The Circle Eight: Caleb (12 page)

Her sarcasm made her stop hyperventilating for a few moments. Perhaps he needed to keep annoying her.

He whispered to Benjy. “Stay by the door and listen for the men to leave.”

The boy scrambled back down the tunnel like a little mouse. Caleb had a feeling he knew exactly how to hide and it angered him to know it wasn’t because the boy had been playing with others. He had to push that aside and focus on Rory. She had to stay with him or they were done for. It had probably been hard as hell for her to crawl that far in a tunnel. Later he would tell her she did a good job. Now he needed her to find that spine of iron again.

“I thought you were a blacksmith, Aurora.” His needling had the desired effect. She growled in her throat. “Blacksmiths are strong and tough. Seems you ain’t a smithy.”

“And you are an obnoxious jackass.” She kicked him in the arm and damn, it hurt even if she wasn’t wearing her boots.

“I know that, but you don’t seem to know how tough you’re not.” He patted her leg in sympathy. “That’s what happens when a woman tries to do a man’s job.”

Caleb actually heard her teeth grinding together. The good news was, her breathing had slowed. Maybe she wouldn’t lose consciousness. Of course she might punch a few teeth out of his head when they got out of the tunnel. Her temper was as bad as his. No wonder she got his back up. Like two flaming embers slamming into each other after someone threw a bottle of whiskey for fuel.

If he were honest with himself, it was passion. She was brimming with it, more so than any woman he’d ever met. She sunk her teeth into life, and everything she did, never letting go until every last morsel was enjoyed. He envied her in that respect. He’d spent the last four years finding ways to avoid exactly what Rory was fighting to keep hold of.

Then why was he drawn to her? They were opposites, yet like those burning embers, seemingly helpless to stay apart. He had gotten both of them into a dangerous situation by taking his brother from his fake father. Now Rory was his responsibility and not because she was injured but because they now had a bond that couldn’t be broken.

Benjy clicked his tongue and Caleb’s attention was diverted from the woman, and her shapely ass, in front of him.

“Open the door slow. Like an inch, no more than two. Look out there and if you don’t see anyone, or a glow from a smoke, then open it more. You understand?”

Benjy nodded.

“Go.” Caleb was proud of his brother. As a small child he had been through more than most adults had. Although he didn’t speak, the boy had a lot to say by what he did.

Benjy nearly disappeared in the tunnel, then the silvery moonlight crept in from the exit as the boy opened it just a smidge. Caleb held his breath and he knew Rory watched too, as eager as he was to get out of the fucking tunnel and into fresh air. He didn’t think he had a problem with small spaces, but this experience may have given him one.

The light grew a few seconds later, then even more. A breeze brushed past Caleb’s face and he sucked in the smell of the dew. Almost outside.

Before Caleb knew what was happening, Benjy disappeared through the opening.

Shit.

Benjamin Graham hadn’t been outside in a month and he wanted to roll around in the dew-covered ground until he was damp with life. The dirt, the air, the stars, even the sound of the crickets were beautiful to him. If it was one thing he learned, it was to savor moments like this. He knew Caleb would be mad but it was worth it.

Five years had passed since he had seen his family. He thought he barely remembered his life with them but when he saw his brother, he almost wet his drawers. The second he caught sight of Caleb’s face, everything came back at him like a great big thump on his head.

His parents were dead. He remembered their brutal deaths. More than that, he remembered the happiness of his life before the darkness. His four sisters and three brothers. The Circle Eight and his pony, Kickers. All of it raced through his mind until he couldn’t catch his breath.

Now he was leaving, no, escaping from Pablo Garza. If Benjy talked he would have used one of the cuss words he’d stored up. More than four years had passed since he came through the gates and he was inches away from walking back through them.

His stomach tingled in anticipation as he lay there and stared up at the stars. He needed that brief respite for himself. Only for him. He allowed himself thirty seconds of freedom before he remembered Rory. She was hurt bad and had crawled through that tunnel behind him. He crawled back to the door to find his brother’s angry face waiting for him.

