High Mountain Drifter Read Online Free PDF Page B

jeopardy is what you had to consider." He slurped at his coffee, troubled, thinking of the woman on the street. Her cane, her bruises. The armed men. He didn't even need to ask to confirm it. He already knew. He couldn't help feeling sorry for her and what she'd been through. "Tell me about the family, the kidnapped woman."
    "Women, actually. He's gone after the family twice since August." Milo ran a weary hand over his face. The responsibility weighed heavy on his brawny shoulders. "He took two gals at gunpoint then, and we hunted him down. Fought him, and he went off a cliff during a hand-to-hand. That fall would have killed any normal man, but if he snagged one of the trees, he could have lived. We tracked, we searched, nothing. Really had hoped he was gone."
    "But not so lucky?" Zane wrapped his hands around the hot cup, letting the heat soak into his skin. "This Chicago fellow keeps coming back. What does he want?"
    "The youngest McPhee girl. She's awful pretty, maybe the prettiest woman anyone around here has ever seen. That can make some men do some awful crazy things." Milo blew out a troubled sigh, his brow lined with worry and angst at his own perceived failures, concerned about the people he protected.
    "What's her name?" he asked quietly, thinking of the mud spackled young woman and her beauty. Her incredible beauty. The back of his neck tingled something fierce. No doubt taking this case was a bad choice, but it really wasn't a choice. Not at all.
    "Verbena." Milo took a sip of coffee, swallowed, debated what to say next. Clearly he knew what the problem was. "There are five sisters. The man--Ernest Craddock--will not hesitate to use any of the other McPhee girls as hostages. Verbena told me afterward that Craddock admitted his plans to rape and kill her."
    "I see." Zane blew out a heavy sigh. Men like Craddock he understood. The deep narcissism, the supreme sense of self-importance, the lack of empathy on any level for anyone else, the joy and victory he felt knowing someone was hurt or dead. "You didn't mention five women in the note."
    "I failed to mention them, that's true. I know how you feel about the fairer gender." Milo looked sheepish. It hadn't been easy for him to be deceptive even in a small way. "It's one of those greater good things."
    "I saw that woman on the street when I drove up." He couldn't bring himself to mention the mud. He really did feel bad about that. This explained her outburst. Trauma affected a person, especially someone as delicate as a woman. He was just thankful the ending hadn't been like so many he'd come across. "She had a half dozen armed men with her."
    "I told her to stay at home." Milo rolled his eyes to the ceiling, as if his patience was tested to the limit. "Well, I'm sure the cowboys will keep them safe. They're tough and they're good shots."
    "The cowboys?" Zane tipped his cup back for the last scorching, bitter drops. "I figured they were her family."
    "No, there's just the five girls and their aunt."
    Great. Zane closed his eyes, took a moment to let the upset at that news settle. "You mean I'll be dealing directly with the women. All five of them?"
    "You'd be dealing with me." Milo seemed sure about that. "Look, I remember Pine Bluffs? I haven't forgotten what happened or how those women in town treated you. Your past wasn't their business and they had no right to drive you out of town."
    "You stood up for me, tried to save my job. It's water under the bridge." He steeled his heart--or the last, cold shreds left of it. He didn't need a heart, he didn't do feelings and he didn't think about what happened in his deputy days. He should have known he wasn't a man who could be tamed. "As long as I don't have to talk to those women much, I'll be fine."
    "Good." Milo slumped against the chair back, relieved. "Thanks for taking this on, Zane."
    "I don't have a choice." He meant that. Without a doubt, he'd be here for Milo. Time and distance couldn't change it. He'd never