The Quest: Countdown to Armageddon: Book 6 (22 page)

 
-49-

     Tom’s cleverly thought-out plan to isolate Stacey from the others and let her know he and Sara were there was a miserable failure.

     He’d vastly underestimated Jack Payton’s ruthlessness.

     As well as his greed.

     While Wimberley and several other men took turns beating Tom with baseball bats and kicking every inch of his body, Payton stood over him and laughed.

     “Why…” Tom managed between broken teeth and a bloody mouth, “… are you doing this?”

     Payton spoke deliberately and patiently, as a mother would speak to a child.

     “It is simple, my friend. You may have noticed that I am a man of means. I enjoy the finest women money can buy. The finest liquors. The finest food. The finest drugs.

     “My lifestyle requires a continuous supply of income to maintain the types of luxuries to which I have become accustomed.

     “Now, ordinarily I would have no problem sharing my women with you in exchange for some of your gold. They are very well worth it.

     “But that creates a dilemma for me. In order to get more of your gold I have to rely on you to stay close by long enough for your hunger to return, again and again.

     “And you, my friend, are a drifter. You don’t live around here. None of my men have ever seen you before.

     “And obviously you yourself are a man of means. Most men in these parts have to scratch out a meager living. To them a single gold coin means enough food to survive for two or three months.

     “You, on the other hand, have so much gold that you can give away that same gold coin for a couple of hours of pleasure.

     “You ask why I am doing this. The answer is simple. For you to spend such wealth so foolishly, you must have a lot of it.

     “It is not on your person. It is not in your saddlebags. Your saddlebags contain no provisions, other than a few bottles of water. Yet you obviously aren’t starving, and you obviously have the money to pay for food.

     “Therefore, my logical conclusion is that you are camped nearby and have left your food there.

     “Now, I have no need for your food. It probably wouldn’t meet my high standards anyway. But your gold is obviously stored at or near your campsite as well.

     “And that, my friend, is what interests me.

     “Yes, I could let you go. And hope that you stayed around to rent my girls until I had all your gold.

     “But why should I do that when a good beating with baseball bats will accomplish the same end in a lot less time?”

     Payton noticed that Tom’s head had flopped to one side. He was bleeding from both nostrils and both eyes were blackened and swollen shut. He coughed and a mouthful of frothy blood flew through the air in front of him.

     He was very close to losing consciousness.

     Payton held up his hand and his men stopped the beating.

     Two of them, as though on cue, lifted Tom up by the arms until his head was level with Payton’s.

     Payton leaned over and whispered into Tom’s left ear, which had been ripped half off by one of the baseball bats.

     “Are you still with me, my friend?

     “Because it would be an awful shame if you died on me before I had a chance to determine the location of your gold.”

     Tom coughed again and managed a few weak words.

     “If you kill me… you’ll never know where my gold is.”

     “Ah, that is true enough, my good friend. But it is also true that you will never again get to spend that gold. Either you will die tonight at the hands of my men. Or… you will lead me to it and I will confiscate it. Either way, it is no longer yours to enjoy. Whether or not it is mine to enjoy depends on how badly you want to live.

     “Come on, now… just say the word and we’ll stop. Then you can tell me where your gold is. I’ll send my men after it, and when they return with it I’ll set you free. I’ll even give you some time with your blonde. Because we are friends now. And I take care of my friends.”

     Tom was in a world of hurt. He knew there was no gold. At least not in the amount that Payton was expecting. And what gold he did have was indeed back at the campsite.

     And no amount of beating or pain would ever make Tom give away Sara’s location.

     So he had nothing to say.

     Which infuriated his captor.

     “Beat him some more,” Payton told his men. “He must want to die tonight.”

 
-50-

     By the time Randy let the fire burn itself out half an hour before sundown he and Sara were starting to worry.

     Tom had said before he left that he’d probably be back in late afternoon.

     “But don’t y’all have a hissy if I’m running a little late,” he’d said. “I’m still new at this, and it may take a little longer than I’m expecting it to.”

     They were trying to give him the benefit of the doubt. But he was one of them, and Sara in particular loved Tom like a father.

     “How long should we wait before we go after him?”

     Randy chose his words carefully.

     “Well, that depends. I could go and scout the town tonight. But that would create a whole lot of new problems. I don’t know Tom well, but I’m guessing he’d want us to give him some extra time, instead of jumping to conclusions and creating chaos just because he’s a bit delayed.”

     Sara was perplexed.

     “What kind of problems? What are you talking about?”

     “Well, like I said, I could go scout the town in a few hours, after most of the townsfolk have gone to bed. But that would mean I’d have to break a promise I made to Tom, and I’m not one to break a solemn word.”

     “What promise? What did you promise him?”

     The answer to Sara’s own question suddenly popped into her mind. And it made her angry.

     “Did he make you promise to stay here with me… to babysit me?”

     Randy said nothing, but wished he was somewhere else.

     “Answer me, damn it!”

     “Please don’t use that word. It’s not necessary to get your point across.”

     “I’m gonna get something else across if you don’t answer me,
damn it
!”

