The Lone Texan

CHAPTER 22

SAGE CLOSED HER EYES AND TRIED TO BREATHE. SHE'D just had the worst day of her life, and now she'd have to fight off some crude man who thought he could buy her for two hundred dollars.

His footsteps sounded like the hammer of death nails on a coffin as he neared. She didn't want to look at him. She didn't want to remember the face of the outlaw she'd use her one bullet on as soon as they were alone.

She'd gone without food or water all day, and she couldn't remember eating for two days before that. When the guard, Luther, came after her, he didn't look happy about having to bind her hands, but he did. They walked to the count's house, and he left her standing in the dining room for an hour while the count finished his bath. She could see and smell the food on the table, but with her hands behind her, she couldn't even pinch a taste. There were two place settings as though Hanover planned to ask her to join him.

When he walked into the room. Sage almost didn't recognize the man she'd first seen. He'd been withered in pain and fever when she arrived. Now, though he still leaned on a cane, she saw a confidence and air of superiority in his manner. He wore a loose shirt, trousers, and riding boots as if he'd just been out.

He didn't offer her a chair as he sat down and began eating.

After a few bites, he said, "I want you to answer very carefully this time. I would like you here with me, but I'll only ask once more. If you say no, there will be no going back after tonight. You will have your punishment without further discussion.” He smiled as if he thought she'd been teasing him earlier. "Now, would you like to stay here with me and have a meal before we retire?"

"I want to go home," she answered. "I came here against my will, and I'll not stay. You will let me go right now, or I swear you will be the one who regrets this day."

She'd thought about what she would say, and her voice never shook.

He took a sip of wine. "I admire your courage, dear. So much so, I've chosen to kill you.” He grinned. "But I will promise you that before this night ends, you will regret your decision. Whether you're in my house or somewhere else in our little town, you will stay. No one leaves this place without my permission.” He smiled. "I imagine your answer will be quite different when you recover from your evening out."

He tapped his cane, and Luther walked in with the noose she'd grown to hate. He slipped it around her neck and tugged it tight.

The count went back to his meal, waving them away. "Take her to the auction. I never want to see or hear what happens tonight. If she's alive tomorrow, take her to her cell and leave her there without food or water until I decide if I want to see her again.”

"She saved your life," Myron said from the doorway to the kitchen.

The count blustered. "Yes, and if you value yours, you'll stay out of this. Women must often be taught lessons.”

The guard tugged on the rope, and Sage followed him out, glad to be away from the horrible man. She thought she heard a hard slap and a body hitting the floor. Myron was being punished. The little butler would never be brave enough to fight for his life.

On the walk out into the night, she didn't ask any questions until they passed the boardinghouse where her cell was. Then she demanded to know what was going on.

The guard tried tugging the rope tighter to shut her up, but she still fought.

Finally, he grabbed her from behind and held her against him, so her kicks couldn't hurt. "Stop, miss. There ain't nothing you can do to change anything. I don't want to hurt you, but I will, if I have to”

"Let me go?" she demanded. "Just let me go”

"If I did, he'd kill my family. I saw him do it a few years back just because one of the men lied to him. I got a wife and a boy in camp. I ain't doing nothing but following orders. He wants you to go up for auction tonight. I'm just taking you to the saloon.”

"You saw what I did for him” She tried again. Luther had watched the surgery and all the hours of care that had followed.

"I did, but you were thinking he was human just because he bleeds. I'm not so sure he is.”

"You could let me escape. Untie my hands. I'd run, and you could tell him I died.”

He shook his head. "No."

She began to fight again. "You're no better than him."

The guard didn't answer. He just gagged her, then half carried, half dragged her into the saloon. By the time he tied her to the rafter, Sage was battling fainting from lack of air. She forced herself to stand still and breathe as deeply as the noose would allow. The world was foggy as if thick, black spiderwebs were everywhere. Men around her were shouting, but she couldn't get her mind around what they were saying. She concentrated on not passing out, but with no food or water and now no air, she was losing the battle.

Then all she heard were footsteps, and the rope went slack. She crumpled and was caught before she hit the table. A man in black picked her up and tossed her over his shoulder.

Her head jerked as the guard pulled the noose from around her neck. Then the stranger moved away from the crowd with people shouting and cheering.

Halfway up the stairs, she opened her eyes and looked down at the saloon. Everyone glared at her. They had the look of hungry dogs staring at a dying calf.

She wiggled, trying to get free.

The man in black popped her hard on the bottom, and all the crowd cheered. She stayed still from then on, not wanting to be part of their fun.

Then they were upstairs in a room, and all the noise seemed far away. The man set her on her feet and stepped away.

The room was dark except for pale moonlight melting through thin curtains and a low-burning lamp. It had the smell of a cheap hotel, dust and neglect blended with the faint smell of a chamber pot that hadn't been cleaned. Though her hair was hanging in her eyes, she could make out a bed, a washstand, and a wardrobe with one door missing. The room had two windows. One would be her escape route.

The man pulled his knife from his boot and stepped toward her.

Sage turned to run, but he grabbed her tied arms and began slitting the ropes. First her hands, then the gag. It took her a moment to realize she wasn't bound.

