In Too Deep (30 page)
25
“We've got 'em.” Rafe emerged from the cave entrance in his mountain valley, dragging Mitch along.
Audra looked at Mitch and clenched her fist. “You are an awful man!”
She didn't slug him because he had his hands tied behind his back. It wouldn't be one bit fair, though the scoundrel deserved it.
The man's head drooped low, and Audra saw an ugly bleeding cut on the back of his head. “Did I do that to him?”
Ethan came next with Grove in tow. The man had a makeshift sling on his arm, and his head was covered with dried blood.
“Did I do that to him, too?” Audra swallowed hard as she looked at the battered men. She felt tears well in her eyes, but she fought them down. She didn't regret what she'd done in fighting for her life, but it was a shocking day all around.
“The cut on Mitch's head looks like a bullet wound.” Ethan sat Grove on the ground with no care at all. “I'd say he shot himself. Probably ricocheted one of his own bullets. But it's a scratch. Unless it turns septic, he'll be fine.”
Audra exchanged a look with Julia. They'd been forced to stay behind with the children while the big strong men went in to capture the bad guys.
As if Audra hadn't already done all the hard work. “We know that can happen, don't we? That's how Wendell died. From an infected scratch.”
“But Grove here, yep”âEthan nodded toward the man with the slingâ“I'd say you did that.”
The tears threatened again, yet Audra was determined to be a ruthless, courageous warrior. She didn't even let tears thicken her voice. “Where did you find them? You weren't gone for long.”
“They were still in that pit,” Rafe said.
Led by Steele, five more of the Kincaid hands came out of the cavern. Every one of them had a lantern. Rafe and Ethan hadn't tackled these men in that dark hole alone. The day was wearing down and it had been a long one.
“Mitch climbed out before with no trouble at all,” Audra said. She thought of the way he'd come out of the hole in the pitch-dark, fast, unharmed, killing mad.
“The way rock was shattered,” Ethan said, “I'd say Mitch's wild shooting busted off any footholds he found at first. He probably knocked himself out cold with a ricocheted bullet, though he was awake when we got there. Both of them were conscious.”
Audra cleared her throat and squared her shoulders. “I'm surprised he didn't have a few b-bullets left.”
She was strong. She was fearless. She was
dangerous
.
Ethan looked at her. “Nope. Their guns were empty.”
She was going to cry.
“Mitch must've shot 'em all off at usâhis and Grove's,” Ethan added. “Which left them in the dark for a long time, and when we got there they were hurting enough and scared enough to be glad to see us.”
“Not sure
glad
's the right word,” Steele muttered.
“They let us drag 'em up without any real escape attempt,” Rafe said. “At least no attempt until we had them trussed up tight.” Rafe jerked his head at the secure knots holding Mitch's hands behind his back and a sturdy rope tying Grove's good arm to the one in the sling.
Mitch looked back at the entrance as if it were a monster's mouth, complete with jagged teeth. “I hate that cavern. I'd rather be in a jail.”
“You're gonna get your wish.” Ethan sat Grove down beside his partner.
Audra and Julia had stayed behind with Seth and the children. They'd done their best to rewrap the bandage on Seth's leg and tried to get him to remember more about his wife. By the time the bandaging was done, Seth was ashen with pain.
Julia had made enough supper for all of them and gotten a meal in Seth and Maggie both. Seth had finally settled into bed and fallen asleep as peacefully as Maggie. Then Audra had fed Lily and she'd gone to sleep in the fading light.
Audra and Julia had paced in front of the cave, occasionally going back to the cabin to check on their charges, awaiting their men's return.
Now they were back and her eyes went to Ethan. She saw none of the terrible stress he usually bore with a smile when he'd had anything to do with that cavern. Its hold on him was finally broken. That made her so happy she almost cried again.
It was going to be a wonder if she got out of this day without crying her eyes out, and she'd been doing really well at being a strong woman.
Not counting right now.
“I'm going to ride to town with these men.” Rafe looked at Julia. “You come with me, Jules. And you men ride along, too. I don't want even a chance of these men escaping and endangering any more of us.”
Rafe turned to Ethan and continued issuing orders. “It'll be late into the night before we get back. Can you get Seth home?”
“Yep. We'll manage.”
“My boss won't quit,” Mitch snarled from where he sat. “He wants what you stole from him, and he won't quit until he gets it. If you were smart, you'd give us that money and let us go.”
“We don't know where it is.” Audra wanted to cry. Which seemed to be her theme for the last hour or so.
“I think if a man pushed you hard enough, you might come up with some ideas. The boss might just come himself. He's not a patient man.”
“You want a gag to go with those ropes?” Rafe asked.
Mitch subsided into a sullen silence. He'd made his point.
Audra wondered where in the name of heaven Wendell had hidden so much money that a man could afford to send these men after it.
“You don't need all of us riding with you, Rafe.” Steele returned his hat to his head. He'd left it behind when he entered the cavern. “I'll take one man and head for the ranch with Ethan, help him get Seth home. We need to be watching for more two-legged varmints.”
The sleep had given Seth renewed energy and he made the trip well enough.
