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Life had dealt him a host of hard decisions since he’d hopped on that stagecoach all those years ago and left home and this one was the hardest he’d ever faced. How could he let this man take the one thing he’s always wanted? The woman he’s spent countless hours planning on having a life with that, two days ago seemed possible. Now, not so much.
He glanced at Ben out of the corner of his eye. The look on his face showed how fiercely he hated what was happening too and how helpless he felt to do anything about it.
Ben looked his way, an unspoken, “we’ll get through this,” in that brief look. Silas took two steps their way and it was all he could do not to grab Alex and run. He wasn’t a coward, nor was he stupid. He knew he had no choice but to let Jack do exactly as he wished and it galled him to admit it, even to himself.
He turned to face Alex, putting his back to Jack and Silas and every other person who stood there staring at them and cupped her face in his hands. “I’ll come get you, Alex. I promise. I’ll not let this be the last time I see you.”
“I won’t go.”
“You have to go.” He smiled but his heart wasn’t in it. He knew the outcome of all this was grim for some if not all of them. “You’ve told me repeatedly that you can take care of yourself and I believe you. You can get through this if the only person you have to worry about is Jack. Here with all these cowboys, there’s not a chance in hell I can protect you and not eat a bullet for my trouble, so go. I’ll sleep better at night knowing you’re one step closer to bashing that outlaw’s head in with a rock than trying to hide from six of them after they’ve had a chance to get me, Issac and Ben out of the way.”
That hard determination he loved about her character slowly filled her eyes, washing over the fear he’d seen there moments ago. She smiled at him, a bit of a teasing lilt to her voice when she said, “You better come find me. You let that outlaw kill me and I’ll haunt you until the end of time.”
He kissed her not caring who was looking, taking his time tasting her as if it would be the last time he’d get a chance. When he pulled away, memorizing every inch of her face, he laid a kiss to her forehead and inhaled deeply, taking in the scent of her skin. “I love you, Alex.”
“Let go, lover boy.” Silas grabbed Alex’s arm and pulled her away, her shocked gasp causing that fire inside his veins to ignite again. He never took his eyes off of her, trying to reassure her with nothing more than a look that everything would be okay.
Jack said something to Lewis, his voice pitched too low to hear. When Lewis laughed, he knew whatever he was told wouldn’t end well for the rest of them. Clicking his tongue, Jack pulled the reins and he and Alex were heading across the prairie while a voice in his head screamed to not let her go.
His fingernails left small half-moon cuts in the palm of his hands by the time Jack and Alex were nothing but a hazy blur on the horizon.
She couldn’t see them, the camp, the cattle or Jesse, all of them lost in the haze of heat that waved across the prairie. Alex sighed and turned to stare at the back of Jack’s head. What she wouldn’t give for that derringer he’d stolen from her. She’d never considered herself a coward—or a person capable of murder—but putting a bullet in his back looked mighty tempting at the moment.
The past several weeks flooded her memory, each day replaying as if it were only yesterday. Most of those days were filled with images of Jesse. Had anyone told her the day she’d packed her saddlebags and stowed them in the barn loft to sneak away with the cattle drive that she’d end up married to Jesse Samuels and actually not hate it, she would have laughed herself silly.
She glanced back over her shoulder to where the camp was. She still couldn’t see them, or him, and she wondered if she ever would again. She wasn’t naive enough to think Lewis wouldn’t take great pleasure in killing him at the first chance he got regardless of the fact they needed him to collect the money for the herd. Outlaws were good at getting what they wanted regardless of the circumstances. They’d find a way to get paid with or without Jesse.
The moment she thought of Lewis killing him, regret at not telling Jesse how she felt about him nearly choked her. He’d told her he loved her before Silas pulled her away. Why hadn’t she said it back? What if she never gets a chance to now?
“Stop fretting. Your new husband will arrive in Dodge City unharmed, I promise.”
Alex turned back to face Jack when he spoke. He looked smug, as if he didn’t have a care in the world and she doubted every word he said. Jesse may arrive in Dodge, but what shape would he be in? “Your word doesn’t mean much, you know.”
“You don’t believe me?”
She scoffed. “No. Why should I?”
“Because, despite your low opinion of me, I am a man of my word.” He smiled, a dimple in his cheek making him look less ruthless than she knew he probably was. He ordered Silas and Hank to kill the passengers of the stagecoach when they robbed it and as far as she knew, they had. The only reason she got away was because they’d thought they would take her with them.
She lifted her chin, hoping the gesture made her seem more confident than she felt. “The word of an outlaw. How reassuring.”
He laughed and said nothing more. They rode for what seemed like hours before stopping. Her legs ached from sitting in the saddle so long and the break was welcomed, if not too short. The remainder of the day was filled with small talk, short stops to rest the horses and to eat a bite of food Issac had packed in Jack’s saddlebags, and by the time the sun started lowering in the sky, making camp was the only thing she could think of.
Jack must have read her mind. When he said, “We’ll rest here for the night,” she nearly thanked him but thought better of it. He picked an area with little vegetation. There were a few rocks and one big boulder actually big enough she could take care of business behind it without worrying about him watching her as she did.
They made camp and had a fire going as the last rays of the sun sank below the horizon. As humiliating as it was, she excused herself to take a moment behind that big rock and wondered how far she could get in the dark if she ran. Her luck, she’d fall and break her fool neck before Jack even realized she was trying to get away.
She relieved herself, then took her time laying out her bedroll. The blankets smelled of Jesse’s spicy shaving tonic. Thinking of him again brought an unfamiliar ache to her chest. She wondered what he was doing and if he was thinking about her. Knowing him he was pacing around like a caged bear, promising to kill Lewis and contemplating doing it with his bare hands.
Once she was settled, she turned her gaze to Jack. He was trying to start a fire but there was very little to burn. The small flame gave off enough light to see but that was about it. He sat back on his heels and looked up at her. “It won’t keep you warm tonight but at least I’ll be able to see if you do something stupid like trying to make a run for it.”
Alex snorted a laugh. “Like I can’t just kick dirt over it. That tiny fire won’t help much if I decide to get away.”
He grinned and damn his hide, that traitorous voice in the back of her head reminded her of how handsome a devil he really was. She imagined he caused trouble everywhere he went and women probably threw themselves at him without a thought of who—or what—he was.
“You do know you’ll never get away with this, don’t you? You’ll be caught and hanged.”
He smiled again and settled onto his bedroll. “If it makes you sleep better to think so, then keep on thinking it.” He removed his hat and ran his fingers through his hair.
