Aces Wild (25 page)

“
Miss Ana? Are you all right?”

Ana whirled to see Madam Ling standing in the doorway frowning at her. Oh God, was she talking out loud again? Had she said something? She was rattled, shaken. Taking a deep breath, she calmed herself.

“
No, I am fine, Madam Ling. I’m glad you are here. My father seems to be resting comfortably.”

“
Yes, Miss Ana. I expect him to sleep through the night. Mr. Gabe arranged for his men to take shifts watching him. He wanted you to be able to sleep in your own bed tonight.”

Ana couldn’t quash her irritation. Damnit, did he have to run everything including where she slept?

“
He did, did he?”

Even as she spoke, she recognized the arrangement could give her cover.

She saw that Madam Ling misunderstood her irritated response when she and quickly added, “One of the healers will be in the room at all times. You don’t have to worry, Miss Ana. If we need you, we will come and get you immediately.”

Ana nodded. “Thank you, madam. I appreciate everything you are doing. Please come and get me if he wakes. No matter what time it is.”

“
I will, dear. But we gave Master Chao medication that will help him sleep until morning. That is what he needs now.”

Assuming composure she didn’t feel Ana went to her father’s bedside and kissed his cheek. She whispered to him that she loved him and then squeezed his hand asking his forgiveness in advance for what she planned to do.

“
Good night, Madam Ling.”

They exchanged formal bows and Ana hurried from the room. She needed to get to her chambers. She needed to be alone. She had to think. Turning the corner she almost ran into her aunt. Penelope jumped back with a shrill cry as if she had seen a ghost. Ana frowned. “I’m..I apologize, Aunty. I didn’t see you coming.”

To her surprise, Penelope grasped her arm and gasped, “Is he all right? “

Ana was startled by her aunt’s appearance. She looked disheveled, unkempt. Without her rouges and lip paints and fancy clothes she looked like the old woman she would soon become. Wisps of grey hair stuck out from all sides of her usually tightly contained chignon. Her eyes were wide, glassy. She seemed shaky. If Ana didn’t know better she would think that her aunt had been drinking.

Ana tried to release her arm.

“
My father is sleeping, Auntie. I expect that he will sleep through the night.’

Her aunt visibly trembled. “But..but is he all right?”

“
Do you mean, will he live?”

The frazzled woman snapped
,
“Yes, you foolish girl. Of course that is what I mean!”

Ana was startled, frankly puzzled by her aunt’s response. Penelope made no secret of her distain for Chao. Her concern was unexpected.

Penelope’s face flushed and a closer breath confirmed that her unsteadiness was likely caused by too much port.

She clutched Ana’s arm and peered in her face as if she was looking for an answer Ana was hiding. “It’s his fault. You know that don’t you? You can’t deny it. He caused this.”

Ana forcibly removed her aunt’s hand from her arm.

“
I don’t understand what you are saying, auntie. Are you blaming my father because someone tried to kill him?”

“
Penelope shrieked. “ No, no. Not Chao. That dreadful McKenna man! It is his fault! It wasn’t supposed to happen like this. Look at everything that has happened since he came here. He is to blame.”

Ana forced herself to be calm, not react to her aunt’s outrageous suggestions. She was troubled by the fear she saw in Penelope’s eyes. She looked as though she was bordering on hysteria. Blessedly she heard Penelope’s personal maid call out.

Brigit was a large buxom Irish woman. She was the only maid who had lasted more than a month serving Penelope personally

“
Ah there you are, dearie. I was wonderin where you be getting off too. Come along now.” The red haired freckled woman wrapped a strong arm around the frail woman and led her down the hall. She gave Ana a knowing wink over her aunt’s shoulder. “I be thinkin our nice little lady here has had too much excitement these last few days.”

Shaken by her aunt’s appearance and her need to be alone, Ana scurried away. Turning the corner she almost ran into the big pink-cheeked man they called Davy. Behind her another large man appeared. They effectively pinned her between them.

