Texas Ranger, Runaway Heiress
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The insult provoked her to thrust back her shoulders and tilt her chin indignantly. “Change of plans, Captain,” she snapped. “I’ll make my own way to camp or find another guide.”
“Like hell you will.”
“Consider yourself officially dismissed. I’ve had quite enough of you. Goodbye and good riddance!” she said before she slammed the door in his face.
Hud halted at the top of the staircase and cursed himself up one side and down the other. He had been rude, sarcastic and harsh with the commander’s daughter. But she had set him off with that sassy mouth, he thought self-righteously. Moreover, it annoyed him that she was so stunningly attractive and that he had to go to great lengths to pretend not to notice. Plus, she was quick-witted and she rose to every challenge. She impressed him—and annoyed the living hell out of him at once. Which made dealing with her a nightmare.
Muttering, he tramped downstairs to have breakfast with Marshal Long, who had requested that Hud add a few more names to his Black Book that he carried to keep track of fugitives. Several Wanted posters had arrived with the mail from the stagecoach. Sparrow wanted Hud to update the other Rangers about the outlaws who had been described and identified as perpetrators of various crimes in the region.
Hud’s Black Book—or Bible II, as he and the other Rangers referred to their source of information—was invaluable in the field. He had noted physical descriptions, clothing styles, preferences of weapons and aliases on dozens of outlaws known to be prowling the area.
The damn book was getting so thick that it barely fit into his vest pocket, he mused as he strode to the café.
Hud scanned the street, wondering if Mad Joe Jarvis might be in town. It was a possibility. Before he veered into the café to join Sparrow, he stared up at the second-story window of the hotel. Now that he had settled his ruffled feathers he regretted giving the commander’s daughter such a rough time.
Well, he’d apologize bright and early the next morning and find a way to return to her good graces—if she had any. The last thing he needed was for the commander’s daughter to run crying to daddy and have him dishonorably discharged. Fiery and contrary as she was, she might do it to spite him.
Hud barked a laugh. He could just imagine what Gabrielle Price thought of him. He made a mental note never to ask her directly. Articulate as she was, she’d have a field day categorically listing everything she disliked about him.
Bri spent the day dodging Eaton, who rapped on her door three separate times. If he thought he could persuade her to change her mind about their betrothal, he was sorely mistaken. After he strutted off to take supper without her, Bri donned one of her drab gray gowns, shawl and bonnet so she could roam the streets and alleys as she had done often in Houston with Benji Dunlop at her side.
She came upon three young lads who were scrounging through trash bins for anything they could sell. She stood in the shadows behind the general store, watching the teenage boys. The scene reminded her so much of Benji that her throat closed up with emotion. She clutched the treasured pocket watch in her fist as she stepped into view.
“What’d you be wantin’, lady?” the oldest boy demanded sharply.
She appraised the gangly boy, who looked to be fourteen—or thereabouts. “Find anything in the garbage worth keeping?” she asked conversationally.
The boys eyed her warily, ready to break and run if she made a threatening move toward them.
“Not much. You expect us to share what we got with you?” the second lad, whose long face was surrounded with frizzy hair, demanded gruffly.
Bri shook her head. “No, I’m here to share what I have with you.” She retrieved three silver dollars from her pocket and tossed one to each boy. “These are compliments of Benji Dunlop.”
“Who’s Benji Dunlop?” the youngest, cherub-faced lad asked as he rubbed his grimy fingers over the shiny coin.
“The best friend I ever had. He roamed the back alleys of Houston. His home was a hut made of crates that he fashioned behind a saloon. He shared whatever he had with me.” She glanced around curiously. “Where do you call home?”
The tallest boy hitched his thumb over his shoulder. “We got a fortress of sorts under a broken-down wagon behind one of the freight offices.”
Bri tossed each boy another silver dollar. “Dinner is on Benji tonight. Enjoy it.”
When she turned away, the second ragamuffin called after her. “What’s yer name, lady?”
“I’m just a friend who cares about you.”
A pleased smile pursed Bri’s lips when she heard the boys bounding off, whooping and hollering excitedly. Now that she knew where the boys lived, she hurried off to see their makeshift home. She shook her head in dismay when she located the wagon that served as their sleeping quarters. Broken crates were piled around the dilapidated wagon. Beneath it, tattered blankets served as bedding.
