Cut Nose! Cut Nose had taken Hannah!
Supported by muscular brown arms, Hannah
came awake slowly. Still groggy from the
vicious blow to her jaw, she shook her head
to clear the cobwebs from her brain. She had no
idea how long she’d been unconscious, but the
sky had turned from black to mauve, indicating that many hours had passed since she’d gone to
bathe in the river. Her jaw felt as if it was on fire, and when she tried to move pain shot up
her cheekbone to her head. She moaned, and
the arm holding her tightened.
“I did not think I hit you so hard, Little Spar
row/’
That voice! Cut Nose. She smelled his musky
scent and bitter gall rose up in her throat. “Why
have you done this?” Hannah cried out desper
ately. “What do you hope to gain?”
“Wind Rider will come for you. He will chal
lenge me and we will fight as we should have before Coyote interfered. I will kill him and take you for my woman. Then I will slake my lust on your white body and hear you cry out
my name when I bring you to pleasure. Then we will see who is the better man.”
Hannah’s head spun with the implication of
Cut Nose’s words. Was Ryder strong enough to fight Cut Nose and win? Was there nothing she could do to stop them from killing one another? Briefly she considered telling Cut Nose that she
carried Ryder’s child, but quickly discarded the
notion. That knowledge might anger Cut Nose to the point of harming her or the child she carried.
“Where are you taking me?”
“Not far. I wish to settle this matter between
us soon so I can plant my seed inside your
body.”
“You cannot win against Ryder.”
“I have already won. I have you, don’t I?”
“Not for long,” Hannah goaded. “Only a cow
ardly dog would act as you have, stealing me away in the dark of night/’
Cut Nose’s lips curled in resentment. Until Hannah came into their midst he had never
committed a dishonorable deed. It was her
fault, he reflected, blaming Hannah for inciting his lust to the point of making him lose
control of his senses. Being banished from the
tribe had been so humiliating, he’d vowed to
punish those responsible. He had watched the
camp until Hannah and Ryder left and had fol
lowed stealthily, intending to seek vengeance
in his own way in his own good time. Finding
Hannah alone had been a stroke of luck he
hadn’t anticipated.
Being called a cowardly dog sent him into
a rage, and he struck Hannah viciously. Once
again Hannah went spinning into blessed
oblivion, unaware that Cut Nose had delib
erately slowed his horse and that the trail he
left could have been followed by a child.
Ryder rode like the wind, his sturdy Indian
pony obedient to the slightest pressure of his
knees and hands. With the onset of daylight it
was a simple task to follow the trail left by Cut
Nose. It was almost as if Cut Nose wanted to be
found. Ryder’s fists clenched on the reins and
he urged his horse to a faster gait. If Cut Nose
hurt Hannah, he’d tear him apart with his bare
hands.
Ryder plunged without hesitation into the
narrow passage between two flat bluffs, aware
that this was the spot Cut Nose had chosen for
their confrontation. He had stripped down to
breechclout and moccasins, to be unhampered
by clothing during the battle. The vivid discol
oration across his ribs bore mute testimony to
the beatings he had endured just a short time
ago. But he ignored his pain, focusing instead
on Hannah and his unborn child.
Halfway through the narrow passage, Ryder
halted and scanned the collection of rocks and
boulders he considered large enough to offer
protection to Cut Nose and Hannah. He realized
he provided a large target for Cut Nose, but his
gut told him that Cut Nose would challenge
him openly rather than use cowardly methods of attack. And so he stood fully exposed and
waited.
Hannah groaned as pain exploded in her
brain. She had no idea where she was, but
the hard ground beneath her and the relentless
sun in her eyes told her that she was lying on
her back, shielded from view by a large boulder
and helplessly tied hand and foot.
“If you cry out, I will stuff my breechclout
in your mouth,” Cut Nose threatened her omi
nously.
Hannah realized immediately that she was still Cut Nose’s prisoner. “Where are we?”
“At a place I know well. Wind Rider approach
es. Soon you will be mine, and to celebrate my victory I will take you here on the ground while
vultures pick his bones.”
Hannah paled. “Ryder is here?”
As if in answer to her question, a deep voice
boomed out. “Cut Nose. I am here. Show your
self. If you release my woman without harming
her, I will spare your life.”
“Ryder!” Hannah’s shrill cry sounded like sweet music to Ryder’s ears.
“Little Sparrow! Be brave. You will soon be
free.”
“Call out again and I will silence you,” Cut Nose hissed. He glared at her, promising swift
retribution if she disobeyed.
“What is it you want of me?” Ryder inquired.
He knew from the direction of their voices that
Cut Nose and Hannah were sheltered behind
a large boulder about fifty yards ahead and to
the left.
“We will settle this matter between us the
Indian way. We will fight to the death with
knives. The woman will be the prize. Once I have Little Sparrow impaled upon my mighty sword she will forget all about you.”
Red dots of rage exploded in Ryder’s brain.
The thought of Hannah spread beneath Cut Nose’s body, submitting to his crude fumbling,
left him with a sick feeling in the pit of his
stomach. He would never allow it to happen.
“I accept your challenge, Cut Nose. Show your
self.”
Hannah watched in trepidation as Cut Nose
stepped out from behind the boulder. Strug
gling to her knees, she propped herself against
the boulder and peered around the edge. The
breath caught in her throat when she saw Ryder
dismount and walk slowly toward Cut Nose. She
saw that his rifle was still in the saddle boot
and offered a fervent prayer that Cut Nose
wouldn’t seize the opportunity to shoot Ryder.
