The Gambler E-Book

Lois Greiman

• Herausgeber: NYLA
• Kategorie: Gesellschafts- und Liebesromane
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 547

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 1995

Beschreibung

"THE GAMBLER captures your attention from page one with its snappy dialogue, intriguing characters and clever plot. Here is one western with a twist you won't want to miss. SWEET." –Romantic Times "Lois Greiman delivers!" –Christina Dodd, New York Times bestselling author Legendary bounty hunter and gambler, Raven Scott, is steeped in darkness – from his jet-black hair, his dark, brooding eyes, his lethally toned body, to the depths of his cynical soul. He keeps emotions under his hat, and people at arm's length – that's how he plays them so well…As for women? You take your best chance, then move on to the next game. Now he's chasing down a missing heiress and an easy payday – but he's met his match in gambler's daughter Charm Fergusson! Charm can't believe she's really the long-lost Chantilly Grady; and she trusts Raven about as much as she'd trust a player who holds five aces! But resisting Raven is a losing gamble; and in a game of hearts, the only winning hand is true love!

Leseprobe

THE GAMBLER

Copyright © 1995 by Lois Greiman

Dedication

To Laurette Nelson, who believed in my talent long before I had any.

Thanks Mom—for all the times you rocked me to sleep with countless verses ofStand Up Stand Up For Jesus—for the frigid nights we linked arms and wandered out to the pastures in search of newborn calves—for the times you told me I was beautiful when I was not. Thanks, Mom, for encouraging me to be different. If I could do it all over and choose any mother in the world, I would choose you.

Praise for Lois Greiman

“Well known for her deliciously "Un" series of romantic mystery/thrillers -- "Unzipped," "Unplugged," and "Unscrewed" – award-winning author Lois Grieman also creates terrific medieval romance novels.” Michelle Buonfiglio—Romance (B)uy the Book

“Fast and fun with twists and turns that will keep you guessing. Enjoy the ride!” Suzanne Enoch, USA Today bestselling author of Flirting with Danger

“Magical and sensual! A delicious love story from the gifted pen of Lois Greiman! Just the thing to keep you warm this winter! The Lady and the Knight is a delight! Lois Greiman is a charming storyteller!” The Literary Times

“Ms. Greiman’s first book in her new trilogy is pure magic. Readers will be delighted with her sensual prose, non-stop action, impossible odds and delicious fantasies.” Romantic Times

“An absolute delight.” Heartland Critiques

“Excitement, colored with sensitivity and humor, makes this an unusual story that will have readers anxiously awaiting the next books in the series.” Rendezvous

Chapter 1

Deadwood Gulch, South Dakota—May 1877

He had a pair of queens, but she had cleavage.

Not that Raven Scott had noticed.

"You ready to play, boy?" asked his opponent. Jude Fergusson was a wilted frame of a man, well past his prime, and impatient. Behind him, the woman called Charm leaned over his shoulder, deliberately exposing a good deal of smooth-skinned distraction.

She was, without a doubt, a rare beauty, but it had taken little time for Raven to realize she was not the woman for whom he searched. Not Eloise Medina's niece. And that was regrettable, for she could have made the journey to St. Louis enjoyable indeed. But luck was a fickle lady. One could not expect to have both an exquisite traveling companion and a fortune at journey's end. Thus, Raven would restrain himself from the luxury of greed—and take the fortune.

"Then you've never heard of a Chantilly Grady?" he inquired now. It was basically the same question he'd asked twice before. He only mixed the words a bit. In his line of work it paid to be thorough. And in any case, he wanted to delay the game. He wanted to build up the old man's edginess and give himself an opportunity to glance now and then at the bounty Charm so generously displayed above her bodice.

"I told you I ain't never heard of no Chantilly," said Jude, making no attempt at civility. "Now, you playin' or throwin' in yer cards?"

A less experienced gambler might easily be distracted by the girl's presence, thereby causing him to do something foolish, Raven knew. But he was not such a man.

Still, she had great...

"You ready to play, boy?" Jude repeated, his voice cracking.

All right. So he was a little distracted. Lowering his gaze to his cards, Raven checked his composure, making certain he offered his opponent no clue to his thoughts. But no, years of gambling assured a bland countenance. Despite Clancy's irritating and sundry shortcomings, his former partner had taught Raven that much. Damn his hide.

"How many cards?" Without looking, Raven knew Jude's right hand shook slightly as he held the deck, a tremor discernible only to the sharpest eye. A tremor that might be subdued completely if old Burle Dorsey, the inn's proprietor, would bring the man a drink. But Burle was kept busy with other patrons, so exposing Jude's debility to Raven's predatory gaze.

Pity might be appropriate here, but pity was not one of Raven Scott's weaknesses. Cleavage, on the other hand...

"How many?" Jude's tone was even harsher now, which meant he held a decent hand and was becoming impatient to win, an idea supported by the fact that he had taken only two fresh cards.

As for himself, Raven was bored with the game. He'd won enough to call it a profitable night. In fact, he'd won enough to have mercy on his rival, for if Raven had made the attempt, he could have imagined himself in the other's chair in thirty or forty years. Yet mercy was as useless as pity to a gambler's way of thinking.

Although Raven didn't actually consider himself to be a professional cardplayer. No. He played for reasons other than money, which made him what? A detective with a weakness for sport? No, gambling was not a weakness for him, either. It was merely a means to obtain an end, as was everything in his life. He'd learned, if nothing else, to be pragmatic, even if it galled him, or perhaps more specifically, especially if it galled him.

"You keepin' them cards?"

Raven raised his gaze slowly, knowing nothing but boredom would show in his eyes. It seemed his intentional delay had disconcerted the old man and caused the woman's brow to wrinkle somewhat, as if she, too, were displeased, but too careful to show it more clearly. Who was she? That was the question that had first prompted Raven to enter this game. Even now curiosity held his interest.

Was she Jude's wife? It was possible. Maybe the old gambler wasn't as elderly as he appeared. Though he was dissipated and worn, he was certainly not past the age of needing a woman, if such an age ever came.

Still, the thought of the old piker bedding the charming Charm made Raven's gut clench. Which meant, perhaps, that he wasn't as jaded as he had thought.

What a disconcerting idea!

"Damn it, boy!" growled Jude, rising jerkily to his feet. But already Charm's hand was on his shoulder and her whisper in his ear.

The ruddy color of the old man's face lightened somewhat, and as Jude's attention was diverted by the girl's words, Raven allowed his gaze to settle, just for a moment, on the high, softly mounded tops of her breasts.

