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Spurlock’s face changed in an instant, going from mildly bored to raging fury. The back of his hand connected with her face before she had time to brace herself for the impact, and her head snapped back. Black spots swam through her vision, and she gasped at the pain screaming through her skull. Her mouth filled with blood, and the tangy, metallic taste made her stomach churn. She spat it out on the floor, wiping her chin on her shoulder the best she could. Another hit like that might do her in.
“No one understands your appeal,” he hissed into her face. “That’s why the only man who’s ever touched you was a desperate criminal who was just passing through.”
“Alleged criminal, Spurlock,” Adam’s voice said from the doorway. “You haven’t proven anything against me yet.”
Nora’s heart jumped. Adam stood at the door of the barn, his gun trained on Spurlock.
“Toss your gun over here, Spurlock. Nice and slow.”
Spurlock cursed and glared at Adam, but he did as directed. Happiness and hope rushed through Nora. He’d come for her!
Wait. No. This was bad. Very bad. He shouldn’t be here; he needed to leave.
She tried to catch his gaze so she could convey to him somehow that she was fine. Despite Spurlock’s taunts, someone would find her. But Adam…wasn’t looking at her at all. He slowly entered the barn, all his attention focused on Spurlock, who sneered at him.
“I don’t need to prove anything against you. That’s for the courts to decide. If you make it back to Denver alive, that is. So many accidents can happen along the trail. So many escape attempts gone wrong.”
Adam snorted. “Which is why I think I’ll just gather my belongings and be on my way. And you,” he said, gesturing with the gun for Spurlock to…to stand closer to her? What was he doing? “You can stay here and keep her company for me.”
Spurlock was obviously just as confused, though he made an effort to not show it.
“Didn’t you come to claim yourwife, as she calls herself?”
“God, no.” Adam laughed, the cold reverberation sounding foreign coming from him. “She’s been calling herself that since about five minutes after I met her. She’s delusional.”
Nora sucked in a breath, the pain shooting through her chest sharp enough to draw tears. He didn’t mean that. He couldn’t mean that. He…he was just trying to throw off suspicion. Trying to make it seem like he didn’t care about her.
He was doing an incredibly good job.
But he had to do it, right? So Spurlock would think… Though what did it matter what Spurlock thought now? Adam had won. He was the one holding the gun on Spurlock. He was the one controlling the situation now. If he wanted, he could make Spurlock untie her, and she could hogtie him instead or run to get help or whatever else he wanted them to do. They had to do it because he held all the cards.
So why wasn’t he letting her go? Why was he still acting so cold?
Unless he meant it.
Her throat ached from the emotions that she tried to choke down as her eyes swam with unshed tears. But she wouldn’t let them fall. Not in front of them.
Adam was brushing aside the dirt and hay with his foot, looking for something. And her stomach sank farther.
“I went along with her delusions for a while,” he said, finally finding what he was looking for.
He knelt down and finished brushing off a section of flooring, though he took care to keep his eyes and his gun trained on Spurlock.
“She was a nice diversion for a few weeks. Definitely cheaper than visiting the brothel, since she thought we were actually married. And she was amusing enough for a time. A bit clingy, though.” He finally looked at her and frowned.
“You didn’t need to hit her so hard,” he said to Spurlock, and for half a second, she thought maybe there was some part of him that did care about her, no matter what he was saying. “She’s got a hard enough time getting men to notice her as it is without adding a big scar to her face. Oh! There we are,” he said with a smile, finally managing to pry a floorboard loose with one hand.
He reached inside the hole, and she closed her eyes to block out the look of triumph on his face when he withdrew a large bag of cash and coins. She didn’t want to know what betrayal looked like.
“That’s what you came back for?” Spurlock said with obvious surprise.
Adam raised his eyebrows. “Wouldn’t you? This is her life savings. Every penny she’s been able to hide from her drunk of a father over the years. She’s been squirreling it away, saving it for…what? An emergency? A rainy day?” He snorted, and his obvious disdain for all her hard work, her hopes and dreams, shattered what was left of her heart.
“Thanks, wife,” he said, jiggling the bag as he started backing up. “This will do nicely to get me set up someplace neither of you can find me.” He made it to the doorway and paused. “Do me a favor, Spurlock. Keep her tied up for a few more hours. Give me a little head start.”
“Why don’t you just kill her if you really feel so little for her?” Spurlock asked, and the sick dread that had settled in her belly sent a fresh wave of fear through her.
Adam shrugged, his gaze raking over her as if he were actually considering it before sighing with regret. “For much the same reason I can’t kill you, much as I’d like to. It would keep her from following me, true. But she does have a few friends here and a father who can’t seem to keep himself alive without her. They’d come after me eventually if I killed her. And who needs that hassle, really? I already have one warrant out for me. As you well know,” he said with a wink at Spurlock.
