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The hell I won’t. I’ll get my son back, and I’ll kill you, bitch.But she couldn’t do a damn thing at the moment, and it drove her insane.
“Please,” she said, not beyond begging. “Please, take me. I can help you navigate this time. Teddy can’t. He’s just a sheltered boy.”
Caroline hesitated. “Maybe I should take you both.”
Nicole stepped in front of Sadie. “Don’t push your luck, Caroline.”
“Let me go to my son!” Sadie shoved Nicole out of the way and approached them with her hands raised.
“Stop,” Caroline ordered.
She did.
Caroline looked toward Jackson. “Tie her wrists for me.”
One glance told her Nicole was murderous. She knew that feeling. But she was grateful to the woman for allowing her to do this. She’d go crazy if she couldn’t stay with Teddy. She’d find a way to protect him. The boss lady didn’t move a tensed muscle as Jackson hurried forward, grabbing a lasso from a hook on the wall of the saloon.
Sadie held out her wrists for him to bind under Caroline’s supervision. She winced as he pulled it tight, but she understood the need and nodded her solemn appreciation. Backing away, Jackson made eye contact, sending a silent message of apology. Then grabbing the long end of the lasso attached to her wrists, Caroline tugged her forward.
“You go first,” Caroline said.
Sadie swallowed and led the way forward and onto the lift.
“Come on, both of you. Escort us down.”
Nicole and Jackson exchanged looks as they joined them on the lift and the latter pressed the button.
When they got to the bottom, they found the exit already open and waiting, a silent reminder of the situation she left Wally in as well. Sadie’s heart sunk as the helplessness of the situation threatened to drown her. Both the men she loved were in danger. How was she supposed to save them both?
“Guess I don’t need you anymore then,” Caroline said and fired two shots of something over Sadie’s shoulder.
The sound made her ears buzz and pulled a scream from her. Nicole and Jackson fell to the floor, muscles twitching. Her stomach dropped out as the rope attached to her wrists yanked her off-balance, forcing her toward the exit.
Mind trying to process what happened, Sadie stumbled involuntarily toward town. Caroline shot them both in cold blood. They’d never get back to Amos and the others with their demands, which meant Wally and who knew how many others would pay the price. Meanwhile, the woman still had a weapon held to her son, a weapon she had no trouble using.
James? Lord? Help us, Sadie thought.
Out of the distance, hooves smacked against the desert floor as a black blur raced toward them.
Target found her, she realized as the blur came into focus. But how that was supposed to help, she had no clue.
“Never look a gift horse in the mouth,” Caroline said with a grin.
In a matter of minutes, the woman had Teddy up on the saddle in front of her and Sadie walking beside them, the end of her rope tied to the saddle horn.
Not quite what I was hoping for, Sadie thought as she hurried to keep up with the horse’s pace. In the distance, smoke lingered in the sky like a wool blanket after the fire. The sun sank behind it, lighting it up with bright pink hues.
Somewhere, a coyote howled.
“We can drop off your son at what’s left of the ranch, and you and I can continue on to Tucson in the morning. We can take the train.”
“You’ll let him go?” Sadie asked, looking up at Caroline’s profile in the fading light.
“We don’t need him slowing us down.” She urged the horse forward, and Sadie stumbled, trying to adjust her pace.
“All right,” she agreed, though she knew that wouldn’t matter.
Teddy said nothing, just sat staring straight ahead. She wondered what he was thinking, if he’d ever forgive her for making such a big mistake with this woman.
