Surviving Seduction (37 page)

“I’m not laughing,” Selena answered unsteadily, examining the bleeding slit above his hip. He may have been right, she realized. It al depended on how deep the blade had penetrated. The blood wasn’t dark, and that was a very good sign. His extra weight may have saved his life.

“Bear?” Susan’s voice cal ed from nearby as she hurried over. Her eyes grew wide as she saw Selena examining him, and the red that washed over his skin. “Oh no, no, no!”

Selena heard the dining hal door again, and glanced up to see Blaire hurry down the stairs with an enormous pot, making her way behind the building to her cook-fire and Ben’s pump. She’d have boiled water ready in minutes.

Susan rushed to Bear’s side, and stared at Selena with tear-fil ed eyes, looking for reassurance. It was too early for that. Selena was uncertain and dropped Bear’s shirt, pressing his hand against the wound, as she had with Dan.

“Hold it tightly. Susan, take him up to the kitchen. For now you’l have to use what you can to slow the bleeding.”

“I’m not walking away from here until he’s been dealt with,” he informed them with gentle firmness, nodding at Roark.

“Bear,” Susan whispered piteously, her voice thick with fear.

Selena knew she couldn’t change his mind, but it was her responsibility to try.

“This is a dangerous injury. The fight is over. You aren’t helping yourself by standing. You need to go.”

“No,” he answered, frowning stubbornly as he watched the one who was responsible for it al .

“Oh Roark,” Josie said with a trembling voice. Selena could tel that she was on the verge of hysteria. “Why did you do this?”

The question wasn’t meant to be answered. Everyone knew his motives.

“I tried everything else first,” he answered in a choked, guttural voice. “I’ve been fighting for you forever.

You never let me win. Even before this son of a bitch showed up!”

Josie grimaced, closing her eyes and working to steady her breathing. “Where is the medicine for Bil ’s wife?” she whispered.

“It’s al in the saddlebags,” he answered. “Believe me, Josie, I didn’t want to do any of this. I just couldn’t think of any other way. I thought if Dan was out of the picture –”

“Stop talking!” she snapped, her voice shril . “You’re

“Stop talking!” she snapped, her voice shril . “You’re hurting innocent people! God Roark, what happened to you?”

He had no answer for her, and it looked as if the light had gone out in his eyes.

“Bil ,” she said through gritted teeth. “Go make sure the pil s are there. If they are, bring them here.”

Selena was distracted by the exchange, and suddenly remembered Ben. She shot Cal a look and nodded toward Dan. He seemed to get the message: keep the situation calm.

She hurried to the place where her friend had fal en, thanks to his surprising bravery.

Gina fol owed her, and Shane stood watch over Victor, who sat on the ground grasping his leg.

Ben was lying on his back in the dirt. She dropped down to listen to his chest. His breathing sounded shal ow, but clear. She turned his head to face up and pried an eye open. It contracted in the light, and she breathed a sigh of relief when the other eye repeated the performance. She pinched his earlobe and his arm came up. She nearly cried with happiness.

“Ow,” he moaned weakly.

“Ben? Wake up! Open your eyes.”

“My head hurts,” he muttered, squinting.

“What do you remember?”

He took a moment to think. “That guy is an asshole.”

“Oh thank God,” she gasped, blinking away tears as she hugged at him in relief. The idea of Ben being hurt in a fight was alien and wrong.

Gina sighed.

Ben patted Selena’s shoulder reassuringly. “Don’t worry, it’s just my brain. Not that important.”

“If you were anyone else, I might agree,” she sniffed, lifting her gaze to check on the others.

Dan hadn’t moved. His hand was stil clamped to his shoulder. Cal stood beside him, glaring at Roark. Amy was at his side now, clearly shaken.

“What am I going to do with you?” Josie whispered, her eyes pinched with pain.

“Kil me,” Roark suggested. “There’s no reason for me to live anymore.”

Josie stared at him woeful y, shaking her head as her eyes final y wel ed.

Bil was returning, and in his hands were three bottles of pil s. “I’ve got them,” he announced with a shaky smile.

“Kil me, or I’l do it myself,” Roark urged.

Josie’s eyebrows rose. “Go ahead, then. Your blood wil be on your own hands, not mine.”

“It’l be on your hands either way,” he answered, his voice ful of bitterness.

Josie watched him miserably. “I know you never break your promises, Roark. Promise me now that none of us wil ever see you again.”

