"Yes, Mr. Easton. I know many things."
I felt Piper's tight grip on my arm as I shoved her behind me.
"Miss Carter, I presume?"
She offered a tight smile, which was all the confirmation I needed.
I felt like we were in a showdown, for this was a fight I had to win. She'd killed my father and robbed several stages and a train. She hadn't done it alone, but she was guilty. I wanted justice for my father and having her behind bars, or even swinging by a rope around her neck, would do it nicely. It would be sweet justice to see her dead.
"I heard there was a bounty hunter in town and it is quite the coincidence you took such a fancy to my new girl. Your use of your employees is quite ingenious, especially one related to Kevin Sinclair. Piper's such an unusual name. You should remember whores don't use their real names."
"You can't get out of here," I told her.
She looked at me in mock horror, and then laughed. "Oh really? I believe I'm the one holding the gun."
The door opened and the man from the parlor entered. He was clearly the muscle of the place for he was built like a whiskey barrel and had no neck. A scar ran down his left cheek, and I doubted he knew how to smile.
"Kill him, but not here," she told the man.
"No!" Piper shouted, pulling me back away from the man. She was not helping one bit. The man approached but I fought him. It was hard to block his punches with Piper behind me.
"You, you're coming with me. The Sinclairs have been useful in the past and I have no doubt you'll be even more...motivated than your brother." Miss Carter shifted her weapon to aim at Piper. What she planned for her wasn't mentioned, but I could only imagine. Kevin Sinclair, like most men, were led around by their dick, which made them only so helpful to a woman like Miss Carter. Piper, on the other hand, wouldn't offer such challenges and would be easier to handle. I was distracted by the gun, and using my body to shield her as best I could, when the man caught me with a wild punch.
"Wiley!" I heard before the world went black.
PIPER
"He's going to find me," I vowed as I stumbled into a pitch-black space, hitting the far wall without my hands to stop me. My wrists were bound before me, the blood long gone from my fingers. I flexed them but they were numb, as the binding was too snug for comfort. Miss Carter was silhouetted in the dim light of the doorway. We'd ridden half the night to some ranch or homestead, the direction unclear. I did know that I was alone with no one to know where I was.
"No, he won't. He's dead. Arthur always takes care of it. Having the bounty hunter unconscious makes it even easier."
The word always was not missed. How many times had they done this before? Her confidence had mine faltering. Was Wiley dead? Arthur was a big man, much bigger even than Wiley and no doubt had the skill and lack of conscience to see it done.
"Rest. You're going to need it," she replied, slamming the door shut. I heard the metal of a lock sliding into place securing me in this pitch-black room. The floor was wood beneath my feet but there were no windows, nothing to let in light except for a tiny seam beneath the door. I lowered myself to the floor and leaned against the wall. I was exhausted, not only physically but mentally as well. I thought of Wiley and what was happening to him, nothing else was important. What the woman intended for me was also unknown to me, but I was still alive. She considered me useful, somehow, which gave me hope that an opportunity to escape would arise.
Nothing would happen now. If I was weary, so was Miss Carter. Nothing would happen before the sun rose and there was nothing I could do to help Wiley at the moment either. I lay down on the hard wood, my knees tucked up as I stared at the sliver of dim light. The air was still, but cool, and I shivered, remembering the feel of Wiley's chest as my pillow, his warmth, the sound of his heart beating against my ear. A tear slipped down my cheek at the realization that the man I'd hated was really the man I loved. Danger and imminent death brought out true emotion, made one realize many things, stripping away the heated emotions and displayed the unvarnished truth. I closed my eyes and pictured his wicked grin, the intensity in his eyes just before he kissed me, the abandoned look on his face as he came. I fell asleep to this, hoping beyond all hopes that they would not just be a memory, but that I would get to see the real thing again soon.
WILEY
Miss Carter's henchman was no challenge for me once I realized Miss Carter had taken Piper. The man didn't stand a chance as he drove a wagon out into the prairie. He'd dumped me in the back while I was still unconscious but had only bound my wrists. Perhaps he was a cocky bastard and didn't think I'd put up much of a fight, or maybe he'd hit his other victims—surely there were others—much harder. I had motivation and love on my side and the man's brawn was no match.
With her family most likely dead now, Piper had no one. I had no one. No family, besides each other and I couldn't allow her to fend for herself. Miss Carter was cunning and could easily use another woman in her criminal activity. This and this alone reassured me that Piper would remain alive and whole for at least the short term. When her usefulness ended, so would her life.
I hadn't wanted a bride, but I'd gotten one. Piper most certainly hadn't wanted the man who'd hauled her to jail for a groom, but I'd claimed her. I hadn't known what love was, but discovered it readily enough. I imagined Piper felt the same, but neither of us had said the words. There had been no time, or perhaps I just hadn't realized it until now, until the dire realization that I could lose her. I didn't know Miss Carter's plans, but this bastard was going to tell me. And when he was beneath me on the hard ground beside the wagon and as I held his gun to his head, he did.
CHAPTER SEVEN
PIPER
I was thirsty and stiff, my body aching from the floor. Sunlight came through the slit in the door and I must have slept, but I had no idea how long. I was clearly in an ice house, although it was not in use. I remembered the few steps I'd taken before being shoved into the room and it was still fairly cool in the space, even with the sun up. This knowledge did me no good, for as I tried the door, it held fast. That there was a lock on an ice house only meant others had been kept prisoner there before.
Time passed and I searched for a weapon, but there was nothing. No loose boards, no rocks, nothing. I sat and waited, thirsty and only my thoughts for company.
I must have dozed off, for the rattling of the lock made me stir. I pushed myself up to standing as the door opened, the sunlight blinding me and I held my bound hands to my eyes. Miss Carter came into the room quickly as if shoved, a second person behind her. When he stepped inside, the sun hit him so that I could see him clearly.
"Wiley!" I cried, dashing to his side and gripping his arm. He looked so good, so angry, so...whole.
In his hands he held a gun, aimed solely on Miss Carter.