Night Ride

Chapter 2

He stared down at her with a look of firm displeasure. "Why did you run Em? Hmm?" His sandy blond hair fell in front of his eyes and she got the stupid urge to brush it away. But she didn't have to worry about that, his iron grip was still clasped on her wrists. He adjusted on top of her and glared. His grip tightened on her wrists almost to the point of pain. "Why Em?" She turned her head away from him and spit the taste of gritty dirt and him from her mouth. "I did what I had to do. You should be thanking me you self-righteous dick. I saved your ass." His mouth went into a harder line and his eye narrowed on her face. "You shouldn't have run Em. Now you have half the state looking for you, I hear that Harper is on your trail looking for an easy pay off." That made her still under him. Harper was one of the best known trackers in the southern region. He was half Apachee and half Cherokee. Brutal in chasing down outlaws and swift in the kill. Many law breakers didn't even know he was there when they got gunned down. She had met him once. Harper and Rafe had worked once to bring in an outlaw called Bulldog. Just being near the indian tracker made her blood run cold. The hard peircing stare he gave her, roamed over her finding every flaw and detail he could have used against her. But that also told her something else.

Harper was only brought out on the big pay days. His last cash and go, at least that she had heard of, topped ten thousand. She swallowed as a cold sweat broke over her. "How much am I worth?" It was barely a whisper, that was all she could manage. "15 grand." he said it coolly as if to scorn her like a child. She closed her eyes and turned her head away as she began to calculate. That was one of the largest pay days she had ever heard of, and it was on her head. Jesus Christ... There was no way she could out run that, not with that many lawmens out to find her. "Put this into that pretty little head of yours Emma, I caught up with you easily. You cover your trail girl but you can't do it well, it'll damn easy for Harper to find you, if he hasn't already. The purse on you is only good if your alive. Damn it Em why did you run?! You should have fucking stayed!" She turned her head back to look at him. her eyes alight with temper. "Because I would have been gunned down by some paid drunk off the street. Don't you dare preach to me about what I could have done. I did what I needed to do to live. And you fucking know it."

She began to wiggle under him and he seated himself more firmly on her hips so she couldn't move more then an inch "You don't think do you Em-" "I think alot fucking more then you do you stubborn ass. Who the hell turns their back on a rich drunk man with a fucking gun in his hands?!" his eyes narrowed again and she worked harder to get free from his grasp. "Then think about this you firey snake, The bounty on your head is only good if you're alive," he bent his head low and looked her right in the eye. "What do you think is going to happen to you when they bring you in?" She shook her head, she didn't want to think about. Couldn't, if she began to think about it she would get scared and make stupid mistakes. She couldn't afford that now. "No." She denied his words and shook her head frantically to keep the thoughts from entering her head. but he would have none of that. "They'd take you in and torcher you, probably knock you around a bit then rape you. Hell they may not even care if you scream, probably hurt you just so they can hear it." "Stop it." she said shakily but he plunged forward.

"Then when one's done with you you'll be passed onto another. The next guy in line may not be so kind. Alexander has a talent for making men hurt, what do you think he would do to a woman Emma? He's half the reward money so you would definitely get tossed around by him for a while. Till he got bored. Then there's always his brother, Henry would get a kick out of a hot little chit like you. If Alex and Martin have left anything of you for him that is. He'd take a great amount of pleasure in breaking your spirit, like a fucking horse. And you wouldn't receive any better treatment, Hell he might even brand you. Then when he got done he'd pass you down the line-" "Stop it!" She screamed at him. Fear choked her now and made it hard to breath. Her chest heaved as the possibilities of what waited for her ran through her head, making her gut wrench and her head swim.

He stayed quiet now looking down at her. If she wasn't so occupied by her thoughts she would have seen the anger die away and replaced by pity and regret. He bent his head and shook it. "Em, how many times did I tell you? Running is the worst mistake a ma- anyone could make..." She closed her eyes as tears formed behind her lashes. He had told her. She had remembered it the first night on her own. She had almost returned to face her punishment but was too scared. Too scared of him. Of Martin, who was the scot's brother, he no doubt would make her pay for killing kin. Alexander was his right hand man, the enforcer as it were. Helped out by his brother Henry who people went to for torcher techniques on how to make others take. She was terrified and wanted to curl into a ball and forget the world.

His eyes came back up to hers, she looked at them and saw them begin to turn a light blue, the steel still swirled around the pupil but the blue was taking over. "Damn it Em..." he said it as if he regretted so many things in his life, she just added to the pile. She swallowed and felt a tear seep from the corner of her eye. Damn her for crying in front of him. She opened her quivering mouth. "And you're going to turn me in..." it was said a question more then a statement. He closed his eyes as if she had just stabbed him, pain a clear emotion on his face. His breathing got shallow for a moment then he opened his eyes again. His swirling steely eyes. "Damn you Emma." Then he let go of her wrists and hauled her up by her arm.

He brought her over to his horse where he took out a piece of rope. He brought both her wrists together and tied it in a tight knot around them. She stared at him with horror and disbelief. He was really doing it. Really going to turn her in to all the terrors he just stated, the torchers that made him angry to think about. "Stay here." he said coldly. He turned and headed for Strike, she looked numbly at her trapped hands then back at him. How could he? After what they had... She felt the tears stream down her face and she didn't try to hide them. She felt the sharp, dagger like pain in her chest and she didn't think to breath.

He grabbed the reins from Strikes back and led her over to his own mount. He looked at her with a cold firm stare. "Get on." She looked at him in the dark and then looked at Strike with utter disbelief. "Rafe please don't do this..." Her request sounded hallow and broken. He didn't move, didn't even blink. "Get on the horse Em." She choked on her tears and stared at him with a mix of horror and agony. he wrapped an arm around her waist and tossed her up on the saddle. She instinctively adjusted in the saddle and he took her hands and tied them to the saddle horn. She stared at him, her unblinking gaze drilling into him for any sign that he was anything but serious. He tied Strike's reins to his saddle and then lept on his own midnight black horse. She couldn't comprehend what he was actually doing. Could believe he would do this. She bowed her head and cried silently, not for herself. But for the ache that now threatened to tear her chest apart.