The smell of death hung heavy in the air. Jordan tied her kerchief around her face. Swallowing the bile in her throat, she said a quick prayer for the unfortunate victims, hoping the murderer was not in the vicinity.
After three months on the trail, she'd been hardened by what she had seen, but nothing could have prepared her for this. This was beyond violent. She shuddered as her gaze fell on a woman, her naked body mutilated, her head bloodied where she had been scalped. Nearby was a corpse pinned to a tree by at least a dozen arrows.
Jordan turned away, tears stinging her eyes. She glanced at her cousin who looked ready to faint. "Kari, let's go," she said, her voice sounding as weak as her knees.
"This couldn't have happened too long ago. Jordan, you don't think that whoever did this is still around, do you?"
Thinking along the same line, Jordan replied, "Come on, let's get out of here."
"I'm not feeling--" Kari stopped in mid-sentence, her startled gaze fixed on something past Jordan's shoulder. As the color drained from her cousin's cheeks, the hair on the back of Jordan's neck stood on end. She went for her gun and muttered a curse, realizing she had left it in her saddlebag, which was on her horse, a good fifty yards away.
Having no recourse but to face the unknown demon unarmed, Jordan took a deep breath and turned.
Her heart slammed against her ribs to find an Indian watching them. His chiseled face was emotionless, giving her no clue to his thoughts or motives. Her gaze moved down his tall, lean form. The leather vest did little to cover his powerful chest and broad shoulders, or the stomach that rippled with muscle. Leather breeches hung low on his hips -- and he was barefoot. A shiver ran down her spine. He was barbaric, right down to the gold band that encircled his muscular right bicep.
Sweat beaded her brow and her legs shook violently. Eleven years ago Jordan had seen another Indian who looked very much like him. She had been only seven years old at the time. It had been a gorgeous summer day in Fife. Warmer than usual, she had gone fishing in the stream behind the log home she shared with her parents. Then screams had pierced the serenity around her. By the time she reached the house, her parents lay dead in a pool of blood, their necks sliced open. In the distance, fleeing the scene, she counted four Indians on horseback.
A twig snapped. She looked up to find the Indian walking toward them. With every step that brought him closer, it took every bit of control Jordan possessed not to run.
He stopped a few feet from her. Now that he was near, she could see his eyes were not the brown she expected but silvery gray. A half-breed! Black hair, dark skin, and intense light eyes -- that held no warmth whatsoever.
She and Kari had seen several Indians earlier in their journey, but those were civilized men who dressed and lived like the whites. There was nothing civilized looking about this man. He was just like the savages who had killed her parents and the two poor souls who had passed this way before them.
Her heart thumped wildly, and her mind scrambled knowing her next move could possibly be her last. "We were just leaving. We didn't do anything." Taking Kari's trembling hand in her own, she continued, "We just came upon them ourselves, just minutes ago."
He didn't so much as blink as an uncomfortable silence fell over the clearing.
Jordan jumped as he stepped around her, going down on his haunches beside the dead woman. His fingers lightly brushed the woman's face before he stood, his gaze then shifting to the other victim. The nerve in his jaw ticked and his fingers clenched into fists at his sides.
As she watched him, Jordan wondered if the woman was his wife or some other relation. A wave of compassion swept through her remembering the overwhelming agony when she'd found her parents slain. "Let's get out of here," she whispered, motioning for Kari to follow her.
She hadn't heard or seen the Indian move until it was too late. Strong, hard fingers encircled her wrist. She trembled as his gaze moved over her face, then slowly down her body, hesitating a moment on her heaving chest before meeting her gaze again. His face was void of any emotion, except the coldness of his eyes. With a jerk, she tried to pull free of his grasp, but his superior strength made it impossible.
Never in all her eighteen years had she stood face to face with such an ominous foe -- one so intimidating, she didn't doubt he would kill her in the blink of an eye. When he picked up a lock of hair from her shoulder, Jordan tensed, concluding that he wanted to add her scalp to his collection. Unconsciously she pulled the hair from his fingers. Relief flooded her as he released her. "What do you want?" she asked, wincing when her voice broke. "We didn't kill them -- you know that. We don't have bows and arrows."
Icy contempt flashed in his eyes before he turned to his mount that stood nearby. "Please leave," she whispered under her breath, watching and waiting as he walked to his horse. Go! Leave us alone! She yearned to scream the words, but instead stood silently, waiting. Then to her dismay, he turned and headed back toward them, a length of rawhide in his hand. Jordan's eyes widened in alarm as his intention became clear.
"Jordan?" Kari's voice was full of fear. "You don't think that he will--"
"Run!" Jordan yelled, bolting toward her horse as though the devil himself was after them. Her heart was pounding so loud she could hear nothing over it. Grabbing the pommel with both hands, she swung herself onto the horses back -- only to be yanked off a second later.
Turning, she met the Indian's cold gray stare.
"Listen. We did not kill these people! We are innocent, do you hear me? We haven't done anything!" she screamed.
Ignoring her plea, he grabbed her hands roughly. She tried to pull free of his grasp, but his fingers were like steel bands. Fear overriding reason, Jordan kicked him in the shin. He only winced before tightening his hold and binding her wrists with the end of the rawhide. The leather bit into her skin as she twisted her hands in an attempt to loosen the rough binding.
