Determined: Western Historical Romance (Lipstick and Lead series Book 5) Read online

  “It’s not my fault the preacher stole the girl. Why am I being blamed for something you didn’t have under control?” Elliott asked.

  She frowned at him, not appreciating his response. “We’re in this business together. We lost a new recruit. We should replace her. You’re my main guy in getting new girls for the house. I want you to find me another one. Someone who is pretty and shy. Someone I can intimidate to follow the rules and learn her place.”

  They were working together only as long as she needed him or found someone else to bring her new recruits. Once she was done with Elliott, she’d use the sheriff to take care of him, just like she did anyone who gave her trouble in town. In fact, right about now, Jackson Colster was receiving a fine dose of Hide Town discipline. The preacher was probably meeting his maker because he’d interfered with the profitability of her brothel. Interfere and die.

  “If we’re working together, why do I feel like I’m taking all the risks?”

  “You’re not taking all the risks. I live in peril all the time. It comes with owning a brothel.”

  He frowned, and she knew she needed to curb this rebellion in a hurry. “Elliott, your stepdaughter cost me money. I could make you repay me what I gave you for her. Is that what you want?”

  She watched as he carefully considered her words, his brows drawn together on his rugged face. Years ago, he must have been quite the looker, but hard living had caused lines around his eyes, and the skin around his jaw was beginning to sag. Not a man she’d let in her bed.

  “No, let’s keep things the same. I’ll get busy trying to locate us another girl. But this time, you have to make certain she doesn’t get away. This is two that have gotten away from you.”

  The man was right, but she would never admit to him that it was her fault her posse had become lax. She’d already had a talk with Hank about making certain no one else escaped the brothel. She didn’t need her girls thinking there was a chance all of them could break out from the bordello. No one could leave, until she thought they were no longer an asset to her business.

  “When do you plan on going?”

  With a frown, he shook his head. “I’ll ride out at daylight and travel over to Dyersville to see if there’s any girl there we could use. This last girl I picked off north of Fort Worth. I don’t want to hit the same area twice. Too big a chance of getting caught.”

  She smiled and patted him on the arm, rewarding him for coming around to her way of thinking. “I’m depending on you to find a beautiful, young girl that will fit in nicely with my other girls. You do such a good job.”

  Not really, but she was trying to make him more enthusiastic about finding the girls she needed. Sure, he didn’t like taking an innocent girl from her family, but Emily liked young women in her brothel. And Elliott was good at locating what they needed. He was now her official girl-napper, and she planned on using him for quite some time.

  “I’ll be back as soon as possible,” he said.

  “Be careful. I don’t want to lose my best man.”

  He smiled. “Maybe we could have dinner sometime.”

  That would never happen, but he didn’t need to know that just yet. “Of course, you come back, and we’ll talk about it.” She smiled at him, giving the man her best come-and-get-it look, knowing it was a false promise.

  Men were so gullible. Years ago, she’d learned they were so easily manipulated to do her will.

  *

  Hannah snuck into town, knowing she was taking a huge risk, but needing supplies. With the two of them sharing food, she was quickly running out of everything. The little shack had a well, so they were good with water, but she needed food and some medical supplies for Jackson. She’d made a list, and she hoped she could convince the stable boy to help her. He’d been a friend years ago.

  Peering around the corner of the barn, she saw her stepfather talking to the boy she’d gone to school with. Tim still looked like a young boy, only she knew he was eighteen, just like herself. Those days seemed like a thousand years ago, and her chest tightened with pain at the memory of those happy days—her father lifting her on his shoulders, her mother’s smiling face.

  Then her death.

  To this day, Hannah wondered if Elliott had killed her. He’d said he’d found her lying at the bottom of the brothel stairs, but why would her mother be in the saloon? Up in the brothel?

  Unless she’d been looking for him.

  And where were the witnesses? The parlor only sat empty early in the morning when the whores had yet to rise and face another day.

  Tim, the stable boy, nodded to him. “Will do, sir.”

  Hannah had to resist the urge to pull out her six-shooter and blast her stepfather away. She wanted to rush into the barn and kill the bastard for what he’d done, but she knew the time wasn’t right. The sheriff would love nothing better than to hang her for murder. The preacher was in no condition to ride, and they’d find him in the shanty.

  No, she had to do this the right way at the right time.

  Time was on her side. She’d soon get her day, and her stepfather would pay for the death of her mother and for selling Hannah into prostitution.

  She waited for him to walk out of the barn and down the street. Taking a deep breath, she controlled the shaking of her hands and legs. He had no idea how close to dying he’d just come.

  Scampering into the barn, she saw the young man. “Tim.”

  He looked up, his eyes widening. “What are you doing here? I thought you left town.”

  “I did. But I’m back.”

  “Are you crazy?”

  She smiled. Before she’d always thought he was a little sweet on her, but that was before she became a calico cat. “Maybe. I’ve got unfinished business here in town. But I need your help.”

  Shaking his head, he glanced toward the door. “I’m not helping you catch the madam. You know I work part-time over at the saloon, cleaning up.”

