Xenia’s Renegade (10 page)

****

Ty came down from seeing Xenia to her room and saw Burk Yancey waiting for him in the lobby. “I’m surprised to see you here, Burk. Do you need to see me about something or do you have other business?”

“I want to talk to you. Could we get out of here?”

“Sure.” Ty adjusted his hat and followed the man out the front door to the wooden sidewalk.

“How about we head to the saloon? I think you might be interested in what’s going on there.”

They both ordered beers at the bar then chose one of the small round tables in the corner of the room to sit and drink it. Ty could tell the place hadn’t been open long because the room was almost deserted. He knew that would change when the men slowed down their work and came in for drinks, gambling and dancing with the four women who worked there.

“Okay, Burk. What’s on your mind?”

“First of all, have you heard about the latest scheme Seymour is trying to put together?”

“I have no idea. Is it something he came up with after I left town?”

“I think it was before that, but you may have been too busy to have noticed. Anyway, he’s been telling some of the big spenders here that he has a surprise coming.”

“He’s done that before and his surprise usually fizzles.”

“I think this time he may mean it.”

Ty took a drink of his beer. “Tell me about it.”

“About the time you and Wilt left he started telling some of us that he has two beautiful virgins coming here from Virginia. Said they had never worked in a saloon, but he was sure they would be willing to learn the trade when they realized there was nothing else they could do in Deer Meadow.”

Ty frowned. “Why would two virgins from Virginia want to come here and become prostitutes?”

“My question exactly.”

“I admit it’s interesting, but what’s it got to do with me?”

“I think you knew Ray Andrews was hurt on the way into town a couple of days ago.”

“Yeah. I was on that stage.”

“Well, he’s been resting up before the doctor will let him go back to work. He was in here the other night and said there were two beautiful women on the stage you all came in on.”

Ty nodded and a feeling of dread began to spread through him. “There were, but I’m pretty sure these women had no intention of coming to work in Seymour Longstreet’s saloon.”

“After being pushed, the bastard admitted to somebody that he was tricking the women into coming. It wasn’t long until we got this word even though he assured everyone that they’d go along with his plan. He said he was sure as soon as they saw how much money they were worth they’d be happy he tricked them into coming.”

Ty began to fume inside, but he held it back. “That doesn’t make any sense. No decent woman would want to work for him even if she could make a lot of money.”

“I figured he thinks he’d have control of them once he got them here. I wouldn’t put it past him to keep them locked up until they cooperated with his plan.”

Ty couldn’t control his temper any longer. “That sonofabitch. How could he think of doing that to two innocent women?”

Burk shook his head. “You know what the man is capable of as well as I do, Ty. He’ll do anything for a dollar. Even if he ruins two young women’s lives.”

“He’ll never get his hands on these two women if I have anything to say about it.”

“So they were the ones who came to town on the same stage as you?”

“I’d stake my ranch on it.”

“Are they as innocent as Seymour claims they are?”

“Burk, these women are as naïve as they come. They think they’ve come to Deer Meadow to help an uncle who is in jail and is about to be hanged. Seymour is their uncle, their mother’s brother, I think they said, and they haven’t seen him in ten years or more. Anyway, he told them the tale and played on their sympathy to convince them to come to Deer Meadow to help him. They have no idea how sinister their uncle is.”

“Then jail’s where he should be.”

“I agree. But he’s not there, and now I have to go back and tell them their uncle is trying to use them to expand his business.”

“So that pretty woman with you at the hotel restaurant was one of them?”

“Yes.”

“Where’s the other one?”

“At my ranch.”

“And you brought one of the pretty ladies to town?”

“She asked me to bring her so she could look up her uncle and see what she could do to help him. I didn’t know what was going on, so I agreed to bring her.”

“Well, since she’s here, how about introducing me? I wouldn’t mind getting to know her better. And I’m saying this not because I think I could use her. I’m thinking of settling down.”

“There’s no way in hell I’ll do that. She’s a nice woman, Burk. Too nice to be your wife.” It was all Ty could do to keep his anger in check.

A snide smile crossed Burk’s face. “Sorry. I had no idea you were interested yourself. But I can certainly understand why you are.”

“I’m not interested in her in that way.”

Burk frowned. “You’re not trying to pull something with them yourself are you?”

“Hell, no. They’d be at the hotel and not at my ranch if it wasn’t for a half-breed baby.”

“What in the world does a baby have to do with anything?”

“It’s a long story. Let’s have another beer and I’ll tell you all about it.”

After Ty finished, Burk stared at him and said, “I’m not trying to tell you what to do, Ty, but my advice would be for you to take Miss Poindexter back to your ranch as quick as you can. If Seymour gets wind that she’s in town, he’ll stop at nothing to bring her to the saloon. His goons would kill you to keep you from getting her out of town.”

Ty stood. “I think you’re right. Thank you for letting me in on what’s happening.”

“If I can help, let me know. I’ll keep my eyes and ears open in the saloon and if there’s something I think you should know, I’ll drop by your ranch in a day or so and let you know what’s going on.”

