Wild Lilly (33 page)

Paul’s sleep deprived mind focused on what the man had said, “What do you mean, them? Who was with Lilly?”

The man ignored his question. “My name is Cìarán. I’m a mercenary and assassin.” In one smooth motion, he pulled a gun from his back and pointed it at Paul. “I suggest you simmer down. I should never have taken this contract, but greed won over common sense.”

Paul’s hand moved to his gun belt. Cìarán cocked the gun and raised one eyebrow. Gritting his teeth, Paul eased back from the gun. “Tell me why I shouldn’t kill you.”

Cìarán raised an eyebrow. “You really love her, don’t you?”

“With all my heart.” Paul’s voice cracked in anguish on the last word.

Sleeping Bear crossed his arms and snarled, “Who hired you?”

“I won’t give you the name of my employer, but I will tell you I was hired on the behalf of Lee Krisp. And that he sent a woman named Estrella to help me kidnap Lilly.”

Paul turned and kicked the side of the car, putting large holes into the blue silk-covered wood. Cìarán and Sleeping Bear watched him with identical blank expressions. “That bitch! How could she?”

“Estrella thought she had no choice. After you left, Krisp blackmailed her into helping me. She didn’t want to do it and was trying to figure out a way to save Lilly and Owen.” Cìarán’s voice turned hard. “I will thank you not to call Estrella a bitch in front of me. She is a brave and strong woman who risked her life to save your fiancée after you broke her heart.”

Avoiding Cìarán’s gaze, Paul nodded. What he said was true. He had treated Estrella in a horrible fashion, like she was a toy he could throw away because he was done playing with her.

Lifting the flap of his jacket, Cìarán put the gun back in his waistband. He pulled down a suitcase from the travel rack and opened it, revealing a small arsenal of guns and knives. Even Sleeping Bear appeared impressed.

“I saw a couple livestock cars on your train. Do they hold horses?”

Sleeping Bear followed his question immediately. “Yes. We’re bringing some with us to the McGregor Ranch.”

“Good. We’re going after Estrella and Lilly.” Cìarán tossed a large, sheathed knife to Paul.

Paul finally managed to speak past his anger. “You stay here. We don’t need your help. For all I know, you’re going to snatch her again and bring her to Lee.”

“I will bring Lilly to Lee, but not for the reasons I was hired for.” Cìarán checked the barrel of a silver-plated pistol in the light from the window.

Paul made a move toward him, and Sleeping Bear blocked him. “Let him speak, Paul.”

“Lee has your brother, Owen. I won’t have the death of a child on my soul. I’m going to bring Lilly to Krisp, and find out where Owen is.”

“And rescue them?” Paul strapped the knife to his waist.

“Yes, but that’s all I can do for you. I won’t kill Lee Krisp. It would make my employer very unhappy. If you were to kill him,” Cìarán threw up his hands in surrender, “what am I to do? The west is a rough place. People die all the time.”

“What about the blackmail that Lee has against Estrella?” Paul clenched his hands on his belt. “I never loved her, but she’s a good woman and doesn’t deserve to be caught up in all of this.”

Looking him in the eye, Cìarán said, “She already told me and I don’t think any less of her for it. After this is over, if she’ll allow me, I’ll take care of her and cherish her for the rest of her life.”

Sleeping Bear strode toward the door. “I’ll tell Catherine what is happening and we’ll saddle the horses.”

Cìarán shook his head. “I don’t need to look after a lady out there. This isn’t a pleasure jaunt, this is a rescue.”

Paul snorted and nodded to Sleeping Bear. “Don’t worry about that. Catherine wasn’t always a lady.”

***

Something tickled against Lilly’s cheek, tugging her toward consciousness. She was lying on soft sheets, and the room filled with little, whispery giggles. Keeping her eyes shut, she replayed the events of the previous night.

The tickle was back again, stroking over her face. The giggles were louder now. Unless she had been kidnapped by a bunch of midgets, there were children in the room with her.

