The Badger City Gang [Bride Train 7] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) (28 page)

“I think Rivers was the one,” added Trace.

Ross looked down. He shuddered. He tilted his head back, his teeth bared. Tendons stood out in his neck. He clenched his fists in front of him and his muscles bulged.

“No!”

A deep scream, animalistic in its pain, erupted from his throat.

Lily gasped. She grabbed Kate’s arm, trembling.

“Oh, my,” she whispered. “It was Rivers, all this time!”

Ross threw his hands up and wide in an explosive movement. The sky suddenly erupted with ravens. They dove off the rooftops, swooping into the street. The harsh sound of their calls and rush of their huge wings filled the air. Lily tossed her parasol aside, picked up her skirts, and ran toward Ross.

Kate snatched the dainty silk and lace confection from the ground and hurried after Lily. She stopped when she saw Rivers. She stared down, shocked at seeing her first dead man. He lay, eyes open and legs spread wide, on his back. His cuffed hands bracketed the bright red staining his white shirt. Rivers had faced Kate, and the hotel. Casey must have shot him in the chest, killing him almost instantly.

He’d kept his hair very long on one side so he could comb it over his head. He’d landed with his hair flopped back, revealing his bald head. The deep gashes in his skull looked grotesque. He must have been attacked by something long ago. Perhaps a bear? No, these were gouges more than claw marks.

“All this time, he was here, laughing at us!” roared Ross. He clenched the mayor’s hat so hard Kate thought he might rip it apart.

Ross switched to a language Kate didn’t understand but it wasn’t necessary. He was cursing Rivers into the seven depths of hell, or worse. He pulled his lips back, baring his teeth in an expression so fierce his face looked like a caricature of the devil. He turned his attention to the dead man and his eyes opened even wider.

“Get Amelia and the boys here, now!” screamed Lily.

Ross howled what had to be a war cry and threw the hat away. He reached under the back of his vest and pulled something out. It flashed in the sun. He leaned over, grabbed Rivers by the hair and half-lifted him. He grunted with effort as he made a slicing motion with his other hand.

Only when blood gushed and the body fell to the ground did Kate realize Ross held a knife in his hand. A very big, very sharp knife. And in the other he now held Rivers’ head by the hair. The eyes stared and the jaw dropped open. It dripped blood.

Kate’s stomach lurched. She pressed her hand over her mouth and stepped back. Ross screamed something more. He strode into the street and threw the head underhand, as if bowling. The ghastly thing rolled toward the saloon, chased by a hoard of giant black birds.

They pounced on it, pecking viciously. Kate turned away from the sight in horror. Trace, his brothers Nevin and Gillis, and two other men held Ross. He fought like a wild thing, screaming curses, until Lily stepped close.

“Oh, my poor boy,” she crooned.

She wrapped her arms around his bare chest and pressed her face on his heaving stomach, hugging him. It took a moment, but he shuddered and sank into himself, his brown face ashen. He lifted one hand to touch her, found it covered in blood, and dropped it again.

“He always wore a hat,” he blurted. His voice sounded hollow. “I’m too late, again.”

“Ross? Where’s my husband?”

A brown-haired woman raced down the boardwalk behind a huge raven as if chasing it. She was maybe an inch taller than Kate. Lily held on to Ross until Amelia threw herself at him. He bent over her, his shoulders shaking. His long, black hair covered his face.

Kate looked away, wishing to give them privacy. She found Lily, tears silently flowing, in Trace’s arms. She wrapped her arms around herself, too stunned to think.

“What in tarnation are you doing here, Kate?”

Zach strode toward her, Rusty just behind. The sheriff must have just finished with the deputies. She caught a quick glimpse of Rusty’s grimace before Zach stopped in front of her, blocking everything else. He set his fists on his hips and glared down as if everything was her fault. After what she’d just seen, she wanted his arms around her. But if he didn’t want to comfort her, she was not going to tolerate his censure. She was sure Rusty would hug her, but the way Zach looked he might go berserk if she touched his cousin.

“I’m picking up Lily’s parasol,” she said, pretending to be calm. She held it up as proof, but he brushed it aside.

