fever of her own. A dizzying fire swept through her limbs, and she thought she could sleep beside him tonight, and every night, and she could feel his arms around her.
"Slater. Tess Slater." She sampled the name, but then tears touched her eyes and she threw her arms around him and kissed him again.
"Oh, Jamie, I love you! I"ve loved you for so long now, and I thought that I didn"t dare to believe in forever" -- "But you believed in yourself, Tess.
Now you"ve got to learn to believe in me, too."
"I"ve always believed in you!"
"Then believe in this. I love you, and I will do so forever."
"Jamie ..."
She would have lain down with him then. She would have tasted his flesh and savored his kiss and given him all and anything he wanted. She would always lie down with him anywhere, in any wilderness, and love him, and feel the sun or the moon upon them. It would not matter, as long as they were together.
But he was clutching her hand again.
"Don"t tempt me!" he warned her.
"We"ve got to get downstairs and do this now. Before Nalte leaves."
"What?"
"We"re getting married now, Tess. The chaplain is here, and Nalte is here, and my brothers are here, and I just can"t think of a better time."
"Married? Now? Tonight?"
They were out the door and he was pulling her down the stairs.
She tugged hard upon his hand.
"Jamie!"
"What?"
"Today I promised to do things your way. I really can"t promise to do that every day."
"Fine. I"ll keep you in line," he said, and tugged her again. They reached the landing, and he shouted, "Cole!