Kari's ear-piercing scream startled Jordan, but the Indian ignored her and continued wrapping her wrists with the tough leather. Letting out some slack, he leaped on his horse with an ease Jordan had never seen, and some other time may have appreciated. But now she wanted nothing more than to stick a knife between those broad shoulders.
Kari's large blue eyes were wide with shock. Her mouth was open as she gazed down at her bound wrists, then back to the Indian. Jordan knew that look well -- panic. Kari in a panic was not a pretty sight, and could very well prove to be disastrous for them. "Kari, everything is going to be just fine. There are two of us and only one of him. Besides, someone may come by--"
"Jordan, we are tied to one, if not the strongest Indian God ever made. If that's not enough, look around you. There is nothing for miles. We have not seen another human being for days now, except for the ones who are dead!" Kari's voice grew higher with every syllable.
"Kari, now is not the time to get hysterical."
"Would you like to tell me when the appropriate time might be? Maybe when he ties us to a stake and burns us alive? Or maybe when his entire village rapes us? Or maybe he will--"
They were jerked forward, ending further argument. Jordan couldn't blame Kari for her anger, especially when minutes ago they were free and within days of her ranch. Now they were captives of an Indian, their fate unknown. She heard the stories of Indian captives, and knew they would be lucky to see the sun rise.
Her gaze returned to the Indian's back where strong muscle rippled beneath the taut dark skin of his broad shoulders. Knowing they needed a way out of this predicament, Jordan tried to think of some way to create a diversion and only one came to mind.
In stubborn desperation she stopped in mid-stride. The rope quickly tightened and she was jerked roughly to the ground. She heard Kari cry out. For what seemed an eternity, she was dragged over rock and across hard-packed ground. Dirt and grit filled her mouth, the rope rubbed her wrists raw, and her shoulders felt as though they were being ripped from the sockets. She nearly cried out in pain, but was saved from doing so when he finally stopped.
The next few minutes would seal their fate. She knew she had to plan her actions carefully so he wouldn't suspect her motives.
Eyes closed, keeping her breath shallow and even, she waited, listening as he slid from his horse and came toward her. A few moments later, the heat from his body told her he was right beside her. He pushed her onto her back, then a strong, calloused hand rested on her forehead as he raised her eyelid. For that split second she could swear she read concern in his eyes. Her chance came when he glanced over his shoulder at Kari.
Fear overriding reason, Jordan struck out. A well-aimed foot hit its mark and he fell to the ground in a heap, his hands instinctively clutching his groin.
Gray eyes flashed with rage and pain when he looked at her. But to her dismay, he slowly came to his feet, towering over her, his expression lethal. For a horrible instant Jordan was sure she was staring death in the face. Then she saw Kari standing behind him with a rock raised in her hand. Horror quickly turned to relief as a sickening thud sounded. A breath-stopping second passed before the Indian's eyes rolled back in his head and he fell to the ground at Jordan's feet.
~ * ~
Jordan sat at the base of a tree, exhausted, but unable to sleep, knowing that one angry Indian was out there somewhere. Kari sat beside her, looking like a terrified child as she stared into the darkness. As a lonely howl pierced the night, Jordan wondered if the full moon was a godsend or a curse.
Kari jumped at the sound, her hand lying flat over her heart. "Do you think he's all right? I mean, you don't think I killed him, do you?" she asked, biting her bottom lip nervously.
"Of course not. He's a big man. You probably just stunned him, that's all." Jordan hoped she sounded more confident than she felt. Kari had hit him hard, and head injuries could be serious, even fatal.
Since escaping the Indian hours ago, Jordan had been wondering where he was. Dead or alive, either way she and Kari were in a perilous situation. If he were alive, he would hunt them down and probably recapture them, maybe even kill them. And if he were already dead, his tribe would no doubt track them and kill them . . . slowly. Horrible visions raced through her mind and she shook her head to dispel them.
"It will do us no good to sit here and fret about it. Let's get going. The more space we can put between us and him, the better off we'll be." Jordan stood, stretched, then stopped, having seen a flash of movement from the corner of her eye. By the time she glanced over at her cousin, the half-breed had one arm around Kari's waist, the other clamped tightly over her mouth. "Let her--" Jordan was instantly silenced by his dark, angry expression.
Kari's gaze slipped to Jordan's waist, reminding her she had a gun tucked into the band of her breeches. Her heart beat triple time. Jordan didn't dare flinch, waiting for the Indian to make his move.
She didn't have long to wait as a few moments later, he started to bind Kari's wrists together. Knowing she may never have another opportunity, Jordan pulled the gun out and aimed it at his head. He was less than five feet away, point blank range, and she knew the damage it would do. He would die -- they wouldn't.
His eyes narrowed dangerously. His hand flashed and in the blink of an eye, he held a knife at Kari's throat. Staring into his eyes, Jordan knew he had no intention of letting her win. Dropping the gun, she held her hands up in defeat.
"Do you have to bind us?" she asked, as he stepped toward her with rawhide in hand. She struck out at him, clipping his jaw with her fist. Her hand ached horribly, but his head barely moved at the contact, and if anything, it only served to fuel his anger. As he reached for her, she kicked him in the shin while landing a punch to his rock-hard stomach. Unfortunately, both tactics failed to stop him. He grabbed her wrists and tied them even tighter than before, his gray eyes flat and as unreadable as stone.
Releasing a short expanse of rope, he helped Kari onto the back of his mount, then quickly jumped on, leaving Jordan to walk behind them.
