Devils on Horseback: Gideon, Book 5 Read online

  Chloe’s gait was much less graceful than Gideon’s, and she couldn’t run at all. She turned to eye the horses and decided if she unsaddled the mare, she could make an almost silent approach. If there were no buckles to jangle, she could keep to the soft pine needles, and no one would hear her.

  She knew how to shoot a gun, and she had one within reach. No way she’d led Gideon go off by himself to fight her battle. Not when she had a breath in her body. And if he yelled at her, she just might shoot him.

  It took another five minutes before she got the saddle off and pulled herself up onto the mare’s back. It had been a few years since she rode bareback, but as soon as she was upright, it came back to her in a flash. She threaded her fingers through the horse’s mane and leaned down low to whisper, “C’mon, girl, we’re going to see what my man is doing.”

  She saw the glow of the campfire in the distance and knew it wouldn’t take long to get there.

  Gideon followed his path back to the men who had taken what didn’t belong to them. The veil of battle slipped over him and a calmness with it. Getting ready to fight was as familiar as breathing to him. Even years later, it was as comfortable as an old coat. Instead of struggling against it, he welcomed it.

  The inky night surrounded him, giving him the cover he needed as he approached. The crackle of the fire was the only sound, and he wondered if the men were still there or if they were sleeping.

  His breath came slow and steady, right along with his heartbeat. He crawled up behind the same tree and peered around. The two men, Tobias and Adam, were still sitting at the fire, but appeared to be dozing. Granny’s eyes were also closed, which could either be good or bad. If she couldn’t see him, she wouldn’t give his presence away.

  Every sound echoed in his ears as he crept closer. The rifle was warm in his hand, a comfortable presence. His grip tightened as he stood and stepped into the firelight, the rifle raised and braced against his shoulder. Only two of the men were visible, but he had to flush out the third.

  “On your feet.” His voice was loud in the silence.

  Tobias jumped up as if someone had pinched him, his long arms flopping in panic. Adam, on the other hand, didn’t do anything but push his hat back and stare hard at Gideon.

  “I said on your feet.”

  “I don’t take orders from nobody no more.” Adam’s eyes, similar to Chloe’s, glittered like hard stones. He didn’t appear to be as surprised as his cousin was, and that worried Gideon.

  “Then I put a new hole to match that big one in the middle of your face.” Gideon stepped sideways, careful to avoid rocks and sticks until he was positioned to shoot either of the men. “Now throw the guns behind you.”

  “I ain’t throwing my gun,” Tobias whined.

  “It’s my gun, and you are going to throw it, or it will be the last thing you hold in your hands.” Gideon kept his voice even and hard. The sight of this bastard holding the gun he’d had for ten years made his blood boil. He couldn’t even look at Granny, at how she’d been treated, or he would have shot the two men where they stood. There was still danger from the unseen man and the two pistols right in front of them.

  If he shot them, Chloe would never forgive him.

  “I know who you are.” Adam sneered at him. “I saw you with Chloe like a randy buck sniffing a willing cunt.”

  Gideon’s jaw nearly cracked from the pressure of grinding his teeth together. “You’re the son of a bitch who kidnapped his own family.”

  The barb hit the mark, judging by the narrowing of the other man’s eyes.

  “This here is my property. I’m the oldest, and that bitch sister of mine stole it. I took it back and gave her what she deserved.” Adam took a step closer, and Gideon dug his heels in, waiting for whatever the other man was going to do.

  “Yeah, what she deserved.” Tobias spoke up, emboldened by his cousin’s cool demeanor. “Fucking nothing.”

  Gideon had no idea how these two were so twisted, so different from Chloe, who would sacrifice her life for family. The war had turned many men into different people, and obviously had done much worse to these Ruskin boys. Their souls had been blackened enough to blot out anything of their life prior to the conflict. It saddened him, but he had to push that thought aside and focus on what they were doing. Tobias took a step to the right, widening the gap between them.

  “I’m giving you to the count of ten to drop the guns.” A bead of sweat snaked down Gideon’s back. He never took his gaze off the men threatening him. His heart thumped hard when he spotted movement under the wagon.