It was a mistake, for despite Raven's pride in his single-mindedness, clearheaded thought and womanly charms did poor bedfellows make. Raven mentally grinned, almost allowing the humor to touch his lips as testimony to his clever wit. Or was it for the girl's magnificent bosom, so perfectly displayed above the bright tangerine hue of her gown?

Charm's attention lifted in unison with his eyes, and for just an instant their gazes met. From across the table, Raven could hear her faint intake of breath, as if she were shocked by the boldness of his stare. But she didn't straighten immediately, he noticed, and now Raven allowed a brief escape of his well-confined smile.

"I'll take two," he said, his gaze still locked on her face. Her cleavage wasn't her only spectacular feature, it seemed, for her eyes, too, were riveting. Dark, heavily lashed, and decidedly sultry.

"Two?" asked Jude in a rusty tone. His already shaky confidence rocked a bit more.

"Did I say two?" Raven shifted his gaze smoothly back to the girl's bosom before lifting it to his opponent's reddened face. "I meant three."

The trio of cards was rapidly, if grumpily, delivered. They fit neatly into Raven's hand. Better than neatly, but he kept his gaze casual as he perused the queens.

"I bet fifty." Again the old man's tone was taut.

"And I'll..." Raven let his concentration stray to the game. He was lucky in cards. Lucky and adept. Always had been. Maybe it was hereditary. Maybe not. He paused in his betting, his voice dwindling, as if uncertainty had finally set in. "I'll see your fifty and... raise you."

It was no surprise that Jude raised, nor that he raised again after that, but Raven doubted his ability to do so a third time, for already he had lost a good deal of money. Though he was a fair gambler, he didn't appear to be exceptionally flush. Raven prided himself on being a first-rate judge of people. A mercenary bastard himself, but a damn fine judge of others.

"Is Charm your real name?" he asked now, knowing he was not above taking whatever the girl was willing to offer him. And according to her eyes and languid movements, that was a fair amount.

Old man Fergusson turned his head to the right, as if not trusting his hearing to his opposite ear. "What's that?"

Raven tightened his grip on his cards, knowing his rivals would notice and think him nervous. "I asked if Charm was her real name."

"What the hell's that got to do with poker?"

It was surprising, even to Raven, how quickly the man became angry, but again the girl's hand appeared on Jude's shoulder, soothing.

"Yes," she said, looking no less stunning when she straightened to gaze down at him from her full height. "My name's Charm."

“The name suits you." He allowed himself one more glance into her eyes, wondering if he'd been wrong about their color. Perhaps he'd been hasty in assuming they were brown. But her hair was as dark as the hide of a blood bay mare, and just as shiny in the wavering light cast by the oil lamps. Her skin was the creamy hue of winter goldenrod and looked flawless. But the fact that he thought so could probably be attributed to his own deprivation of female companionship. Deadwood Gulch was notably short of women. Although it hosted a sort of second-rate gold rush, the gentler sex was mostly absent, including one Chantilly Grady.

Tomorrow Raven would search again for the girl. But tonight he would gamble on games of chance and love, or as close to love as he was willing to let himself get.

"I'll raise you fifty," Raven said distractedly, then waited for the agitated sounds of Jude's agony.

They came just as suspected, beginning with a scratchy clearing of the old man's throat. "I ain't got that much left," he admitted finally.

Raven delayed only a moment before making his offer. "Then I'll accept a night with the girl."

For an aging man with a drinking problem, it was amazing how fast Jude could reach across the table. But Raven was younger and faster. He tilted his chair out of reach, watching the old man's face contort with rage.

"I killed better men than you for my daughter!" he choked.

His daughter! Now there was an interesting twist. Who would have thought the old man could have sired a beauty like her? And what kind of father would allow his own child, well grown and proportioned though she was, to participate in the deprecated practice of gambling? Especially with that scandalous tangerine gown exposing her tantalizing... eyes!

"My apologies," Raven said, realizing Jude was just such a man. Not bothering to rise to his feet or change his expression, Raven kept himself casually out of the other's grip as the girl called Charm attempted to reel her father back. "I misspoke, of course," he said, using that irritatingly gallant tone he had learned from the other boys at school. "I meant to say I would appreciate her company this evening. For dinner. Nothing more."

The older man straightened, his face brick red. "You can go to hell!"

"A distinct possibility," Raven said flatly. "But you've bet your last dollar, or nearly so."

Jude's hand curled to a fist on the table's rough-grained surface, but he didn't lunge again, seeming immobilized by rage.

Charm straightened. Her eyes were slightly narrowed now and her fine body very still as she watched him. Raven returned her gaze. Despite it all, his muscles tightened with anticipation when he allowed himself to look directly at her. She, on the other hand, seemed perfectly focused on whatever it was she wished to determine with her point-blank stare.

A moment passed before she took a deep breath. If that action was meant to distract him, it succeeded admirably.

"It's all right." Her voice was almost inaudible as she tugged her father back into his chair. He landed with a scowl and a lurch. The seductress was gone for a moment, replaced by a woman Raven had yet to pigeonhole. She didn't look at him when she spoke, but gazed instead at Jude as she pushed a stray wisp of mahogany hair behind her left ear. "I'm certain Mr. Scott didn't mean to insult us."

"The hell he didn't!" grumbled Jude, refusing to be soothed or to look at the girl.

But she tried again, squeezing his arm slightly and smoothing back that gleaming wayward tress a second time.

“Ten years ago I'da beat the tar outta you for less." The old man's hands trembled as he glared at Raven. His voice was gnarled, as if anger taxed his strength.

"You're tired," Charm said. "And I'm certain Mr. Scott would like to get to bed, too." Her voice was sweet, and yet when she raised her gaze to Raven's, he could have sworn her expression was suggestive. But again she brushed her hair behind her left ear and lowered her gaze to Jude's face, finally catching his attention.

It took a moment, but finally the old man relaxed a mite and nodded. "All right," he acquiesced and turned to Raven. "It's a bet."

"Then I call," Raven declared simply.

"Four tens." Jude spread his cards deliberately between them.

Raven raised his brows and nodded in appreciation. "Quite a hand. I'd think you could have dared bet more than an evening with your daughter on those cards, but..." He lifted his gaze to the girl's face again, which looked tense. "She is a Charm, after all."

He could hear the old man's relieved exhalation as he leaned forward to scoop up the pot.

"And yet," said Raven, interrupting Jude's movement. "Four queens will still beat a Charm." He laid them down. Two pair of royal women grinned smugly at the ceiling. Raven leaned back, every muscle taut, waiting for trouble. It came without delay.

