TheSurrenderofLacyMorgan (32 page)

That explained why she wrote the letter.

“But it was a trick, wasn’t it?”

Santos laughed again. “She had no clue Devil set the whole
thing up until it was too late.”

“Then she took the money.”

“And now she must pay.” He lowered his gun to between
Quinn’s shoulder blades and nudged him forward. “What say we watch Devil make
her dance? I assure you it is quite a show. She’ll tell us where the money is
this time.”

An owl hooted behind them.

Dakota.

Ahead, Devil had Lacy’s hands tied over her head to the
pole. He’d stripped her camisole off, her golden skin visible in the light of
the lantern Harris held.

The anger Quinn had been feeling at Lacy’s lie turned to
full-out rage at the men who’d done this to her. Rage at himself.

“What makes you think she’ll tell you this time, when nearly
killing her last time didn’t work?” He kept walking, wanting to be close enough
to stop Devil when Dakota made his move.

“As a poker player, I just got an ace in my hand.” The
sidewinder’s lips split in a serpentine smile. “Lacy, look who I found coming
to your rescue.”

She lifted her head and turned to stare at them.

Even in the lamplight, Quinn saw fear etch her face. Fear
for him. Love and sorrow warred in her eyes and he knew she’d tell them
whatever they wanted. To protect him. And when she did, they were both dead.

Santos.

They’d forgotten about Santos.

Lacy would know that voice anywhere. She slowly lifted her
head, her shame at being half-clothed in front of Devil and Harris forgotten.
Shock and fear filled her when she realized Santos held Quinn at gunpoint.

Quinn had let down his guard because she hadn’t confessed
her involvement in Captain McCarthy’s death. The man she loved was in danger
because of her.

At that moment she realized she’d do anything to save him.

She’d have taken the beating Devil had planned for her and
kept the secret to her grave, but she wouldn’t risk Quinn’s life.

“Let him go and I’ll tell you where the money is.”

“You’ll tell me, girl. But first I’m gonna punish you for
taking it in the first place.” Devil, whip in hand, stepped back a few feet.
“Then maybe we’ll let you watch us kill your lover.”

“No, please,” she begged, not for herself, but for Quinn.
Her eyes locked on his, she begged his forgiveness. “Forgive me.”

The whip whistled and she braced for the first stroke.

“No!” Quinn yelled and lurched forward, only to have Santos
grab him by the hair and halt his movement.

“No, my friend, I think this is close enough.”

Quinn watched in horror as Devil pulled his arm back and the
whip coiled through the air like a rattler springing up to strike its victim.
Memories of his parents’ whipping and death popped into his mind. He heard the
whistle and braced for the scream.

None came.

His gaze locked on Lacy’s as her body jerked, seeing the
tears in her eyes, the pain on her face and the pleading from her lips.

She wasn’t begging to be spared the pain, but for him to
forgive her for her lie. He read it in her beautiful eyes.

And he knew at that moment he’d do anything to save her.

As Devil pulled his arm back, preparing to slice the whip
into Lacy’s skin again, Quinn focused on how to get free of Santos and not give
in to his growing rage.

Suddenly a bloodcurdling scream sounded behind him. He
lunged sideways, at the same time kicking one leg out to knock Santos’ legs out
from under him as Dakota’s body hurled into the outlaw.

Without waiting to see if Dakota needed help with his man,
Quinn grabbed his gun from where he’d dropped it, rolled onto his stomach and
took aim.

Gunfire shattered the night.

True to its mark, his bullet slammed into Devil’s hand as he
brought the whip forward, ceasing its deadly arc toward Lacy.

Devil screamed, released the whip handle and grabbed his
hand, blood pouring down his arm as he slumped onto his knees.

Harris turned, gun in his hand, the other shaking the
lantern.

“Kill him, Harris!”

Quinn didn’t hesitate.

Harris hit the ground with a thud before he even pulled the
trigger. The lantern fell sideways, fire igniting a patch of dead dry grass
left from winter.

“Quinn!” Lacy shouted, straining against the rope binding
her to the pole.

With a glance to see Dakota busy fighting with Santos, he
scrambled past Harris and the fire toward Lacy.