Opening her eyes, she caught a little dark-haired girl reaching toward her with a feather. The little girl shrieked, dashing out the door, followed by another dark-haired girl in a flurry of flying pigtails. Lilly tried to sit up, but found that her hands were bound by a long rope to the bedpost. Next to her, Estrella still lay unconscious. An ugly purple-and-green bruise spanned from her temple down to the edge of her jaw.

“Estrella,” she whispered, nudging the woman with her hip. “Estrella!”

Barely whispering, Estrella cracked open her eyes and told her, “Make them get a doctor. I’m going to pretend to be unconscious.”

A woman’s voice came from the hallway, arguing with a man, and Estrella went limp next to her.

The door slammed open and a well curved woman in a brown dress marched into the room. “Good, yer awake.” She went over to the bedpost and, with an angry expression on her round face, began to untie the ropes.

A man with silver in his dark hair rushed through the door and tried to pull her away. “Woman, what’re you doing? These are our prisoners!”

“Prisoners! I didn’t say anything when you started robbing trains ’cause we need to eat, but if you think I’m going to let you keep prisoners in my home you have lost yer mind.” She began to attack the rope again. “Just hold on one moment, and I’ll get you out of here.”

“Virginia, you can’t!” The man shouted and ran his hands through his hair. “If the boys find out you let her go, they might hurt the children.”

The woman’s hands stilled on the ropes and she whispered, “Jeb, we can’t do this. It ain’t right. Look at the little Spanish girl, she’s in bad shape.”

“I know, but what do you want me to do? The boys were only supposed to take the money, but they got greedy when they saw how much her husband had. Zeb got the smart idea to hold her for ransom. That idiot couldn’t hold his breakfast for ransom.”

Lilly spoke up. “Please, I need to get to Caldwell. If I don’t get there in the next five days a little boy named Owen will be killed.”

“See!” Virginia shouted triumphantly, “You’ll have the death of a child on your hands.”

Jeb gave Lilly a disgusted glower. “How do we know yer not lying? You could be saying anything you can jes’ to get out of here.”

“You don’t. But please, you have to believe me. A man named Lee Krisp is holding my fiancé’s little brother hostage. If I don’t get home and sign my land over to him, he’s going to kill him.” Lilly rubbed her cheek against the rough pillow, wiping away her tears.

“I told you she’s a liar. That man on the train said he was her husband.” Jeb hooked his thumbs in his suspenders and tilted his head back with a superior glance at his wife.

Lilly protested. “I’m his sister. Estrella is his wife.” She glanced over at Estrella’s discolored face. “If we don’t get a doctor, she may die.”

Virginia patted her bound hands. “Your sister-in-law will be fine. She just needs some sleep.” Glaring at her husband, she continued, “Besides, those idiots that took you from the train will go get a doctor if she takes a turn for the worse.”

“Those idiots,” Jeb hissed through clenched teeth, “have helped me keep our land.”

“And look where that’s got us. Holdin’ some innocent women hostage and endangering the life of a child.” Virginia untied Lilly’s feet, ignoring her husband’s blustering. “If I untie your hands, you gotta promise not to run until we get this sorted out.”

“I won’t run.” Lilly closed her eyes and said a prayer.

Virginia untied her and Lilly sat up, rubbing her wrists. “Please, just let me go. I promise I’ll send you all the money you want. I need to get to Caldwell.”

Jeb avoided her gaze and stared out the window as he spoke. “You said you had five days to get there? Well, Caldwell is a day’s ride from here. We got us some of time to figure this out.”

Lilly opened her mouth to protest when Virginia interrupted her. “That’s fine. You talk with yer boys and I’ll fix lunch. The girls are hungry and I know you could use a spot to eat.”

“No funny business while I’m gone. If she ain’t here when I get back, you better take our girls and run. ’Cause Zeb will be wantin’ blood if he finds his golden goose is missing.” Jeb gave his wife a suspicious scowl.

Virginia swallowed audibly. “She’ll be here. Go see yer boys and get us out of this mess.”

***

Estrella still pretended to sleep in the bed, but Lilly noticed that her feet were no longer bound and the rope around her wrists was loose when she and Virginia checked on her. She could only hope that Estrella was awake and working on some plan to get them out of this because she was out of ideas.

