Two Cowboys To Protect Her by Lacey Davis
Chapter 18
Rena tossed and turned all night in her empty bed. She’d cried herself to sleep so disheartened by how Harley had treated their union. No, he didn’t like to be disrespected, but he thought nothing of disrespecting her.
She missed being between her two handsome men. She missed their cuddles and how Harley had a slight snore and Clayton would sometimes talk in his sleep. She missed them fucking her.
When she did sleep, her dreams were weird and frightening with Granny Bailey right there in front of her laughing at her. The woman was almost ninety.
Finally, unable to stay in bed any longer, she rose, had a bath, and took her time preparing herself for the day. Normally, she would have fixed her men breakfast, but today, they could find their own food if they were hungry.
Right now, she doubted that she would fix their dinner either. They needed to learn not to show her dishonor. In a marriage, it went both ways, and she couldn’t spank them, but they could go hungry.
When she walked out into the parlor area, she noticed that she was alone. Earlier she’d heard one of them leave, but she didn’t expect for them to go off and let her be alone. After spanking her for wanting to stay home, this made her even angrier. With a madman trying to capture her, they left her alone?
A knock resounded on the door and she glanced out the window at a young boy standing there.
She opened the door. “Yes?”
“I was asked to deliver this to you,” he said.
“Thank you,” she said and closed the door.
When she opened the note, she was surprised.
Rena, I’ve gone into labor. Could you watch little Will while the midwife delivers the baby. There is a carriage waiting outside for you.
Lillian
What an honor that her friend had invited her to watch her son and be there at the birth of her child. Glancing around, she grabbed her satchel and headed out the door. She didn’t know where her men had gone to, but they could find her. She left the note from Lillian on the table, hoping they would see it.
When she walked out the door of the house, a carriage was there for her with a driver she didn’t recognize.
“Are you taking me to the Parker ranch?”
“Yes, ma’am,” he said.
Not thinking twice, she opened the coach door and crawled inside. Suddenly the vehicle took off and she had to hold onto the seat to keep from falling.
“Oh, dear,” she said, thinking that Lillian needed to know how fast her driver drove the carriage. Maybe it was because he wanted to get her to the ranch as quickly as possible. She just hoped they arrived in one piece.
Looking out the window, she realized that she didn’t recognize the way the driver was headed. Maybe it was a shortcut.
Thirty minutes later, the carriage came to a halt. She waited for the man to open the door. Glancing outside, she didn’t see any buildings.
This wasn’t the ranch.
Oh my God, Lillian wasn’t in labor. She’d been tricked.
Fear gripped her chest just as the door of the carriage flew open.
A man put his head inside and grinned at her, Jack Bell, the man who had tried to capture her twice, smiled. “Welcome to hell.”
She pulled back not wanting to get out of the carriage. The man was a killer and she had walked right into his hands.
He reached in, grabbed her arm, and pulled her screaming from the carriage with her hitting him with her satchel. “Clayton will kill you. My husband will hunt you down.”
The man slapped her, almost knocking her to the ground, causing stars to swim before her eyes.
“Good, that’s what I want. I want him to bring me the map to save you. Of course, he won’t be saving you. Because I’ll kill all of you. That silver is mine and I’m going to find it.”
“The silver is gone,” she said.
“Shut up. It’s there and I’m going to find it,” he yelled at her.
Another man came up behind her, grabbed her wrists and tied her hands together. Then they led her inside their camp.
Quickly, Jack wrote out a note and gave it to the other outlaw.
“Post this on their door while they’re out searching for her. By now, they must realize she’s gone. And we have her.”
Fear squeezed her chest. Her men would come, and this fiend would try to kill them. As angry as she’d been last night, she realized the reason was because she loved them. Terror seized her. She loved them both and the thought of Harley lying to her and leaving hurt her so bad. Now they might never have the chance to make up.
And she needed them both. They were her men. Her husbands even if Harley didn’t acknowledge that she was his wife.
Tray Lander jumped on his horse and rode off, leaving the carriage behind.
“Now, it’s just the two of us. What should we do while he’s gone?”
Terror raced through her. No, he wouldn’t hurt her yet, would he?
