The Outlaw and the Lady Read Online Free PDF Page B

knew he’d stood.
    “I know how to use this, so nobody move.” She heard saddles creak and footsteps. She waved the gun wildly in a circle. “Nobody move!”
    “Be still!” Raven yelled.
    She zeroed in on the location of his voice andsteadied 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.” She swallowed hard, trying to calm her own breathing as she listened 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?”
    “ Sí .”
    Raven. He was still directly in front of her. “It’s probably men that my father sent to find me,” she hastily explained. “So get on your horses and ride. Just leave me.”
    “The posse’s nearness is an illusion, señorita ,” he said quietly, as though she could see the cloud of dust his brother had mentioned.
    She wished she could hold them all—or at least keep Raven here—but she wasn’t foolish enough to believe she could avoid them overtaking her for long. If they had any intelligence, they’d soon realize that by creating noisy distractions, they could force her to shoot at phantoms until she’d exhausted the small supply of bullets.
    Although she wasn’t certain Raven would risk his brothers in that dangerous endeavor. When he spoke to them, his voice carried an undercurrent of affection, completely at odds with what she knew of the outlaw. Inwardly, she shook off the fleeting thought. She didn’t need anything to distract her. She had to ensure that he didn’t send his brothers on and then play the game with her.
    Why hadn’t she heard him approach her whileshe was waiting in the bushes? Could he move that stealthily, or had she been concentrating too much on her wayward thoughts that had continually drifted to him? Was he walking toward her now? It was far too quiet. She waved the gun in a wide circle. “Don’t move!” she ordered.
    “I’m not moving, señorita ,” Raven replied.
    “Keep talking so I know exactly where you are.”
    “So you can shoot me?”
    She nodded 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 was 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 Alejandro seemed closer. Jorge and Roberto simply followed orders. “Alejandro. Alejandro got off his horse.”
    “Now, why would he do that?”
    She tightened her hold on the gun. “I swear to God that I will shoot if each man does not call out his name.”
    “No one speaks!” he ordered. “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 grabbed the gun. Reflexively, shesqueezed the trigger and an explosion ripped through the air as the weapon was torn from her hands.
    “Good work, Alejandro,” Raven said as he snared her arm, his voice exuding controlled rage.
    She tried to fight him off, but again his strength put her at a disadvantage. He caged her within the circle of his arms while he wrapped the hated bandanna around her wrists. “Please—”
    “No!” he barked.
    When she was secured, he shoved her away and she teetered backward, nearly losing her balance. Hearing metal glide against leather, she realized Alejandro had returned Raven’s gun to him. Panic seized her with the thought of losing what might be her 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’s—”
    “Jorge!” Raven