But they refused to have me go with them to the meeting with Rollins. I wanted to get the truth from him about what he'd done to my father's ranch and the others nearby. The amount stolen from the banks. All of it. I wanted to hear him admit he'd been cruel and ruthless. I wanted him to admit he stole all that land.
"I am going. It was my family's ranch he took and burned," I said, my tone riled. I waved my hands as I spoke, paced the small room. "It was my father's money he'd stolen. I only took it back. If you're going to face him with these allegations, I want to be there. I've earned the right to do so."
I'd said these same words over and over, but the meeting was in an hour and they were leaving me behind.
Seth stopped me as I paced past him, placing his hands on my shoulders. "It's too dangerous. Rollins is an unstable man. We have no idea what he'll do."
"He can't do anything," I countered. "He's the one who's guilty."
"Can't do anything?" Seth's usually pale eyes were dark and stormy. "You know firsthand what he's capable of. It's riling you up, even now and it's not good for you or the baby."
"Are you planning on using that for the next eight months?"
"Yes," they both said at the same time.
I maneuvered around Seth and stood before Landon, tilted my chin back to look him in the eye. "I'm going."
I was being petulant and stubborn, but if they were going, then so was I.
I felt the cool metal before I realized what it was. Looking down, I saw the handcuff about my right wrist, then glanced up at Seth.
"You're not going," he repeated. "Now be a good girl and go sit on the bed."
My mouth fell open. "You're going to handcuff me to the bed?"
"I am."
I tried to cross my arms, but Seth held the other end of the handcuffs. I tilted up my chin. "Not a chance."
From behind, Landon sighed as he picked me up and carried me to the bed. He placed me on it as if I were made of porcelain, laying me flat on my back. He took hold of my chin, forced me to look him in the eyes as Seth lifted my arm and clicked shut the other end of the handcuff around the headboard.
"We want you safe. We want you here where we know where you are. We don't want you anywhere near Rollins. Let your men take care of this for you."
While I could see he was serious about this and wasn't meaning to leave me out for other than being a liability to them, I was still hurt.
"I hate you," I murmured.
He grinned then. "Just think of how hot it'll be when I fuck you when we get back."
My nipples tightened at that, for he knew how much we enjoyed a quick and rough bout of lovemaking after arguing. I also liked it when they tied me up and took me. I liked it when Landon took control. But this was different.
"What if there's a fire?" I tugged at the cuff, the metal rattling. It wasn't hurting me, but it was snug and secure.
"Yell," Landon said, then stepped back, putting his hat on. His gun belt was slung low on his hips and he pinned a small tin star onto his shirt.
"We'll be back soon." Seth leaned down, kissed me, then rose to his full height. "Don't go anywhere."
As soon as the door closed, I shimmied up to a sitting position, leaning sideways against the headboard. With my freehand, I played with the cuffs. The wooden slats were thick, the bed well made. It wasn't coming apart without quite a bit of tugging and my wrist would be all cut up. Unless-
I reached up, pulled a pin from my hair, stuck it into the small keyhole on the lock about my wrist. Biting my lip, I wiggled and worked at it. I might rob banks, but I'd never picked a lock before.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Seth
"What do you mean you haven't caught her?" Rollins paced his desk, but limped a little, then sat down.
We were back in his office, the drunkard from the previous month escorting us in. He seemed sober enough today, but based on his boss's booming voice, he was no doubt fleeing his desk for the nearest saloon and a bottle of rotgut whiskey.
"The teller in town was so enamored by her, the only physical trait he remembered were her blue eyes."
"What about the others?" He was sitting at his desk, chubby hands folded, but his face was once again a mottled red. I had to wonder if the problem with his foot was gout. The man reeked of excess and overconsumption. He didn't seem to be in the poorhouse from having his banks emptied of funds.
"That teller did say that the thief only asked for a specific sum of money, even handed over a piece of paper to ensure he was accurate in his counting."
"Oh?" he replied.
Landon leaned against the wall, just as he had the last time we were here. "We've learned that just over two thousand dollars was taken in total."
"You weren't wiped out as you said," I added.
We knew so much more about this man now. He'd seemed like a bastard the first time, but now? Now he was much worse. Knowing what he'd done to Maddie and her father had me wanting to pull out my gun and shoot him. But it wasn't just our wife he'd hurt. Others, too. And that was only the swindling Maddie knew of.
"What else aren't you telling us, Mr. Rollins?" While Landon's voice was even, there was no missing the accusatory tone.
"I didn't rob my banks. A woman I hired you to find did," he countered.
"But we've been wondering. Why that amount? Why rob banks for a specific sum of money?"
"I have no idea, but she should be off the streets. Behind bars."
"The Bible says a leopard can't change his spots," I began.
"I'm not a Bible thumper," he admitted.
"My momma ensured I had a proper education. That saying's from Jeremiah, I believe."
"Your point?" he asked, his tone irritated.
"If you steal all the properties around Mecklen, I have to wonder if you've done it elsewhere."
"I have no idea what you're talking about," he blustered, leaning back in his chair.
He did know. He might be good in business, but he was probably a horrible poker player.
"I do. I know exactly what they are talking about."
Landon and I spun about at the sound of a woman's voice behind us. A woman's voice we knew all too well. We knew it when it was sharp and crisp like this, ready to verbally spar. We knew it when it was breathy and begging with need. We knew it when it was filled with sadness.
Fuck. There in the open doorway was Maddie, no handcuff on her wrist. How the hell did she get out of that?
Landon moved to stand before her, to block her from Rollins, but she stepped around him.
"I know exactly to what they are referring. They are speaking of the Thomas ranch you foreclosed on then burned to the ground. The Daley property, the Mitchells'. All of those ranches you offered to purchase, but when the owners refused, you changed their mortgage amounts at the bank. Each lost the property to the bank. To you."
"And who are you, young lady?"
The patronizing tone had me wanting to punch him in the nose.
Landon must have sensed that Maddie was going to leap across the desk and do that herself, for he put a hand out across her middle.
"Madison Thomas Bane. You took my father's ranch away."
He shrugged. "He refused to pay."
"That was his right," she countered.
"It was my right to take the property away when he couldn't keep up with his debt."
Maddie's eyes narrowed. I had to wonder if she had a gun in her reticule, and if so, if it was loaded. Being a bank robber to take back what belonged to her and others was one thing. Cold blooded murder, another.
"We may be at an impasse on this, but there is something that you will do. That you will concede."
"What is that?"
"You will drop all charges against the Black Widow."
The man kept his gaze squarely on Maddie as he slowly rose to his feet. "Why would I do that?"
"Because otherwise I will expose you for what you are."
"And what is that?"
"A thief. While I might have robbed your banks-"
"You!" he shouted.
Maddie folded her hands together in front of her, directly over her belly where I knew our baby to be growing. I took a step closer.
"-you used my thefts to steal the difference, claiming that I stole everything not in the safes."
"You robbed me?" Rollins glanced at me, then Landon. Pointed.
"Arrest her!"
"We have yet to determine the party who committed a crime," Landon said. "Please continue, Mrs. Bane."
She didn't even glance at Landon, her gaze squarely on Rollins. We'd been wrong to keep her from this moment. He'd ruined her, took her father away, his ranch, everything she knew. While we never would have met her if Rollins hadn't destroyed everything she held dear, I didn't wish that kind of heartache on her. Now, she'd have closure. If she could get out of this without being tossed into jail by the local sheriff.
"I stole exactly $2342 from you. That is the total sum of the money you offered to my father, Mr. Daley and Mr. Mitchell. Not a penny more."