“I don’t mean just now,” growled Zach, furious. “I saw you watching from Lily’s window. That was bad enough. But then you rushed into the street where a murder had just happened, and stood near a wild man with a knife—you could have been killed!” He pushed close, trying to intimidate her with his size. “I’ve a mind to put you over my lap and—”

“And nothing!”

Here she was, in pain, horrified over what she’d witnessed, feeling Ross’s anguish and his love of Amelia, and all Zach could do was yell and threaten her. She stepped back, glaring just as hard. When he didn’t step forward, she set her jaw.

“You have no right to tell me what to do, Zach McInnes. As I said before, you’re not my husband, my father, or my brother. I’m my own woman, and I’ll do what I think is right!”

She emphasized her last words by jamming Lily’s parasol into his chest. It didn’t even cause a dent. His narrowed eyes suggested it wasn’t one of her best moves, but then she caught a flicker at the corner of his lip that suggested he wasn’t boiling mad at her anymore.

“You think you could hold off a determined man with that bit of lace?” The lip flicker increased.

“For all you know there’s a stiletto inside,” she boasted.

He snatched it out of her grasp and tugged on the handle. Nothing happened, so he tossed it back. She caught it awkwardly in both hands. That allowed him to step close. Way too close. She swallowed past the lump in her throat and looked up.

The flash in his icy-blue eyes melted to something far warmer. He shifted, moving the parasol so his aroused groin pressed against her belly. Kate caught Lily’s parasol before it fell. She licked her dry lips, realizing she wanted more than a gentle hug from him.

“Aw, Kate,” he whispered. He held her shoulders, looked her in the eyes, and sighed. “I saw you in that window when I left the jail and I got worried. My heart almost stopped when those guns went off. And then you were so close when Ross pulled that pig sticker.” One corner of his mouth quirked up as he gently brushed his knuckle over her cheek. He sighed from the bottom of his lungs. “I don’t know what I’d do if you got hurt.”

She dropped her eyes, unable to face this too-gentle Zach. “You’d find someone new to cook, clean, and all,” she grumbled. She waited, tension coiled like a snake. Finally, he pulled her tight against his warm body, and just breathed.

“You’re a lot more than that, Katherine Mason.” He rested his chin on her head.

“Ow!” She pulled back, rubbing the lump she’d received courtesy of Lily’s window. He let her go as far as his outstretched arms and looked her over.

“You’re hurt. What happened?”

“Nothing,” she muttered, embarrassed at doing something so foolish. She wouldn’t complain when others were in far worse shape.

“Kate, I want the truth,” he warned.

“I banged my head on the window when I heard the guns,” she muttered. “It’s nothing.”

He raised her chin with his finger. She tried to keep her eyes down, but she’d have to face him eventually. She met his blue eyes and frowned. “What?”

“What are we going to do with you?” he whispered, shaking his head.

“I’m fine,” she said, pulling away. This time he let her go. “But there’s others that need help.”

Zach looked around, his extra fourteen inches of height giving him a much better idea of what was happening. She looked as well. Rusty stood near, head down so his hat covered his face. His shoulders seemed to shake, as if he was laughing.

“You’re the only woman who doesn’t have a man holding her,” said Zach.

“I’m strong. I don’t need one.” She lifted her chin to prove it.

“Yep, you’re strong,” he agreed. “And I like that you are. But maybe you want a man to hold you anyway. Lily’s had to be strong all her life, but Trace is helping her home. Judge Thatcher would be holding her if he wasn’t waiting on the Bannack City road to make sure Rivers didn’t have anyone waiting to help him escape. Ross is taking his wife and mother to the hotel. They’re both quiet, but very strong, women.”

Kate looked at the trio. “I think Ross is the one who needs Amelia, not the other way around.”

Zach looked at her, his eyes hooded. “And maybe I need to be held,” he said quietly.

Zach, admitting weakness? He’d always had his brothers and cousin to support him. With no one to hold her, she’d had to stand alone. All her life she fought to hide the forlorn hope that someone would help her, someone who understood. But no one, other than Mama, ever did. And Mama had no power to help. But she didn’t want to be a small, powerless woman soothed and comforted by a big, strong man. She had her own strengths, and wanted to use them. Just like the other valley women, she wanted to be seen, and appreciated, for herself.

Ross wasn’t the only man who could kill within seconds. Most of the men in the valley were the same. They were hard men, even brutal when they had to be. But they could also comfort a crying baby or helpless kitten. All of them were sure enough in themselves to let their women be strong.

