26

Angie did as she was told and realized that, for the first time in her life, it was truly necessary.

If she did the wrong thing, it might mean the end for both Sadie and her. And for Justin and all the Bodens. She hoped and prayed not. But to yell, to fight, it all seemed to lead to death.

They rode along in the woods, twisting around tree trunks and underbrush. Watts had a lead rope tied to the horse Angie was on, so she had no choice but to go along.

They followed no trail. She ducked branches that would have knocked her to the ground. Or with her hands tied to the saddle, knocked her off the horse to be dragged.

The man looked back to check on her every few minutes, and each time his face twisted with malicious satisfaction. Soon they were a long way from the house. She had no way to estimate just how far, but hopefully by now Sadie had found out that Angie had vanished and needed help.

Angie thought of all the times she’d done as she was told when the only risk was cruel words and criticism. Compared to this, why hadn’t she just laughed at her mother and her husband and said, “Do your worst. I’m not going to obey your senseless rules or believe your unjust criticisms”?

With that defiant thought in her head, suddenly Angie realized she was most likely going to her death. So why obey this time either?

Angie leaned down to the saddle horn, used the bit of movement her hands were capable of and pulled her gag off. Then she threw herself off the horse and screamed for all she was worth. The horse reared as she dangled and slammed Angie into a clump of aspens. The lead rope tied to Watts’s saddle ripped loose.

Relentlessly screaming, stirring up the horse, trying to draw attention, Angie was swung hard by the ropes on her wrists. Her skin tore. She screamed again and again.

Watts leapt from his saddle and rushed at her. He tripped over a downed branch and fell on his face.

Her horse jumped sideways, stumbled, and went down. She was dragged backward, then flung into the air. The rope on Angie’s wrists was jerked free of the pommel and she was tossed aside.

She hit the ground so hard that for a moment she couldn’t draw breath. With her hands still bound, she struggled to her feet. The impact had left her dizzy and disoriented, but she saw her horse behind her and Watts behind the horse, which told her the direction of home.

She ducked and dodged trees. Every step took her closer to home and closer to help. Fighting for each breath, she wasn’t capable of a scream. Without the use of her hands, each step was more difficult than the last. Branches slapped at her face. Fallen trees tripped her and threatened to twist her ankles.

Finally she managed to free her hands of the rope. That’s when she heard thudding footsteps coming from behind. She didn’t look back. She knew who it was. And he was gaining.

Frantic, she ran faster now, looking ahead and seeing she’d been taken into the woods just north of the house. These trees bordered the field that led to Skull Mesa. If she was out in the open, she could be seen all the way to the house. She’d have a lot better chance of finding help.

She turned and headed for the open area. As she ran, the trees began to thin. She rushed forward, praying, trying to think as she ran.

At last she burst into the open . . . and plowed into something hard.

She looked up, hoping for Justin. Instead it was Alonzo. Still, she was saved. “There’s a man after me!” she cried. “Arizona Watts. He’s got a gun. Please, help me!”

Alonzo shoved her backward into the woods. What is he doing? She opened her mouth to scream, but Alonzo gripped the back of her head and slapped his hand over her mouth.

“You stopped her in time.” Watts ran up, gasping for breath.

So shocked she couldn’t quite figure out what was going on, Angie shook her head violently to dislodge Alonzo’s hand.

He leaned closer, and she saw his eyes. Angry, dangerous. The eyes of an enemy.

“This isn’t Sadie. You’ve got the wrong girl.” A smirk then replaced the rage in his expression. “But Justin will be baited just as surely. He’s sweet on her.” Alonzo reached for his gun. “But we’re not going to have another escape attempt.”

Her heart slammed against her chest. Her breathing snagged and nearly stopped.

He flipped the gun over. “This will keep you quiet.”

She saw the butt of the gun swinging hard.

And then felt the pain.

Then nothing.

“Watts broke out of jail!” Justin banged the back door open. “Sadie! Angie!”

He’d been in a flat-out panic ever since he’d gotten word of it. Only Cole’s ice-cold control kept him from leaving Rosita behind in town.

Sadie came running, dressed to ride, a holster and gun on her hip. “Angie’s gone.”

“Gone?” Justin’s heart wrenched.

“I’m pretty sure she’s been kidnapped. Her bedroom window is open. No sign of her around the yard. No horse missing. She didn’t take a coat. She left no note. No reason at all for her to be gone like that. Someone must’ve taken her.”

“We’ve got to save her!” He whirled toward the back door. He took Cole’s fist full in the face. No anger, no shock, it just stopped him in his tracks. “What was that for?”

“You’re acting like a lunatic.” Cole grabbed the front of his shirt and jerked him forward until they were facing each other. “You can’t do anything by jumping on your horse. What direction would you ride? Let’s first look for tracks out the bedroom window. See which way they went.”

Cole nodded at Heath. “You’re the best tracker. Lead the way.”

Heath darted out of the room toward the bedroom. Sadie was on his heels with Rosita behind her. Justin was about to charge after Rosita when Cole shoved him hard into the doorframe.

Justin, furious, looked at Cole and shouted, “What are you pounding on me for? We don’t have time for this.”

“No, we don’t. So stop and think before you act. You’re useless to us right now.” Cole leaned closer till they were nose to nose, and oh, Justin was so tempted . . .

Except Cole was right, blast it. Justin was useless if he didn’t get himself under control. Fighting to slow his breath and use the brain in his head, he bore down on the terror of Angie being in their enemy’s hands. With teeth gritted, Justin regained control, cleared his thoughts.

He took a deep breath and forced himself to speak calmly. “You’re right. We have to trail her. Heath can find a direction, then we’ll go after her.”

“I know you’re in love with her, Justin,” Cole said. “I swear we’ll get her back. We’ll . . .”

Cole kept talking, but Justin was stunned into deafness. He loved her? He loved Angie? No. A man didn’t go and fall in love with a woman he barely knew. A woman who didn’t know a lick about horses, who wanted her hand bandaged when a chicken pecked her. Sure, a man might find a respectable woman and marry her and even eventually, reasonably, love her. But right now, being in love was the worst thing he could do. It would make him weak and irrational.

Justin thought of his panic then, his weak and irrational panic. “You can’t know I love her, Cole. Where’d you get a fool notion like that anyway?”

Cole shook his head in disgust. “I’ve got eyes, haven’t I? Everyone knows you love her.”

“And by everyone, do you mean the cowhands and the folks in town?” Justin swallowed, but his throat was dry and all he did was scratch it raw. “Do you mean the people who want to use Sadie as bait?”

“Possibly.” The anger on Cole’s face faded, replaced by a fine thread of concern, then panic. “Probably . . .”

A shout from the bedroom brought their heads around.

“Get in here!” Heath sounded furious.