A Promise of Roses (27 page)

Lucas and Brandt exchanged doubtful glances.

"I don't want you to do anything,” Lucas said. “You're staying right here."

The minute the words left his mouth, he knew he'd made a terrible mistake. Megan's cheeks turned pink, and she rose from the chair. Her eyes narrowed, and her lips pursed.

She took a step forward, hands on hips. “Lucas McCain, I hope you're not saying what I think you're saying. I am not about to sit in this hotel room and twiddle my thumbs while you and Brandt and my brother ride off to apprehend those bandits. I'm going with you."

"Now, Megan,” Brandt said, attempting to pacify her increasing fury.
“I'm sure Lucas is only concerned about your safety."

"He ought to be worried about
his
safety,” she threw back. “And you'd better think twice before siding with him against me, Brandt Donovan. Rile me, and I'd be mighty concerned about ever visiting Ruby over at the Dog Tick again, if I were you.” She let her gaze slide downward, making sure he understood exactly what she was implying.

He flinched.

"Don't let her intimidate you,” Lucas told his friend. “She's more bark than bite."

"Is that so?” she said, stalking forward.

Brandt stepped aside, leaving Lucas to defend himself against her wrath.

"That's so,” Lucas retorted.

They stood nose-to-nose in a vibrant clash of wills.

"Well, I've got news for you, mister."

"What's that?"

"You are going to take me with you."

"Oh, yeah?
What makes you think so?"

"I'm a woman. I know these things,” she said.

He snorted. “Try again."

"All right, then. How about this? If you don't take me along, Brandt won't be the only one limping for the rest of his life."

Lucas's face remained impassive. “Feisty, that's what you are."

"My mother calls me spoiled. Caleb says I'm wild.” She moved closer, her breasts pressing against his warm chest. “I think I like being feisty best of all."

He didn't say anything.

"This is my life we're talking about, Lucas. I think I have a right to be involved in the outcome of your little plan."

Without warning, he bent down to place a firm, moist kiss on her lips. “What do you say, Brandt? Think we could use one more rider in our posse?"

His friend cleared his throat before answering. “I don't suppose it would hurt. Can she handle a revolver?"

Lucas and Megan shared a knowing look. “You'll just have to wait and see,” he told Brandt with a laugh. “Just wait and see."

*
   
 
*
   
 
*

An hour before daybreak, the eight-man-one-woman posse hid their mounts in a copse of trees just beyond the run-down outlaw hideout. At an order from Thompson, the deputy marshal sneaked closer to the shack. More quietly than a wisp of wind, he loosened the bandits’ horses from a half-fallen hitching post and led them back to the others.

Lucas was relieved to see the four familiar mounts. Evan and the boys were still here. That meant none of them had gotten antsy; they still felt safe. The posse's attack would be a complete surprise.

Hector, though, seemed to be absent.

"All right, men,” the marshal whispered. Then, with a tip of his hat, he added, “And Miss Megan. We're going by McCain's plan here, so what he says goes. Lucas?” he said.

Lucas surveyed the circle of faces, each eager and ready to take down the gang of robbers who had plagued their town for months. Caleb looked ready to throttle all four bandits with his bare hands.

"Brandt and I will go in first,” he said, making his authority clear to Caleb.
Not that Megan's brother didn't know what he was doing
; he was just too personally involved. Even more so than Megan, because his temper and need to avenge his little sister ran so hot.

"I'm hoping they won't have time to draw their weapons if we can catch them off guard. Two of them are just kids,
fellas
, so let's try to keep the violence to a minimum. If anyone's going to give us trouble, it'll be Frank. Watch for a man with long, dirty black hair and a scar on his neck that runs from ear to ear."

"You sure there's no other way
outta
there?” one of the men asked. “Maybe a couple of us
oughta
go around back."

Lucas shook his head. “These guys are low on brains and high on confidence. They probably never even considered that someone might find their hideout. Chances are they're sitting inside right now, playing a hand of cards.

"Now,” he continued, “Brandt and I will go first. The rest of you come in behind. Keep at least three feet back, no less. Got it?"

Six heads nodded in understanding. The men straightened, taking a step back to await Lucas's signal.

