Johanna Lindsey - Angel

She still had to try. “Would you kill a man who’d tried to shoot you in the back, Slater?”

“Sure I would.”

“Well, that’s why Angel shot your brother.”

“Lady, I heard what went on down there. That man of yours was lookin‘ for my brother to kill him, and he’s known to be faster’n lightnin’. Either way Rafe woulda died, so what he tried was the only chance he had, as I see it. You gonna tell me that there Angel of Death wasn’t out to kill him?”

She couldn’t very well do that. “Your brother tried to rape me. That�s why.”

He glanced over at her then, showing her the first bit of emotion. It was surprise. “Well, shoot, what�d he want to do that for? You ain’t nothin‘ much to look at.”

Heat stole up Cassie’s cheeks. “That doesn’t change the fact—”

“Even if he did rape you,” he broke in, “thaf d be no reason to die.”

With that attitude, he’d never admit his brother might have deserved what he’d got, so she changed tactics. “You won’t get away with this. If you succeed in killing Angel, I’ll hunt you down myself. There won’t be anywhere—”

He cut her off again with a snort “Lady, what makes you think you’ll be leavin‘ here alive? The only reason you ain’t dead yet is in case that fast gun wants to see you ’fore he comes in close enough for me to shoot him. You’re the reason he killed Rafe, so you gotta die, same as him.”

He probably thought that would shut her up. It nearly did. “You — you still won’t get away with it. I saw you in town today. I told my mama. She’s smart enough to figure if s you, so the name Slater will be on Wanted posters in every state and the Western territory. You’ll never have another moment’s peace if you murder us.”

“So I’ll leave die country,” he replied with a shrug. “That won’t bother me none. But you’re botherin‘ me, so shut it up, girlie, ’fore I stuff something in your mouth. They won’t be able to get the money until the bank opens in the mornin‘, so that gunfighter won’t be gettin’ here until near noon. I need some sleep ‘fore then.”

Cassie decided against telling him that her mama would have him hunted down, no matter where he went. His answer would probably be that he’d kill her, too.

She gave up for the time being. She’d have time in the morning to work on him some more, and his friend Harry, too. The smaller man would be easier to scare, and maybe he could talk some sense into Slater.

But she refused to let him have the last word.

“I’m hungry,” she complained.

“I ain’t wastin‘ food on a dead woman.”

She let him have the last word after all.

Catherine pounded on Angel’s door at two o’clock that morning. It sounded like she was breaking it down. The other boarders were out in the hall having a look at what woke them by the time Angel had opened the door. She had two of her tougher-looking cowhands with her. Angel stood there in just his pants — and his gun. His first thought was, she’d intended to escort him out of town, especially since she was carrying that damn black bag again. But if so, she should have tried it more quietly. The gun he leveled at his visitors said he was staying right there. And having been awakened from a very pleasant dream about her daughter, he was in no mood for any more of her insults.

“You try to give me that money again and I’ll burn it,” he told her.

“If s not for you. I’m here to hire you.”

“To leave the country?” he sneered.

“No, to get Cassie back. Was she here? Her horse is still out front.”

“I haven’t seen her — and what do you mean, to get her back? Where is she?”

“She’s being held in a cabin up in the foothills. From the crude map they drew, I’d say if s an old trapper’s cabin not far from my ranch. I don’t know how many men there are, but they want twenty thousand dollars or they say they’ll — they’ll kill her.”

Angel’s gun slowly lowered. It was only then he noticed how pale Catherine was. He probably looked the same.

He hoped she was lying, that this was no more than a setup to get rid of him. Could she be that underhanded? Probably, but the fear he saw in her eyes told him this wasn’t one of those times.

“How did this happen?”

“She was with me in town today. When we got home, she took off by herself. She left the message that she was just going for a ride, but with her horse here, I have to assume she was coming to see you. But since you haven’t seen her, she must have been taken almost immediately after she got here.”

“And all they want is twenty thousand?”

His surprise was understandable. Everyone who knew the Stuarts knew they came from old money.

“Apparently they don’t know how much I’m worth,” Catherine said. “Which is fortunate in one respect only. I just happen to have that much on hand, so I don’t have to wait until the morning to visit the bank.”

Only because she’d tried to bribe him out of town. Her slight blush said she was remembering that, too. It got worse when she added, “The other five thousand is still in the bag. That was what you said your price is, wasn’t it?”

“Take it out.”

“I beg your pardon?”

“Take the five out. I won’t work for you, Mrs. Stuart, not for any reason.”

He turned away after saying it. Catherine took a step forward, which put her inside his room. “You have to,” she said in a beseeching tone. “I don’t know why, but they say they’ll only take the money from you. If anyone else tries to deliver it—”

He was putting his shirt on when he interrupted her. “I didn’t say I wouldn’t deliver it.”

“Then let me pay you.”

“To collect my wife?” He paused to give her a dark look. “She is still my wife, isn’t she?”

Catherine went red in the face again because she suspected he wasn’t going to move another inch unless she answered him. “Yes,” she bit out.

He didn’t rub it in, but he did continue dressing. “Where is that cabin?”

“Jim here can show you where it is, but he can’t back you up. They say specifically, you’re to go in alone.”

“Didn’t figure it otherwise. Do you have any idea who these men are? Enemies of yours, maybe?”

“Mine, no — but possibly yours.”

