Sweet Silken Bondage (34 page)

Dev vowed there in the darkness of that alley,
that somehow he would prove his innocence and be
vindicated. He had to prove to Molly that he
couldn't be guilty of such a terrible thing. He
wanted her complete trust.

When the couple had moved on, Dev and Molly
broke apart, staring at each other in wonder in the
deeply shadowed night. It was Molly who came to
her senses first as the roar of the mob echoed
strangely through the passageway. The realization of
the danger Dev was in, plus the fact that his very
life hung in the balance, jarred her into action.

"Come on! We've got to hurry!" Tearing her gaze
from his, she grabbed his hand again and led him
out into the open.

They moved off quietly down the now-deserted
street making sure to keep their pace normal and
unrushed so they would draw no attention to themselves. They were tense and on edge as they crossed the street the jail was on, and both were horrified
when they looked down the block and saw a crowd
of about twenty-five drunken rowdies milling angrily
around in front of the jailhouse. They couldn't see
Sheriff Macauley anywhere, but they knew he was
there somewhere, holding the line, giving them the
precious time they needed to get away.

As slowly as they were walking, it took Molly and
Dev some time to get to her home. When they
finally arrived, she rushed him immediately inside
and locked the door behind them. Her face was
pale and her hands shaking as she stared at Dev
across the main room.

"We made it," he said in a low voice. "Molly, you
risked your life for me. I'm grateful."

"You risked your life for me...or have you
forgotten?" she said clearly, her eyes sparkling with
the pride she felt at having been able to help him.
She had so little else in her life that she needed that
sense of pride.

"No, I hadn't forgotten," Dev told her. "But you
didn't have to do this. You could have left me
there. You didn't have to endanger yourself."

"I couldn't have left you to the mercy of that
mob! They might have killed you!"

Dev's eyes met and held hers. "It might have
been better for you, Molly, if you hadn't gotten
involved."

"No," she whispered, "I don't believe that." She
gazed up at him, wishing things could have been
different, easier, but she knew this was no fairy
tale. She was no princess, and Dev was no prince
here to rescue her on his white charger. This was
Dev, an accused murderer, whose safety depended
on her ability to keep him hidden in her house
until the sheriff could come for him. He had come
to mean too much to her. She loved him. Despite
the fact that everyone else thought him guilty, she knew in her heart that he was no cold-blooded
killer.

The magnetism between them was nearly overpowering and just as they would have moved together, Jimmy came out of her mother's bedroom.

"Molly?" he said her name questioningly as he
glanced from his sister to the strange man standing
in the middle of the room. "What are you doing
home?"

"Jimmy..." she said his name almost as if she
was surprised to see him there. Then she regained
control. "This is a friend of mine who's coming to
stay with us for a while. Dev, this is my brother,
Jimmy."

"Hello, Jimmy. Do you mind if I bunk here a
day or so?" Dev was aware of the boy's intense
scrutiny, and he smiled. It pleased him to find that
the boy was protective of his sister.

Jimmy blinked. It was the first time anyone had
ever addressed him as if he were the man of the
house. His self-esteem rose a notch, and he returned Dev's smile tentatively. "No...It's all right,
if Molly wants you to." He was puzzled by his
presence, but trusted his sister's judgment. It wasn't
like her to bring just anybody home. "Molly,
Mother-"

Molly's whole focus changed immediately. Secure
that Dev was relatively safe now, she turned her
thoughts to her mother again. "How is she?"

"I don't know."

"Dev, wait out here. I've got to see how she is,"
Molly said as she disappeared into the bedroom
with Jimmy following her.

Left alone, Dev looked around. There were a
table and three chairs in the small kitchen area and
only a few pieces of threadbare furniture in what
was considered the sitting room. Two other bedrooms, besides the mother's, opened off that main room, and they were both just as spartanly furnished, too. Though the family had few belongings,
what they had they took care of, and they kept the
house impeccably clean. Dev was impressed.

Meanwhile, Molly and Jimmy moved to stand
beside their mother's bed.