  Chloe.

  She never listened! She’d obviously made her way over to the camp and was trying to free her grandmother. Luckily for her, the men’s backs were to the wagon, but that didn’t account for the third man, an unknown and unseen enemy somewhere either in the wagon or nearby.

  He wanted to shout at her to get back, but he dare not give her position away or let his attention wander for a second from the men with guns directly in front of him.

  “Ten. Nine. Eight.”

  Granny disappeared from view under the wagon, and he was glad Chloe did not have to witness the gunfight with her kin. She still might never forgive him.

  “He ain’t really gonna shoot us, is he?” Tobias jigged in place as he looked at the rifle in Gideon’s hand.

  Gideon shot the ground beside Tobias, making the younger man yelp and jump a foot in the air.

  “Yes, I really will shoot you. Seven. Six. Five.”

  The bead of sweat was joined by half a dozen more. His hand tightened on the pistol grip. He knew he could shoot one of them before they could get a shot off at him. The rifle in Adam’s hand was the slower weapon, so he would shoot Tobias first.

  “Four. Three.”

  “Adam, I don’t want to die.”

  “You’re a coward and no cousin of mine.” Spittle flew from Adam’s mouth as he bashed his cousin in the cheek with the rifle. Blood sprayed from the thin man’s mouth, and he stumbled backward.

  It was the opportunity Gideon needed. He launched himself at Adam with a split-second thought to Chloe that he loved her.

  Chloe almost carried Granny out from under the wagon, which was difficult on any day, but with a sore knee, it was incredibly hard. Gideon was facing down her gun-toting brother and cousin, who were nearly unrecognizable now from the young men she’d known.

  Grief threatened to overwhelm her, but she kept it locked away inside, refusing to allow it to escape. She still had to find the girls, and Gideon might need her.

  Chloe set Granny down on a patch of grass in the shadow of the wagon. “Stay here, and I’ll be back with the girls.”

  “Chloe, honey, I’m sorry.” Granny never cried, but darned if tears were not sliding down her cheeks. “I thought they was here to help, and instead they did harm.”

  Chloe hugged Granny and whispered, “Love you, Granny.”

  She couldn’t sit and talk, couldn’t waste one moment while the man she loved was in danger. Chloe crept back as quietly and as quickly as she could, not stopping to wonder how she could help. She picked up the rifle as she crawled under the wagon in time to see the men fighting, and Chloe’s heart stopped. They were a jumble of arms and legs. Grunts and the sound of flesh hitting flesh echoed in the dark night. She watched, helpless to do anything without running the risk of shooting Gideon.

  A shadow appeared from the front of the wagon, and Chloe pointed the rifle at it. Whoever it was moved closer. The firelight reflected off a knife in his hand. Fury roared through her at the bastard who stalked the man she loved, the hero who was about to give his life for her family. Ignoring everything, including her pain, she rose to her feet, the rifle ready to fire.

  Time slowed to a crawl as she got a bead on the shadowed stranger. A log crackled loudly, spraying sparks into the night air, giving her the light sh
e needed to see the bastard.

  The gun boomed in her hand, deafening in the darkness, silencing the night creatures. The big man crumpled to the ground, his knife falling into the dirt. The three men tussling stopped only momentarily before someone reached out and picked up the knife.

  She couldn’t get the rifle loaded fast enough to stop that blade from plunging into Gideon’s shoulder. Chloe heard screaming and realized it was her own voice echoing into the night. She ran toward the men, ready to fight to the death to save Gideon.

  The knife slid into his flesh before he could stop it. The pain radiated out like pure fire, intense and excruciating, but he had to ignore it. It wasn’t the first time he’d been stabbed, and he had to shut the pain away or he would be dead. Chloe’s brother was stronger than he looked, perhaps madness had lent him an extra dose of strength. Gideon couldn’t even think about Chloe and the damn rifle blast. When she let loose a battle cry, he felt a surge of pride for her.

