Read Online The Outlaw and the Lady by Lorraine Heath - Free Book Online

Angela was not asking to stop every twenty minutes for a moment of privacy. As a matter of fact, she had not asked once. He could only assume that she was experiencing a measure of guilt for shooting him and might behave for the duration of the journey. Inwardly he chuckled. He was no fool: if she thought she could gain her freedom, she would do whatever she needed to obtain it.
    He studied the rugged terrain surrounding him. This place was as good as any. “ Hombres , we are going to split up.”
    “But you said we would stay together,” Jorge pointed out.
    “I changed my mind. Those men either are after me, or they want to rescue the woman—”
    “The woman has a name,” she cut in.
    He really needed to put the fear of God into her, or, failing that, at least the fear of himself. “It is rude to interrupt, señorita .”
    “You think it’s polite to drag me where I don’t want to be?” she asked sarcastically.
    “You are getting much too bold.” And she had been ever since she’d awakened from her four-hour sleep. When she’d sat up, just as he’d anticipated, her hair had tumbled around her. Glorious. His gut had clenched with desire, and it had yet to loosen.
    “Then leave me,” she threw out.
    “We have discussed this matter. I am not leaving you.” She shifted in the saddle, causing the ache in his groin to intensify. It was all he could do not to groan aloud.
    “How close are they?” she asked.
    “They are hours behind us.” He slid his gaze from her delicate profile to his brothers, circled around him. He did not like the speculative look on Alejandro’s face. “We separate here. You three ride together. The woman and I will travel in the opposite direction until I think it is safe to circle back around.”
    “Have you considered that those might be Shelby’s men?” Alejandro asked.
    He had not only considered it, but he thought it highly likely—the reason for selecting a bank far from the Mexico border. He’d heard that Shelby assumed they sought refuge on the other side of the Rio Grande. This bank had given them days in unfamiliar territory, and only one man had been standing watch at the bank because they hadn’t wanted to capture him there. They wanted to catch him out in the open, away from witnesses.
    “They will be unmerciful,” Alejandro said, as though he understood the conclusion Lee had reached.
    “First, they must take me prisoner…alive…and that will not happen. Once they have lost the scent, I will return the woman ”—he smiled as within his arms she stiffened with righteousindignation—“to Fortune. If you do not see me within a month, you know what to do.”
    Alejandro hesitated before nodding briskly. “I give you my word that I will see that all is done as we planned.”
    Lee lifted the reins. “Then I will see you at home. Vaya con dios .”
    He nudged his horse into a gallop. The woman settled back against him. His horse was the strongest of the lot, but even he could not continue at a gallop indefinitely. A shame.
     
    Home . Angela had expected Raven to tell his brothers that he’d meet them at a hideout. She’d never expected him to talk about home as though it was a place of fond memories and love.
    She’d heard his brothers’ horses gallop away shortly after Raven had urged his own into a dust-rising pace. They hadn’t traveled long before she noticed the horse straining to work its way up. She couldn’t be certain if they were ascending a rise, a hill, or a small mountain. She only knew that the terrain forced her to sink into Raven. She wished he weren’t so tantalizing…that he could make her want to recoil instead of immerse herself more deeply into the sturdiness he offered.
    The horse gained its footing at the top of the climb. Raven dismounted and helped her down. She no longer stiffened at his touch.
    “Walk around, señorita . We will be on the horse for a long time.”
    She heard ground shift, rocks pop from beneath the tread of