“No, the bitch is mine!” Devil, knife in his uninjured hand,
hurled himself at Quinn.

He got off one shot, hitting Devil in the shoulder before
the outlaw landed on top of him, knocking the gun out of his hands. Quinn
shoved the older man off him and pulled his own knife out. Coming into a
crouch, he managed to counter Devil’s blade as it sliced toward his gut. “She
doesn’t belong to you, Morgan. She never did.”

“I’m gonna gut you, then cut her into little pieces.” Devil
lunged again, this time catching Quinn on the back of his arm.

He hissed, but switched the knife to the other hand and came
around to catch Devil in the side. A twist of the knife and he pulled it free.

Blood poured out and the outlaw stopped mid-stride, falling
to his knees. He gasped in one breath then, eyes glazing over, he fell face
first to the ground.

Catching his breath from the brief fight, Quinn strode to
Lacy’s side, cutting the rope and pulling her into his arms.

“I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I couldn’t tell…” she sobbed, tears
rolling down her cheeks as he unbound her hands.

“Hush. We’ll talk about it later.” He turned to see Dakota
holding the lantern, blood on his clothes. Santos’ inert body lay sprawled in
the dirt behind him. “You okay?”

“Finer than frog’s hair. We taking these two bodies with us?
We need to find a place to hide before the rest of the gang wakes up,” Dakota
said as he stomped out the last of the fire.

“Thought you said they’d be out ’til morning.”

“No guarantees how long.”

“We’ll leave the bodies for the buzzards and a warning to
the rest of the gang.” Quinn shucked his shirt and pulled it over Lacy’s head
to replace the one Devil had ripped off her. She hissed as it lay over the welt
on her skin.

Damn, as angry as he was with her, he hated hurting her, but
they didn’t have time to clean her up right now. “Can you get to your horse?”

She nodded, then took a shaky step backward.

He reached a hand to steady her. “Whoa there. You’re sure?”

“Yes. Just a little shaken.” She looked at her feet then
back up, her gaze stopping at his arm and the blood oozing down it. “You’re
cut.”

“Devil caught me once.”

She pushed past him to grab her shirt off the ground,
tearing a strip off the shredded material. “Hold still and let me wrap it.”

He wanted to refuse, to tell her they didn’t have time. But
the tears spilling over her cheeks and the way she pulled her lower lip between
her teeth as she cleaned then bound his injury stopped him from protesting.

At that moment, he understood her too well. She needed to
care for him, needed to focus on something other than the lie that stood
between them and the death around them.

She finished tying a knot in the bandage to hold it in
place, then patted his arm with one hand, wiping the tears away with the other.

“We need to leave, Lacy. It will be difficult enough picking
our way through that narrow entrance without someone waking up and chasing us
as we go. How you did it all those months ago, I can’t imagine.”

She shook her head, still not meeting his eyes. “I didn’t go
that way.”

With a finger under her chin, he lifted her face until she
looked at him. “Another lie?”

Her eyes narrowed and a spark of defiance sizzled in their
green depths.

Good.
As angry as he was with her, he didn’t want to
think Devil and his whip had broken her spirit.

“It’s not a lie. You never asked me how I escaped and no one
knew about the second entrance to the valley except Mama and me.”

True.
He tamped down his own anger. She hadn’t lied.
He’d only assumed she’d come out the main entrance. Given how well-guarded it
was, she never could’ve gotten out that way without someone warning Devil and
his men.

“Is that where you hid the gold?”

“It’s nearby, up there.” She stepped back and pointed toward
the forest in the north rim of the valley.

“You two finished chewing the fat? Or we gonna wait for
daylight to get our asses shot off?” Dakota asked, bringing all four animals
from where he’d left them near the barn. Apparently he’d never unsaddled them,
since they’d planned a hasty departure.

Quinn reached for her arm to escort her to her horse. She
jerked away.

“I can manage it myself.”

“Suit yourself.” He shrugged, mounting his horse and
motioning her to lead the way. He needed her strong for the rest of their trip
to Laramie. No matter what, he needed to see this mission through. Having her
angry at him would make what he had to do easier.

