The Heart of a Texas Cowboy by Linda Broday

Author:Linda Broday
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Sourcebooks
Published: 2017-03-14T16:00:00+00:00

Twenty-three

Just please let it be Blackstone, Houston prayed.

With their leader out of the picture, the rest would probably give up the fight. He quickly reloaded his Colt then kept it trained on the fallen man as he turned him over. The reddish complexion didn’t match Yuma’s description, and this one had no missing half of his left ear. Still, it could be a trick of some kind.

Fear darkened the eyes staring up at him. “Please help me, mister. I beg you.”

Houston kicked a fallen six-shooter from reach. “Who are you?”

“Frank. Frank Farley.”

No blood, not even a drop, was visible. “You injured, Frank?”

“Nope. I’m begging for your protection. I’m surrendering.”

What the hell? None of this made any sense. Enemies didn’t just give themselves up out of the blue.

“If you think I’m going to buy this cheap trick, you must’ve fallen off a turnip wagon and cracked your fool head,” Houston snapped, grabbing Frank Farley’s shirt and yanking him up. “The minute I turn my back, you’ll put a bullet in one of us.”

The outlaw wearily rubbed his eyes. His voice shook when he spoke. “I realize I’ve given you no reason to trust me, but I swear on a stack of Bibles I won’t bring you any harm. Yuma has gone mad and I just want far away from him. I’ll tell you anything you want to know. Hell, tie me up and take me to Fort Supply.”

“Don’t worry. That’s exactly where I’m taking you, Frank.” Houston searched his prisoner. Strangely, other than the side arm he’d kicked away, he found nothing. “What does Blackstone want?” he asked. “What does he hope to gain?”

“Your wife. He wants Lara Boone.”

“To kill her this time?” Houston feared the answer.

Frank wiped his mouth. “No. In his mind, she belongs to him. He put his mark on her face and figures that makes her his property.”

Houston let out a curse so bad it blistered his tongue. “He’ll have go through me to get her, and he’ll discover that’s a pretty big chore.”

“Any mention of the baby sets him off. He hates her. Says that’s not his child. Claims the babe belongs to someone else.”

Anger danced along Houston’s spine. “He had a chance to end the babe’s life. What stopped him?”

“Two reasons. One, to taunt you. He hates your guts and wants to kill you too. Another reason was the simple boy. Yuma thinks he’s devil-possessed.” Frank’s mouth quirked up at the corners. “I told you he’s crazy as a loon.”

“I’m beginning to get the picture.” If only they could tap into those delusions somehow. But to do so, Houston would have to learn to think like Yuma. He didn’t know if he could.

“He also means to put you in a grave and take your herd. Has plans to sell them and use the money to take Lara far away. The man talks out of his head all the time. Scares me because I never know what he’ll do.”

“Why didn’t you just ride away?” Seemed simple enough to Houston.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.