Ride The Wind (Vincente 3) (3 page)

"No, it's not broken, but badly sprained." Matthew's eyes snapped with hostility. "You sure
took your time getting here!"

Reese grinned. "In case you haven't noticed, I
had to ride through a blizzard to reach Fort
Worth. And besides, usually when I come to
town, it's to spend a few pleasurable days with
a pretty woman under me. Now, if you were a
pretty woman, I might have gotten here sooner."

Reese noticed Matthew was not amused. He
shrugged and met his friend's eyes. "So what
happened to you? You look like hell."

Matthew winced as he raised himself up on
his elbow. He groaned and quickly let his head
fall back against the pillow. "Damned flea-bitten
nag threw me, and if that wasn't enough, she
rolled over on top of my leg."

A slight smile curved Reese Starrett's lips.
"Don't tell me an old cavalryman like you let a
horse get the better of you? So the horse walked
away, and you didn't."

"Something like that." Matthew quietly assessed the man many Texans called a legend. Reese was wearing the buckskin shirt and trousers that he wore only when he scouted for the
army. Reese owned a small spread outside Fort
Worth, and he was mostly a loner, keeping away
from people and keeping them away from him.
He was tall, probably six-foot-four, and ruggedly
handsome. His hair was too long, but Reese
didn't adhere to the rules that other people lived
by. His gray eyes were now flickering with humor, but Matthew had seen them when they
could pierce through a man's defenses. It was
common knowledge that Reese was the best
tracker in the state, and Matthew was counting
on his help.

"I need you to do something for me, Reese."

Reese's eyes narrowed. "I can see you're worried about something, and it doesn't appear to
be your leg. Where's the woman you've been
mooning over ever since I've known you? Did
she write and tell you the wedding is off, Yankee?"

"Reese," Matthew said worriedly, "I hardly
know where to start."

"I've always found that the beginning is a good
place."

There was desperation in Matthew's blue eyes,
and he tried to sit up again, only to fall back in
pain. "I need your skills as a tracker, Reese. I'm
willing to pay you handsomely for your time."

Reese's face froze into a stony expression.
"Don't be insulting. When a friend needs help,
money doesn't come into it."

"But-"

"Forget it. Just tell me what I can do for you,
Yankee."

"What I want from you will probably put your
life in grave danger, but I don't know where else
to turn. You are the only one who can do this
for me."

"Are you going to talk me to death or get to
the point?"

"Saber was..." Matthew paused as if he
couldn't go on. He swallowed hard and met
Reese's eyes. "Saber has been kidnapped!"

"Aw, hell," Reese said. He didn't waste time
on trivial questions, but went right to the heart
of the matter. "Tell me what you know about her
abduction."

"Not much. I am scared for her, Reese. If I
could get my hands on the bastards who took
her, I'd kill them without a hint of mercy." He
closed his eyes for a moment before he could
continue. "I can't help her. I can't even walk or
sit a horse for at least a week. Will you go after
her for me, Reese?"

Reese looked reflective, his silver eyes almost
colorless in the faint light of the room. "What kind of men are we dealing with here, Matthew?"

"The kind of men who would take an innocent
young woman in the middle of the night. They're
cowards! Dregs of the earth saddle bums!"

Reese had often listened to Matthew's praise
of the woman who was to be his bride. He'd bore
anyone who would listen to him with tributes to
the beauty and accomplishments of Saber Vincente. Reese had scoffed at Matthew's assessment of his intended bride. No woman was that
perfect! Reese had once acknowledged that Matthew had the right to perceive her as a paragon
of virtue, but begged his friend to spare him anymore details about Miss Vincente.

"Can you help me, Reese?"

Reese believed in facing the truth in any situation, and it was up to him to point out the
obvious to Matthew. "There is a good chance
that she's already dead, you know. Of course, if
she's a looker, she could suffer a far worse fate."

Matthew paled. "I have considered both those
possibilities. But she has to be alive she just
has to!"