“Big mistake, Josie,” Dan warned. “Big fucking mistake. I’l take responsibility for his death if you won’t.”

“No!” Josie shouted, her eyes suddenly steady and focused. “He’s not your man and I wil deal with him as I choose!”

“He’s my enemy before he’s your man,” Dan answered.

“I was always your man, Josie. You just never seemed to notice.” Roark mumbled.

She looked at him for a long moment, and then turned back to Dan. “He didn’t even use the medicine to bargain for his life. I can’t have him kil ed. I won’t. Not like this. Roark, promise me you’l go. Now.”

Roark let out a long, labored breath. “I promise,” he said lifelessly. He shot one last, tired glare at Dan, then simply walked away, not caring whether Dan honored her wish or not.

Dan and Josie stared each other down. Neither wanted to compromise.

Everyone waited. The seconds ticked by and he made no move. He was letting Josie have her way, at least for now.

Bear and Susan set off for the kitchen as Roark’s figure grew smal er in the distance. Silently the man mounted up and rode away. Selena cast another glance at Dan, and knew he was weighing whether or not to hunt him down later. She was unsettled as she made her way to Jack. Loraine was at his side, holding the reins of their horses, her expression impassive.

“Are you okay?” Selena asked, eyeing the blood that dripped from his hand, and remembering why it was there.

“Just a scratch,” he assured her, wincing as he grasped the wound with his other hand to stop the bleeding.

“Are you?” he asked, eyeing the blood that ran down her arm.

She final y inspected her own wound. A long but shal ow line ran from her shoulder halfway to her elbow. It wouldn’t need stitches. “Just a scratch,” she echoed.

She glanced at Dan and found him looking back at her. The tension eased from his face for just a moment.

Ben sat up, rubbing the back of his head tenderly, and when he was ready to stand, Gina helped him to his feet.

Selena could feel everyone relax now, everyone but Dan. He turned to Bil and addressed him steadily. “I knew what happened. I needed you to tel the truth.”

Bil nodded. He didn’t seem to care about anything else now that he knew his wife would be okay. Stil , he looked shaken. It didn’t suit him, Selena thought. Bil was tough. It had been strange to see him in such a vulnerable position. He could certainly be counted as Josie’s most loyal man. It must have been difficult to restrain her through that fight.

“Wel , Dan,” Josie said in a tired voice, struggling to hold herself together. “I take ful responsibility for the things my people do, and I plan to redeem myself to you. I’m sorry that I ever doubted you. I’m sorry al of this happened.” She straightened up and faced him squarely. “I intend to start making it up to you now. Whatever medicine you need so you can heal up is yours. And you can have whatever you need for that sickness too.”

Dan nodded. Selena was grateful, but her need to see to his injury made her impatient. “Can we talk about it later? I need to take care of him.”

“I know this isn’t the best time, but I don’t think it should be put off,” Josie muttered before eyeing Dan cautiously. “I have to tel you that the one behind Selena’s kidnapping was Jack.”

Selena flinched as if she had been hit. She was making her way back to Dan and stopped dead in her tracks. She spun to face him and found his eyes glued to Dan, who turned to glare back murderously.

“I know,” he answered, stil grasping his wound. “But I needed his sisters to hear it from someone else.” He spoke to Jack, unable to mask his anger. “Loraine has asked me not to kil you a few times. But I don’t see any way around it now, Jack.”

Selena couldn’t stop blinking, as if her mind would clear if her eyes were clear. What about Roark? What about Loraine? “How do you know?” she gasped at Josie.

“I questioned every person in my camp when you and the medicine went missing. Al the bits and pieces came together. I hope you don’t think it’s hard to believe.”

“Wel , I’m afraid it’s true,” Jack admitted with a guilty

“Wel , I’m afraid it’s true,” Jack admitted with a guilty half-smile, stil fighting to catch his breath. “No sense beating around the bush about it.”

“Oh God,” Selena gasped, her mind racing. He’d risked his life to save her just moments ago. It didn’t make sense. She stared at him in disbelief and utter confusion. It wasn’t sinking in. “Stay away from the wolf, said the coyote,” she murmured, remembering their trip through the forest. “And al of that ... al of that was bul shit?”

“Nah,” he corrected, wincing again. “I just got creative about how to reach you.”

“
Creative?
” Dan hissed with rage at his cavalier attitude. “Having her run down in the woods at night by three men is what you cal
creative?
You didn’t give a fuck what they were going to do to her, you bastard!”

Selena began to feel very distant from her surroundings, almost like she was watching from above.

She’d never heard Dan yel at anyone like that. His emotions were boiling over.

“Now don’t exaggerate Dan,” Jack said defensively, looking far less worried than he should have been, as always. “She was never in any real danger.”

“Exaggerate?” Dan roared. “They put their hands on her!”

Selena wished she were as far away as she felt, and began to sway. She wanted to disappear. She wanted Jack to disappear. He’d turned her into a fool. Gina was at her side in a flash, and wrapped her arms around her shoulders for support.

“No they didn’t,” Jack scoffed.

“Yes, they did,” Dan answered, his voice dropping to a deeper pitch. “I told you I would end it if you cheated.”

“Please don’t kil him,” Loraine begged, and Selena realized she was weeping. She also noticed that Dan was stil holding one of his knives.

“Please!” Loraine continued. “He just saved her life!

Isn’t that redemption enough?”

“No!” he seethed, letting go of his wound and reaching down to pick up his second knife where Selena had dropped it. “He could save your life one day and get you kil ed the next. It’s al a game to him, and you’re just one of the pieces, Loraine.”

“I’m
begging
you,” she whispered.

If Dan was moved, he didn’t show it, and if he wanted to kil Jack, no one could stop him, despite his injury.

“I wouldn’t try it if I were you,” Jack told him lazily, stepping behind his horse and mounting up, grimacing with the effort.

Selena blinked. He was a perfect target up there.

“Why is that?” It was Gina who spoke, and her voice was laced with anger too.

“Because I’ve got this,” he answered, reining his mount to the side. Selena saw a smal gun in his hand. It was pointed at Dan. How had it appeared so quickly?

Her stupor cleared instantly and her eyes darted between the two men. If the gun changed anything for Dan, she couldn’t tel . Was it loaded? Was this a bluff?

Jack’s eyes were glued on Dan when he spoke again.

“Victor?”

“Yeah?” the man answered in a raspy voice, breathing heavily where he sat.

“You fought on Roark’s side. Did you think you were going to win?”

“We had Gary,” he wheezed. “And Dan was gonna kil me. Had no choice. Take me with you. I’l do whatever you want.”

There was no sympathy on Jack’s face. “What did I tel you I was going to do if you touched her?” he asked steadily.

“Don’t remember,” he groaned.

“Yeah you do. What did I say?”

Victor didn’t answer.

“I believe I told you I’d blow your bal s off. That sound about right?”

Shane edged away from him warily, and Victor began to pant in fear as he struggled to slow the flow of blood. His face was covered with sweat. “Come on, Jack,”

he sputtered. “I didn’t real y get anywhere. Figured you didn’t mean it. No man would do that to another man.”

A half smile crept onto Jack’s face and he nodded.

“You got me there. I wouldn’t blow another man’s bal s off.”

Dan’s eyes narrowed. “Don’t you d—”

Jack’s gaze never moved from Dan, but he flicked his gun in Victor’s direction and the jarring sound of a shot rang out. Everyone jumped but Dan. In a moment Jack had trained the gun back on him.

A red mark appeared on Victor’s forehead, and he fel back quietly against the ground.

Selena’s breath caught in her throat. Guns had become unheard of, since ammunition had been spent so quickly on hunting in the early years. This was what gave Jack his confidence al along. It seemed so obvious.

“Now you pul out a gun?” Gina burst. “
Now?
”

“Loraine was holding on to it for me. Left it in the wagon,” he explained. He was stil breathing heavily.

“Why didn’t you use it?” Gina yel ed at Loraine.

“Easy there,” Jack soothed, stil watching Dan. “She’s a lousy shot, and she can hardly defend herself with it.”

Selena’s mind spun, but her fear for Dan overwhelmed everything else. She was also aware that, for some reason, she was afraid for Jack too. She knew her mind hadn’t ful y reconciled the truth about what he’d done.

She stepped away from Gina, quickly placing herself between the two men.

“Selena, get out of the way,” Dan said in alarm, making his way to the side so she was out of their line.

She fol owed.

“Damn it, Selena!”

“Oh, for Pete’s sake, Dan!” Jack said impatiently. “I’m not going to shoot her.”