She decided right then and there that she was going to improve the boys’ living conditions and offer them a new start. They would at least have a chance to make a decent life for themselves.
Wheeling around, Bri strode quickly toward the street. She halted near the boardwalk and clung to the shadows as several men, who reeked of sweat and whiskey, sauntered past her. Then her gaze settled on the brawny silhouette of the man who exited the saloon across the street. She shrank back when his gaze settled directly on her. For a moment, she swore those golden cat eyes could pierce the darkness and he could see as well at night as he could in daylight. Would he recognize her?
Bri ducked her head and scuttled down the boardwalk toward the hotel. No matter what, she wasn’t going to allow Captain Hudson Stone, the hard-hearted Ranger, to recognize her. Unfortunately, he crossed the street, eating up the ground with his long, swift strides.
“Curse it,” she muttered under her breath. She darted into the nearest alley and melted into the shadows. But wouldn’t you know that he’d pursue her relentlessly, same as he had last night.
“So we meet again,” he murmured as he halted in front of the place where she lurked in a pool of inky shadows.
Bri refused to speak for fear he would recognize her voice. She smiled to herself, thinking that he was nicer to the mystery-woman-in-gray than he had been to the commander’s daughter.
“Wandering down these dark streets and alleys is a very bad idea,” he warned her. “I was hoping last night’s fiasco taught you to—”
Bri latched on to Hud when she saw Eaton and his red-haired actress ambling down the boardwalk. If Eaton spotted her in her gray gown, he would spoil her charade.
“Awk…” Hud choked on his breath when she clamped her mouth over his and pulled him deeper into the shadows.
To her dismay, the same bedeviling sensations that assailed her the previous night spilled over her again. His tantalizing scent, his taste and the feel of his muscular body pressed against her swept her into a dizzying universe that defied logical explanation. When she came within two feet of him, her body reacted with reckless abandon. How was this even possible? she wondered bewilderedly.
This man didn’t like her. He thought she was spoiled and selfish. Maybe she was, but he had no right to sit in judgment. Furthermore, he had no right to arouse her when she didn’t want to like him, either. Unfortunately, there was no denying her fierce and lusty reaction to him.
Hud clamped his hands on her hips, pressing her against his thighs, making her vividly aware of his masculine response. Then his hand glided up to brush the side of her breast and another flame of desire scorched her.
Bri told herself to back away now that the potential threat of being recognized by Eaton had passed. But the feel of Hud’s palm gliding over the fabric covering her breast made her burn with insatiable need. When he teased her nipple with his thumb, her legs wobbled and her breath sighed out raggedly. The embrace quickly became even more personal and intimate than the ones from the previous night.
Bri moaned in helpless surrender when he lowered his head to kiss her hungrily. He cupped her breast again and insinuated his muscled thigh between her legs, making her weak with need.
“Come back to my room,” he whispered between devouring kisses and arousing caresses.
“Hey, mister, get yer hands off of her!” came an irate adolescent voice from the black depths of the alley.
Hud jerked up his head, surprised to see three ragtag boys, each carrying a makeshift club, prepared to defend to the death the Lady In Gray. He glanced down, hoping to get a good look at her features, but she turned her head away from him quickly and looked back at the boys.
“We mean it, mister.” The chubby runt from the ragamuffin trio raised his club threateningly. “Let her go…N…O…W.”
“Yeah, you better back off right this minute or we’ll make you damn sorry,” the middle-sized urchin sneered boldly.
Hud was still standing there, his body throbbing with unappeased desire, when the mysterious woman lurched around and darted between the three boys.
Hud shook his head, trying to clear his senses. No doubt about it, the elusive female was spinning some sort of magical web around him. One minute she was kissing him until his brain went up in flames and his body burned into a pile of frustrated ashes. Then poof! Off she went again. This time she had three half-grown guard puppies trailing behind her. Were they her children or her siblings? he wondered.
Scowling at the oddity of his encounters with the Lady In Gray, Hud pivoted on his boot heels. Thanks to that steamy interlude, he needed another drink. He also needed a cold bath to douse the fire the kissing bandit left burning inside him—again.