Reese saw the desperation in the major's eyes
and wondered what it would feel like to love a
woman that much. More females than he could
count had lain beneath him during his life, but
none whose loss would tear his guts out. Reese had a powerful drive to make love to women.
But he always grew tired of them after a short
time and moved on to the next one, never involving his heart with any of them.

There was torment in Matthew's eyes. "There
is a chance that she's still alive, isn't there,
Reese?"

Reese proceeded more gently. "There's always
that chance. Now that I think about it, why
would they go to the trouble of kidnapping her
if they were going to kill her? If I remember correctly, your bride-to-be comes from a wealthy
family, doesn't she?"

"Yes. You have heard of her brother, Noble
Vincente."

Reese frowned in thoughtfulness. "I've heard
of the Vincentes who own the Casa del Sol
Ranch and half of west Texas. Is he the same
one?"

"Yes. That would be her brother, Noble."
Hope flamed within Major Halloway as he
looked into Reese's pale eyes. "Don't you think
it's possible that they took her for ransom?"

"It's been done before. It sounds like the most
likely reason for abducting her."

Matthew gritted his teeth when he tried to
shift his position. "Damn this leg! I want to go
after her, but I'd never make it with this."

Reese nodded. "Tell me everything. How was she captured, where was she when she was
taken, and who brought the news to you? Tell
me everything you know about it."

"She was traveling with a companion, Winna
Mae-the housekeeper, more like part of the
family. Saber has written about her many times.
She's of Indian heritage." Matthew looked down
at his balled fists and paused for a moment. "The
plan was for me to meet Saber and Winna Mae
here in Fort Worth and escort them to Fort Griffin, where the wedding would take place." He
dropped his chin on his chest as if he couldn't
go on. "My folks are on their way here from Philadelphia to attend the wedding." His voice became almost inaudible. "We were to be married
in three weeks."

"Why did she come to Fort Worth?"

"Because I encouraged her to meet me here."
He shook his head. "Her brother didn't want her
to travel until he and his wife could make the
trip with her. It's my fault she's missing."

"You shouldn't blame yourself. How could
you guess such a thing would happen?"

"Her brother sent three outriders with her,
and I thought she'd be safe. But apparently Saber sent them home once she got to town, thinking she wouldn't need them when I arrived."

"Where is this Winna Mae? I need to know
everything she can tell me."

"She's down the hall in room fourteen. According to Winna Mae, the men crept through
the window of the hotel room and carried Saber
away."

Reese's eyes burned with suspicion. "They
didn't harm Winna Mae or attempt to take her
with them?"

"They knocked her around a bit; the doctor
had to bandage broken ribs. I think she's all
right, but I couldn't tell for sure. Like most Indians, she's proud and doesn't reveal her suffering."

"Why do you suppose they let her live? Is there
a possibility that she's involved in some way?"

"No. Not her. She's loyal to the Vincente family. I believe they let her live so she could give
me the message about Saber's kidnapping."

"Sometimes people can deceive us. Are you
sure of her loyalty?"

"She'd die for Saber before she'd let any harm
come to her. I'd stake my life on that."

"I take it that the kidnappers haven't made any
demands yet?"

"That's what troubles me. They haven't asked
for anything." Matthew stared up at the ceiling.
"I'm certainly not wealthy and neither is my
family, so they couldn't want ransom from me."

"Which brings us back to her brother," Reese
speculated. "He's the one with the money."

"Noble Vincente is not only wealthy in his own
right, but he married Rachel Rutledge, who
owns the ranch adjoining Casa del Sol, so his
fortune has greatly increased."

"And Miss Vincente-does she have money of
her own?"

Matthew nodded. "I don't know how much,
but I believe she inherited a large fortune." He
glanced into his friend's eyes. "I would marry
Saber if she were penniless and barefoot. I love
her. Do you know what it feels like to love a
woman so much that you can hardly keep your
mind on your duties?"

"No, I don't," Reese said flatly. Then he turned
the conversation back to the kidnapping. "How
did she arrive in Fort Worth?"

"By private carriage. Winna Mae said that Noble Vincente wouldn't allow his sister to travel
by public stage." His eyes were filled with fear.
"If anything's happened to her-"

"Have you sent word to her brother?"