  “Jesus, Chloe, what are you doing?” Tobias sounded shocked, and Gideon fought the insane urge to laugh. The man obviously had no idea what Chloe was capable of.

  It was her family and her fight. Gideon wanted to shoot both men for hurting her, then leave them for the scavengers to feed on.

  “Now both of you stop.” Chloe stood there with both pistols in her grasp. Somehow she’d gotten hold of them. Her hands and her voice were like steel, hard and steady.

  Adam stared up at her, his eyes cold. “What are you doing, you little slut?”

  She snorted. “Names can’t hurt me, Adam, but these bullets sure can hurt you.”

  To Gideon’s amazement, she cocked both weapons. A shiver raced down his spine at the deadly fury in her expression.

  “You ain’t gonna shoot me, sissy.” Adam rose to his feet, followed by Tobias, leaving Gideon to bleed alone on the ground.

  This tiny scrap of a woman, who had more courage than most men, stood down her brother and cousin without flinching.

  “Hell yes I will.” She looked back and forth between them. “You stopped being my kin when you went rogue.”

  “Rogue?” Adam’s laugh was chilling. “Girl, you ain’t got no idea what I done if you think taking the wagon is bad.” He moved closer to her, and Gideon got to his knees, trying to rise while pressing his hand into the knife wound.

  “Shoot him, Chloe.”

  “I will, Gid. First I want to find out why.” She let a bit of her hurt show in her eyes.

  Adam, being a predator, recognized the pain beneath the anger. “Why? The world ain’t no happy place no more, sissy. People kill each other for a fucking biscuit. You sold that damn farm out from under me, then packed up everything and headed to Texas.” He was only three feet from her now, and Gideon couldn’t stop him.

  They were both going to die out here, and he was powerless. He’d survived a lot, including a war and things that would have broken a lesser man, yet here he was, about to die for a woman. He wished he had married her and had beautiful babies with her before all was said and done. Now he wouldn’t have the chance because of her crazy family.

  “Why didn’t you go home?” Gideon’s voice was rough and full of pain. He cursed his own weakness.

  “Ain’t no home to go to, stupid.” Adam focused on the pistols in Chloe’s hands.

  “After the war there was. It’s been years, Ruskin. Why didn’t you go home before now?” Gideon knew he’d found exactly what would shake the man’s self-control when Adam’s face flushed.

  “I ain’t got to tell you nothing. You fuck my sister and then question me? I will fuck your eye sockets before I cut you into pieces.” A dark, twisted madness had stolen who Adam Ruskin had been and turned him into an unrecognizable monster. A monster who would steal children, beat an old woman and kill his own sister. He shook with rage as he looked between Gideon and Chloe. “Those girls are worth a fortune in Mexico. I was gonna take them before, but then this jackass came along and emptied the wagon for us. Made it easy for me to take what was mine.”

  “Mexico? You aren’t going to make it a mile before we stop you.” Gideon managed to stand and shake off the lightheaded feeling from blood loss. He couldn’t fail her now, not when she needed him most. To prepare himself, he stood on the balls of his feet, ready to attack or defend.

  “Your man here has a big mouth.” Adam’s hands fisted. “I’m gonna enjoy killing him.”

  “Adam, how could you do this?” Chloe’s hands began to shake. “I loved you.”

  Adam shook his head. “Love died a long time ago, sissy. I take care of myself now and nobody else.”

  Gideon watched the other man’s face and knew the exact moment the man chose his victim. Adam launched himself at Chloe, and Gideon’s howl split the night air. He’d forgotten about Tobias though, distracted by the danger to his woman. Stars exploded in the back of his head, and the ground met his face with a painful slap.

  Chapter Ten

  Chloe jumped back before Adam could reach her. She didn’t want to kill him, so she aimed for his foot and fired. He screeched and stumbled backward just as Gideon fell to the ground, Tobias standing behind him with a tree branch in his hand.

  Now it was up to her and only her. They’d either killed or wounded Gideon, and Chloe had to think fast, or all of them might die.

  When four shadows appeared and approached the fire, she knew a moment of despair. Six men against one were insurmountable odds. She’d die fighting though. While her brother cursed and tried to get to her, she stepped sideways toward Gideon, ready to defend him until she had no more life in her body.