Chapter Four
Bri half collapsed against the back wall of the freight office to catch her breath and collect her wits. If she believed in voodoo, she would swear that dynamic Ranger had cast a magical spell that boiled her good sense into mush and her inhibitions into a cloud of steam.
Blast and be damned, how could she keep responding so immediately and intensely to Hudson Stone? She melted beneath his scorching kisses and bold caresses in one second flat.
“You okay, miss?” the oldest, whey-faced orphan asked worriedly.
“Did he hurt you?” the second lad wanted to know.
“We’ll fix him good if he did,” the youngest urchin promised vengefully.
“I’m fine. He caught me off guard, is all.” She patted each boy on the shoulder. “Thank you for coming to my rescue. I’m indebted. Will you tell me your names?”
“Tommy,” the skinny lad said then gestured to the runt. “This is my brother, Howie. And this is our friend, Georgie.”
“I’m very pleased to make your acquaintance.” She shook their hands. “My name is…Ellie. I have an idea where we might find jobs that will give you a fresh start away from this rowdy town. If you’ll gather your gear, we’ll be on our way as soon as possible. Are you interested in an adventure?”
“You mean leave all this behind?” Tommy snickered as he gestured toward their improvised home.
Bri chuckled. “I’ve always had a thirst for excitement and adventure. I have an idea that will get us out of town and on the road to a promising and rewarding future. We can strike off together after we retrieve our belongings. We’ll meet back here in an hour if you’re willing.”
The boys nodded eagerly then darted away.
Bri started in the opposite direction then paused a few minutes later to glance skyward. “Happy now, Benji? I can see why you pointed me in the direction of those boys. But I’m not particularly pleased that infuriating Ranger got tangled in the middle of this.”
At least she’d conjured up a plan to leave town without inconveniencing Hud further. He’d made it glaringly apparent what he thought of her and how annoyed he was with this assignment. She had dismissed him—and she damn well meant it. Now she wouldn’t have to make the entire trip alone and she could help the urchins begin a new life while she was at it.
Quickening her step, Bri hurried to the hotel to grab her satchels.
The next morning Hud rolled from bed and cursed the restless night’s sleep that made him out of sorts—even before he confronted the feisty Gabrielle Price. His arousing encounters with the elusive Lady In Gray had fueled his fantasies. Unfortunately, the commander’s daughter kept appearing out of nowhere to spoil his erotic dreams.
Yawning, Hud raked his fingers through his tousled hair then doused his face in cool water from the basin. Wherever the kissing bandit was hiding out, she had three ragamuffins looking after her. Hud knew he wouldn’t see her again so he might as well squelch the lusty anticipation that gnawed at him. He had to suffer through his mandatory duty of babysitting Gabrielle Price and her fiancé. Alluring and intriguing though she was, she symbolized everything he wasn’t. Plus, she challenged him and defied him. The chances of her obeying his direct orders during the trip were a fifty-fifty proposition at best.
Hud grabbed his saddlebags, slung them over his shoulder and ambled down the hall to fetch Princess Price. He rapped on the door, but she didn’t answer so he knocked harder the second time.
“Mizz Price!” he called out, becoming more annoyed with each passing second. “Rise and shine!”
Damn it, if she was delaying their departure on purpose he’d have more than a few words with her. “Ready or not, I’m coming in.”
Hud opened the door then choked on his breath as he gazed incredulously around the room. The pitcher and basin that usually sat on the commode were shattered on the floor. The nightstand was overturned and the bedding lay in a pile at the foot of the bed. Hud walked over to step lightly on the bundle of blankets to make sure Gabrielle wasn’t under them. Sure enough she wasn’t.
Not only was Gabrielle nowhere to be found but her two satchels were also missing.
“Damn,” Hud muttered as he lurched toward the door.
This was his fault. He had shown no enthusiasm whatsoever when he assumed his duty as bodyguard. He had been rude and disrespectful to the commander’s daughter and he had voiced his displeasure for this assignment. Then he had left her to fend for herself in this raucous town. She’d had no one but her dandified fiancé as protection and now she was gone!