“Thanks again.” Ty walked out the door and hurried toward the hotel.

When he arrived at the door to Xenia’s room he’d decided not to tell her what a terrible person her uncle was. Since he knew there was a cattle drive planned, he’d say the hotel was going to be full of boisterous and drunk cowboys tonight and it wouldn’t be safe for her to stay there. Not exactly the truth, but not a complete lie, either. The cattle drive was a fact, though the cowboys usually came to the town and got drunk after it was over, not before. And if everything Burk had told him was true—and he had no reason to think it wasn’t—it wasn’t safe for Xenia to be here. It wasn’t even safe for her to be in town.

He rapped on the door.

No answer.

“Surely she’s not asleep again.” He rapped harder.

Still no answer. Did she venture out on her own? He’d suspected she’d try this if he didn’t get some answers for her soon.

He rapped one more time. This time with vigor. “Xenia,” he yelled. “It’s me. Let me in.”

There was no answer.

He raced down the stairs and demanded a key to the room form Stoneman.

Stoneman looked at the box of keys under his desk. “I’m sorry, Mr. Eldridge. There isn’t another key to her room.”

“I know you have extras in case somebody gets locked out. Where is the one to Xenia’s room?”

“I have no idea. Somebody must have taken it when I stepped out to eat a bite of dinner.”

Ty’s heart raced. Could her uncle have learned she was in town? Did he kidnap her?

Without saying anything else, Ty took the stairs two at a time. He didn’t hesitate when he reached the room. He removed his pistol and shot the lock. He holstered his gun and it didn’t take much for him to ram his shoulder into the door and burst it open.

His heart sank when he saw the room. There was a turned over chair, the broken water pitcher was lying in a puddle of water on the floor and Xenia’s hat was in another spot on the floor. It looked as it had been stepped on and flattened. There was blood on the rumpled bed, but she was nowhere in sight.

Xenia heard the commotion in the hall and recognized Ty’s loud, angry voice, but with the gag in her mouth and being tied to the chair she was helpless to do anything to indicate her whereabouts. She wondered if she managed to turn over the chair, could draw attention to this room? But she didn’t dare. Her face still hurt where Lou had hit her in the mouth and nose. The blood that spouted from her nose was still dripping down her chin and onto her dress. She was sure it would never come clean again and it was one of her favorite dresses. She’s worn it today because she thought Ty might like it. Now, she realized how foolish that was. Ty would never care what she wore. He didn’t even like her—but for some reason, she knew he did feel he had to protect her.

She wondered why she was having such thoughts at this time. Here she was tied-up in this awful man’s room, her eye swelling from the blows. Her teeth had cut her lip, and her nose still bled profusely. It may even be broken, and all she could think about was that blood was ruining a dress she though Ty might like.

What was going on? Why did Bullins sneak into her room and scare her half to death? And how did he get a key in the first place? She thought she had the only key. Ty didn’t even have one.

Her thoughts turned to the events of the day. If Ty had only let her go with him to wherever he had to go to handle his ranching business, this would never have happened. Now, he was in the hall trying to discover what had happened to her, and she couldn’t make enough noise to let him know she was in the room across the hall.
Oh, Ty, please find me. I don’t know what this mad man has in mind for me, but I’m sure it’s nothing good. I should have listened to Father and stayed in Richmond. No! If I’d stayed there, I never would have met you and had the chance to get to know you. Now, I’m not sure I ever will. I may not live through whatever Lou Bullins has decided to do with me.

Then, her mind drifted to her reason for being here. Why had her uncle brought her and Mea Ann to Deer Meadow under false pretenses in the first place? Did he have some sort of plan to extort money from her father? Franklin Poindexter had often said his brother-in-law hated him and planned to punish him for not giving Seymour enough money to establish a gambling house in Richmond. Was this his way to get back at her father? If it was, would her father be willing to pay money to get his daughters back in Richmond? For some reason, she doubted that he would…and this made her sad.

On the other hand, if her uncle wanted to punish her father, she and Mea Ann had never done anything to make him mad at them. When she’d last seen him, he’d entertained them with his stories and said he hoped to have daughters like them someday. If this was true, then why would Lou Bullins say he figured her uncle would pay him well for kidnapping her? Or had Bullins lied when he said he was doing this because he knew Seymour Longstreet would pay him if he brought her to him? 

She could still hear Ty shouting at people in the hall. He demanded someone go for the sheriff. He yelled at Alvin Stoneman and told him he’d tear the hotel down if he didn’t find Xenia. A woman’s voice was mingled with Ty’s, but Xenia couldn’t understand what the woman said.

Oh, Ty, you don’t know how hard it is for me to sit here and know you’re so near yet I can’t get to you, or you to me. What can I do?

She looked over to the bed where Lou sat sneering at her. “Don’t you wish you could call out to him,
Miss Poindexter
?” He’d emphasized her name to let her know he was using it as a taunt instead of respect. “I bet he won’t be so interested in finding you after you go to work in your uncle’s saloon.”

