Brody (10 page)

Olivia’s heart slammed into her throat and the reality of what she was about to do hit her hard. All of the horrible possibilities Brody had outlined ran through her head. She might never see her family again but it would be worth it if she found Benjy. It didn’t matter what happened to her. He was more important than anything. Without the eighth link in their circle, they’d never be whole again.

C
HAPTER
S
IX

B
rody didn’t need a map to find the place on the Rio Grande where he wanted to cross into Mexico. During the war, he and his brothers had crossed at that particular spot numerous times, mostly because it was hidden from view and out of the way of prying eyes.

They rode through the morning, stopping only briefly to eat before pushing on. By sunset, he saw the big river sparkling in the orange rays shining from the west. His gut clenched at the sight.

This was the last chance to turn back, to send Olivia packing to her ranch. He had tried to scare her and bully her, neither of which worked. His only other option was to force her, but that would have an even worse outcome.

There was no chance she was going to change her mind, so he had to accept the fact he was stuck with her. He’d been the one to start their partnership, such as it was. Though he’d never intended to take her so far.

His intention was to scare her enough she would stay at home. Unfortunately it had the opposite effect. She was even more determined to put herself in harm’s way. He couldn’t be blamed for what happened to her from now on.

He pulled his horse to a stop a hundred yards away from an oft-used campsite. “We need to stay put until dark, then cross over.”

“Why?”

“The fewer people see you in daylight, the better.”

She made a face at him. Although her skin was colored by the clay, she didn’t look Mexican close up. From a distance, and in dim light, she’d be fine.

“If there’s more clay nearby I can put some more on my skin.”

He leveled a stare at her to shut her up. “You look fine. We just need to be as quiet as we can when we cross. That’s all.”

“Fine. I was just trying to help.” She stopped at the edge of the campsite and dismounted. “I’ll get a fire going.”

“We don’t need a fire. Just sit still and stop talking.” He stayed in the saddle, scrutinizing the river for signs they were being watched.

She huffed and puffed but, otherwise, she was quiet. He heard her fussing with her mare, which gave him a chance to think. Sanchez had told him the pueblo where they met their buyer was twenty miles south into Mexico. It was far enough to make a quick run to the border improbable but not impossible. He wanted to think through what to do once they got there without Olivia nearby to confuse his thoughts.

He was worried about what she would do when they spoke to someone. Hell, he didn’t even know if she spoke Spanish. He could tell them she was mute, but then he’d probably have to gag her to keep her quiet. There was no help for it, he had to ask.

“¿Hablas español?”

She glanced at him.
“Sí, hombre. Vivo con una mujer que me enseñó. Hablamos español todo el tiempo.”

“Bueno. ”
He kept his face impassive, but damn, damn, damn. Not only was her Spanish perfect, but her accent was even better than his. If he closed his eyes, he could believe he was in a tavern in a pueblo deep in Mexico. He had no excuse to leave her behind. Or to gag her.

“Are you going to tell me what we’re doing next? Besides sit here and stare at the river?” She perched on a rock with her chin in her hands, scowling at him.

“I’m still thinking on that. My original plan didn’t include you.” He scowled right back at her.

“My plan didn’t include leaving the ranch but here I am.” One brow went up. “You need to think quick out here.”

For that, he ought to throw her over his knee and spank the sass out of her. His hands itched to do just that, but a tiny part of him knew it was more than just a spanking he wanted from her. Olivia had gotten under his skin.

If he was smart, he’d tie her up and leave her here, or better yet, put her on a wagon headed home. A tiny little voice somewhere deep inside stopped him. It wasn’t very loud, but it was enough. She had been a good partner, albeit a frustrating one. She was smart, observant and strong. Hell, the woman had killed two men to save him. He had no call to doubt her courage or abilities.

It was his own self-control he doubted.

Admitting that to himself was hard, real hard. Brody had been the youngest of the Armstrong boys, the one who took the teasing, punching and all-around misery from his older brothers. He didn’t flinch, couldn’t flinch. Now he found himself wondering how one woman could make him doubt that iron-clad wall he’d erected for protection.

