“You okay, Boone?” Jonah’s voice echoed along the craggy precipice into the silence.
“I’m fine. Just wrapping up a few loose ends. How about you, Danhill?”
“Not a scratch on me.” Jonah turned his attention to the lifeless bundle wrapped in the blanket. Untying the ropes, he pulled Christina into his arms. The waterfall of shiny blond hair tumbled over his elbow as he placed her gently on the ground. A sigh of relief gushed from his lips when he surveyed the sleeping beauty. She didn’t appear to have been beaten, but he couldn’t swear that she hadn’t been misused.
Although she was filthy and a musty smell clung to her hair and clothing, she seemed to be safe and sound. Her shallow breathing disturbed him, however. He had the uneasy feeling she had been given an overdose of a sedative. Jonah removed the dingy blindfold and untied her hands and feet. He gave her a gentle shake, but she didn’t respond.
“Is she alive?” Boone asked as he approached.
“More or less.” He scooped Christina into his arms and nodded toward the pinto. “Climb aboard the horse, Boone. You can carry this sleeping beauty home.”
Boone mounted up, then leaned down to take the unconscious female from Jonah. A smile played on his lips as he studied the angelic young face. “Reminds me of her sister.”
“Yeah,” Jonah murmured. “Hope this one survives to grow up to be as feisty and independent as Maddie.”
“Her color worries me,” Boone murmured. “Too pale.” He plucked gently at the skin above her wrist. “Dehydrated is my guess.”
Jonah swung into his saddle and reined toward the house. “What condition did you leave the other bushwhackers in?”
“
Dead
condition,” Boone replied. “Thought I might be rusty with a bow but I found my mark easily enough. You?”
“I left the masquerading Indians in the same condition. Unfortunately. I was hoping for a survivor to interrogate. Did you recognize Gibbs or Newton?” Jonah asked.
“No,” Boone said as he followed behind Jonah. “But at least we accomplished our mission. Maybe Maddie will be so relieved to have her sister back that she won’t skin us alive.”
Jonah smiled wryly. “Yeah, I’m counting on that myself, though it’s probably too much to ask for. I figure she’s going to let me have it with both barrels.”
“I figure she is, too.” Boone grinned wryly. “Sure glad I’m not you, Danhill.”
M
addie tethered her winded steed to a scraggly cedar in an obscure ravine, then hiked toward Hanson’s ranch house. A log bunkhouse stood off to the west, protected by the overhanging canyon wall. An oversize corral filled with bawling cattle sat near the gigantic barn that dwarfed the house.
Veering west, Maddie checked the brands on the penned cattle. She swore softly when she noticed the Bar G brand on the rumps of several steers and heifers. Damn that Avery. He’d told her that he was herding cattle to the railhead in Dodge City in the morning. He hadn’t mentioned that he was taking
her
stolen cattle with him.
Confound the man! He’d made her life hell. He’d been preying on her emotions and spouting pretend sympathy, while he kidnapped her sister and stole her livestock—and most likely disposed of her father.
Her furious gaze swung to the modest stone-and-timber house, where a single light speared the darkness. No doubt Avery was waiting for his henchman
to return with the money and report on the rendezvous with Jonah and Boone.
And Jonah and Boone better not have gotten shot, and Christina better be in good condition, or Avery wouldn’t live long enough to stand trial for kidnapping, extortion and quite possibly murder, Maddie thought vengefully.
Scolding herself for wasting time with vindictive thoughts, she crept toward the house. She was not going in half-cocked and risk having that sneaky bastard get the drop on her. She might find herself abducted and held for ransom, too, if she didn’t watch her step.
Since she’d been in Avery’s home on several occasions, she knew the blazing light at the front of the house came from his office. That was where he’d made his first proposal two years earlier, catching her completely off guard. It had come the day after Ward Tipton had proposed to her. Upon reflection, she wondered if Avery also had an informant planted on Ward’s ranch to keep him updated on his neighbor’s business. She wouldn’t put it past that cagey rancher.
Maddie shook off her wandering thoughts and scurried toward the back door, which led to the kitchen. The hinges whined when she opened it and Maddie clutched her pistol in her hand before tiptoeing across the room. The house held an eerie silence and an odd, unfamiliar scent, she noticed, as she inched along the wall toward the spacious dining room. The cook and housekeeper—a small, wiry Chinese man who had been in Avery’s employ since their arrival from Arizona Territory four years earlier—was nowhere to be seen. Maddie had no idea where the employee was
quartered, but she presumed it was somewhere in the house.
Halting by the door, she glanced across the foyer to determine if Avery was lounging in the dark parlor. She could see no one in the shadows. Inching down the hall, she found the office door partially open, so she cautiously craned her neck to look into the room. Maddie nearly choked when she spotted Avery Hanson—and his informant, Clem Foster.
Hardly daring to breathe, she recoiled and plastered herself against the foyer wall. Maddie was suddenly struck with the feeling that coming here wasn’t one of her brighter ideas.
This situation had disaster written all over it.
Uneasy sensations slithered down Jonah’s spine as he and Boone approached the grand home. He frowned warily when he saw Rosita Perez pacing across the covered veranda.
“Dios!”
Rosita cried when she spotted the two riders. She clutched at her skirts and hurried down the steps. “Is my
bambino
all right?”
Jonah couldn’t answer that question satisfactorily until he and Boone had time to thoroughly examine the girl.
“What’s happened to her?” Rosita gasped when she noticed Christina’s motionless body draped over Boone’s lap.
“Heavily sedated,” Jonah replied as he took Christina in his arms and turned toward the house.
A raft of Spanish curses flooded from Rosita’s lips as she bustled up the steps and led the way to Christina’s room.
“Do you have smelling salts on hand? Coffee?” Jonah asked as he headed up the staircase.
“Sí, señor.”
Jonah halted when Rosita wheeled abruptly on the step above him to make her hasty descent. He stared down into the girl’s face, noting the dark circles under her eyes and her bloodless lips. Despite her weakened condition Maddie’s sister was indeed strikingly attractive. Her features were so dainty and delicate that Jonah predicted she would one day become a heartbreaker, the likes few men could resist.
Just like her sister.
Something that must have been akin to brotherly concern washed over him as he carried Christina into her room. Suddenly he understood Maddie’s devotion and protectiveness. This was all that was left of her family and she guarded her sister closely.
Jonah started when Boone’s hand shot out to turn down the quilts. Jonah had been so preoccupied that he hadn’t heard his friend’s approach. But then, Boone was half Kiowa, Jonah reminded himself. Moving as silently as a shadow was second nature to him, too.
“I’ll tend the angel while you let the wildcat out of the closet,” Boone insisted. “I’ll wait my turn to get my eyes clawed out and my head bit off. You go first.”
“Thanks for leaving me with the tough assignments,” Jonah grumbled.
He stepped into the hall and passed Rosita—who’d returned with medical supplies—on his way down the stairs. Jonah heaved a resigned sigh as he veered down the dark hallway. He was not looking forward
to facing Maddie’s wrath. His only hope was that she would be so relieved Christina was upstairs that she wouldn’t jump down his throat for leaving her tied up.
Jonah’s thoughts trailed off when he noticed the overturned chair in the hallway. Scowling, he whipped open the door to the broom closet—and found nothing but mops and brooms. Damn it, he had given Boone specific instructions to tie Maddie up securely, and he’d botched it!
Lurching around, Jonah pelted down the hall and took the steps two at a time to the bedroom. Rosita and Boone were hovering over the bed, attempting to rouse their patient.
“She’s not where we left her,” Jonah snapped accusingly.
Boone jerked upright and stared at him incredulously.
“Ah,
¡caramba.
” Rosita wailed. “How could I have forgotten?” She rattled in Spanish about madness and forgetfulness, but even though Jonah spoke the language fluently he had no clue what the woman was yammering about.
“Do you know where Maddie is?” he demanded urgently.
Rosita’s shoulders lifted in a helpless shrug. “No, I don’t know, but she said she suspected Avery Hanson was involved. She sent Carlos to fetch Sheriff Kilgore, then she thundered off before I reached the house.”
Jonah swore under his breath. He had the unmistakable feeling that Maddie had raced off to confront Hanson with her suspicions. Damn it, she couldn’t
read Avery every sentence and paragraph of the riot act without the risk of getting
herself
abducted and granting Avery the opportunity to cover his tracks.
The wobbly groan that sounded from Christina’s ashen lips drew Jonah’s attention. He glanced back to watch Boone wave smelling salts under her nose. Eyes as blue as a mountain stream fluttered open.
“Hey, angel, can you hear me?” Boone questioned when Christina’s eyes swept shut again.
Those incredible eyes opened for a few more seconds before drifting closed. “Maddie…” she whispered hoarsely.
Rosita burst into tears, but Boone ignored her in his haste to grab the smelling salts again. Christina jerked reflexively, then inhaled a shuddering breath, but dozed off again immediately.
“I think she’ll be okay,” Boone predicted as he ran his hand over her concave belly. “My guess is that she’s about half-starved. If we can get her to wake up long enough to get food and water down her she should come around quickly.”
Rosita snapped up her head, wiped her eyes and scurried off to fetch food and drink.
Jonah watched in wry amusement as Boone grabbed a wet cloth to cleanse the girl’s face and neck. Hell, the Kiowa was a regular handmaiden when he needed to be. At the moment he didn’t appear to be a tough, hard-bitten half-breed. If this was any indication of what a female could do to a man, Jonah didn’t know what was.
“Since you have things under control I’m going to track Maddie before she gets herself in trouble,” he said.
“If you were going to prevent her from doing that you probably should’ve left two hours ago,” Boone said, never taking his eyes off Christina. “You think she went after Avery?”
“Don’t doubt it for a minute,” Jonah muttered as he turned on his heels. He hoped Maddie hadn’t fouled up this investigation by striking off to portray the avenging angel of justice. If she had, he was going to rake her over live coals—provided she hadn’t gotten herself killed already.
The unnerving thought caused Jonah to grimace as he mounted up and nudged his steed to a gallop. If Avery Hanson harmed one hair on Maddie’s golden head he wouldn’t survive the night. That was one promise Jonah vowed to keep.
Maddie braced herself against the foyer wall and sucked in a steadying breath. When a movement in the shadows caught her attention she swung her pistol into shooting position. The Chinese housekeeper squawked in surprise, spun around, then dashed back in the direction he’d come.
This was not good, Maddie thought as she scurried toward the dining room. Chiang Ti could attest to the fact that she was in the house, and she didn’t want to have to explain what she was doing here—especially not now!
Frantic, Maddie burst through the back door with more speed than caution and ran smack-dab into an unyielding obstacle. When the man—she assumed it was Chiang Ti—grabbed hold of her she swung her pistol wildly, hoping to stun her captor so she could escape.
“Ouch, damn it! Gimme that thing before you crack my skull open with it!”
Maddie half collapsed in relief when she recognized Jonah’s scolding voice and felt him jerk the pistol from her fingertips. She peered over her shoulder to note the annoyed frown that puckered his brow. Well, too bad. She wasn’t all that happy with him right now, either.
“Is Christina okay?” Her voice evaporated when Jonah suddenly shoved her back against the side of the house and covered her body protectively with his. Only then did Maddie hear the scrabbling noise and look west to see someone clawing his way up the side of the craggy cliff.
“Is that Avery?” Jonah growled against her ear.
“No, I suspect it’s Chiang Ti, the cook and housekeeper,” Maddie wheezed. “I must have scared him half to death when I pointed my pistol at him. Is Christina all right?” she asked in the same breath.
“She’ll be fine. Sedated heavily and undernourished but alive,” Jonah reported. “Boone and Rosita are tending her. Now tell me why you scared the cook.”
“Because I was standing outside Avery’s office when I saw a moving shadow. He was it. He turned and ran.” Maddie glared at Jonah. “And thank you so much for leaving me bound up in the closet!”
He ignored her sarcasm. Had to. He was too distracted by the tantalizing feel of her breasts pressed into his chest and her hips meshed suggestively against his. He cursed his unruly body and stepped back from her.
“Did you overhear Avery making damning com
ments about the abduction or find incriminating evidence of extortion?” he asked in a raspy voice—the side effect of standing entirely too close to Maddie.
She avoided his direct stare. “Not exactly.”
He frowned when she shifted uneasily from one foot to the other. “Exactly what does ‘not exactly’ mean?”
“It means that Avery and my disloyal cowhand, Clem Foster, weren’t talking.”
When Maddie pivoted and reentered the house, Jonah was hot on her heels. He followed her into the office, then screeched to a halt.
“Well, damn.” He scowled as he surveyed Avery, who was dressed in a red silk robe. His upper body was draped over his desk and he stared sightlessly at Jonah. Clem was sprawled faceup on the floor. His vacant stare told the gruesome tale. Both men were dead, but they hadn’t been that way very long. When Jonah noticed there was no indication that a fight had taken place, his accusing gaze landed squarely on Maddie.
“Don’t look at
me,
” she snapped indignantly. “They were dead when I got here. I didn’t fire a single shot, either, and I’m not carrying a knife.” She waved a trembling hand toward Avery. “Stabbed in the back. I didn’t touch Clem, but I suspect he has an identical wound. Neither of them must have realized what was coming until it was too late.”
Jonah squatted down to roll the bowlegged cowhand onto his belly. Sure enough, there was a telling stain between his shoulder blades. Muttering, he resituated Clem as he’d found him. “Do you think Chiang Ti might have done this?”
Maddie shuddered repulsively. “I have no idea.”
The gory scene was getting to her, Jonah noted. He surged to his feet to shepherd her out the back door. Here was yet another glaring reminder that the world he lived in was rife with violence and death, while Maddie was unaccustomed to dealing with such unsettling encounters.
“If anyone shows up, head for the hills,” he instructed as he positioned her outside the back door and handed her the pistol. “I want to have a quick look around the house before we leave.”
She nodded jerkily, but didn’t object. Impulsively, Jonah angled his head to kiss her quickly and soundly. He’d developed a bad habit of doing that during the past week. But damn it, she looked so rattled that he thought she needed a good kissing to bring her back to her senses.
Jonah strode off to check the house. The front door showed no signs of forced entry. Neither did the office window. Jonah noticed that the bottom drawer of the desk was standing open. An empty leather pouch suggested Avery kept a stash of money there, and it had been stolen.
Grabbing the lantern, Jonah ambled down the hall to survey the bedrooms. The first one was unoccupied, but a quick look in the second bedroom caused a muddled frown to gather on his brow. He stared at the unmade bed in what he presumed was Avery’s room. An incense burner on the nightstand gave off an exotic scent, as did the elaborately carved pipe that sat beside it. The likeness of a Chinese dragon carved from stone was perched on the commode. Jonah walked over to the wardrobe closet to confirm his
worst suspicions. Scowling in disgust, he reversed direction to rejoin Maddie.