The broken rogue - healed by innocence

Failed attempt to flee

*Norah*

He plucks the card from my fingers, and anger shoots through me with the intensity of a thunderstorm. "You promised me privacy," I say, my voice trembling with fury.

He snatches the deck from my hand, and I demand, "Give those back to me! They're mine!"

"I think you have played enough, señorita, with the cards and with me," he retorts, his voice seething with rage.

For the first time, I actually hear the rage slithering through his voice as though he's speaking with his teeth clenched.

"Get up!" he orders, his voice leaving no room for argument.

Still, I lick my lips and decide to try to squirm my way out of his bad favor. "I can explain. You see, I have to relax before I can-"

I shriek as he unexpectedly grabs my arm and jerks me to my feet. "You will have the remainder of the day to relax."

The fury shimmering off him is palpable as he marches me away from my sanctuary, his hold on my arm firm but not bruising. I feel his gun brush against my leg. He's left-handed. Another tidbit of information to store away and share with Rex Morningstar, who I'm certain would welcome anything I can add to his knowledge regarding this outlaw. I sweep my free hand across my stomach, closer to his hip. If I can just grab his gun... I know I won't have much time, but if I catch him unaware...

"Hey, River, what is that cloud of dust rising up behind us?" Thiago asks.

I'm jarred as River turns, no doubt to look over his shoulder, and provides me with an unexpected opportunity to fall, seemingly innocently, against him. I curl my fingers around the smooth handle, twist my body to block any attempt he makes to stop me, and manage to draw the revolver from his holster. He swears harshly as I break free of his grasp and back up quickly, gripping the handle with both hands as I point the barrel toward the last place where I knew he stood.

"I know how to use this, so nobody move," I say, my voice wavering but determined. I hear saddles creaking and footsteps. I wave the gun wildly in a circle. "Nobody move!"

"Be still!" River yells.

I zero in on the location of his voice and steady the gun. "My father taught me how to handle a gun effectively, and I'm not afraid to pull the trigger. You can well imagine that the bright red hue of blood will not make me squeamish." I swallow hard, trying to calm my own breathing as I listen intently for any signs of movement. "I don't want to shoot anyone. I just want to be left here. Is that cloud of dust riders?"

"Yes," River responds.

He's still directly in front of me. "It's probably men that my father sent to find me," I hastily explain. "So get on your horses and ride. Just leave me."

"The posse's nearness is an illusion, señorita," he says quietly, as though I can see the cloud of dust his brother mentioned.

I wish I could hold them all… or at least keep River here… but I'm not foolish enough to believe I can avoid them overtaking me for long. If they have any intelligence, they'll soon realize that by creating noisy distractions, they can force me to shoot at phantoms until I've exhausted the small supply of bullets.

Although I'm not certain River would risk his brothers in that dangerous endeavor. When he speaks to them, his voice carries an undercurrent of affection, completely at odds with what I know of the outlaw. Inwardly, I shake off the fleeting thought. I don't need anything to distract me. I have to ensure that he doesn't send his brothers on and then play the game with me.

Why haven't I heard him approach me while I was waiting in the bushes? Can he move that stealthily, or have I been too focused on my thoughts that keep drifting to him? Is he walking towards me now? It's far too quiet. I wave the gun in a wide circle. "Don't move!" I order.

"I'm not moving, señorita," River replies.

"Keep talking so I know exactly where you are."

"So you can shoot me?"

I nod jerkily. "I swear you'll be the first one. Now talk."

"What do you want me to say? You tell me to get on my horse and ride away, then you tell me not to move. I cannot do both. Which do you want?"

He's talking too loudly, using too many words. "I want to know where everyone is."

"My brothers are on their horses."

"Not all of them. I heard at least one dismount." He and Joaquín seem closer. Thiago and Tomás simply follow orders. "Joaquín. Joaquín got off his horse."

"Now, why would he do that?"

I tighten my hold on the gun. "I swear to the Goddess that I will shoot if each man does not call out his name."

"No one speaks!" he orders. "No one but me. I will not allow them to become targets. If you want to shoot, señorita, shoot, but I warn you now that it is not a good thing to aggravate me. I am a man of limited patience, and when that patience-"

Someone grabs the gun. Reflexively, I squeeze the trigger and an explosion rips through the air as the weapon is torn from my hands.

"Good work, Joaquín," River says as he snags my arm, his voice exuding controlled rage.

I try to fight him off, but again his strength puts me at a disadvantage. He cages me within the circle of his arms while he wraps the hated bandanna around my wrists. "Please…"

"No!" he barks.

When I'm secured, he shoves me away and I teeter backward, nearly losing my balance. Hearing metal glide against leather, I realize Joaquín has returned River's gun to him. Panic seizes me with the thought of losing what might be my sole chance for rescue. "Don't you see that the longer you keep me, the more I'll discover about you? I know you're left-handed."

"No, he is…"

"Thiago!" River yells. "Let her think what she will."

I back up a step as the fight drains out of me. "Or you wear two guns."

"Very wise, señorita, but not wise enough. My other gun was aimed at you the entire time. Endanger my brothers again with your childish games, and you will feel the bite of my bullet."

I'm astonished that he hasn't automatically fired his weapon when my gun's retort ripped through the air. The man appears to be a master of restraint, and yet he killed a man and abducted me. "Why do you insist on keeping me?"

"Because I do not know the men who follow. Mount up," River orders.

"But, River..," Joaquín begins.

"Mount up," River repeats. He puts his hands on my waist just as he has every time before, with a gentleness that astounds me. He lifts me, and with a sinking heart, I grab the pommel as he places me on the saddle. It shifts as he takes his place behind me.

River urges the horse into a gallop. I hear the pounding hooves of his brothers' horses beating unmercifully at the ground. I want to beg River to stop, to leave me to the safety of the men who follow.

Surely, once I gain my freedom, River and his brothers will be left to escape in peace. I'm certain my father has hired the men who are following us, and he will hire men who will not stop until I am returned home.

But I understand with an uncanny certainty that River isn't in the mood to listen to my pleas. My botched escape stings my pride. I should have killed him while I had the chance, and for the life of me, I can't understand why I haven't.