Twice a Texas Bride (29 page)

It didn't take long to feed Wren and change her. While he did that, Toby threw some of her things into a bag and got himself a hunk of bread to nibble on.

Then Rand loaded them into the wagon and raced down the road to Cooper's ranch. He felt sure Delta would watch after the children until this was over.

Hell hath no fury like a man about to lose his one true love. He would find Callie and get her and Mariah back…and then he'd kill Nate Fleming.

Only one question remained: Would he let the buzzards peck out the outlaw's eyes and feast on his dead body?

* * *

The sun was just coming up on the Long Odds Ranch when Rand kissed Wren and Toby and entrusted their care to Delta. He was outside waiting beside Blue for the others to saddle up and a rider to get back with Brett when Tom Mason galloped toward him and dismounted.

“I know you and I have a bone to pick with each other,” Mason said, “but I really need to find your brother. It's very important.”

“Don't have time to deal with this right now. I have to save my wife from outlaws.”

“I see. Looks like you can use an extra hand, then. Mind if I ride along?”

Brett galloped up just then in a cloud of dust.

Rand stared at Mason. Might be best to keep the man where they could see him. “Suit yourself, but stay out of my way.”

Fifteen of Cooper's men with Rand, Cooper, and Brett leading the way rode hell-for-leather toward Limestone Bluff.

Though Rand's shoulder felt as though someone had placed a hot brand to it, he pushed the pain aside. His wound was not going to prevent him from doing what he needed to. Thoughts whirled in his head. Would he get there in time?

He wouldn't want to be Fleming if they didn't. It would end on this day on this piece of Texas land that so many valiant men had fought and died to protect.

At the Alamo during the fight against Santa Anna's men, Colonel William Travis had drawn a line in the sand. The ones who were with him in the cause stepped across. Rand's gaze lit on the determination on each of the riders' faces and knew they all stood with him.

This was his Alamo.

Like Travis and his followers, he'd lay down his life for justice.

He didn't intend to lose. Not to this murdering desperado.

The rocky cliffs of Limestone Bluff loomed in the early-morning light. A short while later, they reined up and dismounted in the shadows of the butte that he'd watched Fleming and his brothers disappear into the previous day. Rand slid his Colt from the holster. All was quiet. Maybe they'd caught Fleming off guard.

The expected gunshots never rent the air. As shot up as the men were, maybe they still slept, he reasoned. Maybe one or two had died. He had no way of knowing. It took all his self-control to keep from rushing ahead.

At last they reached the narrow opening between the rocks. Still no shots came.

Brett looked the obstacle over. “There's only one way to see what lies beyond the opening—from above. I'll scale the side and look. Then we'll know what we're dealing with.”

“Be careful, brother,” Rand felt compelled to say, although he knew Brett would.

“I will be silent. They won't hear me.”

Rand watched him begin the long climb, praying that Brett wouldn't dislodge a single pebble.

Grim-faced, Cooper stood beside him with a hand on his shoulder. “He knows what he's doing. We're going to get Callie back.”

“Fleming doesn't only have Callie.” Keeping his voice low, Rand told him about her daughter, Mariah, and Fleming's threat to kill her. “That's why Callie ended up here. She came to save Mariah.”

“We'll get both of them back. You know we don't let evil win. It's not in us.”

Time dragged while they waited for Brett. It seemed to take forever before he dropped to the ground beside them.

“I saw no one. Not a thing moved on the other side of these rocks.”

Without waiting to hear more, Rand rushed forward, squeezing through the opening. He couldn't believe his eyes.

The small enclosure was empty.

Everyone was gone.

Callie had vanished.

Numbness washed over Rand. He was too late. He'd failed.

At least he saw no bodies and that heartened him a little. It had to mean Callie was alive. Didn't it?

What had Fleming done with her?

Cooper picked up an empty can of beans while Brett knelt to feel the embers of the campfire.