"Cheat!" Jude roared. Pitching his gaunt body upward, he clutched the table's edge with both hands. "There ain't no one that lucky."

It was pretty much the standard statement and no less than Raven had expected. He watched his rival carefully, every sense aware. "I only cheat when I have to, old man," Raven said. He liked to call out all the trouble at once. No use skirting it with pretty words. More fun this way. "And I didn't have to with you."

"Damn you!" Jude swore and bolted around the table. But the girl was on him like a tick on a hound, dragging him back.

"No! Please." She yanked at him, refusing to let go as Jude pulled her along. "He won fair and square. Remember your condition!"

"Damn my condition!"

"Please!" she said again, then lunged ahead to grab Jude's arms and speak into his face. "It's only dinner," she reminded, nimbly dancing to the side as he tried to escape her hold. "And I'll see you to your room first." The old man gradually relaxed somewhat, watching her eyes. "I'm certain Mr. Scott will understand my wish to see you safely abed, and to... freshen up a bit." She turned slightly to gaze at Raven. Her eyes were half-lidded now, her tone marinated with pleasant promise. "Won't you, sir?"

Raven watched her for a moment, letting the tension leave his body. He was quite content to abandon the excitement of impending conflict for another kind of thrill. "Of course," he said. "Take your time."

"Thank you." She smiled, and in that instant he doubted if Charm's luscious body was truly her most seductive feature. It was, very possibly, her smile. A careless man could spend a good deal of his life doing nothing more than trying to coax forth that smile again.

Luckily, Raven Scott was not a careless man.

Taking her father's arm, Charm escorted him up the stairs to his room. From where he sat, Raven could see her lean over to speak softly into the old man's ear. For a moment he allowed himself to wonder how it would be to feel her breath against his lobe, to let it shiver down every nerve and titillate his senses.

Ahh, women's wiles. They were an intoxicant and a wonder. Raven shifted forward in his chair to collect his winnings. Behind him a saloon girl laughed seductively, spurring on his hopeful thoughts of Charm.

Burle's place still held a lively crowd, though it was late. Smoke hung suspended like a dry fog. But it was an atmosphere Raven had become comfortable with. From his breast pocket, he drew forth a cheroot to light and hold casually between his fingers.

It had been a long while since he'd allowed himself the company of a woman. Impatience burned him, but he hid the fire, making certain it didn't show in his expression. It was a discipline of sorts and usually easily done. But not tonight. Though Charm had tried to hide her feelings from her father, her interest in Raven had been obvious from the start.

Raven indulgently blew out a fat, symmetrical smoke ring. He imagined the girl warm and willing beneath his hands, her sultry eyes heavy-lidded and her strawberry lips parted, waiting for...

"Hey, Burle. Them Fergusson folks," called a voice from the doorway. "Was they all paid up?"

"Fergussons?" Burle's voice was deep and distinctive. "No. But the old man's still playing his luck."

"That right?" asked the first. "Guess my eyes is getting worser than I thought, cuz I coulda swore it was him and his girl a runnin' past when I come in."

Chapter 2

"Hurry!" Charm pleaded, trying to drag her father to safety. But already two dark forms were sprinting down the muddy street after them.

"Go on alone," rasped Jude.

"No!" Fighting down the encroaching panic, she remained by his side. "Come on. We'll hide. Just a little farther."

But even a little way was too far for Jude. In a moment they were caught dead to rights with Burle's huge frame planted, legs widespread, before them.

"Seems we got us a bit of a rub, folks." His tone was not what Charm would call friendly—but she'd heard worse.

"Mr. Burle, sir." She gasped, managing to employ her very best expression of helplessness as she clasped her reticule close to her chest. "I'm so glad you're here. My father is terribly ill. We had stepped out for a breath of air when he nearly collapsed." Jude wheezed in accordance to her words. Charm tightened her grip, hoping he was faking. "He needs a doctor real quick."

Burle opened his mouth, but if there was one thing Charm had learned it was to talk fast and look sweet... until things got really serious. At which time her tactics would change dramatically. "Please help us, sir."

The big man shuffled his feet, looking bewildered. "Well I..."

"I seen 'em running down the street not two minutes ago," interrupted Burle's lanky henchman. "He didn't look real sickly then. And looky here." The man stepped forward, bending so that his balding pate shone in the moonlight as he retrieved the bag Jude had dropped. "Seems strange, don't it, that they tote their luggage about with 'em on their little constitutional?"

Silence blanketed the street as Charm held her breath.

"I'll have my money now." The proprietor's demand came after a brief eternity. "For two nights and four meals."

"But Mr. Burle," began Charm, blinking quickly and wondering if she should have worn something more revealing than her modest traveling suit. "Jude's had a real hard day. He needs—"

"I don't give a tinker's damn what he needs, miss!" interrupted Burle brusquely. Unfriendly wouldn't quite describe his tone now.

"He just needs to..." she began again nevertheless.

"Fred, get Deputy Hackett."

"Deputy!" Charm gasped. "Mr. Burle, I assure you..." But Fred had already turned away. "Listen," she said, glancing quickly from Fred's retreating back to Burle's stoic expression. "Jude just needed a little air. We were planning on going straight back to settle up our bill."

“Tell Hackett to hurry on down here," added Burle evenly, not turning his gaze from his newly departed guests.

Charm swallowed hard. "All right," she said. "We're a bit short on cash. But there's no need to involve the law. We've got us a stake left. Tomorrow night Jude'll win for sure. He's a very good poker player. It was just that that blackhearted devil's spawn cheated and—"

"And tell him to bring his gun, case this turns nasty," said Burle to his unseen sidekick.

Charm's jaw dropped a notch, but the thought of repercussions for their planned escape made her words spurt forth with renewed vigor. "I'll find a way to pay."

Even in the darkness she could see Burle's expression change from animosity to cautious skepticism.

"Next week at the latest," she promised quickly. But already Fred was returning with another man at his side. One glance at Jude warned Charm that running would be a bad bet. Still, she had to get away from these men, hide some place where she could breathe.

"Got yourself some trouble here, Burle?" The deputy was a short man, but solid, with a no-nonsense attitude.

"Yeah. Seems like maybe these folks was tryin' to run out of town without paying up."

"No. I assure you, we meant to pay," Charm vowed earnestly.

"I seen 'em runnin' hell-bent fer leather," interjected Fred, waving a skinny arm to indicate the general direction of their getaway. "Straight down the middle of this here street."