Before Megan could get away from him, Lucas grabbed her arm. “I want you well out of the line of fire,” he told her. “It probably wouldn't be a bad idea for you to stay back here and watch the horses."

Her eyes narrowed. “Maybe I can check them for weapons, too,” she taunted. “I'll bet a couple of those mounts are heavily armed. Wouldn't want them to get the drop on us, now would we?"

Lucas gritted his teeth, swallowing the urge to shake her senseless. But then, if nothing else did, her being here proved that she'd long ago taken leave of any senses God had seen fit to give her. “Megan,” he said through a tightly clenched jaw.

"Lucas,” she said with equal determination. “You have two choices. I either go in with you and Brandt, or I come in with the others. Either way, I am going to be a part of this."

"You're going to get yourself killed,” he growled.

She smiled sweetly. “Then you'll get to say you were right all along.” With that, she flounced off in Brandt's direction. “I'm going in with you and Lucas,” she told him in a no-nonsense tone of voice.

His eyes widened, and she could have sworn he nearly choked on his own Adam's apple. “Did you clear this with Lucas?” he asked.

"I don't have to clear anything with him,” she retorted. “But, yes, he said it's okay."

"I did not say it was okay,” Lucas said in a harsh whisper, coming up behind them. “But, then, I don't guess I have much to say about it one way or the other.” He turned to Brandt. “She's going in with us. At least that way I can keep an eye on her. It's either that or
leave
her back with the rest of the men. And there's no telling what might happen then. Caleb is the only one I'd trust to keep her safe."

Brandt looked doubtful but simply shrugged. “It's your call."

Lucas looked at Megan, who had joined the rest of the posse for the moment. “Don't let anything happen to her,” he told his friend.

"I'll protect her with my life,” Brandt said solemnly. Then, with a hint of laughter in his voice, he added, “But I won't be responsible if she shoots herself in the foot."

The men surrounded the one-room shack. Lucas stood outside the door, his hand on the rusty latch. Brandt and Megan maintained a position less than a foot to the right of the portal, ready to step in immediately after him.

The other six men formed a semicircle behind them. Guns drawn, muscles taut, they prepared to rush in at the first sign of trouble.

Lucas held up a hand, beginning to count down the seconds on his fingers.
Five ... four...?

Megan took a deep breath. Her fingers tightened around the butt of her revolver. She could feel Brandt's strong hand at her back.

Three ... two...?

She uttered a quick, two-word prayer.
Please, God.

Lucas's remaining finger went down.
One.

The door burst open. Lucas stepped inside, flanked by Megan and Brandt. Four startled men jumped up from their chairs, overturning the rickety oak table.

"Evening, gentlemen,” Lucas greeted them.
“Ah, ah, ah.
None of that,” he said, waving his gun when Frank reached for the revolver strapped to his thigh.

"Luke,” Evan said, shocked.
“And
Meggie
.
What's going on?"

"You're under arrest,” Lucas informed them.

"For what?”
Frank spat.

Brandt stepped forward, keeping his pistol leveled at them while he relieved them of their
sidearms
.
“For holding up the Leavenworth-Atchison stage no fewer than four times and stealing Union Pacific payrolls."

Evan gasped, playing his act of innocence to the hilt. “That's ridiculous,” he said. “We would never do any such thing. Would we, boys?” The two youngest shook their heads, more than eager to agree with anything that would get them out of this fix. “Why, just ask Luke, there. He's ridden with us. He knows we're not criminals."

Frank sneered at them. “You can't prove a thing."

Brandt returned to stand with Lucas and Megan. “Don't be stupid, Frank."

"Too late,” Megan
singsonged
behind him.

Brandt tossed her a quelling glance before clearing his throat. “Like I said, don't be stupid, gentlemen. Lucas McCain wouldn't be here if he were one of you; he'd be locked in a jail cell back in Leavenworth.
Which is exactly where you're all headed.
"

"McCain?”
Dougie
said. “You told us your name was Campbell."

"Shut up,” Frank spat at
Dougie
, staring at Lucas with hate-filled eyes. “He's one of them, you asshole. He only joined us so he could find out where we were hiding.
Ain't
that right, McCain?"

"I always said you were the only one in this outfit with any brains,” Lucas said by way of an answer.

