Surrender to the Fury (35 page)

“Don’t wait up for me, Aimee,” he said as he handed her into the buggy. “I might not make it back to the hotel tonight.”

Aimee was stunned. She couldn’t believe Nick had actually been serious about not sharing her bed. As lusty as Nick was, she thought it highly unlikely that he’d forgo his marital rights—no matter what he had said to the contrary.

“Where will you sleep?”

“Do you care? Are you prepared to surrender to
me in every respect? Can you forget Beauregard Trevor and the fact that I’m a Yankee?”

Immediately she drew back. “You ask too much of me.”

“No, sweetheart, I ask only that you be honest with yourself for once and admit that you love me despite the fact that you’re a Reb and I’m a Yank.”

“I—can’t.”

He nodded curtly. “I’ll drop by to see Brand tomorrow. I wouldn’t want him to think his papa is neglecting him.” He motioned to the driver, and the buggy jerked into motion.

Aimee stared straight ahead, wanting desperately to turn and look at him, but she feared that he’d assume she was issuing him an invitation. With her eyes trained straight ahead, she wondered if Nick would be celebrating their marriage tonight, and with whom.

The following day Aimee decided to leave when Nick came by the hotel to see Brand. When Savannah was occupied elsewhere with Brand, she slipped out of the hotel, telling no one she was leaving. She knew Savannah would scold her for avoiding Nick, but she was too much of a coward to face the hurt and accusation in his green eyes.

Wandering aimlessly through town, Aimee stopped briefly before a store window, admiring a dress on display. The day was cold and windy, and she pulled her cloak tightly about her as she gazed into the store window. Suddenly an image appeared in the glass beside her and she whirled, looking for the face she had seen reflected in the window. It was a face she had seen before. To her consternation, Aimee saw no one she recognized.
When she glanced back toward the window, the image was gone.

Shaken by the experience, Aimee continued on her way. She had just turned back toward the hotel when a man appeared at her elbow. “Keep walking and don’t let on that anything is wrong.”

Aimee blanched as she glanced up at the man who had grasped her elbow. Gar Pinder! What was he doing in Washington? “I thought you were in prison.”

“There’s isn’t a prison in the world that can hold me,” Pinder sneered. “After being jailed for a time in Atlanta, I was transported to Washington for trial. I managed to escape from my guards, but I need help. You can’t imagine how surprised and delighted I was to see you in Washington.”

“I can’t help you, Gar,” Aimee said shakily. “I’m married now, to Nick Drummond, and I refuse to spy.”

“You married a damn Yankee?” Pinder said, aghast. “You deceitful little bitch!” His grip on her arm tightened.

“Stop it, you’re hurting me!”

His grip slackened. “I need money and a pass to get me through Union lines.”

“I have no money. Besides, the war is all but over.”

“Not for me,” Gar said. “I’m still wanted by the Yankees. You owe me, Aimee. It’s your fault the Yankees caught me. You should have known your lover was following you, and taken precautions.”

“I told you, Gar, I won’t help you.”

Suddenly Pinder grinned evilly. “Perhaps your husband will give me safe passage out of town in return for your life.”

“Don’t count on it,” Aimee mumbled, fully aware of Nick’s anger toward her.

“What did you say?”

“Nothing. I’m not going to stand here arguing with you. Let go of my arm.”

“You’re coming with me.”

“I’m going nowhere with you.”

“If you want to see your son again, I suggest you come along quietly. I have a gun, and I’ve nothing to lose by killing you. On the other hand, I have everything to gain by taking you with me and demanding safe passage through Union lines from your husband.”

“I don’t believe you,” Aimee said, eyeing him warily.

His right hand slid into his pocket and produced a gun, which he shoved into Aimee’s ribs. Aimee gasped, looking around to see if anyone had noticed her plight. To her chagrin, passersby appeared too preoccupied with their own problems to pay heed to hers. She could always scream, but Gar was a desperate man, and she knew he was capable of shooting her in cold blood.

“Now do you believe me?” Aimee gulped and nodded. “Walk,” he rasped, nudging her in the ribs. He led her toward the railway station.

When they reached the depot, Pinder prodded her away from the crowd, toward the rows of empty boxcars sitting on unused tracks at the rear of the station house. He seemed to know exactly where he was going. He shoved her toward a deserted area where several boxcars sat abandoned on the tracks. Stopping before one of the cars, he pushed open the door and quickly lifted her inside.
He scrambled in behind her and slid the door shut.