“I'd say we missed them by ten minutes.” Brett stood, then climbed up the white cliff to a ledge and stood staring into the distance. “I see riders. I'd say that's Fleming. They're heading north toward Brushy Lake.”

“It has to be them,” Rand said. “Let's ride.”

He was halfway to his horse by the time the rest seemed to realize it. Rand couldn't wait. They would have to catch up. He sprang into Blue's saddle and spurred the roan forward.

“Come on, boy. We've got to save our girls,” he muttered into the breeze. He ignored the pain shooting from his shoulder and bent into the wind, focusing solely on his task.

Pounding hooves from behind told him the others had lost no time in catching up. Rand put his head down and rode, willing the horse to eat up the ground.

Cooper pulled alongside and yelled, “We need a plan.”

“Find the no-good varmints and kill 'em,” Rand hollered back. That was the only plan he needed.

“If they make it to the lake, there'll be hundreds of places for them to hide. Be harder to flush them out.”

“We have plenty of men. We'll get the job done.”

Cooper nodded and fell back, letting Rand resume the lead.

Rand touched Blue's right flank and raced toward the ragtag group ahead. Thank goodness they hadn't seen him and his small army yet. Brush tore at his clothes and whipped his face, at times nearly unseating him. It didn't matter, though. Nothing did, except for finding and bringing Callie and her daughter home.

With fierce determination pounding in his chest, onward he thundered. When Rand got within a hundred yards of the last rider, the man turned to look back. He yelled something to the others and they spurred their horses.

Callie sat in front of Fleming on his mount. Mariah rode with one of the brothers. Both were probably bound.

Up ahead, sunlight sparkled on Brushy Lake, turning the blue water into thousands of glistening diamonds. If only Rand could sprout wings and fly so he could beat them to the landmark. But he couldn't. His powers lay in his dogged determination.

By the time he reached the landmark, the men and their captives had dismounted and hidden in the trees. With his Colt in his hand, Rand reined up and leaped from the saddle.

A hail of bullets whizzed around him.

Diving into the thick brush, he looked around at the heavy vegetation. It would take everything they had to flush the outlaws out. This was not going to be an easy or quick fight.

Cooper skittered into the brush with him.

“Tell your men not to fire blindly,” Rand said. “They might hit Callie or the girl.”

“Already have. You just focus on your wife and child.”

“Let's round up these bastards.”

A shot whistled above Rand's head and slammed into the bark of a tree behind him, splintering it. He rose for a quick look. Just then, one of the outlaws sprang from his hiding place and raced for the wide girth of the trunk of a cottonwood tree.

Rand took aim and squeezed the trigger. Blood spurted from the man's chest as he went down. Rand wasted no time in finding another target when a raised head poked from a thicket. Nate Fleming. Rand drew a bead dead center between the man's eyes.

He missed when the man ducked into the brush.

Damn!

Brett crawled from his cover to join Rand and Cooper. “What do you think?”

“Gotta fan out. Trap 'em in a circle. I'll tell my men,” Cooper said. “You and Rand keep the heat on the outlaws from here.”

As Cooper crawled toward his men, Rand watched as one by one they slowly moved in a wide arc, giving Nate and his other brother nowhere to go. Ten minutes later, all escape routes were cut off.

Where was Callie? Terror ran up Rand's spine. Fleming was ruthless enough to put a bullet in her head when he saw he had no hope of making it.

Please, God, don't let that happen.

Desperate to keep that from becoming reality, Rand began running from tree to tree, getting closer to the spot where he'd last glimpsed Nate Fleming. His lungs hurt with the need to take in air. But he doubted he'd draw in a deep breath until he had Callie safe in his arms.

A hunger to kiss her and tell her how beautiful she was swept over him. She was everything he wanted and needed.

Callie Quinn Sinclair had become his sole reason for living. And he would fight for her until he had no more blood left to spill.

A few more feet got him close enough to reach Fleming. When the outlaw raised his gun, Rand made a flying tackle.

* * *

Gagged and bound, Callie listened to the snapping twigs, the crash of colliding bodies, and men's grunts. She had to get her and Mariah free. Rand needed her.