"If you don't mind,” Brandt interrupted, “I'd like to get this over with and get back to town so I can get some sleep. Marshal!” he called out.

Thompson and the others filed into the tiny shack until it
was
filled to overflowing. Lucas saw to it that the outlaws were properly restrained, then took Megan's arm and guided her outside. Brandt followed.

"Not bad,” Lucas said.

"All in a day's work.”
Brandt preened with pleasure.

"So what do you think?” Lucas
asked,
his tone serious. “Will this prove her innocence?"

The “her” in question stood happily in the curve of Lucas's arm. She hadn't gotten the chance to show off her firearm skills in front of Brandt Donovan, but everything had gone off without a hitch, so she couldn't complain.

Lucas's question, however, brought her head out of the clouds and back to reality. She hadn't even considered that she might
still
be thought of as the leader of the thieves.

The look on Brandt's face didn't do much to ease her fears.

"If we can get these guys to talk, she'll be off the hook. But I wouldn't hold my breath. That Frank is going to be a tough one."

"Tell me about it,” Lucas grumbled.

"And I think Evan is smarter than you give him credit for. I doubt we'll find a single thing in that shack to use as evidence against them. Your best bet, I'd say, would be to find Hector and those missing ledger pages. That, and your testimony as to what you heard in the Express office last night, will probably clear Megan of any involvement. But getting the gang convicted is another story altogether. I don't think we can do that without one of them breaking down and confessing everything."

"Work on the boys,” Lucas said. “They're young. They're scared. It shouldn't take much to get them to talk."

Brandt nodded.

"What about Hector?” Megan asked nervously.

Lucas smiled wryly at Brandt.
“Doesn't look like you're going back to bed any time soon, old friend."

Brandt groaned but didn't argue with what he knew had to be done.

"You know what to do, right?” Lucas asked for the tenth time in as many minutes. He sat on the edge of Megan's desk at the Express office, studying her closely for any sign of fear.

She was wearing the frilly white blouse and bright-red skirt with blue and yellow flowers that he'd bought her on the trail. Standing in the stream of sunlight that spilled through the storefront window, her hair pulled up in a twist, she looked absolutely radiant.

A warm sensation washed over him—a feeling Lucas was only now beginning to recognize as love.

"Everything will be fine,” she told him. “Stop worrying."

He couldn't help but worry about her. He loved her. He'd give anything for this to be over.
To be able to take her home and make hours worth of long, luxurious love to her.
After he convinced her to forgive him, of course.

He shifted nervously. “Are you sure he'll come? What if he suspects something?"

"He won't suspect anything. He comes in every morning around this time. Chances are
,
he'd be afraid of making people suspicious by
not
showing up. And now that the whole town's seen that newspaper article, he'll come to catch up on the latest gossip."

"That's what I'm afraid of."

"Lucas,
stop worrying.
There are going to be four of you in the back room, all with guns trained right on poor Hector."

"
Poor Hector?
Let's not forget that
poor Hector
is responsible for almost single-handedly ruining your life."

"I know. I just can't help but feel sorry for him, is all."

He snorted.

She smiled. “Are you done being worried?” she asked.

"No!” he answered emphatically.

"Too bad.
Now, go hide with Caleb and Brandt and the marshal before you blow my cover."

Lucas pulled her close, wrapping his arms around her back. His tongue traced the outline of her lips, teasing and caressing, capturing her tongue with his own. The kiss turned from warm to scalding hot almost instantaneously. She purred deep in the back of her throat, flexing the fingers she'd woven through his hair.

For the first time since Megan had come up with the harebrained idea of confronting Hector in the Express office, he felt his tension ease. He wouldn't let anything happen to her—that was all there was to it. And Brandt and her brother, along with Marshal Thompson, waited in the storage room to back him up.

Someone cleared his throat behind them, and they inched apart—slowly, leisurely, not the least bit embarrassed.

Brandt didn't even try to hide his grin. “You'd better get in here, Lucas, unless you mean to get caught. Hector should be here any minute."

Lucas was
loathe
to release Megan. “You're sure you're going to be all right?"

"I'm sure."

He kissed her one last time,
then
followed Brandt to their hiding place in the back room.

