Read Online Sweet Silken Bondage by Bobbi Smith - Free Book Online

silver-tooled belt.
    "Let me see that!" Macauley snatched the belt from
him to study it closely. When he looked up, his
expression was filled with loathing. "You're under
arrest, O'Keefe!"
    "Under arrest?" Devlin repeated stupidly. "For
what? Drinking too much?"
    The sheriff's look turned scathing. "For murder.
Carter, get his gun and rifle. Will, bring the rest of his
things."
    "Yes, sir."
    "Murder?" Devlin continued to argue. "Whose murder? I haven't killed anybody! What the hell are you
talking about?"
    "Shut up and finish getting dressed. You can ask all
the questions later from your jail cell!" the sheriff
snarled, clutching the silver belt in his hand. "Gather
up the rest of his things, boys. Well go through them
back at the office."
    Moments later as they practically dragged him from
the room, Dev called out to Josie who was watching
the whole scene in astonishment from the bed, "Josie!
Go get Clay! Tell him what happened!"
    Clutching the sheet around her, Josie rushed from
the bed to close the door, then hurried to begin
dressing. She had to let Dev's friend know what happened right away. When she'd finally managed to
throw on her clothes, she ran from the room and down
the hall to Frenchie's.
    "Frenchie!" she cried out as she banged on the
locked portal with all her force.
    "What is it?" came the other woman's sleepy response.
    "Frenchie, open up! Something terrible's happened!"
    The panic in her friend's voice sent Frenchie rush ing to the door clad only in a silken wrapper, and she
opened it quickly to let her in. "What's wrong? What
happened?" she asked worriedly as she drew Josie
inside.

    Josie glanced over to where Clay lay, awake and
alert, in her bed. "They took Dev, Clay! You've got to
hurry! YouVe got to get over there!"
    "Somebody took Dev?" Clay frowned in confusion
as he quickly sat up. "Who? Where?"
    "It was the sheriff! He came barging in my room
just a minute ago and arrested him."
    "Arrested him?"
    Josie nodded nervously. "He said it was for
murder..."
    With that, Clay nearly vaulted from the bed and
began to dress. "Tell me exactly what he said, Josie,"
he pressed urgently. He knew Dev and he knew how
he would react to being locked up.
    Dev had been just a boy of ten when his parents
had fled Ireland. Neither of his parents had survived
the rough ocean-crossing to America, though, and
he'd arrived in New York with very little money and
only an uncle to rely on for help. The uncle had taken
him in, all right, but he had spent all his money and
had nearly worked him to death. When Dev had
dared to complain, his uncle had beaten him and then
locked him in a closet until he was ready to go back to
work. As soon as he was big enough and strong
enough to take care of himself, Dev had left the East
Coast and headed west to the gold fields. Still, to this
day though, Clay knew his friend couldn't stand being
cooped up in a small area. That's why he had to get
him out of that jail cell right away.
    "I don't know; it all happened so fast," Josie was
saying. "I mean, he woke us up from a sound sleep."
    "Just tell me what you can remember," he urged, stuffing the bottom of his shirt into the waistband of
his pants.

    "It had to do with his silver belt."
    "The belt?" Clay gave her an incredulous look as he
finished dressing.
    "Yes. After they found it, Macauley arrested him
for murder! He even brought two deputies along with
him. I guess he thought Dev might be dangerous."
    "I don't believe any of this!" Clay was still stunned
as he strapped on his gunbelt.
    "Believe it!" she insisted. "He told me to tell you
right away."
    "Thanks, Josie," he said as he picked up his hat and
started from the room.
    "Clay..." Frenchie's call reminded him of her
presence.
    "I don't know when I'll be back" he said, and then
he was gone.
    Clay reached the sheriffs office to find that his
friend had indeed been arrested and was locked up in
one of the cells in the back of the