Lakota Honor (19 page)

"Wrap this around your neck. It will help until I can find more witch hazel for your cuts."

"Is that what I am drinking?"

He nodded.

"It relieves the swelling."

She took the shirt from him and wound it around her neck. Visions of last night crammed her mind. The noose, the crowd, the people she'd seen and conversed with that day, clamouring for her death. They attacked her, pulled her hair and ripped her dress.

She shook her head. She'd always be different, and she'd have to hide because of it. She thought of her mother. The doctor had killed Hannah Rushton years ago. He'd stolen from Nora a mother's love and warm embrace. He took from her father the chance to say goodbye and gave him a life filled with loneliness.

Anger twisted around her spine, and she straightened. She wanted to see the doctor pay for all that he'd done. She wanted him to feel the same pain her mother did hanging from the rope. The fear and revulsion of those who once were your friends, but found out you were different and called for your life. She peeked at Otakatay across the fire.

"What happened to the doctor?"

He glanced up at her, and she didn't miss the indignation as it shot from his eyes. "I killed him."

Relief spread over her, and she lifted her lips. "Thank you."

He shrugged.

She sighed.

"Are you hungry?"

He shifted his weight from left to right.

She sensed he needed to leave, and so she nodded.

He grunted and pulled his knife from the leather holder on his shin.

"Stay," he said and before she could reply he was gone.

Nora sighed and placed the cup down beside her. She was not drinking anymore. Another sip and she'd be heaving in the bushes. She thought of Jess and the last time she'd seen her. She closed her eyes as images of her friend dangling from a rope filtered through her mind.

She couldn't hide from the guilt as it slammed into her, and she let the tears fall. Jess always made her smile, and she'd cherish the little time they had together. She wiped her cheeks. Jess would curse her out for carrying on so, for being weak. She could hear her now. "Damn, girl, quit your cry babying." Jess would sure give heaven a new meaning. Nora smiled.

"You are with your Marcus," she whispered. "But I will miss you."

She moved closer to the fire. Her dress wasn't good for anything but the rag pile now. Ripped and stained, she wished she could take it off and burn it. She studied the cave Otakatay had brought her to. She didn't know where she was. He'd saved her, and each time she thought of him her heart swelled with warmth.

She was resigned to the fact that she had feelings for him. There had been something there the first time she saw him in the forest, and he threatened to kill her. But the time she'd spent with him had opened up a wave of feelings she didn't think existed, or at least she'd never felt before.

Last night she wanted to see his face in the line of men waiting to dance with her. When the town attacked her, she'd called out for him. And when there was nothing left to do but accept her fate, she closed her eyes and pictured his face.
Is it love that I feel?
She had no clue. She'd never been in love before.

She was sure of one thing and that was Otakatay. He'd been there when she burned her hands, tenderly spreading salve on them. He rescued her, risked his life to save her own, and for that she was thankful. But what she felt for him was more than mere appreciation. He was a Bounty Hunter, and he'd killed innocent women, but she knew in her heart he was not that man.

She saw within his eyes a sorrow, a misery so bleak that it broke her heart. When he kissed her, the world seemed to stop and all she could think of was him. She yearned for his touch, his eyes upon her, his scarce smiles.

She stared out into the forest. Dawn was approaching and the sun shone through the trees, bright and warm.
I love him.
It came as no surprise now that she'd accepted it, yet she didn't know what to do with her feelings.

All she'd ever wanted was someone to share her love with—someone to rely on, and to build dreams with. She couldn't tell him how she felt for fear he'd cast her aside. Otakatay never showed her any emotion other than when they kissed, and she'd been too caught up in her own feelings to watch for his.

She rubbed the edges of the soft shirt wrapped around her neck. It was deerskin, and she wondered where he'd gotten it. She inhaled the scent of leather and smoke embedded into the fabric.
Otakatay.

She closed her eyes.

"What are you doing?"

He startled her, and she jumped, almost burning herself on the fire.

Black eyes stared down at her. He held the shot gun in one hand, and a skinned rabbit in the other.

"You cleaned it already?"

He shrugged.

"I didn't think you'd want to watch."

How did he know?
She loved animals and knew their purpose, but she couldn't watch one be slaughtered.

He tied the rabbit to a long stick, added two more logs onto the fire and sat down beside her.