Damn Fred and his blasted night vision, thought Charm. "But we had every intention of returning to—" she began.

"And they was carryin' these here bags," added Fred cleverly.

"We weren't..." argued Charm desperately, wishing she could have thirty seconds alone with Fred and a good stout tree limb, but Deputy Hackett was already waving for silence.

"It's late, folks," he said evenly, "and I ain't had my supper yet. So I'll tell you what. I'll give you a place to sleep for the night. It's free and only two of the bunks is spoken for."

"Spoken for?" The world seemed to slow as Charm focused her attention on those two words, but Hackett reached for her arm now, jumbling her thoughts.

"Deadwood ain't hardly big enough for a separate cell for the ladies, miss," he apologized. "But you don't need to fret none, cause the other two occupants is too sauced to give you no trouble."

Charm, however, could imagine a good deal of trouble. Stepping quickly back, she raised a hand between herself and the deputy.

"I won't be locked up with men!" she vowed.

"Now, miss, there's no need to carry on so," assured Hackett, advancing.

"Don't come any closer!" Charm said in breathless desperation, but in that moment another shadowy form stepped forward.

"I fear this is all my fault," said a quiet drawl from the darkness.

The deputy stopped, canting his head toward the newcomer and remaining silent for a moment. "And who might you be, mister?"

"I'm the blackhearted devil's spawn."

"What's that?" asked Hackett, but Raven was certain there was no need to explain his words to the girl. If her wide eyes were any indication of her thoughts, she knew he'd been eavesdropping for quite some time.

"What's your name, son?" asked the deputy again.

Raven shifted his weight and delayed just a moment, letting Charm stew in her juices a bit longer before deigning to pluck her from the boiling broth she'd so cleverly concocted.

"My surname's Scott," said Raven, finally pulling himself from the girl's gaze. "And I fear this is all my fault. You see, these fine people were in a rush and asked me to pay for their lodging and meals." He paused momentarily then fished out a few of the bills he'd hastily shoved into his pocket. “They did, of course, leave me adequate funds with which to do so." If one tried really hard, one could almost find a shred of truth in that statement. And Deputy Hackett, it seemed, was willing to try.

"So you're gonna pay Burle here?"

Raven met Burle's gaze steadily. "With apologies for my tardiness." After handing forth several bills, he pulled out another. "It appears now, however, that Mr. Fergusson will be needing a comfortable place to spend the night, as he's in no condition to travel." Raven shifted his attention to the girl's wide eyes. "Don't you agree, Miss Charm?"

Jude straightened with some difficulty, and for just a moment Raven thought the older man might repeat his suggestion to spend eternity someplace warm. But he kept quiet, as did his daughter for several seconds before bringing herself to concede.

"Yes." That generous monosyllable was all she offered, and though Deputy Hackett paused for a moment, he finally nodded.

"If everything's fixed up to your satisfaction, Burle, I'll be getting myself some grub and a few hours sleep."

"Sure." Burle skimmed his attention from Charm, to Raven, and back to Charm, doing nothing to hide his befuddlement. "Sure enough."

The deputy departed, Fred shuffled his oversized feet, and Burle cleared his throat. "Well, it seems there's been a misunderstanding. But with Deadwood being what it is, booming with the gold fever and such like, there's all kinds of folks hereabouts these days." He shrugged, abbreviating his apology. "Guess there ain't been no real harm done."

The Fergussons remained silent, causing Raven to wonder if they would bolt off into the darkness once Burle turned his broad back. But Jude was still breathing hard. Unless he was a damn good actor, which Raven doubted, he was in no condition to do much of anything.

"No apologies necessary, sir," said Raven, employing all his considerable charm. "As I said, it was entirely my fault. Had I—"

"I'll be seeing Jude to bed," said Charm brusquely, interrupting Raven's carefully ingratiating monologue as she moved forward to do just that. But Raven was not willing to play the game without a chance at the spoils and stepped quickly before her.

"I'm certain Mr. Burle would be happy to see your father safely to his room," suggested Raven evenly and reached to grasp Jude's arm.

"No!" Charm's response was as sharp and hard as a well-chosen rock.

"I beg your pardon?" said Raven, seeing the nervous glance she immediately shot toward the looming innkeeper.

"I mean," corrected the girl, her voice as soft and sweet as boiled molasses now. "My father's very ill. I'd best see to him myself."

"But I promised to buy you a meal at the first possible opportunity, Miss Fergusson, and surely you must be famished."

For just a moment Raven thought he saw the flash of some flinty emotion light her face, but it was gone before he could assess it. She now graced him with a timid smile, which she soon turned on Burle.

"That's ever so generous of you, gentlemen, but I really must think of my father," she said, tugging Jude toward her.

"But surely you must eat," argued Raven, dragging him back.

Her smile didn't slip a bit, but remained neatly etched on her seductive lips. "We'll have a bite at the inn," she said, reeling Jude in.

"We won't be servin' supper no more tonight, miss," Burle observed, his eyes slightly narrowed. "Was I you, I'd take Mr. Scott up on his offer. Maybe you could have somethin' sent up to yer pa."

She turned her luminous gaze on Burle, but before she could speak, Raven launched himself back into the dispute. "It's settled, then," said he, yanking Jude from Charm's grasp to place him, a bit more roughly than he'd intended, beside the innkeeper's huge form. "Burle here will assist your father to his room, while you and I have something sent up to relieve his hunger. Anywhere you might suggest, sir?"

Burle's expression was open to interpretation, but blatant curiosity would be a fair description. "Wendel's is the only place still servin'," he said, obediently taking a firm hold on Jude's arm.

Raven nodded expansively. "Wendel's it is, then. Shall we, Miss Fergusson?" He extended his arm, but Charm turned her head and seemed preoccupied with lifting her dark skirt, as if suddenly concerned with the mud that encrusted its hem. "Or would you rather dig your own way out of this grave?" he asked quietly.

Her smile, when it returned, could light up the night. Casually ignoring Raven's extended arm, she turned her radiance on the innkeeper. "If you're certain it's not too much trouble, Mr. Burle."

Burle's momentary bedazzlement couldn't be mistaken. It was the strange by-product of Charm's appeal, suddenly turned loose in full force on the innkeeper. Raven watched her hone her allure, and couldn't deny her aptitude. It was possible he'd met his match as a scoundrel.

"No." Burle shook his head, never losing contact with her eyes. "No trouble at all," he said, but momentarily forgot to move from the spot.