"How's she been?" she asked him nervously as she
knelt down beside the bed and touched her mother's
forehead to find she was burning up.

"She's been real quiet," he said worriedly. He
struggled manfully not to cry. "I'm scared."

"Don't worry, everything's gonna be fine. I want
you to run out and get the doctor."

"The doctor? How are we gonna pay for it?"
Jimmy asked, surprised by her command. "You
know what Mother said. She said we owed him too
much already."

"I know, but Dev's helping us. He's going to pay
for the doctor."

"He is?" That elevated Dev to a new plane in his
thinking. No one had ever helped them out before,
except the doctor, and his mother was too proud to
let them take any more charity from him.

"He is, but, Jimmy, there's something you have to
do for us...for me."

"What?"

"We can't tell anyone that Dev's staying here."

Her brother frowned. He wasn't used to being
secretive about things. "How come?"

"Can you just trust me for now, and I promise I'll
explain everything to you later?"

"Sure," he said seriously, "we've always been able
to trust each other, haven't we?"

"You've grown up a lot," she said quietly. "Our
father would be proud of you."

Jimmy was uncomfortable with an emotion he
didn't understand. "If nobody's supposed to know,
where's he gonna be when I come back with the doctor?"

"Well think of something. Just remember, no one,
absolutely no one, can know he's here. Promise?"

"All right, I promise"

Molly gave him a quick hug. "Now, run get the
doctor. I'll be waiting right here for you."

"What about work? Don't you have to go back?"

"I will, but I'll go after the doctor leaves. Right
now, mother's more important."

Jimmy was relieved to turn the burden of concern
over to Molly again, and he rushed off to get the
physician.

After the boy had left the house, Dev waited for
Molly to come back out. When she didn't appear
right away, he went to stand in the bedroom doorway where the door was slightly ajar. He could see
her bending over her mother's inert form as she
bathed her face with a damp cloth.

"Molly?" he said her name softly, not wanting to
risk disturbing the ill woman. "Can I help you?"

"No, I was just trying to make her more comfortable," Molly answered, dampening the cloth once
more and then wringing it out before she placed it
on her mother's forehead. That done, she got slowly
to her feet and went to join Dev. "We've got to find
you a place to hide before the doctor gets here."

"Just tell me what you want me to do."

"You'll... you'll have to stay in my bedroom"
The strain of the entire situation was beginning to
reflect in the haunted shadows of her eyes.

"There's no telling how soon Jimmy will get back.
It might be five minutes or it might be two hours.
We can't take any chances."

Dev could plainly see the fear in her expression,
and a great sense of protectiveness filled him. He
wished there was some way he could ease her
plight. Without really thinking about it, following
his instincts only, he reached out for her and took her in his arms. For a moment her body was stiff
as she fought the tears. But she had ached too long,
and Dev had touched that vulnerable spot with his
tenderness and understanding. He cradled her near
as she wept, realizing how right it seemed to be
holding her this way. The soft womanliness of her
body fit naturally against the hard male contours of
his own.

"You're so very special, Molly..." Dev said in a
husky voice. He lifted his hands to frame her face
and tilted it up to him, and Molly suddenly felt
special... and warm... and...

Molly felt like swaying against him. He was so
warm and tender and caring. She had never known
anyone like him in her life. The thought that she
might soon lose him, filled her eyes with tears.

Dev saw the shimmer of tears in her gaze and
gave a guttural groan. "Ali, Molly, I want so badly
to make everything right for you." Then, unable to
resist any more, he kissed her. It was a loving kiss
filled with passion and promise.

Molly was the one to break off the embrace. She
was afraid that at any moment they might be interrupted and Dev might be caught. "You have to
hide. You know what will happen if they find out
you're here."

Her concern for him eased the ache Dev felt
when she moved deliberately away. Dev gave her a
crooked grin, touched her cheek in a gentle caress
and without another word walked into her room
and closed the door. Molly was frightened of an
emotion she didn't know or understand. It grew like
a tidal wave, overpowering her thoughts until she
sighed in confusion.