“What the hell are you doing?”

Benjy shrugged and tried to look innocent.

“Don’t play stupid with me. I remember how you would beat everyone at jacks and marbles. Your act isn’t fooling me. I had to fold myself in two to get around her because you disappeared.” Caleb’s jaw ticked. “I assume everyone is gone.”

Benjy nodded and scooted back to let his brother crawl through. Caleb turned right around to help Rory out of the tunnel, which made guilt creep across Benjy’s conscience. She looked horrible. Pale, with sweat running down her face and her hair plastered to her skull. Her eyes were sunken into her face and shone brightly in the moonlight. She held her hand to her side as Caleb practically picked her up to pull her from the tunnel.

Rory had always been kind to him when she was there. Most times he only saw her when she came into the house to talk to Pap—Mr. Garza. Benjy had to stop thinking of that man as his father. His real father was dead, shot four times right in front of him
. Bang, bang, bang, bang
. Those four shots still echoed in his dreams. Stuart Graham had been a hero, a good father and husband, a smart rancher. His death had shattered Benjy’s world into tiny pieces. And when he would have turned to his mother for comfort, she too was gunned down. That time three shots sufficed.
Bang, bang, bang
.

Benjy shook off the darkness that crept over him. He wouldn’t give in to the shadows today. He couldn’t. Rory and Caleb needed him. It was time to act like a man, not the wild creature that slunk around inside him waiting for its opportunity to emerge.

Caleb had wrapped his hand around Rory’s arm and Benjy remembered his brother had asked him to be Rory’s helper after they made it out of the tunnel. He ran to Rory’s other side, the injured side, and gently put his arm around her, tugging until she leaned toward him. He was only about four inches shorter than her but he knew he was scrawny. No one knew how strong he was. Benjy took great pains to hide his strength. No one need know that he lifted iron pots in the kitchen in the middle of the night until his muscles screamed. If Caleb hadn’t been in the kitchen, he would have done it tonight.

Now the world had been turned inside out and Benjy had escaped the prison others called a palace. He had the chance to show what he could do as a man, as a Graham.

Caleb let go of Rory’s arm and nodded his approval. “There are sentries every fifty feet on the fence. There has to be a man-sized gate somewhere. A man like Garza always has an escape route.”

Benjy frowned as he thought. He wasn’t allowed outside often but he watched out every window he could. Garza often visited the flower garden, disappearing for hours amongst the blossoms his old gardener tended. The vibrant colors always blew gently in the breeze, calling to Benjy, who was not allowed to smell their fragrance or touch their petals. Prisoners were not given that privilege.

Perhaps what Garza was doing was escaping through a gate in the garden to do evil deeds outside his palace. The man was capable of so many things, why not a secret gate? He already had a secret tunnel. Benjy pointed to the north side of the property, to the garden. Caleb gestured for him to lead the way.

The three of them crept along the side of the house, in the shadows, with Rory’s shaky breath echoing in his ear.

Caleb followed the small shadow through the night. He kept Rory in sight as she moved slower than he would have liked, but he couldn’t push her any more. She was mobile and that’s all he could ask for right now.

Benjy led them into a garden. Its fragrant blooms perfumed the air around them, almost too much. The
patron
obviously liked flowers for whatever reason. The abundance of plants and bushes made for good cover as they wound their way through the garden.

The boy slowed down at the northeast corner and scuttled his way along the wall. He acted as if he’d never been in the garden and was feeling his way along. Things looked different in the dark, though, and perhaps Benjy was trying to match what he knew to what he could now barely see.

It took another ten minutes of slow progress before he stopped and got to his feet. Then he disappeared into the wall. Caleb stared at the place where his brother had vanished for a few moments before he sprang into action. He reached through the vines clinging to the three-foot-thick stone wall until he found something he didn’t expect. Wood.