The silence was beginning to sweat when Raven stepped into the void. "Then perhaps Fred here could carry the luggage, and you should go, Burle," Raven suggested, "before Mr. Fergusson weakens further."

"Oh." Burle wrested himself from his trance with admirable speed. "Yeah." But now Jude pulled free from the innkeeper's grasp with a wheeze and a shred of dignity.

"Scott." His voice was raspy, but his back was straight. "You lay a hand on her, I'll chew your head off," he said in flat warning. Turning, he hobbled back in the direction from which they had come.

With a nod, Burle followed. Fred, too, turned away, though he looked regretful of the anticlimax to such excitement.

Raven watched them go. "Tell me, Miss Fergusson," he said, absently reaching for her arm, "did Jude name you Charm or is it simply a characteristic you inherited from your old man?"

With a snap, she yanked her elbow from his grasp. "Don't touch me," she warned, her tone low and rushed.

"Well..." Raven smiled at her, hoping to achieve the same bright hypocrisy she attained with so little effort. "I guess that answers my question then, doesn't it?"

From a nearby doorway a pair of miners approached them. Raven nodded and held his expression, and Charm smiled, too, matching his toothy insincerity with obvious and disconcerting ease.

"Yes." She dimpled when she answered, causing the moon to cast crescent shadows in the delicate hollows of her cheeks. "I guess it does."

“Then we understand each other," said Raven.

"Perfectly," she agreed sweetly and, grasping her small reticule to her chest, strode primly off.

Wendel's Roadhouse was a modest establishment that had once stood at the edge of town. Deadwood, however, had managed to render up enough gold to cause the booming community to engulf and enliven it, despite frequent and bloody skirmishes with the Sioux.

Inside, Wendel's was illuminated by a lamp placed upon every occupied table, which meant there was little enough light with which to see by. For even the rough-edged inhabitants of Deadwood had to sleep sometime.

"And what would you be wantin'?" asked a man who appeared from the dimness. He wiped his hands on a greasy apron and waited.

Had Raven not already become acquainted with the Fergussons, he might have thought the innkeeper unfriendly. As it was, Wendel's proprietor seemed just about average for the inhabitants of this backwater town.

Finally seated at a small table, Raven and Charm ordered perfunctorily and then sat in silence. Two nearby diners stood and left, followed not much later by a trio of others.

They were alone now, unless one counted the menagerie of gamblers who occupied the adjoining card room.

"You're looking at me!" Charm's words cracked the silence like a dropped egg, but Raven merely tilted his head slightly, pretending not to comprehend.

"What's that?"

"I said you're looking at me!"

He raised his brows at her and leaned back in his chair. "And is that a crime in these parts, Miss Fergusson?"

"I don't like to be looked at."

"Really?" He almost laughed. "And is this a longstanding attitude or one that changes with your attire?"

She drew herself straighter in the slat-backed chair, pursing her fine mouth slightly. "I have no idea what you're talking about."

He did smile now, grimly and carefully. "Then let me explain. Back at Burle's... you were trying to seduce me."

Her eyes widened, and she gasped. "How dare you!"

"How dare I be honest?"

Her lips moved long before she managed to force a sound from between them. "How dare you assume—"

"Oh, I wasn't assuming. I know. You were trying to seduce me, make me lose my concentration. Not that I resent it. In fact, I enjoyed it. But now..." He shrugged lazily. "You owe me."

"You're crazy!"

"Are you saying you had the funds to pay the good Mr. Burle for his hospitality?" She rose swiftly to her feet, but he merely shrugged again. "If that's the case, I'd be happy to accompany you back to the inn. I'll get my money back, and you can explain the situation. Is that what you want?"

She didn't speak, but stared at him with eyes mean enough to torch water.

"That's what I thought. Then sit down, Miss Fergusson," Raven said stiffly.

She did so, though slowly. "What do you want from me?" she whispered as she clenched her hands into fists.

"I only want what you promised."

"I didn't promise you anything."

"Oh, but you did," he argued, picking up a fork to twirl it between his fingers. "You promised me everything... with your eyes."

She drew a deep, sharp breath through flared nostrils and fumbled with her reticule to finally extract a white, pocket-sized book. “ ‘And I stood upon the sand of the sea and saw a beast rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy,'" she jabbered rapidly. " 'And—' "

"I don't mean to be rude," interrupted Raven, "but what the devil are you yammering about?"

"Revelations. Chapter 13. Verse 1," she breathed.

Raven scowled, watching her face in bemusement. "Crazy as a coot. Waste of cleavage," he murmured. "Tell me, Miss Fergusson, are your parents closely related? Siblings perhaps?"

Charm's nostrils flared again as she lifted her chin. "My mind is perfectly sound, but I know your kind. I know about men. Can read them like a book."

Raven ignored both her disdain and her biblical blathering. "It's a clever little scheme, distracting men with your..." He raised his hand casually toward his own chest. "Charms," he finished. "Promising them pleasure with your eyes then running out before you live up to your end of the bargain."

"I make no bargains with Satan's spawn."

"I'm not complaining," he said, easily ignoring her intended insult. "I'm merely stating my admiration and wondering if the deception might work for me. Tell me, if I batted my eyes and showed some chest, would you be distracted?"

Her lips moved again in that strange wordless way she had, and then the Bible was suddenly flipped open to a new page.

" 'Save me, O God! The water is up to my neck. I am sinking in deep mud, and there is no solid ground. I am out in deep water, and the waves are about to—' ”

"Oh, for Christ's sake!" rasped Raven and, reaching out, snatched the volume from her hands. "What the devil is wrong with you?"

"Give me!" she demanded and tried to grab it back as they both jerked to their feet, but their fingers bumbled now, and the book fell, spilling open to the front page where a name was penned in dark, scrolling ink.

"Eloise Medina!" Raven read aloud.

Charm made a wild grab for the book, but before her fingers could touch the white leather, Raven scooped it back into his hands to stare in disbelief at the swirling words on the inside front cover.

"Where'd you get this?" he demanded.

Charm lifted her chin. Her breathing was harsh, and her eyes sparked with anger, but Raven failed to care, for never in all his searching for Chantilly Grady had he come so close.

"Give it back," she demanded hoarsely, extending her hand.

Raven grasped her wrist. "Where'd you get it?" he asked again.

For just a moment an indefinable expression crossed her face, but it vanished, replaced by arrogant rage.

"Where?" he repeated with a tight grip and cool, feigned patience.

"From my mother," she gritted and with an Amazonian effort, yanked her arm from his fingers.