In the light filtering from between the slats of the boxcar, Aimee could see various items of stolen apparel, half-eaten food, and sundry items littering the floor, indicating that Pinder had been using the boxcar as a hiding place for some time. From somewhere amidst the debris Pinder found a rope and advanced on Aimee.

“What are you going to do?”

“I’m going to make sure you stay put while I contact your husband,” Pinder said as he grasped Aimee and wrestled her hands behind her back. Despite her struggles, he quickly tied her hands, lowered her to the floor, and bound her ankles. When Aimee screeched in protest, he tore a strip of cloth from her petticoat and stuffed it into her mouth. After making certain her bonds were secure, he let himself out of the boxcar, closing the door behind him. Never had Aimee felt so alone in all her life.

Nick let himself into the hotel suite, wondering if Aimee had slept as badly as he had last night. He would have preferred to spend the night with her, making love to her like a bridegroom instead of sleeping on the narrow cot in his office. But he’d be damned if he’d beg her.

Savannah bustled into the room, Brand trotting closely behind her. When she saw Nick, her face fell. “I thought you were Aimee.” Disappointment was keen on her wrinkled, dark face.

A thrill of apprehension shivered down Nick’s spine. “Isn’t Aimee here?”

“Mama left early today and didn’t tell us she
was leaving,” Brand explained. His little face was screwed up into a worried frown.

Nick looked to Savannah for confirmation and found it in the woman’s concerned expression. “Where could she have gone? Did she mention nothing to you? No errands that needed tending?”

“She didn’t say a word, Major.”

Suddenly a knock sounded on the door, and Nick hurried to answer it. “That must be her now. She probably forgot her key.” Nick’s face fell when he opened the door and found the desk clerk standing in the portal.

“This message was left for you at the front desk, sir.” He handed Nick a folded square of paper and took his leave. Nick stared at the paper as if he expected it to reach out and bite him.

“What’s de note say, Major?” Savannah asked anxiously.

Carefully Nick unfolded the note. His face contorted in rage as he read the message inside. “Damn him to hell!”

“Is it from Mama?” Brand asked innocently.

Dropping to his knees, Nick grasped Brand’s narrow shoulders and said, “No, son, it’s not from your mama. It’s something I have to handle alone. Go to your room and play while I talk to Savannah.” Frightening Brand was the least thing Nick wanted to do.

Brand left somewhat reluctantly, but Savannah was not so easily appeased. “Somethin’s happened to my chile, I just know it!”

“I won’t lie to you, Savannah; this note is from Garson Pinder. He has Aimee. He wants a pass through Union lines in return for Aimee’s life.”

“Oh, Lordy,” Savannah groaned, rolling her eyes in genuine distress. “What you gonna do, Major?”

“I’ll find Aimee, Savannah; don’t you worry. Go to Brand. Try to keep him from suspecting that his mother is in danger.”

“Do you think Mr. Pinder will hurt my chile?”

“Gar Pinder is a desperate man, and desperate men are capable of many things. I’d heard he’d escaped from his guards on his way to trial, but I never suspected he’d stay in Washington this long. Never fear, I’ll find Aimee. I love her too much to allow anything bad to happen to her.”

“Bless you, Major,” Savannah said, wiping her eyes with the corner of her apron.

Before Nick left the hotel, he questioned the desk clerk and learned little except that the description of the man who left the message clearly resembled that of Gar Pinder. According to instructions in the note, he was to bring a legal paper guaranteeing safe passage through union lines to the railway station at midnight tonight. He was to come alone and meet Pinder behind the depot. He promised to release Aimee after he had the document in his hands, but Nick didn’t trust him to keep his word. Nor did Nick intend to comply himself. He planned on having Aimee back safely long before midnight.

Nick returned to his office immediately, changed his uniform for civilian clothes, and spoke in strict confidence to the officer in charge of the garrison. Then he went to the train station, mingling with the crowd as he kept surveillance on the area. Since Pinder asked Nick to meet him behind the depot, Nick astutely surmised that the Reb had been hiding nearby and probably had Aimee with
him. The area behind the station seemed a logical place to focus his attention, and the dozens of deserted boxcars looked like a good place to start his search. His main concern was searching the area without attracting Pinder’s notice. If the Reb thought he had been discovered, Nick feared he would harm Aimee.

