After the Ashes(114)
“Don’t hurt him. I know he’s done a lot of bad things, but truly, he never meant to hurt anyone. He’d never killed a man before Ricochet, and he only did that to save Christopher’s life. He had nightmares all week, though he made me swear I wouldn’t tell anyone.”
Wade nodded. “I don’t like unnecessary violence. All I want is to return the gold and let your brother have his day in court. If he doesn’t give me any trouble, there won’t beany.”
She clasped her hands together to keep them from shaking. Turning Corey in was the right thing to do, but she also knew she couldn’t live with herself if Corey was killed in his capture. She dropped her gaze to the hay strewn floor to keep from pleading with Wade.
“If it makes you feel any better, I’ll tell you a secret. I’ve never killed anyone either, and I don’t plan to start with a boy still wet behind the ears.”
She returned his smile. “Your secret’s safe with me.” Wade tipped his hat goodbye. “Once Braddock wakes up, I hope he realizes how lucky he is.” Lorelei watched Wade ride past the open stable door, no longer believing Christopher would ever consider himself lucky to have her in his life.
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
Braddock batted at the hand that pawed his face. The effort it took to shove the thick fingers aside strained his muscles until a fine sheen of sweat coated his body. He felt as if he had been wrapped tightly in an unbreakable spider web.
“Lorelei.” He pushed the word through his heavy lips, unsure if he could be understood at all.
Forceful hands pressed him down into the bed. “Calm yourself or you’ll tear my handiwork.”
Braddock thrashed, trying to wake himself from the nightmare. The Scottish burr haunted him as he tried to place the last time he had heard the accent. A heady sense of danger had him swimming toward consciousness despite the pain in his body.
“Lorelei,” he called again. If he could hear her voice, maybe he could go back to sleep.
The silence that greeted him forced him to open his eyes. A gray-haired man with wild eyebrows stared down at him from a furrowed face. Braddock squinted. The light pierced his eyes like a thousand cactus needles.
He gathered all his strength and pushed the man back. He had to get out of here and find Lorelei.
Braddock tried to sit up but found he couldn’t lift his head off the pillow. The force it took to send the old man stumbling left him panting. He swallowed, finding nothing but sand in his throat. His mouth tasted like he’d licked the underside of a saddle. But he was alive. He fumbled his way to the bandages stretched around his midsection. The tender wound underneath screamed in protest.
“That’s a fine thank you,” said the man from a safe distance. He strode out of Braddock’s line of vision. “Send for Marshal Douglas. He’s awake,” he said to someone, and then Braddock heard the closing of a door.
Marshal Douglas? Last time Braddock had heard, Douglas had reached the rank of lieutenant colonel.
Once Braddock settled back against the bank of pillows, he noted that he was alone in an ordinary bedroom, not in a makeshift hospital surrounded by other wounded. It was as hot as hell.
He stared at the plastered ceiling. A sudden chill swept through him, numbing his discomfort. He didn’t know Lorelei during the war.
He rubbed his forehead, forcing himself to think, to remember. He reordered the pieces of his memory. She was safe. He recalled bits of the trip in the back of the wagon and her constant presence. She had been the sweet reassurance that had allowed him to sleep in peace.
He dropped his hand and gazed over at the doctor suspiciously. “Where’s Lorelei?”
The man took a backward step toward the door. “Marshal Douglas will explain everything to you. I’m just the doctor.”
He glared at the physician while he placed a hand on his chest. The accelerated beat of his heart throbbed in his wound, but he had no choice but to get out of bed and find Lorelei. He took a deep breath and struggled to a sitting position. The room spun, then settled.
When Douglas strode through the door, Braddock rested against the bedframe, relieved that he wouldn’t be forced to stand. A smile broke across Douglas’s face. “How you feeling, old friend?”
Braddock scowled. “Like hell. Where’s Lorelei?”
Douglas laughed. “She’s at the hotel. I’ve got a guard on her. She’s not going anywhere.”
A nerve jumped in his Braddock’s jaw. “Douglas, you son of a bitch.”
Through sheer force of will he yanked back the covers and swung his legs over the side of the bed. A wave of nausea battled with the pain that shot through every nerve ending. Braddock wasn’t sure if he was going to pass out or throw up.