He yanked out of her grasp again. Once he righted himself, he wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. “You know that brother of yours did some bad things. I don’t want you doing anything silly just to protect him. You’ve got to protect yourself. That’s what I had to do.”
“That’s why they beat you. For knowing Corey. For helping us escape Coyote Pass. Oh, Archie…” She dropped her gaze, her words stuck in her throat, squeezed by guilt. “It’s a miracle they didn’t kill you.”
He rubbed his temples with shaking hands, his eyes closed. “I wish they would have killed me.” When he opened his eyes, they watered with pain. “I need a drink, Miss Lori. I need a drink real bad.”
Lorelei hated that he would have to go through the awful withdrawal all over again. She knew from her father’s experience that the second time would be worse. She didn’t doubt he would wish himself dead once the visions started. “Let’s go to the stream. The cool water will help your headache. ”
Archie let her guide him. He kept his hands on his temples as they walked. He winced with each step. “Just remember what I told you. You cooperate, and you won’t get hurt. I’ve been promised.”
She followed without comment. He was starting to babble again.
When they’d cleared the stunted desert willows lining the stream, she saw two saddled horses grazing the sweet grass along the bank. “Is someone with you?”'
Archie didn’t open his eyes. Talking seemed to be a struggle. “I’m sorry, Miss Lori.”
A man straightened from the shrub, a gun in one hand, a bottle in the other. “Good job, Archie.”
He tossed the bottle at Archie, who used all the strength he had left to catch it. Ignoring her, he pulled out the cork and greedily drank.
The man kept the gun aimed in her direction. “Get over here. And if you scream, that mama and her baby ain’t going to live. I don’t need them, but I need you.”
Lorelei glanced to Archie, desperate for him to do something. He lowered the bottle, then wiped his wet chin with his sleeve. His breath came in hard pants. “You should have left me for dead back at Coyote Pass.”
Archie had brought her here intentionally! Her heart seemed to pump ice as numbing shock swept through her. She forced her attention back to the gunman. “What do you want?”
The man crossed the stream in a few short strides. He grabbed her arm and yanked her toward the horses. She opened her mouth to argue, but he squeezed her hard in warning.
“Like I said, you don’t want that lady in the house to come down here and find out what all the commotion is about. You just come along with me and mind yourself, and we won’t have any trouble. All I want is the gold.”
Water weighed down the hem of her skirt and soaked her shoes as he dragged her across the stream. But it felt no different than hot sand. She seemed weightless, floating above herself, acting out her part in a very bad dream.
The man shoved her toward the smaller of the two horses, a gray mare that looked as skittish as she felt. She hesitated, knowing that if she mounted, it would be the last anyone would ever see of her.
“I don’t have any gold. Please.”
“That’s enough talk. One more word and I’ll gag you.” He strode around to the big sorrel with fiercely flared nostrils.
Archie staggered across the stream to join them. He shoved the cork back in the bottle and stuck it in the gray mare’s saddlebag. He calmed the skittish animal with a long stroke down its neck.
The other man had already mounted. “You ain’t going. You stay here and tell Sullivan I got his sister. Tell him he can have her back when he brings me the gold.”
“He doesn’t have the gold,” cried Lorelei. Arguing with the gunman probably wouldn’t do any good, but she was beyond reason. “Really, he doesn’t have any gold.”
The man stared at her, his jaw clamped tight. “What did I tell you?” Without warning, he swung off his mount and stalked toward her, fury in every short jerk of his body. He looked as though he planned on strangling her right then and there. “I already killed more men than I can count fort his gold. You want to join them, you keep on sassing me.”
She backed into the mare, making the animal paw at the ground and toss its head. She wanted to turn and calm the frightened horse before it whinnied, but to do so meant she had to turn her back on the madman. Fear froze her muscles, forcing her to watch his every move. She prayed Beth and Rachel would stay asleep.
The man untied the bandanna from around his neck and balled it in his fist.
Archie moved to block his path. “You said you weren’t going to hurt her. I’m going with you to make sure you keep that promise.”