The Heart's Pursuit (28 page)

T
he man from the street, the one who looked so much like Bob Cassidy, was in the Rainbow Saloon that night, playing poker. And when Silver saw him from across the vast public room, her reaction was the same as it had been before. Surprise. Shock. Dread.

But it’s not Bob. It’s not him, no matter how much he looks like him. Bob is dead. Jared buried him.

Jared. She would concentrate her thoughts on Jared instead of that stranger. She had no reason to be afraid of anything now. Jared had promised he would return for her. She would watch for him. She would watch for him tonight and, if needed, the next night and the next. She would watch for him here at the Rainbow in the evenings, and
she would watch for him on the road leading to the Duvall home in the daytime.

“I hoped you’d know why.”
The memory of his words and the way he’d said them poured over her like warm honey. It might be crazy, but she did know why. Why he’d bought back her horse. Why he’d come to Virginia City. Now. At last. Somewhere between Twin Springs and Virginia City, she’d learned to love him—and he’d learned to love her too.

It worked . . . a little. Thinking about Jared made her forget for a time the man who resembled Bob. Made her forget him right up until he left the card table and came across the vast room to where she stood, momentarily alone.

“Pardon me. Is your name Silver, by any chance? Silver Matlock?”

Her stomach seemed to drop and her breath catch. How could he know her name? He was a stranger to her.

“I see I have surprised you.”

She looked around for one of several men Corinne employed to protect her girls and keep order in the saloon. They all seemed to have disappeared.

“Might we sit down and talk for a bit?” The man motioned toward an unoccupied corner.

She didn’t want to go with him, didn’t want to be near someone who reminded her of her erstwhile fiancé, now dead and buried on a homestead in eastern Nevada. But providing feminine conversation and company was what Corinne had
hired her to do. What else could she do but nod and walk to the indicated settee?

The stranger sat beside her, a polite distance away. “When I saw you, I couldn’t believe it was really you. You are even more beautiful than your photograph.”

Her pulse hiccupped again. “My photograph?”

“The one my brother carried with him.”

“Your brother?”

“Robert. Robert Cassidy.”

Bob’s brother? She’d thought him dead too. Hadn’t Bob told her his half brother was dead?

“My half brother,” he said, confirming her thoughts. “We got our looks from our mother rather than our different fathers.” He smiled slowly. “My name is Carlton. Matthew Carlton.”

Her blood turned to ice in her veins. This man had murdered time and again. And now he knew who she was.

“I’m curious to know how you wound up in Virginia City, Miss Matlock.”

She forced a soft laugh, pretending an ease she didn’t feel. “I’m not sure how it happened myself.”

“Please. Amuse me.” His gaze was as sharp as a razor.

Think, Silver. You must think clearly.
“When did Bob show you my photograph?” she asked.

“We came to Nevada together.”

Silver had admired the actors and actresses she’d seen in the theater in Denver. She hoped she could be a good
actress herself and play a convincing part. “Is Bob here in Virginia City with you? Is he here in this saloon?” She let her gaze sweep the room, as if looking for the man she knew was dead.

“No. Bob isn’t here.”

She looked at Carlton again. “You must know, of course, that he left me at the church on our wedding day.”

“Yes. I knew. I’m sorry he hurt you.” He was the better actor. His words sounded genuine.

“I’m surprised he kept the photograph I gave him.”

“My brother never had much backbone. Perhaps you were too much woman for him.” His smile returned, broader this time. “I would not have left you behind.”

His words made her skin crawl. What a fool she was, to have thought she could chase down this ruthless killer on her own. It took all of her resolve not to rise and run away from him.

“Please continue with your story, Miss Matlock. Tell me why you are here and not back in Colorado with your parents.”

Silver stiffened her spine and lifted her chin. “Before he left Twin Springs, Bob broke into my father’s safe and took everything of value. He ruined us. The bank will take my father’s store and our home. I don’t know where my parents will go when that happens.” Enough of the truth. Now back to the performance. “I couldn’t be a burden on my father and stepmother. Not when I was the reason for
their ruin. So I came west to forge a new life for myself. Someone I met on the train mentioned Virginia City and Miss Duvall’s Rainbow Saloon. It sounded . . . safe. So here I am.”

“So here you are,” he echoed softly.

Jared had been inside a dozen saloons already, looking for Matt Carlton. But he hadn’t come to the Rainbow to find Carlton. He’d come to the Rainbow because he wanted to see Silver again before he bedded down for the night somewhere beyond the borders of the town.