She inched away from the animal and fidgeted with her dress.

"You feel sorry for the rabbit?" he asked, amused.

She nodded.

"We need to eat."

"I know that," she snapped, "but why couldn't we eat berries or that stuff you were chewing on earlier?"

He grunted.

"Pemmican takes a long time to make, and berries won't fill you."

"What's in the pemmican?"

"Boiled fat, dried strips of pounded meat and some berries."

She made a face. It didn't sound appealing.

He shook his head, reached into his sack, pulled out a piece and handed it to her.

She lifted it to her nose and inhaled. The meat smelled musty. She closed her eyes and took a bite. She tasted the fat right away, but the berries added a sweet flavor, and she took another bite. It was delicious.

"You made this?"

"No, I trade for it on the reservations."

"Oh, I see."

She chewed on the dried meat enjoying every piece.

"Otakatay, did you ever live on a reservation?"

He shook his head.

"How come?" She didn't agree with what the government had done. They'd forced all the natives onto reserved land. The way she saw it, they stole their way of life. The government took their pride and smashed it.

"I am half white. I choose where I want to live."

The pemmican no longer appealed to her, and she put it on her lap.

He grasped his knife, and she saw the scars on his forearm, the same ones that marked his back and chest.

"How did you get those?"

He froze, and she watched as his eyes flickered with anger. She was sure he was going to lash out at her. She braced herself for the fight.

"A coward gave them to me," he sneered. "He believes in nothing but torturing the weak to gain riches."

"How awful." Nora's chest ached, and she laid her hand over his.

He tensed, but didn't pull away.

It wasn't pity she felt for him, but a deep sadness for the suffering he'd gone through. She ran her hand along his arm, pushed the sleeve up and revealed two nasty tracks. Nora's hands heated. She refrained, he wouldn't want her to.

She didn't care that he was full of marks, or that he was an Indian. She loved him. Her finger traced a long scar. How could someone do this to another person? Her eyes watered. What reason could they possibly have? She leaned over and touched her lips to a scar.

"Otakatay."

His forearm tightened but he didn't pull away. She ran her lips over the beveled and deformed skin, tasting her own tears. She wanted to weep for the agony of what he must've felt. He placed his hand in her hair, brushing the locks with his fingers.

She sat up and gazed into his eyes, the dark depths softened, and he rubbed his thumb across her cheek, wiping away a tear. At that moment she knew the love she felt for him was real, and he pulled her to him. She couldn't stop the swell of emotions as they burst from her and lit up her soul.

A whisper of a breath sat between their lips as he lowered his mouth onto hers in a feathery kiss. Supple lips melded with hers, and all she could think about was him and this moment. The kiss stole her senses, her fears—her heart. He'd been there when no one else had. He'd saved her, protected her.

Otakatay.

The fire crackled, the rabbit forgotten. He leaned into her, until she lay on the ground, and he hovered over her. Not once pulling their lips away. He deepened the kiss, tasting her, and she hummed beneath him. Nora's breasts tingled, while the spot between her legs heated and pulsed. She wanted him.

He unwound the shirt from her neck, while his other hand still cradled her head. He trailed kisses down her chin and onto her neck, stopping at the swollen spots to lick them. She ran her hand through his hair and onto his back. The muscles bunched, and she pressed him to her.

She didn't want this moment to end. She wanted to stay in his arms forever. His hand cupped her breast, and she arched her back. He was so tender, so gentle. She hadn't seen this side of him, and she smiled, knowing it was there all along.

He undid the buttons on her dress and massaged her bare breast with his hand, pinching the nipple. Oh, she was going to come undone. She could feel the hardness of his groin press into her. She needed to touch him. Feel his flesh beneath her palms—against her breasts. She tugged at the front of his shirt and was relieved when the buttons flew off.

She kissed his cheek, his neck and her hands rubbed the muscles on his back. She could feel the scars, there were so many.

He pulled away and was on his feet before she knew what had happened.

"Otakatay?" She sat up, holding her dress closed.

"Damn it. What are you doing to me?" The dark look she'd seen so many times before filled his eyes and cut into her.

"I...I thought—

"You thought what?" He pulled the burned beyond eating rabbit from the fire and threw it aside. "I am no good for you."

"Yes, you are." She stood and went to him.

He shoved her aside.