It was a door. A small door hidden in the garden behind copious amounts of greenery. Garza was incredibly smart and knew exactly what he needed for an escape route. Why he needed secret tunnels and secret entrances was another story. Caleb would investigate that after he had Benjy and Rory in a safe place.

His little brother had crouched down at the handle and was busy fiddling with the lock. No doubt it required a key and Caleb had no skills at picking locks. Usually he shot them off. Couldn’t do that here of course.

He leaned down and whispered in Benjy’s ear. “Can you get it open?” He felt the boy’s head nod in agreement. It bothered Caleb that the boy didn’t speak and he would find out why eventually. It wasn’t natural, but then again, nothing the boy had gone through the last five years was natural.

Caleb went back to Rory. She sat cross-legged on the cushiony grass with her head back. He put his hand on her forehead, hoping like hell it was cool. Other than being covered in sweat, it was lukewarm. Thank God. If they were lucky, she wouldn’t catch a fever.

“Are you my nurse now?” she whispered harshly, pulling away from his touch. Her face shone in the moonlight, beautiful and carved from ivory. Rory hid behind her rough ways and her hammer. Being wounded allowed him to see the woman behind the smithy. She was extraordinary, much as he didn’t want to admit that.

He was piqued by her rejection, although he shouldn’t be. “I’m checking for fever. Doc said it could set in.”

“I don’t have a fever but I am sweaty as a pig and I stink. Does that help?” Her sarcasm rivaled his. It made him chuckle. “You find that funny.”

“No, I am amused by fate and whatever else conspired to throw you in my path.” Caleb got to his knees beside her and he lost track of what he was doing. He cupped her face and damned if he didn’t kiss her.

Rory’s lips were soft as the petals that surrounded him, plump and warm beneath his. At first she didn’t react—and then she returned the kiss. His entire body hardened in an instant, a throbbing mass of man and need. He wanted to lay her down in the flowers and taste her, pleasure her, plunge into her until neither of them could see straight.

On and on the kiss went until their tongues met, rasping and dancing against each other, mouths open and lips fused. A groan built up inside his throat and he spiraled out of control. He wanted to possess her. Her hands grabbed at his shoulders, pulling him closer. Caleb lost all sense of time and place. He only knew the woman he was currently kissing until he didn’t know where he ended and she began. Kissing her was one of the most sensual moments of his life.

A tap on his shoulder broke the spell and he fell back onto his ass, gasping for breath.

“Holy shit.” Her husky cursing summed up what he was thinking. “What just happened?”

“Damned if I know.” Caleb could still taste her on his lips and tongue. Her scent filled his nostrils, its appeal stronger than the thousands of blossoms around him. His body pulsed in tune with his throbbing dick, which strained the buttons on his trousers. What had he been thinking? Nothing, of course. His brain hadn’t been functioning at all.

He turned to find Benjy beside him, the silent boy who had witnessed their indiscretion. What must he think of Caleb? His reaction to simply kissing Rory had knocked the wind out of him. What would it be like to do more than kiss? His dick jumped at the thought and Caleb decided he needed to stop thinking about fucking and start thinking about escaping.

“Did you get the lock open?” His voice shook right along with the rest of him.

Benjy nodded and pointed to the door. Damn the boy was good. Caleb scrambled to his feet and went to check. Sure enough the four foot high door was open, moonlight streaming through to the night beyond.

He pulled Benjy over to Rory and leaned in close. “Go through the door and then walk along the wall until you reach the south corner of the gate. That’s twenty feet from the woods. You two then run for them as best you can. Wait for me there.”

“Wait, what?” Rory bumped her head into his. “Wait for you?”

“I have to get my horse. I’m not leaving Justice here. Besides, if I leave out the front gate, it’s less suspicious.” He knew it was risky but he owed it to the gelding to retrieve him.

“It’s dumb is what it is. I know horses are expensive and important, but more so than your life?” She pinched his arm. “I knew you were stupid, Ranger, but they could kill you.”