“What makes you think so?”

She shrugged, her look uncertain. “It could be just a wild guess, but Cassie saw someone in town today that shook her up pretty bad. She claimed he was the man you killed while down in Texas.”

“I killed more’n one down there.”

“That Cassie knew about?”

“No. That would be Rafferty Slater,” he said. “But dead men don’t walk.”

“That’s what I said,” Catherine replied. “But she insisted this man looked exactly like the one you killed. The only reasonable explanation is that they’re brothers, maybe even twins.”

“And a brother might be after a little revenge,” Angel concluded as he shrugged on his slicker. “Thanks for the warning.”

Cassie’s teeth were chattering. The cabin hadn’t been made very well. The cold had been seeping in along the floorboards all night. An icy wind was coming in through one larger crack in the wall near her back. The fire was still going, but Gaylen had tied her up in a corner on the opposite side of the room, so its warmth wasn’t reaching her.

She could have managed to scoot across the floor to get nearer to the fire if she’d tried to. But Gaylen was hogging it, and she couldn’t bear to get close to a man who was going to shoot her while she was bound tight and helpless to prevent it, so she stayed where she was. She supposed he wouldn’t have minded waking up to find her frozen stiff. It would save him a bullet.

Then Harry had returned and had done a lot of staring at her before he settled back down— again in front of the fire. He even added another log to it, but the heat still didn’t reach Cassie. And after the way the little man had looked at her, like he wouldn’t mind warming her himself, she definitely wasn’t getting near either one of those two, no matter if she did freeze.

She must have fallen asleep at some point, though that hadn’t been her intention. What woke her, she wasn’t sure. Possibly her chattering teeth. But it was still night. The cabin didn’t boast a single window, but the cracks in the walls would have shown up sunlight if it was out there.

Her hands were completely numb now. She’d spent a good hour earlier trying to stretch the cloth to slip at least one hand out, but Gaylen had tied her so tight, she’d have to be cut loose. She doubted he’d bother to do that before he shot her.

She’d stared at the door for a long time, debating whether to try to leave. No more than a loop of rope hooked to the wall was locking it from intruders. She might have been able to work that loose with her teeth, and her chin could have taken care of the latch. But the door was a lot closer to the fire and the two men than to her, and she was afraid the cold that would blast in when she opened it would wake them both, if not immediately, then soon, because she doubted she’d be able to close the door behind her with the wind pushing at it. Besides, she wouldn’t get very far, rolling and scooting down the foothills. And Gaylen might just go ahead and kill her now if she put him to the trouble of having to go after her. That wouldn’t help Angel when he arrived. And it certainly wouldn’t help her.

She tried moving her legs, and found out that she had aches all over from her cramped position. Her head fell.back against the wall, causing her to groan. She couldn’t remember ever having been so cold, and miserable — and afraid. She didn’t want to die. She wondered, if she told Gaylen that, whether he might reconsider. She almost laughed. He was as conscienceless as she’d once thought Angel was. But Angel had a deeply ingrained sense of justice. Gaylen’s justice was cold-blooded murder.

“Cassie?”

It was the wind, making her hear things she wanted to hear. That couldn’t have been…

“Cassie, wake up, damn it.”

She leaned forward to turn and stare wide-eyed at the wall. “I am awake,” she whispered excitedly. “Angel?”

“Can you open the door?”

“I’ll try, but it may take me a while. They’ve got me tied up.”

“Never mind. I’ll break the door in.”

“No,” she hissed. “If that doesn’t work, you’ll just wake them. Let me try first.”

“All right, but hurry.”

Hurry, when she ached so much she could barely move? Actually, with rescue imminent, her cramped muscles didn’t seem to hurt nearly as bad as they had earlier.

Since there was no furniture to block her way, lying down and rolling got her across the room quicker than scooting would have. Getting up on her knees when she reached the door wasn’t as easy, though, but she managed it after several tries.

Her real difficulty came from the rope lock. It hadn’t looked all that secure from across the room, but it was stretched tighter than she’d figured, and hooked over a curved nail. She was able to grasp one side of the loop with her teeth, but no matter how hard she bit down and pulled, the end wouldn’t slip over the hook. And trying to stand up to turn and use her hands would be a waste of time. Her fingers were too numb.

She finally had to put her mouth to one of the cracks in the door. “Angel?”

He was right there waiting. “What?”

“I’m having trouble with this rope lock. Maybe if you open the door and push against it some, it will stretch the rope enough for me to work it loose.”

His answer was to do just that. Cassie watched the rope carefully, ready to tell him to stop if she saw it stretch even a little. She should have watched the opposite edge of the doorframe instead. The pressure Angel was applying popped the rusted hinges loose and the door suddenly swung in on her from that side.

Her cry of surprise came too quickly to silence it. “What the—?” was heard almost immediately behind her, and right after it, “Please do,” was heard from in front of her.

Cassie wiggled her way out from under the door, which was now hanging from that damn loop of rope, to see Angel holding his gun on Gaylen and Harry, and itching for any excuse to pull the trigger.

“You must be Angel,” Gaylen said.

“The Angel of Death,” Angel replied for the first time in his life.

“So you came without the money?” Even now, faced with an abrupt end to his scheme, Gaylen wore an expression that seemed almost indifferent. Beside him, Harry looked about to faint. “I hadn’t figured on that.”