A strong sense that this was a time of reckoning filled her.

She strained against her ropes, willing them to loosen. The rough hemp cut into her wrists, bringing stinging pain. Three feet away, Mariah began to sob. Nate had also gagged her and tied her to a small tree. Callie yearned to comfort her daughter.

Rustling movement caught her attention and she saw Emmett Fleming crawling toward her with a knife in his hand.

Her eyes widened as new fear rose

Dear
God, please don't let him kill Mariah or do anything to hurt Rand.

Shaking her head, she shrank as far away as she could and readied to use her feet—the only weapon she had.

How could she have been so wrong about him? Mariah had told her how he'd sneaked food to her and tried to keep Nate away. Callie had witnessed Emmett's attempts to direct his brothers' cruelty onto himself when they sought to inflict more punishment on her and Mariah. Nate and Virgil had beat him senseless when he'd confessed to things he hadn't done.

Despite his small bits of kindness, though, she knew that in the end blood was thicker than water and his loyalty would always lie with his brothers.

She was about to kick Emmett as hard as she could when he spoke low, “For God's sake, be still so I can cut your ropes. I don't know how much time I have. Help your girl to one of the horses and ride.”

“Why are you doing this? They'll kill you.”

A far look came into Emmett's eyes. “I once had a wife and daughter. Nate stole them from me. He has this warped thinking that everything and everyone belongs to him. They died while in his hands, and I can honestly say that I hate my brother with a vengeance.”

When the ropes fell from Callie's wrists, she laid a hand on Emmett's arm. “I won't forget this. Thank you.”

He nodded and moved to free Mariah, then turned to Callie. “Go and don't look back.”

* * *

As Rand launched himself at Nate, they went tumbling. The jarring landing knocked Rand's Colt from his hand and sent mind-numbing pain through his bandaged shoulder. He gritted his teeth and slammed his fist into Nate's jaw. The resounding crack was satisfying. Several more blows connected with the outlaw's face.

Nate reached for a handful of dirt and threw it into Rand's eyes. Though temporarily blinded, Rand didn't loosen his hold. His fingers dug into Nate's shoulder and held on with every bit of strength he had.

The deadly battle in which they were locked took another turn when the outlaw threw him onto the ground and crawled on his chest. Nate Fleming's hands went around Rand's throat and tightened, squeezing his windpipe.

Unable to breathe and seeing the black edges of consciousness closing around him, he felt along the ground for a weapon of some sort. Reaching fingers located a good-sized rock.

He swung it, connecting with the back of Fleming's head, breaking his hold.

But when he jerked the man to his feet, he felt the hard tip of Fleming's gun pressed to his chest.

Fleming grinned. “Never bet against me. You lose, Sinclair.”

The murdering scum had him. One second more and Rand's life would be over. He closed his eyes and pictured Callie's beautiful face. If he was going to die, he wanted his last thought to be of her.

“Drop the gun, Nate,” Callie ordered harshly.

Rand opened his eyes to see Callie holding a pistol to Nate's head. Rope dangled from her wrists.

“I don't think so,” Nate answered. “I like my chances. Bet I can put a bullet in this husband of yours before you can fire.”

“You might want to reconsider,” Callie replied. “You're surrounded and your brother Emmett has already given up. He doesn't have the stomach for killing like you do.”

Keeping his gun on Rand, Nate spoke slowly. “I won't hang.”

“Your choice.” Callie's voice was hard and tight.

Fleming's black eyes met Rand's, and in that instant, he knew the outlaw was going to pull the trigger.

With no time to spare, Rand grabbed the gun and swung it away the moment the cartridge shot from the end. The deadly piece of metal went harmlessly into the trees while the gun that had nearly made Callie a widow fell to the dirt.

Fleming turned and bolted into the woods. Rand quickly gave chase. He wasn't going to lose Fleming this time. He followed the racket of snapping branches and crushed vegetation until he could see the tall, black-clothed figure ahead.