"No. I'm not. I am a killer, damn it."

He stood on the other side of the fire. His chest rose and fell. Rejection punched her hard in the stomach, and she wrapped her arms around her torso.

"I know what you are, and you're not that person, Otakatay."

His face changed. She watched as he masked off the man she'd just kissed, and brought forth the animal she'd seen in him on their first encounter. She took a step back.

"You're afraid, and you should be. I am a monster. I've killed women like you."

"But...but I love you," she whispered.

He grunted.

Nora's bottom lip quivered. He didn't want her not even a little bit, and she couldn't control the pain as it leaked from her eyes.

"Tomorrow, I will take you somewhere safe."

She hung her head, unable to meet his glare.

He snatched up his shotgun and left.

CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

Elwood paced the length of his office. The damn bastards were causing more problems. He hung the leather coil back on the hook. Blood had turned the tightly braided rawhide red. Bits of flesh still hung from it, and he smiled. He'd had to set a few of them straight tonight, and he'd beaten one so badly he didn't think the filthy Navajo would make it through the night. He'd have to replace him and soon.

Over the last year they'd been dropping like flies, some by his hand or his men's, and some from sickness. He'd told Levi and Red to toss the bodies in a pit on the other side of the mountains leaving them for the bears and cats that roamed the hills. He couldn't be bothered with digging graves. Once they were dead they were of no use to him.

Last month one of the savages found a fresh vein of coal. It brought a welcome change from the half-empty carts he'd seen lately, and he wanted more of it. He enforced longer shifts and less sleep. Those brats didn't need to rest; they were young and should be able to work a whole damn day without tiring.

He'd had to set a few straight about the rules again tonight. The tall one decided to fight, and Elwood made an example of him. He demanded respect and fear from the lowlifes. He owned them and when they forgot that, he had a way of reminding them.

He opened the drawer and pulled out a bottle of whiskey. Not bothering with a glass, he took a long swig. The liquor scalded his throat and set fire to his stomach. He glanced out the window while taking another drink. Levi and Red hadn't come back from town with Nora, and he was growing impatient. He ran his finger nails along the top of his desk, making a scratch-like sound. He wanted Nora. He'd wanted her for a long time, and he was getting damn tired of waiting for the little imp to change her mind.

He was a handsome man and could have any woman he wanted. But he wanted Nora, and damn it, he'd get her one way or the other. He'd given her flowers and jewelry. He'd asked her to dinner, but her father had said no, and dumped the gifts in the garbage. He even got rid of Jack Rushton, and she still wanted nothing to do with him.

He clenched his fist and groaned. The killing was supposed to fix everything. Nora's father was a drunk. He thought that with Jack out of the way, Nora would succumb to his charms. But she'd still denied his requests. Now there was no one left to protect her, and he'd have his way with her. She'd be his wife, the perfect trophy to perch on his arm. And when he tired of her, he'd cast her to the hills, too.

A loud knock on the door echoed throughout the room.

"Come in," he called.

Levi and Red sauntered in, their hair a mess and their clothes soiled. Both needed a bath and shave, but he had other things on his mind and didn't give a damn if they wanted to look like hell.

"Where's the girl?" he asked peering around them.

"Well, we went to town like you asked, and…" Levi glanced at Red.

"The townspeople were gonna hang her," Red finished.

"What? Why?"

"They were callin' her a witch. They hung that old Jess Chandler too," Levi said.

Jess's death was a welcome surprise. He'd battled the old crow for years to get her land, and now he'd have it.

"Where is Nora now? Did they kill her?"

He stood. He still had his stitches, but his foot didn't ail him as much as before, and he could walk without limping.

"Nah, but you ain't gonna like what we have to tell ya."

"Well, get on with it you fools."

"Some Indian rode in and saved her. Shot up the place too," Red said.

"Indian?" Elwood whispered. "Who?"

"He looked an awful lot like Hawk."

Elwood hadn't heard the name for almost ten years. The defiant half-breed had escaped killing his brother and two of his men. He hated that kid and wondered when he'd return. He knew the dirty Indian would want revenge for the beatings Elwood had given him and for what happened to his brother. How did Hawk know Nora? And how long had the renegade been in Willow Creek without Elwood or his men noticing?

Nora was his. He slammed his fist onto the desk.

"Find her. They can't be far."