Aimee’s arms felt numb, and her legs had lost their feeling long ago. Pinder had returned to the boxcar a short time ago but made no effort to untie her or remove her gag.

“By now your Yankee husband has my note,” Pinder said as he stood glaring down at Aimee. “Once he hands over the pass, he’ll never leave the railyard alive.” Aimee’s eyes grew wild. “If you’re wondering what I intend to do with you, you’d best start saying your prayers. Beau Trevor would turn over in his grave if he knew you’d betrayed him with a damn Yank. When I kill you, I’ll merely be ridding the world of another traitor. I’m only keeping you alive in case I have to show you off to Drummond to get my pass. After that you’ll both die.”

Aimee’s heart thudded frantically in her breast. She should have known a man like Pinder wouldn’t let her leave alive. Oh please, God, don’t let Nick come, she silently pleaded. She didn’t care what happened to her as long as he was safe to care for Brand and Savannah.

Nick slipped silent as a wraith from boxcar to boxcar, keeping to the shadows as he paused beside each car, listening for signs of life inside. He was almost to the last of the cars now, having examined each in turn until he had nearly given up
hope of finding Aimee and Pinder in one of him. Evidently his thinking had been flawed, for he had found no indication that Pinder and Aimee were anywhere in the vicinity. Then suddenly the sound of a human voice from inside one of the cars brought him instantly alert. The voice was coming from a boxcar directly ahead of him. Then the voice abruptly ceased. Nick had a decision to make.

He was almost certain Aimee was inside the boxcar with Pinder, and if he was speaking to her, she was still alive. But if he stormed the boxcar or let on that he was outside, Aimee was likely to be hurt—or killed. After several minutes of careful consideration, he hunkered down behind the boxcar to wait. Just knowing that Aimee was inside with a dangerous man nearly drove him mad, but Nick was a seasoned soldier and knew his best chance of rescuing Aimee alive would come when Pinder left the boxcar at midnight.

“It’s time,” Pinder said, rising to his feet. Outside, darkness was a curtain that covered the land in a black shroud. Thin clouds obscured the moon, making the darkness even more impenetrable. “Enjoy your last minutes on the earth.” His nasty laugh lingered in the air long after he had slipped out into the night.

Stiff with cold, Nick heard the whisper of the door as it slid across the boxcar opening. He rose to his feet, his body tense, his mind alert. A few moments later he saw a lone figure emerge through the opening and move stealthily through the darkness. Nick waited until Pinder was lost amidst the boxcars before leaving his hiding place.

Aimee heard the door slide open, and her first
thought was that Pinder had decided to kill her before he met Nick. The darkness was so complete, she saw nothing, not even a shadow. She nearly fainted when Nick’s voice came to her from out of nowhere.

“Aimee, where are you?”

Gagged as she was, all Aimee could do was make desperate sounds deep in her throat. But they were enough for Nick to locate her. “What has he done to you, sweetheart?” he said when he felt the ropes binding her limbs. Moving his hands upward, he felt the gag and gently drew it out of her mouth.

Aimee drew in a ragged breath as the dryness left her mouth. “Oh, Nick, thank God. He was going to kill us both.”

“We have to hurry, love.” From somewhere inside his clothing he produced a knife and carefully cut her bonds. Aimee nearly screamed when blood spurted through her abused limbs, causing untold pain. “Can you walk?” he asked as he helped her to her feet. “Pinder will be back the moment he realizes I’m not behind the depot to meet him.”

At first Aimee’s legs felt wooden, but because their lives depended on her ability to move swiftly, she forced herself to place one foot before the other. Taking her hand, Nick helped her from the boxcar. Then, realizing that she was unable to move as effortlessly as he would have liked, he lifted her in his arms and carried her from the railyard.

“What about Gar?” she asked breathlessly.

Just then a Union soldier materialized from the darkness. “Is your wife safe, Major?” the young lieutenant asked.

“She’s fine, lieutenant You have your orders. You can take Pinder now without endangering my wife’s life. And, Lieutenant, send a man over to the hotel to tell my son and my wife’s companion that we are both safe.”

Saluting, the soldier melted back into the shadows.