Someone Like You (Night Riders) (37 page)

It was difficult to throttle the fear that if they didn’t ride as fast as they could, she would never see Luis again.

They rode by scenes that at any other time would have drawn her attention for their beauty, serenity, and sheer majesty. She took no notice of the forested flanks of the mountains or the snow-covered peaks in the distance. She saw no abundance of flowers in fields, along hillsides, or on creek banks. She heard no birdsongs, saw no butterflies, nor did she feel the warmth of the sun on her cheek, the breeze that ruffled her hair. She didn’t smell the heady aroma of water lilies in a shaded pond or taste the crispness of fresh country air.

She heard only the rhythmic tattoo of the horses’ hooves on the hard ground, the squeak of saddle leather, the clink of metal against metal. She saw only the empty road that stretched endlessly before her. She felt only the tears that ran down her cheeks. She smelled only fear, tasted only the bitterness of regret.

Her vision narrowed to a mental image of a frightened Luis being carried farther and farther from the people he loved and trusted. He was old enough to understand what was happening to him but not why. He was young enough to give unconditional love but not old enough to understand that love rarely came without conditions. He was too young to understand that for some people the love of money could be more powerful than love for a person.

He would never understand why his mother would betray him; he might end up thinking it must be due to some fault in himself.

That single thought exploded in her head with a force that was almost blinding. Was that how Rafe had explained his father’s choosing Dolores over him? Had he spent the last ten years feeling that the reason for the tragedy stemmed from some flaw in himself?

She had always seen Rafe as a strong, confident man who had no doubts about his worth or his ability. He seemed to have an answer for everything and make decisions without needless vacillation. He trusted friends implicitly and distrusted enemies with equal directness. He held no secrets and expected others to be equally open with him. Could all of that be a painstakingly pieced together defense to cover up a deeply buried fear that he might not mea sure up?

She glanced at the profile of the man who rode alongside her. He leaned forward in the saddle, the reins loose in his hands, the horse moving fluidly between his powerful thighs. He faced forward, his gaze focused on the trail ahead. She couldn’t read his thoughts, but the hard set of his jaw, his compressed lips, the rigidity of his body all spoke of strong, focused determination to face the challenge ahead without hesitation. They spoke with equal clarity of a determination to succeed.

She didn’t know whether he could see she was staring at him, but when he looked over at her, his expression changed instantly. Grim determination became a gentle smile. The hard gaze vanished and his eyes filled with the warmth of love.

“Don’t worry.” He rode close enough to give her hand a comforting pat. “We’ll get Luis back safe and sound.”

She tried without success to smile. “I know, but he must be terrified.”

Rafe’s expression hardened. “It’s my fault. I should have known Laveau sent me that newspaper ad for a reason. He knew my father was wealthy.”

“Pilar still sends him his share of the profits from the ranch,” Broc said. “And that doesn’t count what he made rustling
cattle or robbing that banker in Galveston. He ought to have plenty of money.”

“No amount of money will be enough for Laveau as long as Cade has control of the di Viere property. He hates all of us for depriving him of his position as head of the family.”

“Laveau hates cows. He ought to be glad Cade took over. At least he has an income.”

“This has nothing to do with logic or fairness. Laveau betrayed us so he could be on the winning side. In his eyes, we cheated him by surviving. We cheated him again by making it impossible for him to go home. This is about vengeance as much as money.”

“Do you think you have enough money to pay a ransom?” Maria asked.

“I’ll pay what ever I must to get Luis back, but I doubt Laveau will be able to resist the chance to use Luis to hurt me even further.”

Maria could have done without hearing that, but she took consolation in one thing: No matter what doubts Rafe might have had about himself ten years ago, he’d gotten over them. Maybe it was surviving the war. Maybe it was the love and loyalty of friends. Maybe it was becoming mature enough to know that even if he had been flawed, it didn’t excuse what Dolores and his father had done to him. She hadn’t fallen in love with a man racked by doubt or living with the fear he had a fatal flaw. He was strong and confident, a man a woman could depend on.

“How far ahead do you think they are?” Broc asked Rafe.

