Ross swallowed hard and shook off his wandering thoughts. He did not know the arrogant young woman's name, but she was one of a breed he thoroughly despised. He could afford to waste no more time thinking about her. He had taken another step against Till-Dale Enterprises today. The payroll for the mines Harvey Dale had swindled away from his father and other honest prospectors in the area was presently being carried away by his men as their horses galloped toward the mountain.
The sound of
hoofbeats
behind him turned Ross's attention to the approaching horseman. Waiting only until the rider had drawn up alongside him, he snapped, "What are you doing back here, Jake? I told you to go on with the boys and take the money to the hideout."
Jake Walsh's youthful face reflected his incredulity. "What am
I
doin
' here? What in hell are
you
doin
'? You're
watchin
' that stage like a hungry vulture, like you got all the time in the world. You just stole the payroll,
dammit
! You're supposed to be
ridin
' in the opposite direction!" Pausing a moment, Jake continued in a lower voice, "If you're so interested in that blonde, you should've brought her along. Hell, that would be better than
hangin
' back here,
waitin
' to get caught like a damn…"
Jake's voice dwindled as a warning flashed in Ross's eyes. He assessed the hardening of his friend's jaw and the telltale muscle ticking in his cheek.
Ross wheeled his horse around. He caught Jake's eye, holding it for long silent seconds before mumbling, "Hell, you never could take orders. You'll never change."
Releasing a tense breath as Ross spurred his horse in the direction of the Dragoon Mountains, Jake shook his head. Within seconds he was following behind him.
Chapter II
Devina stood beside the stagecoach on which she had just arrived in Tombstone. A hot late-afternoon sun beat down on her shoulders, increasing her discomfort, and she raised a weary hand to her brow. The still air reverberated with the raucous honky-tonk music and shrill laughter spilling from the numerous saloons lining the street behind her. The unrelenting pounding of carpenters' hammers echoed mercilessly inside her head, and she squinted against the noisy rumble of the heavily laden ore wagons that moved past to settle yet another layer of fine red dust on her stiff shoulders. The rhythmic racket of the stamping mills in the distance added to a pervading din that brought a new level of pain to Devina's aching head.
A crowd of curious townspeople had responded to the stage's thunderous arrival. Ignoring the narrowing circle of onlookers, Devina watch her father's expression as he approached. She had never seen him so furious.
Meticulously dressed in a sleekly tailored suit, his gleaming silver hair covered by a fashionable bowler hat, Harvey Dale was in a silent rage. His handsome mature face still as stone except for the small tic in his smooth-shaven cheek, he spoke in a tightly controlled voice. "You're certain you're all right, Devina?"
"Yes, Father, I'm fine."
Taking her arm, Harvey Dale turned his full fury on the tensely waiting guard. "All right, John Henry, I want a full explanation, now! How did you manage to lose my payroll?"
"I didn't have no chance, Mr. Dale. I wasn't
expectin
'"
"You were armed, weren't you?" The sarcasm in Dale's voice bringing a bright flush to the burly guard's face, Harvey Dale continued with growing heat, "It was my understanding that you are one of the best riflemen around. Or was that all just a lot of talk to make me feel safe in entrusting my payroll to Wells Fargo?"
"Yes, sir, I was armed." A responsive anger sparked John Henry's small eyes as he pulled his broad frame up to its full height. "And, yes, sir, I do lay claim to
bein
' one of the best rifle shots in these parts. But I didn't have no chance to"
"What do you mean you didn't have a chance? It was your job to defend that stage and that money with your life! And you tell me you didn't even get off a shot! What in hell is wrong with you? You were hired to"
"Father, the man had no choice." Devina could no longer witness her father's attack on the undeserving guard without protest. Expressionless, she met the full heat of her father's anger as he turned again in her direction.
"Stay out of this, Devina. This man acted in wanton disregard for his responsibility. He"
"No, Father, you're wrong. The thief held a gun to my side and"
"A gun to your side!" The unnatural flush suddenly draining from his face, Harvey Dale threw a quick glance in John Henry's direction.
"That's right, Mr. Dale. One of the
robbersI
think he was the
leadermade
out to be a passenger. I didn't see or hear
nothin
' until he fired two shots through the roof of the coach and said he'd shoot Miss Dale if Buck didn't rein up. To my mind, we didn't have no choice. That
fella
had a tight hold on your daughter, and his gun was against her ribs. He wasn't about to let her go. It seemed to me he was the type of
fella
who wouldn't hesitate to shoot her if I made a move."
"Is this true, Devina?" Dale demanded, his expression registering the full impact of the guard's words. "The leader held you captive? Threatened your life?"
"Yes, it's true."
His hand tightening spasmodically on her arm, Harvey Dale assessed his daughter's face more closely, noting for the first time her unnatural pallor and the pained narrowing of her expressive eyes. Making an obvious attempt to control his rage, he said, ''We'll discuss this later, John Henry." Then he urged Devina onto the board sidewalk. Supporting her with his arm, he guided her around the crowd of onlookers and matched his stride to hers while still managing to propel her insistently forward.
"Father, where are we going? It's been a long, exhausting trip. If you don't mind, I'd like to"
"Devina Elizabeth
Dale"the
use of her full name warned her that her father was still
angry"I
am not the fool you think me to be." Ignoring her spontaneous protest, Harvey Dale continued tightly, "I am well aware that you had no desire to join me here in Tombstone, that you would have preferred to remain in New York where you could enjoy the social scene to which you have become accustomed."