Megan moved around to the other side of the desk, tapping her foot in irritation. Who did Lucas think he was to keep kissing her like that anytime it struck his fancy? And why did she keep
letting
him? Why was it that every time he came within breathing distance, she melted like grease on a griddle?

And that remark he'd made back at the jailhouse about her being his wife!
No wife of mine,
he'd said. Well, if he thought she was going to marry him after he'd doubted her honesty and run off and left her, he was nuttier than a chicken in a fox's den.

Never mind that he'd come back for her and tried to find evidence to clear her name. The fact remained that he'd left, and only now did he seem to believe she'd had nothing to do with the robberies in the first place.

A noise at the front door caught her attention. She rose from behind the desk and started forward.

Hector ducked his head in the door, eyes darting around nervously.

"Hector!” she called out, careful to keep her voice happy and relaxed. She pulled the door all the way open, urging him into the office by tugging on his shirtsleeve. Once he passed her, she closed the door behind them.

"Come in and sit down.” She motioned him to the chair behind the desk. She leaned back against the ticket counter, keeping herself between Hector and his only avenue of escape. For all intents and purposes, he was now surrounded.

"How have you been?” she asked casually.

"Fine,” he answered quickly, eyes shifting from place to place, never stopping on her figure straight ahead of him.

"And your mother?"

His head came up, as she'd known it would. They'd never really discussed his family before, so she knew the mention of his mother would catch him off guard.

"
Sh
-she's fine."

Megan gave a smile before dispensing with the polite chatter. “Hector, I have a little problem, and I was hoping you could help me out."

"S-sure thing, M-miss Megan."

She took note of his sudden stutter. He'd never had a problem with his speech before.

"I've had a rough couple of weeks,” she told him.
“As you can probably imagine.
Kidnapped from my own stage, accused of stealing the railroad
payrolls,
put in jail for a crime I didn't commit."

His eyes grew big as pancakes, finally stopping their random movements long enough to focus on her.

"That's right,” she said. “I was none too happy about it, either.
Especially since I didn't have anything to do with setting up the robberies.”
She crossed her arms over her chest, fixing him with a steady gaze. “The group of bandits has been taken into custody, and the authorities have decided to release me for lack of evidence,” she lied. “But they still seem to believe that information about the payrolls must have been given to the outlaws by somebody at the Adams Express. Someone who knows the routine, has access to confidential records—that sort of thing.

"Now, if they've already cleared me of any wrongdoing, who do you think they'll investigate next? Caleb?” She shook her head. “They already questioned him. And everyone knows he doesn't spend much time in town, with a ranch to run.

"They've checked out Zeke, and Wally, and all the rest of the drivers,” she said, counting them on the tips of her fingers. “So who does that leave?"

He
swallowed,
his Adam's apple bobbing up and down the length of his throat.

Straightening from the counter, she dropped the concerned-employer facade and went for honesty. “Why did you do it, Hector?"

He leapt to
bis
feet. “I—I d-don't know what you're t-talking about, Miss Megan."

"I was hiding in the office last night when you and your brother broke in. You tore some pages out of the Express ledger, remember, Hector?"

He started shaking his head, retreating slowly.

"But I'd already seen the ledger pages,” she continued. “I know you were stealing money out of the cash drawer and fixing the records so I wouldn't know. And if you managed that, I have no doubt that you could have gotten into the confidential shipping records."

She saw Lucas step silently from the shadows of the back room. Brandt, Caleb, and Marshal Thompson followed suit.

"You did it, Hector. I just want to know why."

"You don't understand, Miss Megan,” he pleaded. “I had to. My brother Evan made me. When he came up from
Texas
last year, he wanted money. Ma and I didn't have any, so he talked my little brother
Dougie
into going with him, and they got a gang together and started stealing. At first it was only small stuff. They'd swipe people's bags off of crowded trains, or break into hotel rooms. Then, when he found out you transported Union Pacific payrolls between railroad stations, he decided to try taking those. He said it'd be better pay for less work.

"I couldn't say no. He's my brother. And he gave me and Ma a good chunk of the money."

"So you did it out of greed?” she asked, astounded that anyone could push their knowledge of right and wrong aside to commit such a crime. “That money doesn't belong to you, Hector.
Or to your brother and his friends."