Chapter 3

"You, my dear," Raven said, remembering his gentlemanly demeanor lest he get thrown from Wendel's for improper behavior, "are a world-class liar."

"And you," she retorted with bitter sweetness, still standing and breathing hard, "are the very spawn of Satan."

He watched her, feeling his temper rise, but holding it carefully in check. "For all I know, you may be right, Miss Charming, but I believe we were speaking of your parentage. Now..."—Raven took a deep breath and narrowed his eyes—"about the Bible. Where did you really..." he began, but suddenly a movement caught his eye, tripping his memory with hair-trigger speed. "Take it," he ordered sharply, thrusting the Bible toward her.

Charm's mouth formed a circle of surprise, but there was no time to delay. Pushing her back into her chair, he found his own seat.

"Put it away," he insisted quietly.

"What?" Her eyes were round and her tone breathless.

"Hide it," he ordered, but through his teeth now, for the trouble he'd seen approaching had materialized into a man.

"Well... Mr. Joseph Scott," said a familiar voice. Clancy Bodine, damn his hide, spoke with the molasses-slow drawl of the Southern boy he was. "Been a long time."

Charm sat immobile, still staring at Raven as if he'd lost his mind.

Hide the blasted Bible!Raven wanted to yell. But such agitation might cause a bit of suspicion. So instead he rose slowly to his feet, pushed his sleeves away from his wrists, and slammed his fist squarely into Clancy Bodine's handsome face.

Bodine careened backward, crashing into a chair that broke beneath him like a matchstick house. He lay motionless there, momentarily stunned, his battered hat askew.

There was a gasp from Charm and a brief moment of silence from the cardplayers next door. Clancy put a hand to his chin. He grimaced, looking only mildly surprised and waggling his jaw a bit as if to make certain it was still attached. "Can I assume, then, that you're still carryin' a grudge?" he asked, looking up from the floor.

"No." Raven kept his gaze on his ex-partner as he shook the pain from his bruised knuckles. Clancy always did have a hard head. "No. I don't hold grudges," he said, and seeing that Charm had finally stashed the Bible back under cover, he sat down.

"Well..." Bodine rose slowly, grimacing again, this time as his back left the broken shreds of the chair beneath him. "It's good to know you learned somethin' from me, Joseph."

For just a moment Charm had hoped she might be afforded a chance to slip away unnoticed, but she saw now that was not the case, for the violence seemed to have come to an abrupt and quite unsatisfactory finish. Watching the man called Raven, though, she saw his left brow dip slightly over his deep-set eyes and wondered if it might not be a sign of anger. Since she had already learned she was a poor judge of the man's thoughts she could only hope—not be sure—such was the case. He should have been holding the losing hand when gambling with Jude. His every idiosyncrasy had indicated poor cards. And yet he had won. Maybe the man would lose his temper now and provide her a chance to escape.

Luck was certainly not a lady. It was a man!

"Sure," said Raven now. "I learned a great deal from you, Bodine. Nothing that wouldn't get me hanged. But a great deal, nevertheless."

Clancy laughed, wiggling his jaw again and approaching casually.

Beneath the table, Charm opened the drawstring of her reticule and slipped her hand inside to let it rest there unseen. She had difficulty breathing the stifling air. Who was this Raven, and what did he want? And now Clancy Bodine! Feeling the panic well up within her, she closed her hand about a smooth, familiar object, drawing comfort from its presence. She sat in silence, carefully reading every nuance of her unwelcome companions and waiting for the proper moment to escape.

"Now, Joseph, you're bein' unfair," Bodine complained. "You wouldn't want to give your ladyfriend here the wrong impression." He turned toward Charm now and removed his hat as he smiled. His teeth were perfect, his ruffled mop of hair wheat-toned, and eyes so blue she was certain a host of women had been lost in them.

As for Charm, she closed her fingers about the hard, cool handle of her tiny derringer. Remembering every lesson her father had taught her, she forced herself to breathe regularly. Her muscles were taut, and in her head she chanted a silent biblical verse regarding the sins of man.

"Let me apologize for Mr. Scott's rudeness," Clancy said with a bow, widening his smile slightly. "We must forgive him," he said, his voice dropping to a whisper that easily carried to Raven's ears as well as her own. "The boy was shortchanged in his upbringin'." Clancy nodded, glancing momentarily at Raven. "But it wasn't his fault. And I did all I could to help. By the way, I'm Clancy Bodine and happy t'meet you, miss..." He paused, extending his hand and waiting for her response.

Charm remained perfectly immobile, fighting down the consuming terror caused by his closeness. She wouldn't shoot him... yet. "The Lord is my Shepherd," she murmured.

"I beg your pardon?" Nonplussed, Clancy drew his hand back.

"Her name is Charm." Raven's voice was flat.

"Really?" Clancy asked, smiling at her again before reaching behind him to pull up an unbroken chair. "Charm? I should have guessed." He spun the spindled back beneath his hand and straddled the thing. "And how did you two meet?"

He was too friendly and too close. She didn't like friendly, and she hated close. It made her air passages close up. Made the black nightmares return.

"She can talk, can't she, Joseph?" Clancy asked. "Not that it would matter none, but I was just wonderin'."

"What do you want, Bodine?" Raven asked, finally diverting Clancy's attention from Charm. Air rushed back into her lungs, and her fingers loosened slightly.

"You're so suspicious, Joseph. If I was the one sitting across from a lady like that, I'd be on my best behavior."

Raven shifted slightly in his chair, stretching his legs out under the table. Although she tried, Charm found she could neither read his emotions nor guess his thoughts. It was a disconcerting feeling, as if she were groping about in the dark.

"Your best behavior," Raven said. "And how would I differentiate that from your worst?"

"Ooo." Clancy groaned. "That hurt. You've developed a sharp tongue, Joseph," he complained, turning to look at Charm. "Doesn't he have a sharp tongue?" He paused. "Damn, she's pretty! Where did you say you met her?"

Bodine was looking at her again, but more intently now, making the hairs on the back of Charm's neck stand upright.

"What in blazes happened to my chair?" The proprietor had arrived, carrying two platters of food. He sported a dangerous scowl but blessedly drew the men's attention from Charm.

"Joseph here has a hell of a right hook. But," Clancy said with a shrug, "I guess I can't blame 'im. Put the damages on my bill."

The plates were set on the table with a grunt, and in a moment the server was gone, grumbling back toward the kitchen.

Raven cut up his steak, seeming to ignore his companions, but Clancy was not easily disregarded.

