Shadow's Stand Read Online Free PDF Page A

straight, chin up, her dignity drawn around her like a shield. Shadow didn’t care. She could trot out as much dignity as she wanted. He was checking that wound. The fabric was stiff around the edges and stuck to the wound with drying blood. She stiffened as he gently pulled.
He paused, glancing up in time to catch her expression in a moment of vulnerability. “I’ll be careful.”
Her fingers tightened on his wrist. “You do not need to be anything.”
Further investigation revealed a two-inch cut on her breastbone. A couple inches lower, a little deeper and the wound could have been fatal. He touched his finger to the softness of her skin. So creamy and pale. So perfect except for the mark of his entry into her life. A reminder that for him nothing changed.
“You’re going to need a stitch or two.”
She leaned away. Shadow let her. “We do not have time for this. As you said, they will come.”
Shadow eased the camisole back up, over the wound. There was an awful lot of fear in her voice. He might bring hell to those he loved, but he could also bring it to anyone who threatened those under his protection. And as his wife.
“Let them.”
“They’ll kill you.”
“Unlikely.” He caught her chin between his fingers and examined her face. There was a faint discoloration on her cheekbone. At least he had a way to repay her for the sacrifice. “But in the meantime, you’re my wife, under my protection and your care comes first.”
“You speak like a fool.”
“And here I thought I was speaking like a husband.” She jerked away. “It was a mistake to choose you.”
He touched the faded bruise on her cheek. Someone would pay for that. He smiled into her defiance. “No, honey. I think this time you finally chose right.”
F EI ’ S HOUSE WAS SET OFF the road a fair piece. At some point, someone had tried to give it a bit of boundary with a white picket fence, but that was now falling down. Faded red curtains graced the windows. The place was a nice size, unusual for a railroad worker’s compensation. Usually the best a worker could hope for was a crowded, tattered tent. Fei’s father must have some worth, after all.
The house smelled of exotic spices—lemon and something Shadow couldn’t quite put his finger on. The interior was spotless. Everything in the house was neatly hung in its place. It appeared there were two separate bedrooms, a parlor and a kitchen. Fei led him to the kitchen and then waved him to a chair at the table.
“Please sit. I will get water.”
“Take off the shackles and I’ll fetch water for you.”
Her gaze started at his feet and traveled up to his knees and then just kept on climbing until it reached his face.
“Is Shadow your real name?”
“The only part that’s pronounceable.”
He hadn’t gone by that name for over a year. He wasn’t sure why he’d used it at the ceremony. There was a price on his head. A hell of a price. Things like that tended to happen when you killed a man under the protection of the U.S. Army right in front of them. It didn’t matter that the killing was necessary or that the man was a cold-blooded murderer gunning for women and children. The army had a reputation and Shadow had sullied it. His brother and Hell’s Eight were working to get him a pardon, but the governor wasn’t feeling real friendly. The man Shadow had killed had been wealthy and connected, so right now Shadow was wanted dead or alive. And from the way people were taking shots at him, he had a feeling someone was offering a second bounty if he was brought in dead. That being the case, it was pure foolishness to have declared himself Shadow Ochoa during the wedding ceremony. But when it had come to identifying himself, he’d wanted Fei Yen to know to whom she belonged. Which was more foolishness. The marriage wasn’t going to last. As soon as his wife got what she wanted out of him, she’d be gone. And he’d be ready to go. He’d stay because he owed her. A life for a life.