“I don’t know. I can’t read a trail like Cade. I grew up a rich man’s son. I never had to trail cows over ground as hard and dry as clay.”

Maria turned worried eyes to Broc. “You said they’d been gone only a short time.”

“Don’t worry,” Broc assured her. “Rafe has a clock in his head. He can calculate how fast the buggy is probably going and how many miles it can cover in a given period of time.
I’m not as good as Cade at tracking, but I grew up hunting in the Tennessee mountains. Between Rafe and me, we’ll find them.”

Dolores often said women weren’t made to handle facts, that they dealt in emotions. But right now Maria would have appreciated a lot of facts. She had plenty of emotions, and none of them were contributing anything to Luis’s rescue.

The minutes seemed to drag by. Maria questioned Rafe’s decision to slow their horses to give them a breather.

“That will give Laveau time to get farther ahead,” she protested.

“Laveau grew up on a ranch and spent three years with an army troop that fought on horse back. He knows how to spare his horses. He won’t put them into a drive unless he sees us on his heels.”

“He’s got to know we’ll follow him at some point,” Broc added. “He’ll save something for a chase.”

Maria tried to be content with that answer. Nothing really mattered but Luis. He’d been the center of her life for so long, she couldn’t imagine what she would do if anything happened to him. She breathed a sigh of relief when Rafe said it was time to put the horses into a fast canter once more.

She was as surprised as Rafe when the buggy tracks turned off the mail route onto a rough track leading up into the foothills. “Do you know what’s up there?”

“No, but this was gold mining country before the war. I expect there are cabins or buildings still there.”

“What would Laveau want them for?”

“To hold Luis while he negotiates with me.”

“I can’t imagine Dolores being willing to step inside an old mining cabin, much less stay in one,” Broc said.

“Laveau won’t give her a choice.”

Maria wondered if Dolores realized by now she wasn’t going to get what ever Laveau had promised in return for her
support. Would she attempt to rescue Luis on her own? No matter how much trouble she caused, Dolores found a way to make sure she was never the one at risk.

The trail climbed farther up the hillside. It was rough and overgrown in places, but it remained passable. “Where’s he going?” she asked Rafe.

“Most of the gold from this side of the mountains was extracted by panning in streams and gulches, but I remember there was a mine in this area. I don’t know how Laveau learned of it, but I expect he’s headed there.”

“Why?”

“It was abandoned a long time ago, and I doubt anyone has a reason to come here. He’s probably brought supplies to last for as long as he thinks it will take me to find the money to pay the ransom.”

“Do you think he knows we’re following him?”

“He will keep that possibility in mind.”

Maria decided it would be easier to be ignorant of all the possible dangers and leave everything up to Rafe, but she’d been in a position of responsibility far too long to totally abdicate to anyone, even him. “What do you want me to do when we get there?”

“Stay back until Broc and I have time to assess the situation. If you were to fall into his hands, he’d really have me over a barrel.”

“There they are!” Broc shouted.

“Where?” Rafe and Maria asked together.

“I got a brief glimpse of them through the trees.”

Maria followed where Broc was pointing, but she couldn’t see anything.

“The trail will get rougher as it goes higher,” Rafe warned. “It could be blocked by a rockslide.”

“Then he won’t be able to reach the mine,” Maria said.

“He’ll reach it if he has to carry Luis and drag Dolores every step of the way.”

Maria was torn between guiding her horse around rocks
and ruts and straining for a glimpse of the buggy. “There it is,” she said a moment later.

The trail had been built out over the side of the mountain as it made a sharp U-turn. The trees had been cut down to serve as supports. A moment later the buggy disappeared behind a screen of willow and sycamore trees.

“They’ll be easy to see soon,” Rafe said. “The miners cut down everything on the upper slopes to use for supports inside the mine.”

A moment later Maria got her first glimpse of the mine. Built into the side of a gulch, down which ran a small stream, the site had been constructed in a series of steps, starting from the scaffolding that supported ore-bearing cars as they emerged from the mine to the buildings lower down the slope that processed the rock. Other buildings might have been offices, shops, dormitories, and dining halls. “How can we find them with so many buildings?”