"Don't worry about the cost of the chair, Joseph," said he magnanimously. Raven's left brow again dipped almost imperceptibly over those dark, deep-set eyes, Charm noticed. "I've had me some luck tonight," Clancy continued happily. "Course, not so much as you." He turned his gaze on Charm again. "Where did you say you met her?"

"Bodine," Raven said, his voice low.

"Yeah?"

"Get lost."

Clancy grinned. "Thought you said you didn't hold no grudges, boy," he argued mildly.

"I don't." Raven's knife was poised over his plate. "I just don't like to eat with snakes. It turns my stomach."

"Now that one really hurt," Clancy said with a dramatic wince. "And after all I've done for you. You wouldn't know it to listen to 'im, Miss Charm, but Joseph and me is really very close. Like brothers. Matter of fact, for all we know, we could be brothers," he said, and he laughed.

For a fraction of a moment Charm thought Raven would strike. She saw the tendons in his wrists tighten, felt the tension, but again she misjudged him.

"Oh, come on, boy, loosen up. You always did take things too damn serious."

"And you always thought a lynch mob was too funny, but only if they're after my neck," said Raven.

"Hey, they didn't catch you, did they?" Clancy asked then waited momentarily for an answer. "No. 'Course they didn't or you wouldn't be here with this stunnin' lady. Where did you say you met her?"

"I should kill you, Bodine." Raven said the words very casually and sat back, causing Clancy to laugh again.

"But you won't, cause I'm so damned charmin'. Not as charmin' as her." He nodded toward Charm. "But charmin' nonetheless."

"What did you do with the money?" asked Raven finally, watching Bodine as one might watch a coiled rattler.

"For that Georgia deal? Oh, I didn't get paid. You think I got paid for that job?" questioned Clancy, looking shocked as his tone rose slightly. There was not, Charm noticed, a shred of honesty in his expression. "I didn't get a penny. The boy got away." He canted his head, studying Raven. "I thought you might've knowed that. Thought it might've been you who helped him escape, once you'd learned the truth."

Raven said nothing. He kept his gaze level.

"Hey. Don't go looking at me like that. I was as surprised as you. Thought they just wanted us to find young Josh so's he'd return some stolen goods. Thirty days in the jug and all that. How'd I know they planned to string him up?" He shook his head. "Guess Southern gents don't like their gals messed with."

Raven's expression remained unchanged. "So you're saying you had nothing to do with them thinking I helped the boy escape?"

"Me?" Shock stamped Clancy's tone again. "No! You still thinkin' I'm holding a grudge since you broke up the partnership? Hell, it's best you went yer own way. You always had too soft a heart fer me."

Raven began to eat again. Charm noticed that he was left-handed like Jude. She stashed that information away.

"And you always had an imagination, Bodine," he said now.

"Yeah." Clancy laughed. "Yeah, that I did. Hey, like to join us in a game of poker?" He nodded toward the open doorway where men still sat around a table. "Been a long time. Maybe I'll let you win. Like I used to. But then, maybe you brought your luck with you tonight, huh?" He turned his smile on Charm. "Damn, she's pretty. Where did you say you met her?"

Raven's wrist tendons were tight again, but he showed no other signs of tension that Charm could discern.

"You out here on a job, Joseph, or still searchin' for your old man?" Clancy didn't turn his attention from Charm when he asked. Raven's expression changed, but so slightly and so quickly that Charm failed to interpret it.

"I'm working," answered Raven. "Was offered ten thousand dollars to find the queen of England. You seen her around?"

Clancy threw back his head and laughed, causing Charm to jump at the sound, though in a moment she recognized it as honest mirth. "Well, it just so happens I'm on a hunt," he said with a nod. "Looking for a gal named Chantilly Grady. From St. Louis. You heard of her?"

"I saw the ad," said Raven evenly. "Who didn't?"

"Hey, you want to find her together? Partners again?"

"I'd rather live a couple more years, if you don't mind."

Clancy laughed again, seeming to find Raven's opinion of him quite amusing. "This Grady deal ain't nothin' like that. No risk. Course, there ain't much information 'bout her. She could be 'most anyone." He turned a broad smile on Charm. She shrank away mentally while making certain her physical being remained as it was. "You sure your name ain't Chantilly?"

For a moment she failed to find her voice, but this time Raven wasn't speaking for her. She lifted her chin, remembering to breathe. "No. It's Charm. Charm Fergusson."

"Ahhh." Clancy sighed. "Too bad. Just my luck Grady'll be ugly as a snakebit possum."

Charm shifted her fingers gently on the trigger of her hidden derringer and managed again to speak. "Are you a lawman, Mr. Bodine?"

She heard Raven's derisive snort mix with Clancy's chuckle.

"Me? No. I'm a detective. You sure you ain't Chantilly Grady, huh?"

She shook her head, wanting desperately to be gone from here. It wasn't fear exactly, but she had never thought of a better way to describe this horrible tension. And, too, Jude needed her. She shouldn't have left him alone. Not after that loss at poker. But what choice had she had?

"If you'll excuse me." She forced out the words. They sounded surprisingly cool. "I must see to my father."

To her amazement, Raven nodded his agreement and rose. Clancy scowled. "But, Miss Charm, you ain't ate a bite."

She rose, too. "Jude's not well." And if he had found a bottle, she would make Raven Scott sorry. "It's been..." She paused. Remembering how the elegant Southern ladies spoke, she tried to emulate their aloof politeness. "It's been utterly delightful meeting you."

Clancy stood, still straddling his chair before swinging it out beside him. "Very delightful." He reached for her hand.

She sucked in her breath and turned, trying to look casual. But now the door was within sight, and freedom loomed before her. From behind came the sound of coins dropping to the table, the rumble of combative voices. Then quick footsteps followed her. She hastened her retreat.

Only one man pursued her. Of that she was certain and grateful, for if she could just get outside, she would lose him.

The door creaked as she pulled it open. She hurried through, feeling fear grip her in clammy hands. Darkness engulfed her. The door groaned closed behind. Without a moment's delay, Charm lifted her skirts and sprinted off down the hard-packed street. Her reticule was clasped in a tight grip, her heart hammering, but even over the sound of her thudding terror, she could hear the door moan open behind her.

"Charm." Raven's voice was a raised whisper. "Where..."

There was a moment of silence. Charm used every second, realizing she would not have many, somehow knowing he would follow her.

