The Gambler (11 page)

"No. In Georgia I was trying to make a bundle of money by turning in thieving white trash. Same as you."

"We're
white trash, Bodine."

"See. I'm impartial. It's a great quality for a detective."

"The fact that I had decided to go off on my own didn't cause you to set me up?" asked Raven. "Teach me a lesson?"

"Don't be ridiculous."

"And the fact that they thought I was aiding the boy's escape instead of turning him in?"

"I had nothin' t'do with it."

"You know, you've always been a supreme liar, Bodine. Not as good as her," Raven said, nodding toward Charm. "But supreme, nevertheless."

"Oh, come now," Clancy said, looking offended. "I must be better. She's so young. Hardly had any time to refine it," he added before changing the subject. "I didn't know they was plannin' t'kill the boy just fer kissin' Miss Annabell Fancypants what's her name."

"Supreme," Raven repeated.

"It's true," said Clancy then laughed. "Had I known I'd have insisted on more money. And to get
you
killed... That would have cost them a fortune. Did you get the kid to safety?"

"Feeling guilty after all these years, Bodine?"

"Don't be ridiculous. It's always been obvious who's the honorable one. You know, I think my old man did me a favor. Didn't leave me any illusions. But yours... left too damn soon for you to find out what a bastard he really was. Made you think you might be one of the good guys. Should be a law against it."

"Shut up," said Raven evenly.

"All right. I know how sensitive you are. It's time to discuss the really important things anyhow. Like, how do we get out of here with only one horse? What about food? Who does the girl sleep with?"

Charm's breath caught in surprise.

"Back off, Bodine," he said.

"But she don't like you," Clancy said, seeming to address the issue he felt most important. "And who could blame her... the way you've acted. I'm older. A father figure. She'll feel safe with me."

Charm shifted her gaze nervously from one man to the other. Raven frightened her, but Clancy frightened her more. Maybe simply because she had some history with Raven. Lots of running, pouncing, and tortured breathing. But better than what might happen with Clancy. She'd been reading men's faces for as long as she could recall, and although she usually had the uncertain protection of Jude and a card table between herself and them, a few facts remained constant. You couldn't trust men, and you certainly couldn't trust a man who would tie you up. And she couldn't read Raven's face, unlike Clancy's. So perhaps Clancy was a safer bet.

He was from a poor southern family. Chances were good he had a very sensible, and possibly life-preserving, reason for leaving, for he didn't seem to be particularly law-abiding. From conversation she knew that he was a detective of sorts, but unlike his former partner, he was interested but not particularly obsessed with the idea of finding this woman called Chantilly. It was a characteristic she suddenly found most appealing. And, too, he trusted her. Or at least he trusted her more than Raven did. Perhaps he was even sane, and certainly he would be easier to escape from than Raven had proven to be. So despite her gnawing fear...

"I'll go with
him,"
she said, nodding breathlessly at Clancy while holding her gaze on Raven.

The woods were absolutely silent before Raven spoke.

"No." His tone was perfectly even and cool. "You won't."

"You heard her," said Clancy, sounding delighted, though Charm dared not look toward him. "She's made her choice."

"The choice is not hers to make," Raven said, holding her gaze.

"Are you angry, Joseph?" Clancy asked hopefully. "Jealous?"

But Raven eyed him levelly, showing no emotion whatsoever. "You willing to find out?"

"Damned if it wouldn't be worth it. After all these years to see you not just fightin', but fightin' mad. Might be worth a busted nose."

"You've made your decision, then?" asked Raven, watching him.

"Well, if I wasn't so pretty I'd..." Suddenly Clancy's words broke off, and his fist slammed forward.

Everything happened in a heartbeat. Raven ducked, smoothly avoiding Clancy's fist before planting his own in the other's middle. Charm, jarred from her seat on the log, launched into action.

She managed to make it a full fifteen feet before he tackled her. Then she fell in pretty much the same position as all the other times. It wasn't comfortable, but at least it was predictable. Still, she tried to scream.

"I just need one thing." His voice was a whisper. His palm covered her mouth. "Lie," he said, and moved his hand away.

Despite everything, Charm didn't scream. The man was certifiably insane. "What?" Her own voice was no more than a breathy murmur.