“It has probably been quite a few years since anyone has been up here. It ought to be easy to follow their footprints.”

Maria tried to show as much confidence as Rafe, but it was hard when Laveau seemed so far ahead. What if he decided to hide Luis in the mine tunnel? A mine as old as this one could collapse at any moment.

“The buggy has stopped and Laveau has gotten out.”

Maria tried to see what Broc was describing, but apparently he had better eyesight.

“What’s happening?” she asked Rafe.

“Laveau appears to be trying to clear some rocks from the trail. I’m sure he’s been here before, so that rockslide is recent.”

Maria was thankful the rockslide had slowed Laveau. Maybe they could reach him before he could hide Luis.

“He’s having to look for something to give him leverage,” Broc said. “I’m surprised he didn’t bring something in the buggy. He’s had to take off his coat.” Broc chuckled. “I can just imagine how that must offend his sense of style.”

“He probably doesn’t want to get it wrinkled or dirty. You know how fastidious he is,” Rafe said.

“He probably took more baths than everybody else in the troop combined.”

“And had his mother provide him with uniforms. Regular army issue wasn’t good enough for him.”

This ridiculous conversation irritated Maria. Why weren’t they figuring out how to rescue Luis? Why didn’t they go faster? Laveau had managed to lever the rock off the trail. “We’ve got to hurry. He’s getting back into the buggy.”

“I’m saving the horses for the end,” Rafe said. “The trail looks good for the last quarter of a mile.”

Rafe must have meant the path was clear of debris. That was the only good thing about the dizzyingly steep trail.

They were now gaining rapidly on Laveau, but Maria wasn’t sure it was fast enough. She was certain it wasn’t when Laveau looked back. It was obvious he’d seen them because he took out his whip and laid it across the backs of his horses.

“He’s a fool!” Broc exclaimed. “If he loses control of those horses, he could go off the mountainside.”

“He’ll drive them as hard as he can,” Rafe said, “but he won’t lose control.”

Maria watched nervously as Laveau drove his horses at a canter. Moments later he had to stop.

“More boulders,” Rafe said. “He’d have been smarter to come on horse back even if he had to tie Luis across the saddle behind him.”

Maria was grateful Laveau hadn’t made such a decision. She didn’t want to think of the damage that Luis might have suffered in such a ride.

“That boulder didn’t take as long to move,” Broc pointed out unnecessarily.

Maria was hoping for a boulder so large Laveau couldn’t dislodge it, but though his progress was slow, it was relatively unimpeded. She wondered whether Luis could see them, whether he knew they were following. What Dolores
would do when she realized they were being followed? Was Luis tied up? She almost hoped he was. She wouldn’t put it past the boy to attempt to jump from the buggy the moment he knew Rafe was coming after him.

“Time to go faster,” Rafe said. “Laveau has reached the part of the trail that looks clear.”

For the next short while, Maria had to struggle too hard to stay in the saddle to be able to concentrate on Laveau and the buggy. She understood the necessity for learning to ride a horse, but she couldn’t understand how anyone could like it. She felt as if she was one lurching stride away from disaster at all times.

When they reached the relatively clear portion of the trail, Rafe and Broc put their horses into a hard drive. She tried to keep up, but they quickly outdistanced her. She cursed her own lack of riding skills. Even at the slower pace, her horse was laboring by the time she reached the first building. It appeared to be a small office, but its roof had collapsed and one side had disappeared.

So had Laveau and the buggy. All she could hear of Rafe and Broc was the rattle of their horses’ hooves on the road that wound between two tall buildings that blocked her view.

She was alone.

R
afe needed to find Laveau before he could disappear into one of the cluster of rotting buildings. There was danger in entering such a building, but Laveau had shown that not even the lure of money would cause him to expose himself to danger. Unfortunately that concern didn’t extend to others.

Rafe knew he was in trouble when he came upon the empty buggy in front of a huge building that climbed halfway up the mountain toward the mouth of the mine. Most of the tin roof had been blown away by winter storms. The building would be riddled with decaying timbers and rotting floors. A slip could send any one of the three people dropping as much as a hundred feet. No one was likely to survive such a fall.