She wasn’t anything special to look at. Oh, she was pretty and had really great breasts, but she wasn’t classically pretty and her ass was a little big. It wasn’t her looks that gave him pause; it was what she did to him.

Brody had to stop thinking about her and start thinking about what they were doing and what they needed to do in Mexico. If he could find out who Jeb Stinson had been using to move his stolen items and people, he could stop the operation. If the men were Texan, he could bring them to justice. If they were Mexican, he could make sure they didn’t cross back over the border.

His main concern was stopping the gang, which was still raiding ranches even after Jeb’s death. Olivia’s focus on her brother was not Brody’s. He couldn’t forget that there were more folks affected by the gang’s activities than just the Grahams.

“We’re going to cross the river after dark, quietlike. We don’t want anyone knowing we’re even breathing Mexican air.” He stared at the river and the light sparkling on its surface until his eyes hurt. “I need you to act as a woman should, with your head down and your mouth shut. We also need to take off some of that finery you’re wearing. I hope you don’t mind if we dirty up your clothes.”

“What finery?” She glanced down at her plain cotton shirtwaist and riding skirt.

“What you have on underneath, Liv. If we get caught, someone might see you’re wearing lacey things and wonder why a poor woman who lives on the trail with her no-account husband had such things on.” Brody had to think of every detail of their disguise. Their lives depended on his thoroughness.

“I have to take off my underthings?” She cupped her breasts. “And my chemise? And, and other things?”

“You said you’d do anything.” He didn’t want to argue about every little thing with her.

“I will. Of course.” She reached for her buttons and he felt a moment of panic.

“Wait until dark. You don’t need to flash the birds.”

She smacked his arm, hard enough to sting. He moved out of her reach.

“Why did you hit me?”

“Why do you have to be such a jackass?” Her hands were balled into fists. “It’s hard enough for me to be here with you, doing what I am doing away from my family. I don’t need you behaving like a jackass and making me feel cheap and stupid.” The tendons in her jaw grew tight as she clenched her teeth.

Had he been doing that? He sure as hell hadn’t meant to, but he was more concerned about her safety than her feelings. Feelings didn’t amount to a hill of beans out here. Feelings were like a rat’s fart in the wind.

“Don’t throw that in my face. Just don’t.” He shook his head. “This is exactly what I didn’t want.”

Their mission was too important to fall into foolishness with her. He would leave her behind if she kept it up.

Olivia turned to her horse and he heard some fierce mumbling coming from her direction. He didn’t care if she fussed at him or the horse.

He had a plan and he was sticking to it.

Olivia kept her mouth shut, partly because she was annoyed as all hell at Brody and partly because she was nervous. When the sun went down, she was about to cross a line, literally and figuratively, and wade into danger the depth of which she’d never known before.

He was right to try to scare her, but his bullying coldness infuriated her. When this was over, she didn’t ever want to see him again, no matter what they’d done together. She couldn’t stay with a man who didn’t respect her.

Stay with him? Why was she even thinking about staying with him? There were no promises made between them, just pleasure shared. She might have had some silly schoolgirl dreams about being with him, but ten minutes on the trail had taken care of that problem.

She had to focus on Benjy and getting out of Mexico alive, with him at her side. There was no other thought in her head as important. She sat down and waited, quiet and tense.

The evening shadows lengthened, sprinkling pockets of darkness into the corners around them. Olivia’s stomach grew tighter with each passing minute. She hadn’t had enough time to think about what she was doing, or the consequences of what she had already done.

Waiting for night had given her that time. She was not happy about it either. It made her more anxious and worried she’d made a terrible mistake in forcing the ranger to take her with him.

“It’s almost time.” He appeared beside her as quietly as the shadows around them. “Did you, ah, take off the items?”

Her cheeks heated and she hoped it was dark enough that he couldn’t see her blushing. “No, not yet.”

“It’s almost time to get moving. Get rid of them. Now.” The gloom swallowed him up, leaving her with no one to yell at.