  “Don’t go near him, lady.” A blond man with the coldest brown eyes she’d ever seen walked toward her, guns drawn. Three more behind him had equally deadly weapons and the look of trained killers.

  “I’ll kill you if you touch him.” She bared her teeth at him.

  “Looks like Gid found himself a woman worthy of a devil.” A one-armed man had Tobias on the ground, a foot on his back.

  “I said get away from him.” The cold-eyed blond came closer.

  “She’s not going to hurt him, Zeke.” A brown-haired man with impeccably clean clothes had his gun trained on a screeching Adam. “She’s defending him.”

  The one called Zeke glanced at the guns in her hands, then at Gideon. “That so?”

  “That’s so. Now get your men out of here before I kill all of you.” She had never felt so scared or alive in her life. They were helping her, but they were still a threat.

  “Ma’am, we’re Gideon’s friends, his family.” The redheaded one held up his hands as he walked closer. “We came to help, but obviously he already had you.” He smiled, and something inside Chloe gave way. She was ready for help and decided she had to trust them.

  She fell to her knees and pulled Gideon’s head into her lap. She managed not to vomit at the sight of the blood on his shirt, but it was damn hard. Oh God, her family had done this to him. She wanted to weep at the heavens and scream until she was raw, but she didn’t.

  “He’s been stabbed and beaten. We need someone to doctor him.” She kissed his cheek, so overwhelmed with emotion she barely recognized her own voice.

  “Oh hell, she’s gonna cry.” The one-armed man sighed.

  “Shut up, Lee. Let her do what she needs to.” The redheaded one knelt beside her. “It’s going to be all right. I can help him if you let me.”

  Chloe nodded and gave over care of her man to this stranger with the kind eyes. She stumbled toward the wagon to find the girls, to find her composure, before she cried and lost control completely.

  The girls peered out from the wagon with identical expressions of relief when they saw her. As she gathered them into her arms, she let the tears fall.

  Finally, finally, they’d found her family, for better or worse. They were safe.

  Gideon heard voices but a haze
had settled over his mind, and he had trouble focusing on them. For some reason, he heard Zeke and Nate, then Jake and Lee. He knew he was either dying or had been hit on the head so hard he was dreaming with vivid clarity.

  “There’s a sewing box under the wagon seat.” Chloe sounded worried. Maybe she was in the dream too.

  “He’s breathing, but he’s bleeding like a stuck pig.” Lee never did mince words.

  “That’s not especially helpful information, Lee.” Nate’s voice was crisp as always. “Perhaps you can find something to help stanch the wounds.”

  A tearing sound preceded something being pressed into his shoulder. A roar of pain erupted from his mouth.

  “He’s awake. Where the hell is that girl with the sewing kit? We need to close up that wound on his shoulder.” Zeke usually took charge when Gideon couldn’t. He loved to give orders.

  “I ran to the wagon on a bum leg, you ass,” Chloe responded in her prickly way. “One of you could have gone to get it.”

  Soon there were many hands touching him. He opened his eyes and looked around, amazed to see everyone he loved and who was most important to him in the world.

  His family. For some reason, Lee was bare-chested, and Gideon realized the item currently being used to mop up blood was Lee’s shirt.

  Chloe was handing implements to Jake, who was patiently sewing up the knife wound on his shoulder. The needle pricks were nothing compared to the agony left by the blade.

  “Ouch,” he managed to whisper.

  She glanced at him, and the love he saw in her face hit him like a punch.

  “I’m sorry.” She shook her head, that crazy wild hair of hers swaying back and forth. “I’m sorry he stabbed you.”

  “He’s been stabbed before.” Jake grinned at him. “Survived it too. One more scar to show off to the ladies.” He waggled his brows.

  “Lady. Just one lady.” He glanced at Chloe again, but she looked away.

  “Ah, so it’s true. You found somebody.” Jake was always the teaser, the foolish one who lightened the darkest moments. “And she’s meaner than Zeke.”