  Hannah smiled, a flirtatious lifting of her lips. He’d always been sweet on her. “I know. You were nice to me when I was there.”

  The boy blushed, and she laid her hand on his arm, trying to remember what the women in the brothel had taught her about how to flirt and make a man feel wanted.

  “It wasn’t your fault you were forced into being a soiled dove.”

  “No, it wasn’t,” she said sweetly. “All I need you to do is get my supplies at the mercantile. You know I can’t go in there.” She pulled out the money Ruby had lent her until she could earn her own, along with a list. “Here’s what I need.”

  “That’s a lot for one person.”

  She leaned in close and whispered, “Don’t say anything, but Jackson Colster is with me.”

  “The preacher?” he said, his eyes wide. “They told everyone he was dead.”

  “They nearly killed him. I’m taking care of him until he’s strong enough to leave.”

  The boy frowned and shook his head. “He’s a good man. He’s just in the wrong town.”

  She glanced around the barn and took a quick peek outdoors to make sure no one was coming. “So will you get me some food and medicine? You could meet me down at Hodge Creek to give them to me tomorrow night.”

  If he didn’t help her, she’d be forced to either ride to the next town or go into the mercantile herself. She knew she’d never make it back out of town without the madam’s goons trying to stop her. Eventually, she would face them all, but for now she wanted the art of surprise on her side.

  “Why do I think I’m going to regret this?” the boy asked. “Yes, I’ll do it. But I’m not helping you get even with the madam. I need my job.”

  “Didn’t expect you to.” Hannah shrugged. “So what did my stepfather want?”

  “Who?”

  “That man who was just here. What did he want?”

  The young man glanced down at his boots then back up at her. “He asked me to make sure his horse was ready to go early in the morning. He’s leaving town.”

>   She frowned. “Did he say where he was headed?”

  “No. Just said he was leaving town in the morning. Wanted me to have his horse ready to ride, early.”

  Her forehead drew together, and she couldn’t help but think about what there was possibly out of town that he would need. “If you learn anything about why he’s leaving, I would appreciate knowing.”

  The boy kicked at the dirt. “You know he captured another girl and brought her to the madam? You heard about that, didn’t you?”

  “No, I’m kind of hiding out here. What happened?”

  The boy sighed. “The preacher didn’t tell you?”

  “The preacher has been unconscious or in and out. He’s not made much sense.”

  It wasn’t entirely untrue, but she wanted to hear what Tim would tell her. Trusting everything the preacher said would be difficult.

  “That’s why they tried to kill him. He helped this girl that your stepfather had kidnapped escape. He got her a horse and helped her get out of town. Last I heard, they hadn’t found her.”

  So the preacher had helped another girl, though he’d refused to help Hannah. While she was glad the girl got away, it only made her angrier than ever that he hadn’t offered Hannah any assistance. Had he disliked her so much he’d ignored her pleas for aid?

  And now she was stuck helping the damn man.

  “If you learn anything at all about what my stepfather is doing, come tell me.”

  “How would I find you?”

  “Just go to Hodge Creek and whistle. I’m around.”

  The boy gazed at her. “I know you’ve had your share of bad luck, but you look good wearing a gun. Do you know how to use it?”

  She smiled, feeling proud of what she’d accomplished while she was gone. “That’s what I was doing these last months. Learning how to protect myself.”

  *

  Jackson ached all over. Sure, it had only been two days since the beating, but he didn’t feel like he was getting any better. More bruises seemed to be popping up in places he didn’t expect them. The mirror in the cabin showed the swelling in his eyes was beginning to go down, but his face was nothing but a rainbow of green, purple, and yellow.

  But with each painful breath, he felt reassured he was still alive. He’d survived the goons and had even been rescued by a girl he’d turned his back on. For months, that day had haunted him. He’d been new in town, and though he’d known the town’s reputation when he’d arrived, he hadn’t expected to find it as bad as it was.

  Bad enough he’d reconsidered what he was doing and even thought about returning home. But there was no home to go back to, and all he could do was stay here and try to clean up as much as he could.

  The door to the cabin swung open, and in walked the woman he’d been thinking about. As a prostitute, he’d thought she was pretty, but now she was more like an avenging angel. Gorgeous with her reddish blonde hair tumbling about her shoulders, her green eyes flashing at him. He couldn't help but admire her.

  “You’re supposed to be resting,” she said, carrying in her saddle.

  “I am,” he responded, “but I couldn’t just lie here any longer. I’m slowly making my way to standing.”

  The sooner he got his strength back, the better. If the goons found out he was still alive, they would come after him and Hannah.

  “Guess, I can’t blame you for that,” she said, piling her gear in the corner.

  “Where did you go?”

  “Into town to arrange for supplies.”

  Who in town could she trust to get them supplies? It couldn’t be any of the soiled doves in the saloon. Who would help her?

  “You didn’t just ride into town, did you?” he asked, concerned that she’d put herself in danger.

  “No, I know a boy I went to school with who’s going to bring us food and medicine.”

  She certainly was pretty enough to turn a young man’s head, but he’d be taking a huge risk helping her.

  “Since you’ve been gone, where have you been, Hannah?” he asked.

