After the Ashes(2)
“You married?”
She glanced away. “No.”
He hadn’t thought so. “How’d you hook up with a piss poor outlaw like Sullivan?”
“I don’t know who you’re talking about.”
“Thought you said he wasn’t here.”
She couldn’t hold the eye contact. “I’m here by myself.”
Her face paled. Braddock followed her nervous glances and saw a man’s fresh boot print in the mud-splattered dirt, and faint signs of blood. Sullivan had been at this pump not long ago. He ducked his head to study the woman’s downcast face.
“This is a bad place for you to be by yourself,” he said. “I guess you know the folks who built this spread were murdered by Apaches.”
“Those were bloodstains on the walls?”
“I imagine. What kind of man would let you stay in a place like this alone?”
She finally met his gaze, and Braddock glimpsed the spunk that had kept this woman’s shoulders high despite the war. “You’re the biggest danger I’ve encountered. You almost shot me when I stepped outside.”
Braddock ran his hand over Lucky’s muzzle. He didn’t like being reminded. “You could go to jail for helping a murderer like Sullivan.”
“That’s not true!”
“It’s true, all right. Maybe even hang.” That wasn’t true. Nobody was going to put a rope around this girl’s pretty neck even if her lover had gotten himself tangled up with the lowest of outlaws.
“No. I mean Corey wouldn’t murder anyone.”
“Thought you said you didn’t know him.”
She folded her arms over her chest in a huff, working herself up again. “Well, I do. And he wouldn’t hurt anyone. ”
“Sweetheart, men have a dark side, and I hope you don’t find that out the hard way.”
She didn’t back down, not a lick. She jutted her chin out and her eyes sparked blue fire. “You might be talking about yourself, sir, but you aren’t talking about Corey.”
“Well, I just might be talking about myself. That doesn’t change the fact your lover’s a killer. He rides with killers and he’s going to hang with them, too.”
Her chin dropped a notch. “You’re mistaken.”
Braddock leaned on the pump and lowered his voice. “I can help you get out of here. If you need money, I can buy you a ticket home. Just leave Sullivan before it costs you your life.”
“I have no home. Corey is my life.” She stared at Braddock dead on. “You’re wrong about him.”
“They robbed a stagecoach carrying payroll for the railroad. Killed every last driver doing it. Some powerful men want to see them caught. They’re going to be coming around after me, and they won’t stop and talk. They’ll burst through your door, guns blazing. Do you understand that?”
She blinked hard and turned her pretty face away from him. “Please leave now.”
“Do you want to die, lady?”
She moved toward the adobe. “Just go, please. Corey’s not here.”
He grabbed her arm before she was out of reach. “What is it going to take to make you see you’re helping a murderer?”
She stiffened. “All I see is that you’ve forgotten yourself, sir.”
Braddock released his grip, jerking his hand back with the swiftness of a rattler’s strike. Her tone was as good as a slap. He barely resisted the urge to check over his shoulder to see if anyone had caught him mishandling a woman. Then he clenched his jaw, reminding himself that being a gentleman only got you killed. He shook off her reprimand as he had his lessons from West Point.
There were no rules to break out here. No social graces. She too would learn that soon enough. But he, for one, didn’t have the time or the inclination to teach her. Why should he care if she destroyed her life by helping Corey Sullivan?
He took off his hat and slapped it against his leg. “He won’t get away.”
“This is all a big mistake. You’ve mixed Corey up with someone else.” She stepped onto the porch, eager to escape once more into her house.
“Maybe you don’t know the man like you thought.”
The woman blocked the door with her body. If Braddock wanted to capture Sullivan, he would have to plow through her. He’d give the kid some breathing room instead. Once he backed off, Sullivan was sure to trip up and fall into his hands—or better yet, lead him exactly where he wanted to go
“I’m not going away. I’ll spend the night in Arriba, but I’ll be back. I’ll find Sullivan no matter where he tries to hide.”
“Not if I can help it, you won’t.”