"Father, I"
"Kindly, do not interrupt me, Devina. You are a beautiful young woman. You are wealthy and well educated. You will marry well. Your presence here in Tombstone will not affect that certainly. I intend to see to that. It is also my intention to see that nothing interferes with the brilliant future guaranteed to you as my daughter." Harvey sent her a meaningful glance before continuing. "When I say 'nothing,' Devina, I include in that category your own irresponsibility!"
"Father"
"You have disobeyed me from the first, Devina! Mrs. Watson was a responsible woman. I searched long and hard, studied countless letters of application, recommendations, references, before deciding to hire her to accompany you to Tombstone. Yet you defied propriety and me by dismissing her and making the journey alone!"
"Mrs. Watson became ill."
"How convenient for you!"
"Oh, Father, she was an obnoxious woman, always giving me orders! She attached herself to me like second skin, refused to allow me out of her sight! She was driving me mad with, 'Your father instructed me to do this, your father instructed me to do that!' "
"And of course that was too much for you to bear."
"Yes, Father, it was. In any case, Mrs. Watson did become ill."
"And when you saw your opportunity, you took it and started off without her."
"Yes."
"And in the process nearly paid with your life!"
Stunned, Devina shook her head. A shadow of a smile cracked her stiff expression. "Surely, you don't think Mrs. Watson could have helped me during the holdup, Father? The man took everyone by surprise. What could Mrs. Watson have done? Oh, I suppose she could have rolled over and crushed the thief with her enormous bulk, but I doubt she would have had the presence of mind to"
"Do not be sarcastic, Devina!"
"Father, you never met her. If you had, you would have congratulated me for my ingenuity in escaping her!"
"I sincerely doubt that." Slowing as they came to the corner of Fourth and Allen, Harvey Dale lowered his gaze to again meet hers. A startling vulnerability flicked across his face as he said, "I… I would like to say something that I should have made clear from the outset, Devina, when you objected to joining me here in this 'frontier wilderness.' You are my only child, and I love you deeply. I have no wish to spend my life separated from you, no matter how difficult you can be at times. It is expedient for me to remain in Tombstone to affect the greatest return on my investment here, but I have missed you sorely and I want you with me. The realization that you have been made to suffer because of my demand that you join me is the source of considerable pain to me; but I give you my word, you will not suffer again as you did today. I also promise you will enjoy your stay in Tombstone, even if I must change Tombstone to your liking in order for you to do so."
A warm heat gathered beneath Devina's eyelids, and she swallowed hard against it. She was almost grateful to the hard-eyed thief for having been successful, if temporarily, in tempering the war of wills that had raged between her father and her for the past few years. Despite her brave front, she was extremely shaken and haunted by the memory of the gun pressed against her ribs, the deep, sinister voice in her ear. The image of those dark eyes, which had dismissed her so contemptuously, lingered strangely in her mind. A sense of outrage swelled anew inside her, prompting her soft response. "Father, there is something you could do that would make Tombstone much more to my liking."
Committed to his words, Harvey Dale nodded his assent.
"I want to see that criminal, the leader of the men who robbed the stage, behind bars. I want to prove to him that…" Emotion unexpectedly filled her throat, and Devina was unable to go on.
Visibly affected by his daughter's agitation, Harvey Dale slid a protective arm around her waist. His voice was low, intense. "You have my word, Devina. That criminal will pay, and pay dearly, for his ill treatment of you."
Embarrassed by her unexpected lapse, Devina was unable to respond as her father continued softly.
"But now there's something you can do for me, Devina. I'd like you to accompany me to Dr. Carter's office. It is just a few doors down the street. It will relieve my mind immeasurably."
"Oh, Father…"
"You are extremely pale, Devina. I fear that you are more shaken than you will admit."
"I'll be fine after I get a little rest, Father."
"Dr. Carter's office is only a few doors away."
The concern in his gaze more than she could dismiss, Devina gave a small shrug. "All right, Father. If it will make you feel better."
Relief twitched lightly at Harvey Dale's thin lips as he escorted her down the street. His sharp knock on the door was met by a muffled response.
"Come in."
Her vision temporarily limited as she stepped from the bright sunlight into the dark inferior of the office, Devina glanced at the broad-shouldered
shirtsleeved
figure crouched over a cabinet filled with medicine bottles. She was suddenly as impatient with her father's concern as she was with the man who kept them waiting while he finished scribbling in a small notebook. This was a waste of time. She was perfectly well. All she needed was a brief rest and she would be as good as new.
Harvey Dale began speaking as the man straightened and tuned in their direction. "Charles, I would like you to meet my daughter, Devina. She has had a trying experience on her journey to Tombstone, and I'd like you to…"
The tall man turned toward them and Harvey Dale's words faded from Devina's hearing. A low gasp escaped her throat. The man's eyes were black, and startlingly familiar. He advanced toward her, and Devina's hand went to her throat, shock driving the breath from her lungs. His dark eyes locked onto her frozen gaze, Devina fought to catch her breath.
It was he, the gunman, the man on the stage.
But the broad hands that reached out to grasp her firmly were gentle for all their strength. The low voice, so startlingly familiar, was coolly professional, reassuring. He ushered her to a chair and held a vial under her nose. Her head snapped up when she inhaled its pungent scent.