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Her eyes turned hard. “Stop calling me that.”
“Pardon?”
“Ye stand there, acting like some gentleman when in fact ye ain’t nothing but a cold and heartless animal.”
His jaw tensed as he felt a surge of anger gurgle to life inside. “If there are any animals amongst us, ma’am, it wouldn’t be me.”
“Ye left them people on the train to die.”
“So did you.”
“I was running for me life, ye were running for greed.”
He moved swiftly, shoving his face directly into hers. “I ran to ensure justice is served.”
“Justice? They’ll be killing me.”
“More than likely.”
Her eyes flinched, but otherwise made no other comment.
He released a frustrated breath. “There wasn’t anything we could have done for them. They’d already perished in the crash.”
Without bothering to wait for her reaction, he turned and found a boulder to rest upon. Though he would never let on, his legs were getting exhausted and he needed to get off his feet and give them a good and overdue rest.
His eyes shifted to Ivy McGregor pinned to the tree in a standing position. Her bad leg had been given her troubles throughout the journey. No doubt, she was suffering. Her face, however, showed no signs. She was ramrod. Refusing to show any weakness.
He would have loved nothing more than to make her suffer, but she wouldn’t be able to last much longer before she collapsed. Sighing, he got up and untied the rope.
As soon as he released her restraints, her legs buckled beneath her sending Ivy to the ground in one large grey heap. Standing there watching her, something nagged horribly inside. Hell, he recognized it. Wanted desperately to ignore it. She deserved the pain, the suffering. A woman like this deserved no mercy.
Reaching down, he grabbed her arm and hoisted her up.
“Leave me alone!” She hit at his hand feebly, hardly having the strength to fight. “Don’t be touching me.”
He dragged her the few feet to the boulder he had abandoned and plopped her down. Her copper hair cascaded down her face as she hung her chin in exhaustion.
“We’ll rest for ten more minutes,” he said, hating the way her slumped shoulders made something inside twist. Stiffening, he forced himself to grow immune. “Then we keep moving.”
Chapter 5
Ivy’s ankle throbbed, but she refused to rub it and allow him to see her suffering. The sun was warm and bright, but the September wind was chilly and she had to bite down hard on her lip to stop its revealing tremble. What she wouldn’t give to be in a nice warm bed at that moment.
Exhaustion had her closing her eyes. He wouldn’t be able to see with her hair hiding her face. With her lids closing out the man, she contemplated her situation. It seemed her entire life was full of such situations. Not that she often found herself being chased through the Canadian wilderness by a heartless and greedy cowboy. But rather, she more than not found herself defending her life.
She opened her eyes and peered at him through her strands of hair. He was leaning against a tree, his long overcoat hanging open slightly. She could see his holster and the gun beneath. Never before had she used one, but she wouldn’t allow that to deter her. She would not surrender. With all she had left, she would not give in.
“Time’s up,” he said. “Let’s go.”
Her wrists burned as he pulled the rope and tied it around them. Hardly having the strength to stand, she practically stumbled off the boulder, but managed to upright herself and follow him into the woods.
They plowed forward through thick bush for several hours. The sun had begun its descent into the western horizon. Ivy felt horribly dehydrated and regretted having refused the water he offered earlier. She noted the canteen hanging over his shoulder, just within arm’s reach, and wished it was his gun instead.
They reached a steep incline where a wall of hard rock loomed before them. She was surprised when Sam started to climb.
“What do ye think ye be doing?”
“What does it look like?”