  “I’ve been learning how to protect myself,” she said. “I’ve been learning how to shoot. I’ve been learning how to catch criminals and bring them to justice. But most of all, I’ve been getting stronger and stronger. I’m no longer that weak little girl who’d been given a bad blow. Now I’m a strong woman set on getting even.”

  He sighed. “I can understand why you’d want revenge. Your stepfather dealt you a woman’s worst nightmare. But revenge is not going to make you feel better. It’s not going to give you back the lost time in that brothel. It’s only going to make you like them.”

  “Keep talking, preacher. Keep right on telling me that vengeance is the Lord’s. Do whatever you have to do, to get your soul count in, but I’m promising you there will be bloodshed, and I will be right smack in the middle.”

  Jackson laid his head back against the pillow and closed his eyes. Hannah had every right to be angry with him and with the Lord. She’d been thrust into evil, and while she’d found a way out, he’d not been there to help her when she’d asked for his assistance. Once he’d learned the truth, he’d gone to the brothel only to learn she’d escaped.

  At the time, he’d felt happy for her that she’d gotten out of her situation. But now she was back, and once again, Mrs. Hutchins was scouring the countryside for young girls to work in her depraved den of horrors.

  “Who is Melissa?” Hannah asked suddenly. “You kept asking me if Melissa was okay.”

  He hung his head. “She was a young woman I helped.” He’d been determined to make up for not rescuing Hannah, so when he’d learned of Melissa’s fate, he’d done what he could to help get her out of town. The last he remembered, he was putting her on his horse and sending her on her way. Then the goons had caught up to him and everything else was a blur.

  “Is she why they beat you up?”

  “Yes,” he said, wishing he had the courage to bring up the past and tell her he was sorry. “She worked in the brothel, and I helped her get away.”

  Hannah bristled like a porcupine; he could almost see the thorns come out. She turned to face him, placing her hands on her hips. “So you could help Melissa, but not me?”

  He licked his lips, feeling nervous, shifting in the bed, trying to get comfortable. “I helped Melissa because I didn’t help you. And I was wrong.”

  “Yes, you were,” she said, turning away from him, giving him her back as she returned to putting up the supplies.

  The madam had not only gotten him fired from his church by making certain his congregation believed that he, a single man, was visiting her establishment, she’d also framed him, and they’d believed her, not him.

  “What about Melissa?” he asked, sitting up straighter in bed. “Did she get away?” Part of him didn’t want to tell Hannah, but another part knew she needed to know the truth. Last night, she’d saved him, brought him into this cabin, and was risking her life for him. The least he could do was be honest with Hannah and tell her about Melissa.

  “She was a girl whose story is similar to yours,” he said softly. “Only I didn’t wait for her to approach me, I stole her from the brothel then set her free.”

  She stared at him. “Preacher man, there’s a commandment against lying.”

  He couldn’t blame her for not believing him. He’d refused to help her when she needed him the most. Now she thought he was lying about Melissa. “I deserve that and more from you. But why else do you think they were beating me? They were searching for Melissa. They wanted to know what I’d done with the girl. Unfortunately, her horse threw a shoe, and I let her ride my mustang out, hoping they wouldn’t realize I was the one who helped her escape.”

  Nothing had gone as planned, and the girl had been frightened. She’d been warned that if she tried to escape, they would beat her, and from what he’d experienced at the hands of the madam’s goons, he didn’t know how a woman could take such a beating.

  “You’ll excuse me if I�
��m not jumping up and down and praising you for helping the poor young girls who are forced into being soiled doves. You didn’t believe me, so I’m not certain this isn’t some tale you think will keep me from kicking you out the door. Believe me, if those goons find you here, you’re as good as dead.”

  And Hannah would be as good as dead as well.

  “No. After you left town, I learned the truth about your situation.”

  “Even though I told you the truth that day.”

  He couldn’t blame her for being angry with him because he hadn’t believed her when she’d asked him for help. Even if she had been a soiled dove by choice, he should never have turned her away. He should have helped her get out of that life and introduced her to God. That was his calling, his faith, and he’d made a terrible mistake.

  “Hannah, I was new to town. Wasn’t even certain why the church had sent me here, but I’d just rolled in, and here you come telling me you’d been forced into working for the madam. I wondered why you just didn’t walk away.”

  She laughed, the sound cold and eerie. “I did. Three times. And they promised me if I did it again, they would kill me. At that point, I didn’t care.”

  She rifled through their supplies on the table. “Ruby was the only person who offered me any help. She kept promising me she get me out of town. Then my own lack of trust almost got me killed.”

  He watched her and knew that hidden deep within her was a caring person who had been forced to learn to be tough and trust no one. And how could he blame her. First her stepfather, then the madam, then the preacher—she’d been betrayed by everyone.

  And yet, here she was taking care of one of the people who’d done her a lot of harm.

  “I’m going to earn back your trust, Hannah,” he said quietly.

  “You’re not going to be here long enough to earn back my trust. Not unless you plan on being here a thousand years because frankly, that’s how long it’s going to take to earn my respect again.”

  Chapter Three