“
Excuse me, Miss Ana,” Davy said. “May I ask where you are going?”

Ana raised her chin and glared at him. “You may ask me anything you wish. It is unlikely I will answer.”

Davy smiled a sweet smile but his eyes were hard. “You need to go to your chambers.”

“
I beg your pardon?”

“
Um, yes, Mamn. Gabe was concerned.” Davy’s face pinked even more but his voice was firm. “We have fewer men here tonight. Gabe wants you to stay in your room.”

Ana couldn’t believe what she heard. This truly was the final straw.

“
He told you that I am to stay in my room? He said that?” Her voice was shaking. Ana was so angry she could barely speak. She drew herself up and although she only came to his armpit, he stepped back.

“
Excuse me! Do you know who I am?”

Davy flushed but took a step closer and spoke politely. “Yes, Mamn, I do. You are the woman Gabe wants in her room tonight.”

Ana moved toward the door, refusing to show him her rage.

Striking a conciliatory note, the young man pasted a pained smile on his face. “Mamn, I will arrange to have your dinner brought to your room. Gabe said he wants you to eat…”

“
Don’t bother.” Ana’s voice was tight, barely controlled. She moved through the doorway and wound up to close the door in his face. Davy put his foot in the doorway stopping her. He handed her a note.

“
Gabe also asked me to give you this.”

Ana snatched it from his hand and kicked his foot out of the way. With her head held high she marched into her chambers locking the door behind her.

She opened the note and stared at all three lines of it.

Sorry you are upset, Ana. These last two days have been a trial for you.

Get some rest. We will talk in the morning.

Ana was enraged. Davy was correct. Gabe really did intend to send her to her room. While he and the men were out looking for the scum who attacked her father, even taking her brother with them, she was supposed to go to bed like a good little girl.

She made her decision. The hallways were filled with his men. Even though Gabe had taken many of them with him the courtyard was sprinkled with them. She consoled herself. It wasn’t as though she had never snuck out of the house. She did it at least one a month. She tossed her dress and fancy shoes in a heap. Crawling naked into her closet she found her stable boys clothes. Pulling them on she twisted in a tight braid and tucked it under her cowboy hat and yanked on her worn boots. A quick glance in the mirror confirmed that we looked like a fifteen year old boy, not a young woman set on solving the crime that had torn her family apart and caused irreparable havoc in her life and in her heart.

She stuffed pillows and a quilt under the coverlet creating a passable form of a sleeping body. Squaring her shoulders, she moved quickly shoving aside any second thoughts and opened the door to her balcony. The moon, a mere sliver of light in the dark cloudy sky was her helpmate. Taking a deep breath, she hooked her leg over the railing and found the chink in the brick that had been her toehold for years. Within seconds she’d slithered to the ground, a small dark figure hugging the wall. The most dangerous stretch was the distance between the house and the barn. The fifty yard expanse called for stealth and the brazen knowledge that no one could stop her. Ana had both.

~~

Chapter 27

Gabe stood outside Chao’s door relieved and frustrated. He was relieved to see his friend sleeping peacefully, an alert Chinese healer sitting in the chair beside his bed. But he desperately needed to talk with Chao. Chao was the only one who could fill in the blanks of a picture that was becoming clearer. He and his men had questioned no fewer than fifty potential witnesses today. They included everyone from the local sheriff to the feed store owner to the brothel madams in every hangout between here and san Francisco. Anyone who had even a passing familiarity with the six men they were targeting had been questioned. Three men popped to the top of the list. Sadly all six suspects were open in their hatred of Chinese and of Chao Li in particular. The three suspects topping the list were frequent visitors at Dominic’s Lucky Lady. The bankers they consulted confirmed the amount of money the three lost to Chao Li in the last year alone was staggering. While Gabe had always known that Chao was a shrewd business man, the depth of his cunning and insights surprised even Gabe.