"No. I have been so worried about Saber that
I haven't given her family a thought. I suppose I
should do that right away."

"Yes, I should think so."

Matthew doubled his fist and pounded his
good leg. "My accident happened just ten miles
out of town around the same time she was kidnapped. I should have been here to protect her!"

"It sounds like the kidnapping was a wellthought-out plan to me. What made your horse
spook?"

"There was a sudden rock slide, and my horse
just went loco."

"That might not have been an accident. Besides, I don't think you could have stopped them
if you had been here with a whole troop of cavalry."

Anger rushed through Matthew, and he trembled from the intensity of it. "But you think you
could have saved her if you'd been here is that
what you are implying, Reese?"

"No, that's not what I'm saying, and you know
it. Matthew, if your woman can be found, I'll
bring her back to you."

Matthew's face whitened even more. "These
men have no respect for women. Suppose they
have..." He licked his lips. "What will I do if
they have violated her?"

Reese looked long and hard at his friend. "Just
how much do you love this woman?"

"More than my life. But if they've... touched
her, I just don't know how I'd feel about marrying her."

Matthew's admission made Reese feel suddenly sick inside. If what he said was true, Matthew was the most selfish bastard he'd ever met.
He jerked to his feet, anger tightening inside him like a noose. "If the worst has happened, she will
need your love and understanding more than
ever," he said coldly. He moved to the door,
opened it, and glared back at Matthew. "I'm going to question the housekeeper, Winna Mae. I
suggest you get word to Saber's brother about
what has happened. We may need his help."

Matthew nodded. "I hate like hell to let him
know. Noble Vincente will probably think it's
my fault."

"Just do it," Reese said, going out the door and
closing it firmly behind him.

Reese had half expected to find Winna Mae
wringing her hands and hysterical, but that was
not the case. Although she moved restlessly
about the room, she held her back straight, and
her steps were sure.

Her Indian heritage was apparent in her coloring and her high cheekbones. She was tall.
Her gray hair had been braided and pulled away
from her face. Her eyes were dark and intelligent. His gaze fell to her hands, which were
scarred, as if she'd been badly burned in the
past. He guessed there must be a tragic story behind those scars.

Winna Mae's voice betrayed her irritation
when she spoke. "I suppose you are going to be
as worthless as the sheriff and the witless men he called a posse. I told them which way the kidnappers went, but they didn't believe me, because late last night someone saw three
strangers riding in the opposite direction."

Reese looked past the scorn in her eyes and
saw the concern she felt for Miss Vincente.
"Suppose you tell me everything you know. I
even want to know your impressions, everything
you suspect, and anything you can think of that
might help me. When I've heard your story, then
I'll decide which way to ride when I leave town."

"I'll tell you everything you need to know if
you will take me with you."

Reese shook his head. "You know I can't do
that, ma'am. You'd only slow me down. I have
to move fast if I am going to find Miss Vincente."

At last she nodded and eased herself onto a
chair, trying to hide her wince of pain. "I told
the sheriff that the men made a big show of riding south. But moments later I heard horses gadloping to the north, and I know it was the
kidnappers."

"There can be no mistake?"

"I have good ears, Mr. Starrett. They rode
north. If Saber's brother, Noble, were here, he
would believe me and act accordingly." She lowered her head. "But I have to rely on you because
too much time will be lost before Noble gets
here, and the trail may grow cold."

"It looks like I'm all you've got. Er, what do I
call you?"

"Winna Mae."

"Winna Mae, you will just have to trust me."

"Are you saying you can find her and bring her
back?"

"I'm saying I'm sure as hell going to try." He
drew in a deep breath. "Now, did you overhear
anything that would help me?"

Winna Mae frowned. "They hit me, and I do
not know how long I was out. But when I came
to, I kept my eyes closed so they would think I
was still unconscious. I overheard one of the
men say they had to meet a man named Felton
in Dallas."

Reese looked closely at her. "Are you sure
that's the name they used?"