“What in God’s name happened here? And who are you?”
Hud glanced over his shoulder to see Eaton Powell II—or so he presumed, since he was decked out in the very latest fashion—puffed up like a toad. The snooty politician was glaring disdainfully at him.
“What have you done with my fiancée?” he demanded loudly.
“I haven’t done anything with her,” Hud replied. “I came to fetch her for the journey and this is how I found her room.”
Eaton looked down his patrician nose and struck a superior pose. “I will ask you again. Who are you?”
“Captain Hudson Stone. I’m the Ranger sent to escort you and your fiancée to Commander Price.”
Eaton looked him up and down then snorted insultingly. “If you represent the inadequacy of our state law enforcement on the frontier then I shall be sure to tighten regulations and qualifications when I am elected to the senate.”
The cocky dandy shouldered past Hud to survey the ransacked room. “My God! It looks as if there was a struggle. Someone must have realized who Gabrielle was and abducted her for money or for something even more sinister.”
He whirled around to stab an accusing finger into Hud’s chest. “This is your fault! My fiancée has vanished and I hold you personally accountable. Furthermore, I shall see you dishonorably discharged from your battalion!”
Eaton’s voice rose to a roar. Hud glanced sideways to see several tousled heads poke around partially opened doors.
“Hey, keep the noise down.” The man with bloodshot eyes, who had rented the room directly across the hall, glared at him. “Some of us are trying to sleep.”
Hud approached him immediately. “The woman in this room has been abducted. Did you see anything?”
The man shook his disheveled gray head. “No, I didn’t come upstairs until nearly two o’clock. Hell, I don’t even remember how I got here from the saloon.”
Judging by the man’s puffy face and red-streaked eyes, he was indeed sporting a hellish hangover.
“What about you, sir?” Hud asked, glancing at the scrawny little gent who had rented the room next door to Bri’s.
The gent bobbed his bald head. “I heard something crash to the floor and I heard a man’s voice late last night. But I didn’t even know a woman had rented the room. I wasn’t about to get involved with a ruffian. I mind my own business and I’m only here to catch the stage to Dodge City this afternoon.”
After questioning the six men in nearby rooms, he didn’t come up with one useful clue. Hud swore under his breath and cursed the disaster that had greeted him this morning. To make matters worse, Eaton was breathing down his neck, blaming Hud for whatever had happened to his beloved fiancée.
“I’ll find her,” Hud assured Eaton, who persisted in snapping and growling at his heels like an ill-tempered dog.
“Don’t bother,” Eaton snarled hatefully. “I’ll hire my own posse to pose questions and turn this town upside down.”
With an audience of the six men, who were still craning their necks around the hotel room doors, Eaton flung his arms ceilingward and burst out with, “Dear God! I can only begin to imagine the horrors my frightened fiancée must be enduring…if she’s still alive.” He glared at Hud. “No thanks to you, Ranger Stone.”
Wheeling around, Eaton pelted down the hall. He ranted about how he had come to Fort Griffin and The Flat to campaign for public office and how calamity had struck. He bewailed the abduction of his fiancée long and loudly.
Hud cursed the unexpected turn of events as he watched the hotel patrons close and lock their doors. To his further frustration, he couldn’t find one promising lead as to who might have overpowered Gabrielle Price and abducted her in the middle of the night.
A sense of urgency hounded Hud as he descended the fire escape to survey the horse tracks in the dirt. There were three sets, which didn’t coincide with what the man who rented the room next door to Bri had said about hearing one male voice. The kidnapper must have pounced on Bri and she had tried to put up a fight but she hadn’t escaped. No doubt, her captor had dragged her down the back stairs while the other man waited with their mounts. They must have tied her to the spare horse then rode off to who knew where.
Hud squatted on his haunches to take a closer look at the hoofprints. One mount had a chipped front hoof and its back left horseshoe had worn thin. One set of prints indicated a well-tended horse—a stolen one perhaps. The third set of prints was similar to the first—worn shoes that indicated a lack of care.
Following the prints, Hud ended up in a side alley where two horses veered east. He frowned, unsure what had happened to the third horse. Before he could survey the area closely, he heard a commotion in the street. He strode to the boardwalk then scowled at Eaton, who was waving his arms in expansive gestures and calling for the attention of everyone on the street.