Higher and higher they climbed along the bluff that overlooked one side of the lake.

At last Rand emerged on a ledge. Caught without his weapon, Fleming's eyes widened as he licked his dry mouth. Rand had cornered the animal at last. “There's only one thing to do—give yourself up.”

“No.” Nate glanced over the side of the ledge to the water below.

“It's a long way down.”

“If I go down, I'll take you with me, Sinclair.”

Sizing up the outlaw, Rand moved closer, ready for this fight. His gut told him only one would walk away. He shoved all his chips to the center of the table.

Few had ever beaten him when he was in a betting mood.

Rand rushed him. They hit the narrow ledge hard. His harsh breath came in gasping heaves as he attempted to pin Nate to the rocky ledge. Blood from Rand's shoulder, torn open during the fight, had soaked his shirt, but he had no time to worry about it. Praying for a little more strength, he managed to throw his legs around Nate's body. He couldn't hold him. Nate rolled, and suddenly Rand found himself beneath him.

The outlaw's hands closed around Rand's throat like a vise, squeezing tighter and tighter. His lungs screamed with the need to inhale. With blackness closing around him, Rand jabbed his fingers into Nate's eyes, breaking the hold.

Struggling for air, Rand pushed away and quickly got up. But he couldn't do more than cling to the limestone wall.

Nate seemed done for also as he stumbled to his feet. Unable to see, he had his hands out, groping. He stood right on the edge of the rock shelf. One step backward and the man would fall to his death.

Rand stood frozen. “Don't move, Fleming. There's nothing but air behind you. It's over.”

Though he was blinded, Nate smiled. “You don't have me yet, sodbuster.” He lunged for Rand and jerked him toward the edge.

Breathing hard and fighting the pain in his shoulder, Rand felt his strength ebbing. This day had taken everything he had. He'd given his all, but it hadn't been enough. His feet were on the lip of the precipice, with his heels extending over the edge. Cold sweat broke out on his forehead. Despair filled him because he knew he'd reached the end. He wouldn't see Callie again. Mind-numbing pain shot through his chest as his grip on Nate slipped.

His adversary must've sensed his waning strength. With one last punishing blow, Fleming sent him over the side.

Desperately fighting for purchase, Rand's feet scraped the rock wall as he managed to grab a protruding rock at the last second. Hanging suspended, Rand didn't know how long he'd have before his jerking arms gave out. He glanced down. It was a long way to the bottom. He wouldn't survive the fall.

Glancing up, he saw Fleming standing, peering over the edge. The man's gloating grin, his hard eyes, gave Rand the strength he needed. He couldn't let the man win. He wouldn't let him walk away after all he'd done to Callie and the children. He'd made a promise.

In a last ditch effort, Rand transferred his body weight to one hand, reached for the man's boot, and with a loud grunt, yanked.

Nate Fleming, who had brought so much pain to so many people, plunged over the side to the jagged rocks below.

Deafening silence followed as Rand pulled himself back onto the rock shelf and collapsed in a quivering mass of muscle and bone.

It was over.

Time drifted as Rand learned to breathe again. Then Cooper and Brett were lifting him to his feet. Wiping the blood from his mouth, he went to the edge and looked down. Fleming lay twisted and broken on the sharp limestone.

The man had died as violently as he'd lived. Yet Rand took no joy from the death. Immense sadness filled him for the man who'd always made the wrong choices.

Brett laid a hand on his back. “Let's go home.”

His brothers helped him down to where Callie waited. Rand swept her up into his arms when she ran to meet him and told her Nate Fleming had met his end. The man couldn't harm her or Toby or Mariah ever again.

“I love you, Rand. We're finally free of him. You saved me and Mariah. There were times I didn't know if we'd make it to the next moment.”

He winced as she gently kissed his bruised mouth. “I didn't know either, darlin'. But we made it.”

“Are you angry with me for leaving you and the children?”

“Nope. I understand the reasons why you left. How is Mariah? Is she all right?”