"We've only got a few seconds before Clancy gets his wind, so listen. I'm giving you tonight to think up a first-class lie about Grady's death. Say you found her, took her Bible, then lost it."

"I did lose it, you blackhearted devil," she said. "In the livery."

"Good. Tell him that. But stick to your story. No matter what. You hear me?"

"You're crazy." Her words came out in a windy gasp.

"Could be. I'm giving you one chance and one chance only. Got it? Tell your story. Stick to it. Make it good, and I'll set you free."

"What—"

"Damn it, Joseph," Clancy said, limping up to them in a bent position. "You didn't have to wait for me to jump you."

Raven rose slowly from Charm's aching body before pulling her up alongside by her bound wrists.

"It was more fun this way, Bodine."

"Well, hell," said Clancy, bending over slightly and wincing at the pain in his stomach, "far be it from me to spoil yer fun."

"Good," Raven said, turning back toward the logs they had just abandoned. "She sleeps with me."

Charm didn't mean to stop, but her knees locked up, freezing her feet to the earth on which she stood. Despite all her efforts to look heroic and brave, she couldn't budge them. "I won't," she said softly.

"You will," he countered, and jerked her toward him, but still her knees wouldn't bend, causing her to fall toward him like a toppled pine.

"Couldn't wait to be in my arms?" he asked, catching her against his chest with a grunt.

"I'll send you to hell first!" Even to her own ears, the words sounded melodramatic, but his devilish dark face was only two inches away, prompting melodramatics and much more.

"You already put me through hell, killer woman," he said and yanked her after him.

"And now you'll make me pay," she said through her teeth as she stumbled along behind.

"Oh, for Christ's sake. And Bodine thought I was dramatic. Listen, you," he said, pulling her into what might loosely be called their camp. Scowling, he thrust her down onto the log again. "I haven't had a woman in... hell... I haven't had a woman in half a lifetime. But you couldn't pay me enough to take you. I promise you that much. Even I," he began, but suddenly he stopped talking and toppled her over the log with a firm thrust to her shoulder. She was on her back with him on top, hand over her mouth, as usual, and legs tangled in her skirt.

Stunned as she was, she still managed a few good solid kicks to his shins. His low grunt of pain made her feel slightly better, but now he pulled her closer to the log, palm still clasped over her mouth as he peered over the rotten wood. A horse's low nicker of welcome greeted them.

"Look at that," Raven said, letting Charm rise to her knees to peer into the darkness. “The horse came back."

In a moment the gelding had his neck stretched over the log to gently nudge Charm's shoulder.

"Amazing!" Raven said. "Somebody likes you. But then, you haven't tried to kill him yet." He rose to his feet. Even in the darkness he looked stiff. "Watch your shins, old man," he warned, moving to the back of the saddle. The gelding shuffled a step closer to the log.

Charm looked into the big equine eyes and tentatively reached up with her bound hands to rub his brow. He lowered his head and seemed to sigh.

"What's his name?" she asked.

"How the devil would I know?" Raven worked at something behind the cantle. "You think he's
my
horse?" He glanced sideways now, studying the animal's head. He was white except for brown spots splashed randomly about his raw-boned body. His head was large, and had one ear that had been torn in half, so that it drooped pathetically. "You sure he's a horse at all? Leave it to Clancy to find the ugliest animal in the territory."

"I think he's pretty," Charm said softly.

"Yeah?" Raven looked at the horse before shifting his gaze to her. "Well, you're a sick woman."

Charm scowled. All right, the horse wasn't exactly pretty, but he had heart, and he liked her, which was all that was necessary to endear him to her. "Why did you buy him if you think he's so ugly?"

"I told you he's not my horse!" Raven stormed. "You think I had Clancy stashed away somewhere holding my mount, ready to save me from the eventuality of a lynch mob?" He snorted. "You think this is the kind of animal I'd choose if I had? I thought you knew all about men. Not that I want to crush your esteemed opinion of Bodine, seeing how you want to sleep with him and all, but he stole the animal, decided he hadn't made my life miserable enough yet, and came riding in..."—he waved vaguely into the darkness and spooked the gelding with his movement—"came riding in to remedy that fact," Raven finished. "It was just blind luck that the horse came wandering back here. And with the blankets tied behind." He threw one at Charm, spooking the animal again before moving away from the gelding.

