1858: Texas Territory
He hated the sound of a womanâs scream. Caine pulled Chaser up short. The black Appaloosaâs hoofbeats ended in cadence with Trackerâs and Samâs horses. After fifteen years together, there was no guesswork to the menâs moves. They were a team.
The high-pitched scream came again, cutting through the cold morning air, hovering a desperate moment on the heavy mist before dropping off with eerie abruptness.
Tracker took the blade of grass heâd been chewing from between his teeth. âLooks like weâve found them.â
âYup.â Caine pulled his rifle from the scabbard, scouting the surrounding area. There werenât that many areas a man could hide here in the flatlands.
Sam tipped back his hat, his blue eyes glittering like cold ice. âAbout the only place that offers protection is that cluster of trees yonder.â
Caine didnât need to hear the grim edge to the statement to know what that meant. If those were true Comancheros whoâd stolen the women, theyâd already been spotted. The women were as good as dead, and that scream had merely been a baited invitation to a trap. However, nothing in this whole kidnapping spoke of the snake-in-the-grass intelligence Comancheros were known for. Greed, yes. The women stolen had been the youngest and prettiest, but there was a certain lack of intelligence displayed in taking the sheriffâs wife. Even if he had been out of town at the time. There were some things a smart man didnât do, and one of them was stealing a lawmanâs woman.
Tracker slid off his horse, stepped forward and squatted next to hoofprints in the mud. He flicked aside some debris and touched the base of an indentation.
âSame notched shoe?â Caine asked.
âYup.â Beneath his hat, Trackerâs long black hair blew back from his face as he followed the trajectory of the tracks to the cluster of trees, revealing the hard ridge of scar tissue puckering the dark skin of his cheek. A scar heâd earned at the age of fifteen when heâd extracted justice for his mother from the man whoâd raped her. He pointed to the copse of trees halfway up the rise. âTheyâre in there.â
Another scream tore through the morning calm, this time rising and falling on a ruptured, barely recognizable âNo!â
âShit.â Sam flipped the strap on his holster. âStopping to fuck with a posse on their tail? Iâve a mind to complain to the padre. Itâs a waste of time sending us out to round up this bunch when any kid in knee pants could do the job.â
Remnants of the scream echoed off the surrounding hills, raising the hairs on the back of Caineâs neck. Right along with memories heâd rather have stayed buried. âGotta admit that much stupidity fairly begs a man to put it out of its misery.â
âThat it does.â Sam checked the cylinder of his pistol, the easy nonchalance of his attitude belied by the grim smile lifting the corner of his lips. Nothing irritated Sam more than a stupid outlaw. âBut seeing as they chose to bring their lawbreaking to our land, I suppose it wonât overwork us none to teach them a lesson.â
The same tug of cold intent in Samâs smile flowed through Caineâs blood, sharpening his senses, giving a home to the anger that had festered without satisfaction for the last fifteen years. Theyâd fought long and hard for a place to call their own, carved two thousand acres out of these canyons with their sweat and blood. This was their home, and the only law that existed in it was the one they enforced. And on Hellâs Eight land, a body could do a lot of things, but hurt a woman and live wasnât one of them. âI donât suppose it will.â
Sam dropped his revolver back into his holster. âIâll head âround.â
âYou want the sentries, Tracker?â Caine asked, as Sam loped off, circling to keep the slight rise between him and their quarry.
Tracker stood and put his hand on the worn leather-wrapped hilt of his knife. âMy pleasure.â
Silhouetted against the morning mist, he looked every bit of his reputationâa big, mean nightmare come to life. His dark gaze fixed on the copse of trees, his focus already on the battle to come. If Tracker ever allowed one of the sentries to see his expression, the implacable intent there, the man would piss his pants. Too bad Tracker never let them see his face. Caine levered a bullet into the chamber of his rifle with the snap of his wrist. Heâd pay money to see that. âThen I guess that leaves the how-de-doâs up to me.â