"
Ev
said those railroad folks were rich enough already.” He jutted out his chin in defiance. “It was our turn."

"And what about the people who were waiting for that money?
Did you ever think of them? Most of the men who own stock in Union Pacific live back East, Hector, in New York City and Boston. The payrolls were on the way to people who work for the railroad. Good, hard-working people from these parts.
Men with families to feed, children to clothe.
People like your
mother, who work
hard for every penny they can get. How do you think they felt when their money didn't show up? What are they supposed to do about feeding their children when they don't get paid?"

Hector's eyes clouded with concern. He opened his mouth to reply, then spotted Megan's backup force out of the corner of his eye. “What's this?” he cried, whirling around. “You tricked me!” His accusation was aimed at Megan, who still stood behind him at the counter.

"I'm sorry, Hector,” she said solemnly. “I didn't want to believe you were the one passing along confidential information. And I wouldn't have believed it if I hadn't been here when you stole those ledger pages.” Her voice grew quiet. “I didn't think you were capable of such a thing. I trusted you, Hector."

He swung around, eyes wild.

The others watched Hector closely but made no move to apprehend him.

Megan saw him edging forward. She stepped into his only path of escape. “It's too late, Hector,” she said.

"No!” he screamed, and bolted for the door.

Her arms stretched out to stop him, but the force of his body knocked her off balance. They both fell to the floor in a heap of skirts and flailing arms and legs. She tried to hold him down, succeeding only in keeping a tight grip on his pant leg. He dragged her with him, fighting to get to the front door and out of the Express office.

The minute Lucas saw Hector charging Megan, his heart stopped. He didn't know to what lengths Hector might go to get away. Horrid images filled his mind.

He rushed past Megan's prone figure on the floor, tackling Hector. The boy struggled for several seconds, yelling and lashing out. Then his body went slack as he realized the futility of his efforts.

The others surrounded them, hauling Hector to his feet.

With only one thing on his mind, Lucas relaxed his hold and went to Megan. She sat with her back against a row of cabinets.

"Are you all right?” he asked, slightly out of breath.

"I'm fine,” she told him.

He ran his hands over her limbs to assure himself of the truthfulness of her words. “Can you stand?"

"Of course I can stand,” she snapped, taking the arm he offered for support.

Her sharp retort brought a smile to his face. Yep, she was just fine. But confronting Hector couldn't have been easy for her, he thought. She was surely suffering emotional if not physical pain at this point.

He wrapped his arms around her shoulders, keeping her close as they made their way to the jailhouse. A gale of angry curses filled the room when Thompson threw Hector into the cell next to his brother's gang. The boys were caught, and they knew it.

"We still don't have enough proof to convict them,” Caleb said quietly as the captors stood around the marshal's desk.

"We have the duplicate key they left in the office last night,” Lucas said.

"Not enough,” Brandt said. “All that proves is that there were two keys to the same desk drawer."

"You heard Hector,” Megan reminded them. “He admitted giving the boys the information they needed to set up the robberies."

"But will he recant in front of a judge?” Brandt asked, not much above a whisper. “Even with us witnessing that confession, he could take it back, say we're lying, that we'd all been there with the sole intention of framing him and taking him into custody. “Even if we testified under oath as to what we heard, it might not be enough to convict.” He grimaced.

"But they're guilty!” Megan said, dumbfounded.

"I know it. You know it. We all know it,” he said. “But unless we can prove it or get them to confess, they'll probably walk."

And she would still be a suspect.

No one said as much, but everyone knew. It hung over the room like an evil specter.

The door opened. They turned to see the deputy strut in.

"Travis,” the marshal said with a nod.
“Anything?"

He didn't answer but moved to Thompson's side, handing him several pieces of wrinkled paper.

"Yahoo!”
Thompson slapped the pages down on the desk for all to see. “We've got ‘
em
,” he said. “Megan Adams, you're free to go."

Her head snapped up, the question naked in her eyes. He nodded. “I sent Travis out to Hector's place on a hunch to see if he could find anything. These ledger pages, along with our testimonies, are enough to build a case against these boys. You're no longer a suspect.” He threw Brandt a pointed glance.
“Unless the railroad objects."