“My fiancée has been kidnapped,” he bugled loudly. “I’m offering a reward to anyone who has information that will bring Gabrielle safely back to me. I’ll also pay any man who will join a posse to search for her.” He spun about to shake his fist in the air. “If I am elected to the senate I vow to provide better law enforcement in this town, this state and our nation! There are too many muggings and murderers on these streets. And now this!” His voice broke as he blubbered, “May God help my poor fiancée!”
Hud rolled his eyes when several women rushed forward to console Eaton. The dandy was a mite too melodramatic for Hud’s tastes. However, it was possible that Eaton might have been hopelessly besotted with Bri and was overcome with fear and concern. Given her beauty, wealth and social prestige, Hud predicted Eaton was eager to reap all the benefits of marrying the commander’s daughter.
While Eaton strode toward the newspaper office to have the story of the incident written up, Hud reversed direction to search for more clues.
“Bad publicity. That’s all we need around here. A dignitary’s daughter and a politician’s fiancée abducted from her room in the middle of the night. Damn, I hope she’s okay.”
Hud lurched around to see Sparrow scurrying toward him. The expression on the marshal’s weathered features testified to his concern for the missing woman.
“Any idea who might have taken her?” Sparrow asked.
Hud shook his head as he stared at the single tracks that led down another back alley. “So far nothing. One set of tracks indicates one rider separated from the other two. Mizz Price might have been slung over the saddle and carried off with one rider while the other rider headed the opposite direction to throw us off track.”
Sparrow nodded pensively. “You’re right. They’re probably trying to confuse us before they join up later.”
Hud followed the single set of prints that mingled with several trampled tracks in the street near the stacks of buffalo hides. He blew out his breath in frustration and stared into the distance. Even if he didn’t have much use for the spoiled female, he didn’t want to see her hurt. Not to mention how Commander Price would react when given the grim news.
The thought galvanized Hud’s resolve. He wouldn’t rest until he found the two men who had kidnapped Bri. As eager as he was to track down Speck Horton’s killer, he had to focus his energy and attention on locating Bri before she suffered untold atrocities.
Hud jogged to the livery stable to fetch Rambler. On his way out of town, he picked up a single trail again. He frowned when he noticed the horse had joined three other horses and three wagons. A half mile down the road, six more horses joined the group.
“What in the hell?” He glanced northwest, surveying the trail that led toward two communities and the military fort located in the Texas panhandle. There were also several large ranches along the route. Bri might have been taken to a line shack or to a nester’s cabin and held for ransom—or worse.
Leaving her in town—where her inconsolable fiancé was alerting everyone about the abduction and offering a substantial reward—was an invitation for the abductors to be overtaken and strung up by hotheaded vigilantes.
Half-twisting in the saddle, Hud grabbed hardtack from his saddlebag then munched on it. He had planned to eat a hearty breakfast before hitting the road. Now his plans had changed drastically—and so had Bri’s. He wondered if she also held him responsible for the terror she faced. Hud was sorry to say that he wouldn’t blame her one damn bit if she did.
Eaton returned to his hotel suite to gather his belongings. He planned to be sitting on the southbound stagecoach to Austin. Now he was the focus of this god-awful community and soon the entire state would hear the news. Of course, he’d sent word of the abduction in all directions, via the telegraph. By the end of the week, his name would be a household word and he’d give interviews to every newspaper.
Smiling smugly, Eaton neatly folded his clothing and packed them carefully in his suitcases. This publicity stunt would earn him thousands of sympathetic votes from the bleeding hearts in Texas. In addition, it wouldn’t cost him a penny. He’d be featured in dozens of newspaper articles, he predicted. People everywhere would recognize his name and know his sad story. This jaunt to this backward hellhole couldn’t have turned out better if he had orchestrated the scheme from beginning to end.
Eaton chuckled at his own cleverness. He had finagled promises from the marshal and upstanding business owners in The Flat to support his campaign. The only one who wouldn’t benefit from this clever scheme that had launched his campaign into high gear was Gabrielle Price.