Lilly was helping Virginia shuck corn when Jeb returned to the house with two other men. He didn’t appear happy as he dismounted his horse.

Virginia whispered under her breath. “Oh, dear.”

Shaking the husk off her apron, Virginia hustled her two little girls into the loft. “Stay there and don’t make a sound,” she admonished with a pale face.

Lilly wiped her sweaty hands on her skirt, unsure of what to do. It would do no good to run. Estrella was hurt and they were in the middle of nowhere. She couldn’t exactly overpower them either, and she didn’t think Virginia would take too kindly to her trying to kill her husband.

“I don’t know what’s going to happen, but I’ll do my best to make sure Jeb don’t have the sin of your death on his soul.” Virginia untied her apron and stood next to her.

Lilly gave Virginia wide eyes. That was not the most reassuring thing she had ever heard. Virginia ignored her, threw back her shoulders, and lifted her chin.

Jeb opened the door and two men entered the small home with him. One was an older man with a receding hairline and a scar going down his unshaved cheek. The other was a younger version of him, with a good crop of acne on his thin face, and a scraggly red beard.

“Gentlemen.” Virginia nodded to them, folding her hands into her skirt.

Lilly searched each face. The two older men seemed uncomfortable, but the younger one oozed arrogance. He ogled Lilly from top to bottom and back again. The older man kicked his boot and he scowled.

Virginia turned to her and did the introductions as if they were at a social engagement, not a hostage situation. “Lilly, this here is William and his son Zeb.”

“Pleased to meet you, ma’am.” The older man tipped his head at her. “I heard you had a situation with Zeb and the boys.”

Lilly arched her eyebrows and replied in a dry voice, “That’s one way of putting it. My sister-in-law was badly hurt by them. She still hasn’t woken up after they beat her.”

William winced and Zeb scowled at the floor with a petulant look on his pitted face.

“We got a bit of a problem. I want to let you go, but how do we know you won’t go to the authorities and get us arrested? Train robbing’s a hangin’ offense.” Zeb sneered at her and licked his lips in an obscene fashion. William cuffed him with an open hand and Zeb snarled at him.

Lilly clasped her hands together and sank to her knees. Now was not the time for pride. “Please, I beg you, please let us go. As I told Jeb, I have to get to Caldwell. You don’t understand how serious the situation is.” Tears filled her eyes. She had to make them understand.

William sucked on his cheek as Jeb turned away. Zeb took the opportunity to try to peer down her dress.

“Ma’am, I would like to believe you. But yer story is mighty strange.” William shifted on the worn floorboards.

Smoothing her skirt, Lilly said, “Lee Krisp is a strange man. He—”

William’s teeth snapped shut with an audible click. “Did you say Lee Krisp?”

“Yes, he is the man who—”

“He is the man who swindled me out of a dozen cattle. Burned off my brand and stole them in the dead of night.” William rubbed his calloused hand over his eyes. “That crazy story of yers, it’s not so crazy if Lee Krisp is involved.”

“Then you believe me?” Hope, fragile as spider silk, filled her heart.

“Oh, yep. I believe you.”

Zeb glared at his father in anger, his lips thinning out as red flooded his cheeks. “You can’t let her go, she’s mine!” he protested in an ill-tempered yell. She recognized his voice as the robber with the green bandana mask.

William cuffed Zeb across the back of the head again, this time with a closed fist, and Zeb fell to the floor. “Don’t you tell me what to do, boy. Yer stupid brain got us in this situation.”

With his lips curling away from his teeth in a snarl, Zeb pulled his gun and stood. “I’m through taking yer crap, old man.” William stared at him with an open mouth as Jeb inched over to Virginia.

Jerking Lilly to her feet, he began to pull them to the door. “I’m takin’ this woman with me, and we are goin’ to Kansas City. I’m gonna get that ransom money and never come back to this shithole.”

Lilly struggled against him, but his muscles were work-hardened and strong. Zeb dragged her out the door, cursing at her the whole way. William started to come after them, and Zeb shot at the house. “Stay inside. I don’t wanna to hurt you, Pa, but I will!” The last part came out in a shrill shriek as Estrella launched herself from the side of the house at him, grappling for the gun.