She took deep breaths, knowing what she had to do. Her heart felt like it had moved to her ears and was pounding wildly. For the past four years she'd sworn to help people live, and now she was going to have to kill someone.

He was saying something about how they were married now, outlaw style, but she wasn't listening as she tugged her gun from its hiding place and slipped it into her hand. The metal was cold, and her grip shook a little as she fought off fainting.

He turned his back and locked the door. Sage whirled and fired.

The man crumpled to the floor.

In a few heartbeats, she waited to see if someone would storm the door, but no one did. Still holding her gun as if it would help her, she moved to the man's side, praying he was dead. She didn't want him to be in pain. If he still lived, he might call for help.

Bile rose in her throat as she realized what she might have to do. She might have to kill him again. Her only chance of getting away would depend on her ensuring that he couldn't come after her or yell out.

Her heart was pounding so hard she feared it might break a rib. She'd done what she had to do. There was no going back. As her Apache grandfather would say, her course was set; she had to go with the current.

Lifting his gun from its holster, she prepared to fire again as she rolled him on his back.

He coughed and swore as she raised his weapon. "Hell, Sage, how many times are you going to shoot me for saving your life?"

"Drum?"

Dropping the gun on the bed, she scrambled for the light. The realization that she'd truly shot Drummond Roak didn't register until the candlelight flooded over blood dripping from his arm.

He sat up, his jaw tightened, even though he tried to smile. "I just bought this shirt. Now it's already got a bullet hole in it”

"Shut up.” she ordered, helping him stand. "Strip off that shirt and lie down on the bed."

"I'm not that easy.” He leaned on her. "It's good to see you, even if you do look horrible, honey.”

"Shut up," she ordered again, not believing that he was talking to her as if they just happened to have met. She pushed him onto the bed and cringed when he groaned in pain.

She'd shot Drum. With all the evil around her, she'd shot the one man who would try to save her. So much for following the current.

When he caught his breath, he whispered between clenched teeth. "Great bedside manner, Doc."

She pulled his shirt open and off his shoulder. "Stop talking, and let me have a look at what damage the bullet did." "Don't you mean what damage you did?"

She didn't want to think about what she'd done; she only wanted to fix it. "How long do we have in here before they come?"

He stilled as her hands moved over him. "We got all night," he finally answered. "This is kind of our wedding night. honey."

"Stop calling me honey."

"I heard the captain call you that once." He smiled, his eyes moving down her body. "Somehow, it kind of fits you. Your skin's got that warm glow, like you've been kissed by the sun all over.” He bit back pain before adding, "Sometime when I'm not bleeding, I wouldn't mind finding out if you're honey-colored all over."

Sage pretended not to listen. She had work to do. Blood dripped from a wound on his left arm just below the shoulder. It wasn't as bad as she'd thought; the bullet had gone through without hitting a bone. She crossed to the washstand and found fresh water and a towel that looked to be almost clean. She went back to his side and began doing what she'd been trained to do.

"Maybe as your husband. I'll have time to make sure the sun didn't miss a spot.”

He groaned when she rubbed the towel across the bullet wound.

"I'm not married to you, Drummond. Not even if that was an outlaw wedding downstairs." She felt him flinch as she patted the wound, but he didn't make a sound. She gentled her care and leaned close for a better look.

After she'd stopped most of the bleeding, he whispered close to her ear, "But I paid two hundred dollars for you, honey.”

She straightened suddenly, aware of how near he was and, even wounded, his eyes told her he was very much aware of her. Pulling one of the pillowcases off, she began to make bandages. ''I'll give you the money back when we get out of here. Then you can consider us divorced.”

"I'd rather have you?"

"We're not having this discussion. Turn over on your stomach so I can have a look where the bullet exited.”

He pulled off the rest of his vest, and then his shirt, and then did as she ordered. The sight of his muscular back surprised her, as did the scars that ran across it. Sage put her hand out, almost touching the marks of a long-ago cruelty.

She gently began. "How'd you find me?" If he talked, he might not think about the pain she knew she was causing him.

"I trailed you, and I'm guessing you took care to leave me a sign now and then. A shoe print, a scrap of handkerchief. Each clue told me you were still alive. I could have moved in earlier, but I knew I'd take the chance of them killing you if I fired”

"They wanted me here as a doctor, not as a woman. They treated me with less care than one might a stolen horse." "So, how'd you end up on the auction table tonight?" She shrugged. "I kept waiting for the perfect time to escape. Then I saw a hurting man and had to help. He turned out to be Hanover, the ruler of this little slice of hell. I didn't know how rotted his brain was until I saved his worthless life. When he got better, he objected to me not agreeing to live with him." "You're a hard woman to talk into anything. I almost feel sorry for the fool."

She smiled and began to bandage his wound. "Thanks for coming for me. It would have been days, maybe weeks, before my brothers could get to me, but I knew you'd come”

He twisted as she worked. "You're welcome.” He smiled up at her. "How about we stay awhile and make use of the bed?" She smiled back. "Excuse me for a minute while I reload."