     “He never asked me to babysit you. He asked me to stay with you to help protect you if somebody stumbled across the camp while he was gone.”

     “So all this time I thought you were hanging around here because you were my friend. And now I find out you’re just here because I’m a pathetic little girl who can’t be trusted to fend for herself. A helpless child. Is that what you think I am?”

     “Honestly? You want me to answer that?”

     “Yes! I honestly want you to answer that!”

     “Well, you
are
acting a bit like a child.”

     It certainly wasn’t what she was expecting to hear.

     “What?”

     “Well, I mean you’re pouting like a child, just because a man who loves you cared enough to arrange for some extra protection for you. A man who knew how ruthless men can be, especially when they travel in packs like wolves.

     “A man who knew how vulnerable a young woman can be when caught in the woods alone. Especially when she’s outnumbered and outgunned by the bad men.”

     “Is that how you see me, Randy? As a spoiled child?”

     “Actually, no. But that’s how you’re acting. Tom gave you the gift of protection, because he valued your life more than his own. He could have asked me to go and back him up in case he got into trouble. Many men would have.

     “And actually, that would have been the move I likely would have made. Because the odds of someone stumbling across you in the woods alone weren’t that great.

     “The odds of something going wrong on the kind of mission he’s on, though, are much greater.”

     “Why the hell didn’t you go with him then?”

     “Oh, my. There’s that word again. Do you have to use that word? There are so many others that will do.”

     She softened a bit.

     “Randy, why didn’t you go with him if you thought he might be in greater danger than me?”

     “Because it wasn’t my call to make. It was his. My point is, he cares more for you than he does for himself. He chose to protect your life over his own. That’s a gift. A very special gift. And you shouldn’t dishonor that gift by getting angry with him or by second-guessing his judgment.”

     “I asked you if you saw me as a spoiled child. You said no. Well, how
do
you see me, then?”

     He thought for a moment.

     “And though she be but little, she is fierce…”

     “Holy crap! A Texas Ranger who quotes William Shakespeare?”

     “You think that just because I’m a Ranger I can’t be a bit refined?”

     “No… I… I’m sorry. It just took me by surprise, that’s all.”

     “Look, Sara. I think you’re a very impressive woman. And for being as small as you are, I get the impression you’re a wildcat, and I wouldn’t want to ever come down on your bad side.

     “But Tom knows much better than you the evils that are lurking out there. And for all we know these woods are crawling with bad men who would show you no mercy at all should they come across you alone out here.”

     “You’re right. I’d fight like a wildcat.”

     “Yes. And that might fend off one, or two, or three. But what if there were half a dozen or more?”

     “Well hell, Randy. Why not stop there? What if there were a dozen or more? What if they outnumbered both of us and took both of us alive?

     “Don’t kid yourself. There are those who favor men like yourself. Would you want them to take you alive? Would you want them to force you to do the same things to them that they would force me to do? I don’t see you crying to have someone stay behind to protect
you
…”

     Randy was caught off guard, but only for a moment.

     “Did I say that Tom wanted me to stay back and protect you?

     “I’m so sorry, Sara. I misspoke. I meant to say that Tom told me he was leaving you here because he wanted
you
to protect
me
.

     “I said, ‘Tom, are you sure she’s up to the task?’

     “And he said, ‘Yes, Randy. For though she be but little, she is fierce.’”

     Sara just looked at him.

     Then she said, “Now I know why your eyes are brown.”

     “Meaning what?”

     “Meaning Tom wouldn’t quote Shakespeare if his life depended on it. Because he’s never read Shakespeare. He’s an old cowboy, through and through. Now, if you wanted a quote from Zane Gray or Will Rogers, he’s your man. But Shakespeare… no way, Jose.”

     “I’ll tell you what, Sara. I’m not as worried about Tom as you are. I’ve been on enough of these missions to know that sometimes things go wrong. And that he may be in trouble, yes.

     “But I also know that rushing in to help him without a plan could be a bad thing too. If they’re on to him, it’s probably because someone saw the two of you together at the bar the other night. And if that’s the case, they may be holding him hoping you’ll come looking for him. Then they’ll ambush you, and instead of just having him they’ll have both of you.

     “And if that happened… if they did see the two of you together, then whether you like it or not you are the grand prize. You’ve got something that Tom can’t give them. Something they covet greatly.

     “So rushing in there without a plan would be not only foolish, but also dangerous. And it’s not something Tom would want.

     “Let’s give him a few more hours. If he’s not here by midnight, I’ll ride into town and see what I can find out. I’ll break my word to Tom, but I’ll tell him you made me. He’ll take it out on you instead of me.”

     He stopped and looked at her in the fading daylight.

     “You better watch it. You might accidentally smile at me.”

     “You’d break your word for me? Really?”

     “Yes. And… well, because I’m starting to worry a bit myself. But we’re not going to rush headlong into an ambush. We’ll wait a few hours and if he hasn’t returned I’ll see if I can find out what we’re dealing with. Fair enough?”

     “Yes.”