* * * * *

The spot Lacy led them to lay nestled between several fir
trees. Unassuming. If not for the large stones marking the long oval shape, the
place would’ve blended in to the environment completely unnoticed.

A grave.

Lacy knelt beside the largest stone, her head bowed in
silent prayer.

“Your mother’s grave?” Quinn asked as he and Dakota
dismounted and stood just behind her.

She nodded. “When she died, Devil didn’t care where I buried
her. He just wanted her body out of sight since it was no longer of use to him.
I brought her here, as far away from him as I could get her in this valley. In
the spring the mountain laurel bloom all around her. She loved the pink
flowers.”

“You hid the gold near here?”

“No.” She mopped the tears from her eyes and cheeks, then
turned to the boulder beside her. With a few shoves she worked it to one side,
revealing a hole beneath. She reached in and pulled out a burlap sack, set it
on the ground then reached in for several more. “I hid them with Mama.”

Dakota held out a hand to help Lacy to her feet.

“Even in death he feared Mama’s spirit and her voodoo
heritage.” She held each heavy bag out to Quinn.

He took them, proud at how she’d outsmarted Devil. It made
sense now. “You hid it in the one place Devil would never look.”

“I knew I couldn’t get it any further, the weight was too
much for me, especially the condition I was in. I left it where I knew it would
be safe.” She remounted her horse and started up the mountain to the hidden
exit, not waiting for them. “At least this much I can return to the authorities
before I face my punishment.”

As he tied the bags of gold to the packhorse, Quinn glanced
at Dakota, ignoring the pointed look his brother gave him.

“What?” He climbed on his horse and started up the trail
after Lacy. He couldn’t argue with her.

“She loves you.”

“I know. Doesn’t mean she doesn’t have to answer for her
involvement in the robbery and Cap’s murder.” Even if it killed him to watch
her.

“You love her.”

He shot him an it’s-none-of-your-business look. But Dakota
rarely paid attention to that, and now was no exception.

“I’ve had another vision,” Dakota said, falling in behind
him.

“Of Lacy?” His stomach clenched at the thought. Dakota’s
visions weren’t always positive.

“No, my dark-haired woman.”

Oh?
“Again?”

“More intense this time. Once this business is finished in
Laramie, I may travel to try to find her.”

“Where?”

“Don’t know yet.” He nudged his mount past Quinn’s. “Just be
sure when you turn Lacy in, you’re prepared for the consequences.”

Quinn paused. He knew what he was doing. He had every
intention of delivering both her and the gold to the territorial judge over in
Laramie.

Chapter Sixteen

Lacy sat on the bench in the hallway outside the judge’s
office. She slid the green silk of her dress between her thumb and finger as
she waited for Quinn or Dakota to call her inside to face her punishment. She’d
wanted to wear the dress Quinn bought for her in Goldwater one more time before
spending her life locked in the prison they’d passed as they rode into Laramie
two days before.

The trip across the Wyoming Territory had seemed to go by in
a haze for her. Quinn pushed them to ride from dawn ’til dusk, as if he
couldn’t wait to get rid of her and the gold. He and Dakota talked between
them, but neither said more to her than when to stop, eat, sleep and ride.

Which suited her just as well. She could still see the shock
and anger on Quinn’s face the moment he learned she’d written the letter that
drew his father to his death.

How could he or Dakota ever forgive her?

She couldn’t forgive herself.

The only comfort she’d gotten on the long ride was every
morning she woke to find herself snuggled up against Quinn’s warm body. Whether
it was to protect her as they slept or to assure himself she hadn’t escaped her
fate, she didn’t know. Nor did she care. She’d use that memory to keep her warm
during the long cold nights in her cell.

“Is this seat taken?”

Startled by the slightly English accent, Lacy blinked and
looked up at the tall, handsome blond man standing before her. She looked
around. The other three benches were vacant.

“No sir. But you might not want to sit by me,” she said,
moving her skirts to the side nonetheless.

“And why wouldn’t I want to sit by such a lovely lady as
you?” he asked, settling beside her.

“I’m about to see the judge.”

“Not for something serious, I hope.”

Tears filled her eyes as she nodded slightly. “Murder.”