Audra didn't have much chance to talk the day over with Ethan because of the men riding with them. Instead, she concentrated on making good time in the heavy woods. And fighting tears. For a woman who'd beaten up two armed gunmen today, she was feeling like a terrible weakling.
Once they got home they were busy getting the girls tucked in and Seth settled in bed, his leg carefully propped on a pillow.
It was late when Audra finally pulled the covers over her in the cool mountain evening and sank into her feather ticking.
As Ethan joined her in their bed, Audra opened her mouth to say good-night and burst into tears.
Ethan pulled her into his arms and held her close. Her face rested on his strong shoulders as he caressed her, murmuring soft words. Audra couldn't hear them for a long time, but when her tears finally ebbed, she heard him say, “I'm so sorry, sweetheart.”
He sounded as if his heart were breaking.
“Why am I crying? We survived this h-horrible day.”
Ethan hugged her closer and she felt his soft kisses on her hair. “That's why you're crying, because you had a horrible day.”
She cried harder and nestled against his sturdy chest, loving his strong arms. “I was so afraid, Ethan. I'm such a coward.”
“No, you're not. You're about the bravest little thing I've ever seen.”
Audra raised her head and Ethan handed her a handkerchief. She wiped at her soggy face and noticed she'd soaked the poor man's nightshirt.
Dabbing at it, she said, “I've been trying to be brave, but today all I've done is be afraid. Afraid they'd hurt me. Afraid for my children. Afraid for you.” Her voice broke again. When she could talk again, she added, “You're the one who was brave. You hate that cavern but you faced it. You went down in there to save me. That's the bravest thing I've ever seen.”
Just the thought of what it cost him to come for her sent her into another fit of tears. “I have to quit crying. What is
wrong
with me?”
There was silence while he held her, rubbing his hands on her back and her shoulders, caressing and soothing. Finally, into her hair, he whispered, “I love you, Audra.”
The words hit her with the power of a lightning bolt, and she wrenched out of his arms to sit up. With her back to the window, she cast his face in a shadow and couldn't read his expression. But why read an expression when she had the words?
“You do? Really?”
He dragged her back down and rolled her onto her back, leaning over her. “I really do. When I faced that cavern today, it was because loving you was stronger than my fear. I don't think I'm ever going to like it down there, but the thought of losing you helped me realize the cavern . . . well, I've given it too much power over me. I've let that fear control my life. I let it send me away from a home I missed and brothers I loved. And the things you did today, leading those men away from me. Fighting them in that cavern, thinking and planning and remembering all you knew about the caves and tunnelsâand doing it all when you were in so much danger, a lot of people wouldn't have been able to make their heads work. It's the bravest thing I've ever seen.”
“No, I wasn't brave. I was terrified.”
“Only a locoweed wouldn't be afraid of armed men spewing threats. Fear is the only possible sane reaction. But being afraid of something really frightening isn't the same as being a coward.”
“Yes it is.”
Ethan leaned down and kissed her until she started feeling really brave. Her arms wrapped around his neck just as he pulled away, but not so far she couldn't hang on.
“If a rattlesnake struck at you, you'd be afraid, right?”
“Well, yes.”
“That would be natural. And you'd either run or you'd shoot the rattlesnake. Neither of those things is cowardly.”
“It's just good sense.” Audra felt all the tensions of the day ease away, washed away by the tears and now by Ethan's kindness . . . and his confession of love.
“That's right. And those men today attacked with just as deadly of intentions as a rattlesnake. Worse because a rattlesnake is only trying to protect itself. You kept your head. You picked your moment.”
“I did. I knew about that hole and I fully intended to try and knock them into it.” Audra felt her cheeks heat up. “What a terrible thing to admit.”
“You were
thinking
. You were defending yourself and your children and your worthless napping husband.”
“Hush.” She pressed her fingers to his lips. “Getting knocked over the head isn't the same as taking a nap.”
She saw him smile behind her fingers and knew he was teasing her. She dared to say, “So maybe I'm not a complete coward.”
“Not even close.”
“And maybe you're not a complete coward, because you faced down your worst fear and triumphed over it.”
Ethan shrugged one of his broad shoulders. “Okay.” He kissed her. “Maybe neither of us did so bad today.”
He kissed her again and this time she held on tight. When he paused to take a breath, Audra asked, “So where in the world do you think Wendell hid all that money?”
“I don't want to hear another word about your first husband while you're in bed with me, is that understood?”
“I'm happy right where I am. And thinking about nothing except how much I love the man I married.”
“I was wondering when you were going to say it back.”
The world spun away as Ethan pulled her too close for her to have a single thought in her headâexcept for loving him completely, passionately, deeply.
Mary Connealy
is a Carol Award winner and a RITA Award finalist. An author, journalist, and teacher, she lives on a ranch in eastern Nebraska with her husband, Ivan, and has four grown daughtersâJosie, married to Matt; Wendy; Shelly, married to Aaron; and Katyâand two spectacular grandchildren, Elle and Isaac. Readers can learn more about Mary and her upcoming books at:
