And Then There Was You by Jill Gregory

Author:Jill Gregory
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: fiction, romance, adventure, historical romance, western romance, jill gregory, sensous
Publisher: Jill Gregory

CHAPTER SIX

In the kitchen of the Blue Bell, Georgianna stared in frozen terror at a face from her past.

“Well now,” Otis Cowell muttered. With the muzzle of his gun pointed at her, he stepped forward, studying her through hard onyx eyes bereft of lashes. “Look what we’ve got here. You’ve grown into a real genuine beauty, little girl.”

“And you’re as mean and ugly as ever,” she said quietly. Her chin lifted and she met his eyes, despite the panic licking through her. Cowell’s eyes narrowed, and for one terrifying moment Georgianna thought he was going to squeeze the trigger then and there.

She’d never dreamed she might come face to face with Cowell when she dashed into the kitchen after the gunfire ended. Two people had been struck by bullets, and amid the screams and panic and her terror for Gabe—outside in the thick of that dark, violent night—she’d raced in here to boil water and gather towels for Joe Barnes, who was treating the wounded on the floor of the hotel. Behind her she’d heard Lottie ordering the manager of the Blue Bell to cut strips of cloth from clean hotel sheets to bind the wounds. The red-bearded lawyer who’d twice danced with her had followed her into the kitchen—to help, Georgianna had thought—until he suddenly seized her arm before she could even set the pot to boil on the stove. She’d stared at him in astonishment, the pot still clutched in her free hand, and the next thing she knew Otis Cowell was shouldering his way in the back door. He’d snuck in through the alley like the rat he was.

She recognized him immediately. Despite the passing of the years, she could never forget that broad, coarse face or those small, mean eyes that seemed to lack any spark of humanity. Or the sneering lips she’d seen pulled back in a grotesque, gloating smile as the outlaw galloped alongside the stagecoach. His hair was thinning now beneath his hat—it was shoulder-length and a dark, dingy gray—but this was definitely Cowell, and he was as mean, ruthless, and frightening as ever. He smelled like whisky, sweat and horse.

“Hey, that’s no way to talk to the boss,” the red-bearded man growled, his fingers tightening on her arm until she winced in pain.

But Otis Cowell just grinned. He scraped a dirty fingernail along Georgianna’s throat, chuckling as she recoiled. “Don’t worry none about her, Crane. She won’t be talking back for long. Not when I get through with her.” He spared a glance for the bearded lawyer from Laramie.

“You done your part, and done it good. If you hadn’t told me who the little lady standing at Judge Morgan’s elbow during the ceremony was, I’d never have recognized her. Now tonight’s gonna be a whole lot more fun.”

His grin widened in his saggy face. “Take her outside. If Rand Morgan wants this little lightskirt back in one piece he’ll have to turn himself over to me to git her. Meet my terms—”

He froze at the sound of someone coming fast through the lobby-side door.

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