Instead, she maneuvered behind a tree and managed to take off her underthings. After a few steps, she was strangely aroused by the feel of skin against cloth. Her doggone nipples peaked within seconds.

She was again grateful for the darkness dropping around them.

Olivia placed her hand flat on Mariposa’s neck and waited. She listened to the sounds around them: the buzz of insects, the occasional shuffle in the trees above, or the bushes to the right. An owl hooted and she about jumped a foot in the air.

“Ready now?” Brody’s voice floated through the darkness to her.

“Yes.” She wanted to say so much more but didn’t. Later, after they were home with Benjy, she would tell the ranger exactly what she thought. Olivia would be content with tucking away in her memory all of the items she would lambast him with. Later. After all of them were safe.

“Walk her slowly through the water. Let her get her footing so she doesn’t slip. The last thing we need is the horses to give us away.” He stood beside her, the reins wrapped around his wrist. Gone was the Texas Ranger and in his place was a man cloaked in shadows with eyes glittering in the rising moonlight. Her heart slammed into her throat and for the first time Olivia knew a moment of fear with Brody.

Then it was gone. Thanks to his mouth.

“Olivia, if you aren’t going to pay attention, I’m going to have to repeat myself. I don’t want to do that.” He pushed Mariposa’s reins into her hands. “Hold onto her and walk slowly.” He slowed his words, lowering his voice to barely a whisper. “Grunt if you understand me.”

She actually growled at him, but it was apparently enough to make her meaning clear.

“Let’s go.”

Olivia wrapped her fingers around her mare’s reins loosely, not willing to risk hurting the horse because of her own annoyance. They waded into the water slowly, as though they were strolling along the banks on a lazy summer day. They barely made a splash and the horses were quiet as could be. The river was shallow enough to walk across without a mishap.

As soon as they started up the bank on the other side of the river, Olivia’s stomach tightened again. She had the urge to pinch herself to realize it wasn’t a dream, or a nightmare. They were on Mexican soil.

A gentle breeze drifted across her cheeks. She turned to Brody, nothing more than a black blob in the thick darkness. “Now what?”

“We head for the nearest pueblo.” His voice was barely louder than the tiny breeze. “Keep walking.”

She knew they had to walk the horses for a bit, in case there was anyone close to the river watching or listening. Water squished from her soft-soled boots as she walked, chafing her heels, but there was no way she’d mention it to Brody. She also wouldn’t tell him about how her wet clothes raised goose bumps on her skin. Perhaps she’d get lucky and her teeth wouldn’t chatter.

The moon rose steadily in the sky as they walked on. Sure enough, her heels grew sore from rubbing against the wet leather of her boots. She should have stopped right at the riverbank and emptied them out. It might not have helped too much but it couldn’t have hurt.

She wouldn’t whine, though, not a smidge. Brody hadn’t wanted her to come to begin with and if she whined, then it would prove his theory she didn’t belong on the trail with him. Olivia could be as tough as he could. No matter if her heels were on fire.

The sounds of the night were not so different from those she heard at home. What made the soil beneath her boots Mexican instead of Texan? Twenty miles? It smelled the same, felt the same and sounded the same as the very ground she lived on. However, here she was an enemy, an interloper, one liable to be killed if she was found out.

It was a bad dream come to life, one with her brother in a starring role.

The encroaching night turned into an inky blackness only illuminated by the meager light of the moon. Stars were like pinpoints in velvet, tiny pricks of light so far away she wondered if they were real.

With the dark came the cool air, cutting through her damp clothes to her skin. The comfortable breeze turned into a cutting wind. Through force of will she kept her teeth clenched and didn’t let them chatter. Who knew how Brody would react if she made any noise?

Hooves and boots moved easily in the soft sandy soil, a quiet whisper in the emptiness of the night. A coyote howled in the distance, followed by another, then another. Goose bumps raced up her skin and she pressed her palm against Mariposa’s warm neck. The horse seemed to understand that Olivia needed comfort because she nudged Olivia’s shoulder with her great head.

It wasn’t much but it was enough.