When he saw Silver on that settee, his first response was jealousy. He didn’t want her sitting and talking to any other man. He wanted her to himself. But then the man turned his head, and Jared got a good look at his face. He looked a lot like Bob Cassidy. He looked—

And then the puzzle pieces fell into place in his mind. It seemed so obvious. That man was Matt Carlton, and he resembled Cassidy because they were related. But at the moment, what Jared cared about most was the woman seated with Carlton. Had she any idea of the danger she could be in, bringing herself to Carlton’s attention?

He forced himself to study every detail of Carlton’s appearance, from the color of his hair to the patrician lines of his face to the fancy suit he wore. He looked every inch
the refined gentleman, moneyed and educated. But Matt Carlton was no gentleman. He was an animal, and if he took an interest in Silver—

That thought spurred Jared forward. His advantage was knowing who Carlton was and Carlton not knowing the same in return. Did he even know a bounty hunter had been looking for his trail for six years? Maybe. Maybe not.

Silver glanced up as he drew near. Relief flashed in her eyes. “Good evening, Mr. Newman.”

“Miss Matlock.” He gave her a nod. “A pleasure to see you again.”

She smiled briefly.

“I apologize for interrupting.” Jared looked at Carlton, then back to Silver. “But I do need to speak with you for a moment, Miss Matlock. It’s important.”

With a nod, she excused herself and rose from the settee. Jared offered his arm, ignoring the irritated look Matt Carlton shot his way. She took Jared’s arm.

“Do you know who that was?” Jared demanded in a low voice as soon as they were out of hearing distance.

“Bob Cassidy’s half brother.”

Jared stopped. “Does he know who you are?”

Silver nodded.

This wasn’t good. Not good at all. Matt Carlton had been able to avoid the authorities for years because he’d left no clues. Little physical description other than that scar. No name to go on either. He wasn’t a fool. He would wonder
why his brother’s jilted bride was in the same city he was in. It would make him suspicious. As it should.

“I’ll need to act fast,” Jared said, thoughts churning. “Before he has a chance to leave town.”

“He might not leave. I told him I came because Bob’s theft ruined my parents financially. I think he believed me. So why should he go anywhere else?”

Jared had to fight the urge to look behind him. He didn’t like not knowing where Carlton was, but he didn’t want to appear interested in the man either. “He’s nobody’s fool. He suspects something. I guarantee it. I can’t do anything in a place like this. He’s not a wanted man in Nevada. I got the feeling when I talked to the sheriff that he wasn’t interested in the story I had to tell. I’ll need to get Carlton away from town where there isn’t a crowd before I take him into custody. We’ve got to get him back to Colorado where that girl in Central City can identify him by his scar. It won’t do us a bit of good if he is sitting in a jail cell here. And besides, the sheriff would need more evidence than our say-so. He’d be free in no time.”

“I could get him away from the Rainbow. Someplace you could apprehend him.”

He frowned.

“I could ask him to meet me somewhere so we could talk privately.”

“No.” Jared shook his head. “That’s too risky.”

She gave him one of her determined looks. “It’s why I’m
here. It’s why we’re both here. And what danger could I be in if you’re nearby?”

“Silver—”

“I’m going to help you whether you like it or not.”

He didn’t doubt it for an instant. “All right, Silver. We’ll come up with a plan together. The two of us.”

    
CHAPTER 31
    

E
arly the next morning, Silver went to talk to Corinne. In her brief time in the Duvall home, she’d come to feel a great affection for everyone who lived within its brick walls, especially for the mistress of the house.

“Come in,” Corinne called when Silver knocked on the door to her bedroom suite.

“I hope I’m not disturbing you.”

“Not at all.” Corinne lay on a lounge chair, holding a china cup in one hand.

“I . . . I’ve come to tell you I’m leaving Virginia City.”

“With Mr. Newman?”

“Yes.”

“I thought you would the first time I met him.”

Silver cleared her throat as she settled on a nearby chair. “He is here, Miss Corinne.”

“Mr. Newman is here?” She looked toward the door, as if expecting to find Jared standing there.

“No. Not Jared. The man we followed from Colorado. He is here in Virginia City. He was at the Rainbow last night. I . . . I spoke with him.”

Corinne straightened. “The man who killed Dean’s parents?”

Silver nodded.

“Are you in danger? Does he know you followed him?”

“I don’t think so.”

Corinne leaned back again. “Well, thank goodness for that.”

“I have a favor to ask, Miss Corinne.”

The woman cocked an eyebrow in question.

“I told you before how Dean came to be with me. With us.”

“Yes?”

“May I leave him here until . . . until this is over? I don’t want to put him in danger. But I’ll come back for him as soon as it’s safe.”

Concern flooded Corinne’s face. “Will
you
be safe, my dear?”

She thought of Jared. He was strong. He was smart. He was determined. She trusted him. She loved him. She wouldn’t doubt him again.

“Yes,” she answered confidently. “I’ll be safe.”