Life was dangerous in the West. The men she used to think of as monsters were nothing compared to Rivers. Similar men existed in the East, no doubt. But she’d been sheltered from all but Father’s petty cruelty.

She’d wanted to be alone, strong and powerful. But the last hour proved that no one could survive on their own unless they denied their heart. That, or were so full of evil that they had no heart, just a lump of cold, cruel, gold. An unholy, corrupt type of gold that men, and some women, would do anything and everything to possess.

She had no gold. Neither did the McInnes men.

She did, however, have a heart. One that with every beat showed her love for them, and craved it in return. She knew all three wanted her, but how deeply? Did they want her heart, her love? And would they return it?

If not, she’d have to leave. She couldn’t bear to see them and know they’d locked her out of their hearts. Her hands suddenly started shaking. She dropped Lily’s parasol. She tried to bend over to pick it up, but now her whole body shook. A cold ache deeper than winter settled into her bones. How could she face the horrors of life without love?

She said she was strong, and it was time to prove it. She forced her womanly trembles from her body by standing stiff and tall. Just like she had when Father crushed Mama’s dreams by smashing her figurines. Like Mama, once she no longer had anything to lose, she could be even stronger.

She’d give herself a few more days at the Running W, just in case they could show they returned her love, and then she’d go away. Lily would advance her the money for a stage. She’d find someone kind to marry. A quiet man who cared for her just enough. Someone she could be fond of and respect, but not love.

Zach knelt and picked up the bit of fabric and lace. She avoided his eyes until she got herself under control. Then she put a brisk smile on her face. He mirrored it hesitantly. She wrapped her arms around his chest as Lily had Ross. He returned the gesture after a moment, holding her quietly.

“You deputies can go now.” Barstow’s loud voice cut through the chatter. “I won’t tell the ranchers not to leave town, but you know what I mean. We’ve got work to do to figure this out, but it’ll take time.”

“Who shot him?”

Barstow shook his head at whoever had called the question out. “All that matters to you folks is that Orville Rivers is in hell and the devil’s gonna hog-tie and brand him.”

“Amen to that!”

“Does that mean we can go?” she asked Zach quietly. Her heart pounded at his touch, making her head ache even more.

He slowly nodded, watching her carefully. “The lawmen will want to talk with you, hear what you saw. But that can happen another time.”

“Can we go home now?”

“You mean the Running W?”

She nodded. His eyes darkened, his nose flared, and his chest expanded.

“We can leave right now if you want to share my horse,” drawled Rusty from behind Zach.

“She’ll ride with me,” declared Zach. He tossed Lily’s parasol to Rusty and pulled her into his arms. Her body responded to his kiss, the headache fading as more enjoyable sensations flourished. It was quick, a promise of more to come.

“Only if I can ride in your lap,” she said, already breathless.

“My turn to hold Kate,” said Rusty.

He pulled up, turned in the saddle, and gave Zach a look that meant trouble if he was crossed. He’d put up with enough giggles coming from the horse behind him. Now that they were on Running W land, screened from the road, it was his time to hold their woman. He nudged his horse in a circle and rode back. As he suspected, Zach had pulled Kate’s shirt from her skirt and unbuttoned it a ways. Her wrist buttons were also undone. She had nothing underneath. His cock swelled in anticipation.

“Who says she wants to ride with you?”

Rusty’d lived with Zach for twenty years. He knew the complaint was just from habit. He took off his rough cotton shirt, leaned back, and stuffed it in his saddlebag. Then he held out his bare arms to Kate.

“I need to hold you, sugar.”

If Zach told anyone that his voice broke at those words, Rusty would give him a knuckle sandwich that would make sure he couldn’t eat for a week. Zach had Kate sitting across his lap, but when she shifted over, he had her face forward, astride. He took care of the last few buttons and pulled her shirt open.

“What are you doing?”

She squeaked when he cupped her right breast with his left hand. He squeezed, feeling her nipple hard in his palm. He exhaled in a moan, letting all the tension of the last while escape with his breath.

“Mmm, that’s better,” he murmured. He bent over and kissed the side of her neck. She twitched her shoulders. He took a nip and she squeaked again.