He walked away before she could answer.
CHAPTER NINE
Coyote Pass’s tallest building peeked over the next dusty rise, but sighting his destination didn’t tempt Braddock to increase the pace. He’d gotten past caring if they ever reached the outlaw town. Numbness had slipped over him like a hood. Each day was just something to survive. Riding with a morosely silent Corey and Lorelei, both handcuffed to their saddles, marked the exclamation point of the last ten years of his life. It was the hell he’d been working up to without even knowing it.
He should be happy to have his worldview restored so powerfully. He’d slithered back into his old self like a snake returning to its discarded skin, a very unpleasant sensation made worse by his moments of freedom. The emotions he’d experienced with Lorelei—not just the lust, but the tenderness, the laughing—had rubbed parts of him raw. His suit of indifference no longer fit. It scratched to the point where he was sure real blood dripped down his rib cage. He glanced over his shoulder. Despite her best efforts, Lorelei looked tired and dirty. The faded white flowers that dotted her brown cotton bodice and skirt had vanished in the coat of dust that covered them all. In two short days he’d accomplished what the four-year war and the slow loss of her family hadn’t done: he’d broken Lorelei’s spirit. He quickly returned his gaze to the dilapidated town that grew in size as they topped the hill. The time had passed to let the urge to release her win.
If he had wanted to be decent, he should have done it the first night. Actually, he never should have lost his temper at all. For the tenth time in the last hour, he mulled over the things he had overheard.
With a cool head, he could convince himself that Corey had been trying to talk Lorelei into something she wanted no part of. But at the time all he saw was her betrayal. And that he wasn’t the first man she’d tricked.
He gripped his reins and spurred his horse over the rolling landscape, bringing the town’s deserted main street into full view. Braddock had almost believed that he could trust her. But he wasn’t the kind of man who trusted or wanted trust from anyone else. He was a cold bastard all the way down to the granite that rested where his heart should be. Maybe that was the reason he survived what killed other men. He didn’t have the organ to stop that the others had.
“That’s Coyote Pass,” yelled Corey from behind him.
Braddock was grateful for the distraction from his turbulent thoughts. “Glad your memory’s coming back.”
Corey managed to stop Langston’s horse without the use of the reins. “I’m not going there.”
“I wasn’t asking you.”
Lorelei tossed her head, trying to shake away a lock of hair that had come loose from her bonnet. The pinto she rode continued to trot forward. “What’s so bad about Coyote Pass?”
Braddock tried not to cringe when he noticed how she struggled without the use of her hands. He grabbed the horse’s bridle before she passed him.
“Mulcahy runs that town. He’ll be there,” answered Corey.
Lorelei blew her wayward curl, but it fell back into her eyes. “Fine. Let Braddock arrest him so we can get this over with.”
“Unfortunately, it’s not that simple. Mulcahy’s bounty has tripled. And this is the first time he’s left any witnesses. He won’t be bold enough to hang around where he can be caught." Braddock gauged Corey’s reaction, which happily saved him from watching Lorelei.
Corey yanked on his bonds, causing his horse to nervously dance sideways. “He’ll have men there. Everyone answers to him.”
“If you tell me where Mulcahy’s hiding out, then maybe we won’t have to go to Coyote Pass.”
“You’ve got a death wish, Braddock. ’Cause they’ll kill you, too. You’re a bounty hunter. Half the men in that town are wanted for something.”
“Maybe I do have a death wish. Let’s go.”
Braddock headed Lucky toward town. He didn’t want to notice the way Lorelei frowned when he talked so carelessly about his life.
“What about my sister?” called Corey. “What’s going to happen to her if we both get killed?”
Braddock brought Lucky to a halt. He knew the kid was more worried about himself than Lorelei, but he had a point. “I’ll look out for her. You’re on your own.”
“I’m handcuffed. I’ll be a sitting duck.”
Lorelei turned to her brother. “Maybe you should just tell him what he wants to know.”
Braddock watched the exchange between the two, wondering if Lorelei knew more than he’d thought. Maybe she had been in on Corey’s scheme from the beginning. Part of him wanted to believe that. Then maybe the last flicker of compassion would die out and he could truly be himself again.