Page 88 of The Heart’s Charge

Something was wrong. The voice that had soothed him and eased his pain now called with urgency. Desperation.

Eliza! Why couldn’t he get his eyes open? A cavalry officer always woke at the first sound of the bugle. Bugle . . . Mark . . . something about Mark . . .

A hand grabbed his shoulder. Shook him. “I know you’re hurt, but I need you.”

His strong, capable Eliza. With tears in her voice. She needed him. Jonah punched through the darkness and opened his eyes. “Liza?”

“Thank the Lord.” Worry warred with relief on the beautiful face leaning over him. “They took Katherine. I have to go after her. I just need you to show me how to use your guns.”

That woke him up. Shoving aside the lingering grogginess, Jonah sat up, biting back a moan at the throbbing in his head. Pain didn’t matter, though. Protecting the women did. And there was no way he was sending Eliza out into the dark of night with his guns.

“I’ll go,” he said, his voice filled with gravel.

“You’re injured.” Eliza tried to push him back down on the sofa, but he batted her hands away. “You’re in no condition—”

“Quit your bossin’, woman. I’m fine.”

Determined to prove his words true, he rose to his feet, careful to keep his discomfort masked. He tugged the cuffs of his sleeves down to his wrists as he waited for the dizziness to pass. Falling on his face wouldn’t exactly convince Eliza of his fitness for duty.

Shake it off, Brooks. You got a job to do.

And do it, he would. Starting with reclaiming his gun belt. The one buckled around the prettiest pair of hips he ever did see.

His hand trembled slightly as he reached for the buckle. Once there, he looked up into her eyes. Eyes wide with fear for her friend, fiery determination to enact a rescue, and frustration that Jonah wasn’t staying where she’d put him. Yet as he slowly worked the belt loose, something else entered her eyes. Something soft, warm, and tentatively hopeful. Man, but he could get lost in those eyes.

The belt fell away, swinging behind her as he held one end steady. The tug of it against his hand sharpened his focus back on the job. Swallowing down the other thoughts and emotions swirling in his brain regarding the mesmerizing woman in front of him, he cleared his throat, took a step back, and murmured, “Tell me what happened.”

“I don’t know.” Eliza sagged against the sofa arm, her gaze falling to the ground. “She left to confront Miss Gordon, and now they have her. Rawley thinks they mean to kill her.” She glanced up, tears in her eyes. “Why would she do that? Leave in the middle of the night? With no protection?”

Jonah had never seen Eliza look so lost, so vulnerable. “Don’t know. But she musta had a reason. She ain’t the reckless type.”

A movement near the doorway caught Jonah’s eye. Rawley stepped inside the parlor. He looked haggard yet ready for action. “She did it fer Wallace. Whole time she was there, all she did was ask questions about him and the snatched boys. Acted like she weren’t scared for herself at all. Never even asked ’em to let her go. And once she spotted Abner in the window, she made it clear we were to come fetch you. Not for her, though. For Wallace and the boys.”

Eliza blew out a breath. “That sounds just like Katherine. Always worried about everyone else.”

But if she’d found out where Mark was . . . Jonah swung his gun belt around his hips and worked the buckle from memory, his gaze zeroed in on Rawley. “You know where he is?”

The boy gave one sharp nod. “In a mine. South side of Packsaddle Mountain.” He paused. “One they dynamited around midnight.”

A soft gasp escaped Eliza. She pushed away from the sofa and clasped his hands, as if she knew what that news did to him, how it tore up his insides and left him raw and bleeding. Then again, maybe she did know. Her own insides must be shredded, knowing that her friend was in the hands of people who would callously bring a mountain down on the heads of children. He squeezed her hands back.

“We need to tell Deputy Bronson,” she said. “Let him know where to focus his search—”

Rawley’s shaking head cut her off. “The deputy’s in on the whole thing. He was there at Miss Gordon’s house. He’s the one what captured Miss Katherine and tied her up. Said they was gonna turn her over to Ortega.”

Jonah clenched his teeth. Nothing worse than a corrupt lawman. ’Cept maybe the unscrupulous fella he hired to do his dirty work.

“We have to hurry, then,” Eliza declared. “Catch up to them before they leave the house. I’ll fetch lanterns.”

Jonah halted her with a touch to her arm. “No light. I’ll track ’em in the dark.” She started to protest, but he shook his head. “Can’t afford to announce we’re on their trail. Too dangerous for Kate.”

“But if we stop them before they leave . . .”

Jonah looked to Rawley, who confirmed his suspicion with a wag of his head.

“It’s too late for that, darlin’. They’ve already gone.” He turned back to Rawley. “You know where they’re headed?”

“Llano. To catch the train. But they’re gonna drop her off at Ortega’s camp first, and I doubt that’s on the road.”