From up ahead came the sound of approaching horses. It was all the inspiration she needed. The livery stable was near. Suddenly she could smell the tangy barnyard fragrance. A horse nickered. On her right was a broad, open doorway. Light spilled out at a diffused, yellow slant, but she had no choice but to dash through it, knowing that her pursuer would see her. Up ahead, a wagon stood unhitched. Ten more strides and she was past it and out of Raven's sight. Lungs aching, she spurted along the side of the livery, hoping against hope that the devil's spawn would think she had gone on. But still she needed a place to hide. Somewhere unlikely. Pale light spilled from an overhead stable window. He would not expect her to hide somewhere well lit and possibly inhabited.

Adjacent to the barn was a fenced area. Up the side of the building a ladder ran toward a dim square of light. It was a small doorway from which hay could be thrown. Twice, the heel of her boot caught in her skirts as she hiked upward, but finally she was in the safety of the loft.

Last year's fodder lay in mounded piles, tied in bundles or left loose. It was a perfect place to hide and a good soft spot to spend the night if need be. The hay would offer relative comfort, and from the height of the loft, she could watch for trouble. Charm drew a deep breath. She'd finally outwitted him. Lost him. She'd rest for a while and wait, and then when she was certain he would bother her no more, she'd sneak from hiding and find Jude. It would be very simple now. No need to fear. He was only a man, after all, with a man's shallow instincts and very little...

"Hello," said Raven and grabbed her arms.

She squealed in terror.

"I'm beginning to think you're more the criminal than I realized," he said, "because you sure know how to lose a fellow." Luckily there was no one in the stable below to take exception to his actions. Not that he planned to harm her, of course. She was just a girl, after all.

It was at that precise moment that her knee slammed into his crotch. Pain blasted through his groin. There was nothing he could do but crumple to his knees. Every nerve ending begged for mercy. There was none to be found from Charm. She lunged for the ladder. But the toe of her boot caught in her hem and she faltered. It was just for a moment, but it was all the chance Raven needed. Anger welled up on the crest of pain, spurring him into action. He leaped after, slamming into her fleeing form and dragging her down.

She wriggled beneath him. He remained immobile and agonized, trying to wrestle his muscles into submission. But that one leap was all he could manage for the moment, and so he lay heavy as an inert log, sucking air through his teeth and trying to keep her still to lessen the shattering pain that crippled his body.

She bucked, trying to dislodge him. Raven moaned a curse through his teeth, but already she was squirming away. He grappled for a better hold, but somehow she found her feet.

Frantically, he willed his fingers to work. They snagged in her skirt. There was the sound of rending fabric melded with a squeal of dismay as she fell. He thumped his weight fully atop her, hearing her breath leave her in a whoosh of anguish.

For a moment all was silent, and then they were both breathing hard, fighting to do nothing more than fill their lungs with air.

"What the... devil... is wrong with you, woman?" he finally managed to ask, closing his eyes as he gripped both her arms with his hands and let his upper body crush against her back.

"Get...off me," she ordered, her voice tight.

"Not on your life."

"Jude'll kill you!"

Raven drew a deep breath and settled his knees beside her legs to lever his body painfully upward. "Not before I get a few answers."

It was ridiculously difficult to pry the girl over on her back without giving her the opportunity to get away, but finally she was face up on the straw, and he was astride again. Her hair had come loose and spread dark and wild against the golden wheat stalks beneath. Her eyes snapped with temper. One daring wisp of hay projected from above her left ear at a jaunty angle.

Blast it all if Clancy hadn't been right. She was stunning. Mean as a cornered cougar, but stunning. He stared at her from only inches away, momentarily forgetting his mission and realizing finally that she had become very still beneath him.

"You're looking at me." Her words were low and sounded rather silly, considering that he was also sitting on her abdomen while he pinned her arms up above her head. Still, the ridiculousness of the situation only barely reached his brain, for despite it all, she fascinated him.

"Who could not?" he asked quietly.

She stared at him, her eyes wide and dark, evidencing an emotion he couldn't quite place.

"Please don't." Her words were no more than a whisper suddenly, barely breaking the quiet.

Raven felt her shiver beneath him and somehow felt like a cad. He almost forgot she had all but seduced him with her eyes, had made promises she'd intended to break. That she'd just kneed him in the groin, for God's sake.

"Don't what?" he asked.

"Please let me go," she pleaded softly.

"I'm not going to hurt you. I just want to talk." All right, it sounded strange from his position atop her, but how else was he supposed to talk to her? She was like a blasted race horse. Flighty, long-limbed, and damnably fast. "Lucky for me I saw the livery's open door," he said. He was biding his time and hoping she would relax, although he suspected that was a bit much to hope for, considering their respective positions. "I came up here thinking I'd have a clear view from the loft. Didn't know you were here until I heard you breathing." He waited, watching her, but her expression didn't change. He scowled. "Will you quit looking at me like that?"

No response.

He deepened his scowl, trying to remember her rather deadly habits. "If I let you up, will you promise not to run off?"

A nod was all he got, but he finally slid off her, letting her sit up. She did so stiffly, looking sheepish, and slowly reaching for the reticule she had dropped in her efforts to escape.

"There now. See?" He raised a palm upward toward her as testimony to her continued health and well-being. "I'm not going to harm you." He took a deep breath and ran his fingers through his hair. "I just want to talk about the Bible."

"My Bible?" she asked, blinking once and looking smaller somehow.

"Yes." He nodded, careful to keep his movements slow. "Could I see it?"

She watched him in silence for a moment. Then, nodding, she opened her reticule and reached in. "Stay where you are!" she ordered and yanked the tiny muzzle of a derringer toward him. "Stay right where you are."

Raven scowled. "The devil! Put that thing away before someone gets hurt." He raised his hand, but Charm scooted backward across the hay, waving the weapon between them.

"I'll shoot you. An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth."

"What eye? What tooth? I haven't touched you," he pointed out practically.

Charm opened her mouth, ready to denounce him as a liar, but he held up a hand and interrupted. "All right. I touched you. But I had, and have," he hurried to add, "no intention of harming you. In fact, I'll pay you," he said, sounding suddenly inspired and hopeful. "I'll pay you just to see the Bible."

She said nothing, knowing in her gut that she had to escape before he turned violent. The edge of the loft was only a few inches behind her, but the ladder was several feet away. She could shoot him, of course, but shooting men had certain drawbacks. Hanging, for instance.

"Here. I'll pay you a dollar just to look," he said, and reached for his pocket.

But suddenly straw was strewn through the air. The gun was knocked from her hand, and she lay flat against the fodder again with him planted firmly on top.