Lying on the bed with his arms folded behind his
head, Dev listened to the sound of her retreating
footsteps as she hurried back to tend to her mother.
As he remained hidden, he prayed that the doctor would come soon and that everything would be fine,
if not for him, then for sweet, gentle Molly.

Sheriff Macauley stood alone in front of his office, ready to face down the crowd of drunken men
heading his way. He stood tall and immovable, the
shotgun he carried held across his chest.

As they drew near enough he spoke, "You'll all
have to go on home. There will be no vigilante
justice in my town."

"We ain't goin' nowhere!" Rex hollered. "We've
come for O'Keefe. We want to see real justice
done!"

"O'Keefe's in my custody. Hell stand trial when
the time is right. That's when justice will be done,"
Macauley replied, as if he was unperturbed.

"That ain't good enough!" Bucky yelled. "We
know he's guilty! Let's hang the bastard!"

"Yeah!" Bloodlust was running high in the crowd,
and they started to surge forward.

Macauley wasn't about to give ground or be
overrun. The sharp click of the gun hammers
sounded as he lowered the barrel of the shotgun to
aim at the first approaching man. The action
brought the lead man and the crowd behind him to
a halt.

"I said, O'Keefe's in my custody, and he's going
to stay that way!"

"How long you plannin' on keepin' him in your
custody? Santana's cold and rottin' in his grave, and
that bastard is still sitting pretty in jail!" Charley
said in a loud voice, wanting to keep the crowd
fired up.

"Shut up and go home!" Macauley threatened.
"Move along! I don't want any trouble with any of
you"

"We don't want any trouble with you either, Sher iff, so just hand O'Keefe over and then we will
move along."

"Get out of here, all of you. I don't want to have
to shoot, but I will."

"The sheriff ain't gonna hand him over, so let's
just take him ourselves!" someone cried, and again
they moved forward.

Macauley fired one barrel into the air. "Next man
who moves is dead," he declared in a murderous
tone, pointing the gun directly at the leaders of the
crowd. Look," he continued, "I hope you think this
prisoner is worth dying over, because if you try to
break in my jail, one of you sure as hell is gonna
die."

"You can't kill us all!" Rex snarled.

"No," the sheriff said calmly, "but the first man
gets a load in the stomach. Think about it."

Rex was no hero and neither was any other man
in the crowd. Enthusiasm for a hanging was fading
before the sheriff's steady gaze, and even steadier
shotgun.

"What'll it be?" Macauley pressed, and he was
immensely relieved when the mob began to break
up and drift away.

Charley was furious, but knew he could do nothing more right now without being too conspicuous.
He headed back to the saloon with Rex and Bucky.

"Somebody must have warned him we were coming," Charley seethed. "How else could he have been
ready and waiting for us?"

"Yeah, but who?"

"I don't know, but I intend to find out," he vowed
as they reentered the bar.

Doctor Lyle Rivers, a portly gentleman with a
trim, gray beard and mustache, responded right
away to the urgent knock at his door. He was surprised to find little Jimmy Magee standing there.

"Why, Jimmy, good to see you again," he greeted
him warmly. He liked the Magee family, thought
them good, honest people, though they were having
a rough time of it right now.

"Dr. Rivers, you gotta come with me!" he cried.
He'd managed to contain his worry up until now,
but he was desperate to get home as quickly as he
could.

"What is it? What's happened?"

"It's my mother, sir. She's real sick. Will you
come, now? Right away?"

"It's that serious?"

"Yes, sir. She's been sick for days now with a
fever and all, and she's not getting any better.
Molly's got money to pay you this time, so you
don't have to worry," he added, not wanting him to
think that they'd be asking for charity.

The physician gave him a tender look for he
knew how important it was to this family to pay
their own way and not be indebted to anyone.
"That's never been a problem, Jimmy. Don't worry
about it." He hurried to get his bag. "Let's go, shall
we?"

The boy broke into a bright smile as he accompanied him on the long trek back home.

"Sorry it took us so long, Molly, but there was a
lot of trouble at the jail," Jimmy told his sister as
soon as they reached the house.