Gunnar and Eagle humored him and kept Peter Harcourt on the short list. But even Gabe had to agree that Peter didn’t exhibit the incriminating behavior that the others did. No one remembered him speaking ill of the Chinese. Most telling there was no evidence of financial loss to Chao. Peter wasn’t on Chao’s list. All Gabe had was his anger at Peter’s smarmy attentions to Ana and his itchy neck.

Accepting the fact that he wasn’t going to speak with Chao tonight, Gabe headed down the quiet hallway to Ana’s room. Though it was after midnight and he was sure she was sleeping, Gabe hoped that she might be awake. He wanted to talk to her. Hell, he thought with a groan
what he really wanted was to crawl in bed beside her and hold her, feel that luscious body hard up against his. His arousal flared at the image and he shook his head in disgust at his errant prick. Remembering her fury at what he had to admit was his high handed behavior, he knew it was unlikely Ana would open her door to him, much less her arms.

Davy and Emil jumped to their feet, greeting him in low tones.

“
She’s sleeping?” Gab asked nodding to the closed door motioning them away from the doorway.

Davy shrugged. “I expect so. We haven’t heard anything in at least four or five hours, have we, Emil?”

Emil nodded in agreement. A sneaky smile crept over his usually stern face. “Given how angry she was, I gotta tell you, Gabe, I expected to hear the sound of breaking glass or splintering wood. Wouldn’t have been surprised to see some broken furniture and a smashed lamp or two.” He grinned appreciatively. “That is one spitfire of a woman, Gabe.”

Davy chortled in agreement. “Yeah, you may have bit off more than you can chew with that one, Gabe. That little girl was madder than a wet hen. I never seen a woman that small puff up like an adder. Phew, I wasn’t sure Emil and I was going to make it out alive when I told her you wanted her to stay in her room. I’m glad she didn’t have a lethal weapon on her although the daggers she was throwing could‘ve taken us down if we wasn’t expecting them.”

Gabe smiled at their apt descriptions knowing only too well the temperamental behavior they described. Hell, he’d barely known her for two weeks, but had been astonished at the range of emotions that spewed forth from one imposing young woman who at first glance was a sheltered, shy recluse.

“
I’m glad the two of you were able to contain a woman half your size, fellows,” Gabe said with an ironic grin. He added not suppressing a worried frown.

“
She ate, right?”

“
Hell, no,” Davy exclaimed with a barely contained laugh. “I think that was the final straw, Gabe. After I told her you wanted her in her room and that you wanted her to eat her dinner, she would a slammed the door in my face if I hadn’t wedged my foot in it.”

Emil sniggered. “Admit it Davy, a second later she took you by surprise and did slam the door in both our faces.”

Gabe couldn’t hide his concern. “That means she hasn’t had anything to eat today. That’s not good, fellows. She’s been under a lot of strain. She can’t weigh a hundred pounds as it is. You did give her my note, right?”

Davy huffed. “Yeah I did. But, I‘d be surprised if she did more than burn it, Gabe. I’m telling you that is one angry woman. And, something else. She looked determined. Like nobody including the likes of Emil and me were going to stop her doing exactly what she wanted to.”

Gabe gave an appreciative snort. “Yeah. That’s a look I know well.”

Trying to sort out whether his need to see her was to make sure she was all right, or just wanting to hold her, Gabe knew he wouldn’t rest until he checked on her. Shaking off his caution, he rapped on her door and called her name. Not surprisingly there was no answer. Even though he knew Davy and Emil were teasing him, it bothered him that they hadn’t heard anything from her for hours. That wasn’t like Ana. He knew her well enough now to know that after an hour or so she would have marshaled her forces and taken them on again. If nothing else to go check on her father. He turned to his men who seemed surprised at his concern.

“
She’s been in there what four or five hours? And never came out to go see her father?”

When they both shook their heads, Gabe muttered. “That does it. That’s not like Ana. She’s been at Chao’s bedside for two days now. Even if you told her to stay in her room, she would insist on seeing him before she went to sleep. I don’t like this. I need to make sure she’s okay.”