He didn’t. The Sioux warrior waited stoically for Ryder. When they faced one another Cut
Nose whipped his knife from its sheath and crouched low.
Ryder reacted swiftly, whipping out his own
knife and circling Cut Nose warily.
“You are a fool if you think you can win.” Cut Nose laughed harshly. The sound sent a shiver up Hannah’s spine.
“You are a fool if you think I will lose,” Ryder shot back.
Cut Nose lunged. Ryder stepped back and sucked in his breath. The blade missed him by a scant inch.
Hannah nearly cried out when she saw how
close Cut Nose had come to disemboweling
Ryder, but she fought for control. The last
thing Ryder needed was distraction.
Ryder struck back, but Cut Nose neatly side
stepped. Then, unexpectedly, Cut Nose kicked
out with his foot, hitting Ryder squarely in
the ribs. Ryder cried out and staggered, pain
searing through him like a burning brand. But
when he saw Cut Nose moving in for the kill
he rallied and easily deflected the thrust. Once
again they circled one another, each looking for
an opening to bring home the victory. Ryder was
still hurting from the vicious kick to his ribs, but
it had served to make him more wary of Cut
Nose’s sly tricks.
“Come on, white eyes,” Cut Nose goaded as
he jabbed unsuccessfully at Ryder’s gut. “I can
not wait to kill you. I have already had your
woman and long for another taste of her white
flesh.”
Ryder knew he was being goaded and almost
succumbed to his rage. It took every bit of his self-control not to lose his head, for he knew it
was exactly what Cut Nose wanted. An enraged
man was an uncautious one, prone to errors,
and Ryder couldn’t afford to make mistakes. The life of Hannah and his child were at stake.
He hoped Cut Nose’s claim wasn’t true, but if
he had raped Hannah he’d make sure the villain suffered a painful death.
Somehow Hannah managed to roll from
behind the boulder and sit up, where she could
see more clearly. Both men were bleeding from several small cuts, none of them serious. But the
fight was becoming more intense, more fiercely
combative as both men lashed out viciously at one another. It worried her that Ryder seemed to be favoring his right side, where the bruises
on his ribs were the most prominent. Cut Nose
also became aware of Ryder’s weakness and took advantage of it by striking most often at
the injured ribs. That was when Hannah’s Irish
temper drove her over the edge. It was up to her
to help the man she loved.
Her wrists were tied behind her but with
great effort she maneuvered around, bringing
her legs through the loop of her arms until
her arms were stretched in front of her. Then
she struggled with the rope binding her ankles until the knots came free. But that still left her wrists tightly bound together. Searching frantically for a way to free herself, Hannah spied a jagged rock lying on the ground near the boulder. Stretching her wrists over the jagged edge of the rock, she sawed them back and forth,
ignoring the pain. But after several frustrat
ing minutes she realized that her efforts were
getting her nowhere. The tough rawhide rope refused to part.
Glancing toward the combatants, Hannah could see that Ryder was tiring. Cut Nose wasn’t in any better shape. Both were bleeding from numerous wounds, both still determined
to win. She cried out in dismay when Ryder
stepped backward to escape a brutal frontal
attack and stumbled into a gopher hole. Tak
ing advantage of Ryder’s momentary confusion,
Cut Nose lunged, sending Ryder crashing to the dusty ground. Before Ryder could gain his feet,
Cut Nose fell on top of him, the point of his knife pressed to Ryder’s throat.
Hannah did not waste precious time bemoaning Ryder’s wretched bad luck; she acted instead. Grasping the jagged rock in her bound
hands, she levered herself to her feet. Despite
her numb legs, she raced toward Ryder, reach
ing him just as Cut Nose’s blade pierced the flesh
of Ryder’s neck. A thin line of blood trickled
down his chest.
“Noooo!” Hannah’s anguished cry momen
tarily distracted Cut Nose as he poised himself
for a fatal thrust. Shock registered on his face
when he saw Hannah looming over him, preparing to crush his skull with a jagged rock.
The brief lapse was all Ryder needed to mar
shal his strength and toss Cut Nose backward
off of him. Cut Nose flew through the air and
landed on his stomach. He grunted and went
still.
“Get out of the way, Hannah!” Ryder cried
as he flung himself atop Cut Nose. He knew
Cut Nose was sly and often resorted to trickery.
Hannah stepped back, still ready to come to
Ryder’s defense.
When nothing happened Ryder grasped Cut Nose by the hair and pulled his head back.
When he received no response he levered him
self off Cut Nose and turned him over.
“Be careful,” Hannah called out as Ryder bent
over the wily Indian. “I don’t trust him.”
“He’s dead.” Ryder’s voice was devoid of emo
tion. “He fell on his knife. It pierced his heart
and he died instantly.”
The rock Hannah still held in her hands hit
the ground with a thud. “Thank God.” It wasn’t
so much that she wished for a man’s death but
that she wanted Ryder alive.
Ryder heard the exhaustion in her voice, sensed her profound relief, and went to her
immediately. “Are you all right, Little Sparrow?
Did Cut Nose harm you?” His hand splayed
across her stomach. “Is our child safe?”
Hannah allowed Ryder to support her as she
collapsed against him, dragging in long steady
ing draughts of air. “I am tired but otherwise unharmed, and our child rests easily beneath
my heart. Your son or daughter is strong,
Ryder/
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