"Aren't you going to take his saddle off?" she asked. "You should."

"Why?"

"He'll get sore. What if he wants to lie down?"

"I'm
sore!" Raven said with a scowl. "Why shouldn't he be?"

Charm scowled. "Because
he
didn't tie me up. You have to take his saddle off."

"You want it off, you take it off," said Raven.

Charm struggled to her feet. Her hands were still tied, making it difficult to scramble over the log to the gelding's side. He wasn't a big horse. Fourteen hands maybe, but he was built for endurance with solid bone and a well-sloped shoulder. She had always liked horses and had learned as much about them as her lot in life had allowed.

Now she ran her hands down his neck, feeling the sinewy strength there before attempting to free the saddle. Her fingers, however, refused to cooperate, for they'd become stiff and unwieldy. She fumbled for a while, catching her inner lip between her teeth and frowning.

"Oh, for Christ's sake," said Raven, pushing her hands aside. "Let me do that."

The saddle was removed in a matter of moments.

"You should take his bridle off, too."

"You know, for a killer woman you're awfully concerned about this horse," said Raven, facing her in the darkness. "Or are you hoping that bridling him up again will delay us long enough for old Jude to ride down and skin me alive?"

"He saved your life," she said tersely, referring to the horse. "The least you could do is let him rest comfortably."

"And how am I going to rest comfortably?" Raven asked. "Knowing you're ready to slip a knife between my..."

"Hey. Look at that," he said suddenly, his eyes falling on the saddle he'd just removed. "A lariat to tie up the pretty lady."

Charm stiffened even more. "Don't you think I'm trussed up enough?"

"No. Actually, I don't. Lie down."

Panic flooded up in a sudden tide of cold. "I'll die first!"

Raven stopped to stare at her through the darkness. "I consider myself a lucky man, Miss Charming, but no one's
that
lucky."

"Leave me alone! I told you before I don't know anything about..." she began, but before she could finish her inflamed denial, his hand was plastered over her mouth again.

"I told you my terms," he whispered. "One good lie and you go free. Got it?"

There seemed nothing she could do but nod.

"Good. Lie down."

"Not—"

He held his hand up, stopping her words. "I'm very tired, and my back hurts. My head hurts. Hell," he said conversationally, "everything I own hurts. But I'll tackle you again if that's the way you want it."

She glared at him, finding that she, too, was exhausted. "Promise on your mother's name you won't touch me," she demanded.

"Leave my mother out of this."

For just a moment, Charm thought she heard a flash of emotion in his tone. Beyond all sense, it intrigued her. She craned her neck, trying to see his face in the darkness. "Why?"

"She's gone." His voice was matter-of-fact again, but perhaps if she concentrated she could hear just the edge of bitterness in his tone. "No need to insult her further."

"I didn't mean to—"

"Just leave it alone," he said quietly.

"But I didn't mean to..." She ran out of words. "Is she dead?" Charm asked softly, still trying to see his face.

"Yes."

"Oh." Only an idiot would allow herself to feel any kind of a bond with this strange man, of course. But she'd thought herself an idiot before. "Mine died just after birthing me."

"No, she didn't." His voice was very low, and she canted her head, certain she'd not heard him correctly.

"What?"

"Listen, girl," he murmured, turning abruptly toward her, "I don't know what you're playing at, but the game's up."

The sound of Clancy approaching through the undergrowth drew his attention. "If you want to go free, you'll lie there and come up with a damn good fib," he whispered, his face suddenly very near hers.

Breath caught in a tight knot in Charm's throat. His eyes were steady and narrowed, his expression deadly. She swallowed hard, nodded once, and lay down.

Charm remained silent. Her hands and feet were bound, and her back was against a log. She was chilled and cramped, and she longed for sleep but dared not try to find it.

How had the world gone so insane? Why was this black-haired devil tormenting her? She studied Raven's form in the darkness. He, too, was lying down, though she doubted if he slept. In the moon-shadowed quiet, she couldn't tell whether his eyes were open or closed. The possibility of his watching her discouraged any attempt at escape. So she remained, sleepless and unmoving, fighting off her own private demons and wondering what to do.