Where did he get such an idea? Xenia knew the man had to be crazy. There was no way she would ever work in a saloon.

“You may believe that Eldridge man thinks you’re special, but when I get through with you, no man, including him, will ever think you’re very special again.” He sneered at her. “You’ll just be another whore at the Golden Door.”

His words infuriated Xenia, and without thinking it through, she kicked the table beside her. The table wobbled and Lou leaped to his feet. Before he could catch it, the table turned over and the lamp sitting on it crashed to the floor.

Lou whirled around and slapped her.

He must have thought he didn’t punish her enough because he hit her again—this time, in the side of her head with his fist.

Xenia’s last thought was,
Please find me before he kills me, Ty.
Then, the darkness and the pain carried her into nothingness. 

****

Ty frowned. “What the hell was that racket?”

“Something fell in one of the rooms. Sometimes a customer will drop a valise or something.”

“That wasn’t any valise. I heard glass breaking.”

Sheriff Tim Ferguson appeared at the end of the hall. “What the hell is going on here?”

“A guest is missing. A Miss Poindexter.” Stoneman explained. “She’s a friend of Mr. Eldridge.”

“She the woman you told me about today, Ty?”

“She’s the one.” Ty headed toward the door where he thought the noise came from. “Come with me. I have an idea she might be in here.”

“I’m right behind you.”

Ty beat on the door. “Open up.”

There was no response to his demand.

He yelled, “I’ll shoot the lock if you don’t open up.”

Ferguson put his hand on Ty’s shoulder. “Calm down man. If she’s in there, you might hit the woman. We’ll get in.” He rapped on the door. “This is the sheriff. Open this door immediately, or we’ll break it down.”

The sound of a window opening reached Ty’s ears. “The bastard’s trying to get away.”

“Stand back.” The sheriff pulled his gun and aimed downward to keep from hitting anyone in the room. In less than a second, the shot burst the lock.

Tim shoved the door open and Ty saw Bullins going out the window. He didn’t pursue him. He was more interested in the woman who was tied to the chair that had turned over on the floor. In two steps, he fell to his knees and began untying her. He noticed the blood on her face and grew livid.
How dare anybody treat a woman this way?
He took one look at her face and yelled, “Get the doctor!”

He began to untie Xenia’s bonds and made up his mind at that moment he was going to punish Lou Bullins for this. He might even kill the sonofabitch.

“Doc’s in the dining room,” Stoneman said.

Throwing aside the rope that bound her to the chair, he lifted her in his arms and carried her out of this room to the one she was staying in.

Stoneman followed him, and he ripped the bloody spread off the bed. “I’ll have clean linens brought right up.”

Ty nodded as he gently placed Xenia on the bed. “Come on, sweetheart. Open those pretty blue eyes.”

There was no response.

He didn’t know what to do. His mind was going in all different directions. Should he wash away the blood? Should he take her boots off? Or her dress?

He didn’t have to make a decision, because Doctor Jesse Odell walked in. “If you’ll move, Ty, I’ll see what I can do for this lady.”

Though he didn’t want to leave Xenia, Ty knew the doctor had to have access to help her. He stepped back.

“Tell Stoneman to send up some clean, warm water and some rags.”

“I heard him,” Stoneman said. “I’ll be back with it shortly.”

“Get everyone else out of here. I want privacy to examine the patient.”

Ty shooed the crowd that had gathered in the room out through the door. He closed it behind them.

“I meant that for you, too, Ty.”

“I’ll be damned if I’ll let her out of my sight again, Jesse. I’m staying.”

Jesse raised an eyebrow. “I’m smart enough not to argue with a man in your mood. At least get on the other side of the bed, and stop breathing down my neck.”

Ty obeyed.

“Do you have any idea what happened to her?”

“All I know is Lou Bullins had her tied up in his room. I assume he’s the one who hit her in the face. I don’t know what else he did to her. There was a lot of blood on her bed.”

“So you think he might have molested her?”

Ty took a deep breath. “I don’t know.”

Stoneman called from the other side of the door. “I have the water and rags.”

“I’ll get them.” Ty went to the door and brought the items to the doctor.

Jesse had already cleaned most of the blood from her face with a dry rag. It was swollen, and the cuts and scrapes were visible.

The closer Ty looked at Xenia’s face, the madder he became. He gritted his teeth. “I want to kill that sonofabitch.” He narrowed his eyes. “If he’s hurt her in any other way, I will.”

“Why don’t you step out for a minute, Ty? I need to check her over.”

“I told you I wasn’t leaving her, Jesse. If I hadn’t left her in here after dinner this wouldn’t have happened.”

“Don’t start blaming yourself.” The doctor lifted Xenia’s eyelid and looked into her eye. Putting his instrument aside, he said, “She’s out cold. I’m going to unbutton her dress and listen to her heart.”

Ty didn’t move.

“That was my way of telling you to go look out the window or something. I’m sure if she’s the lady you say she is, she wouldn’t want you watching the examination.”

Ty nodded and muttered, “I suppose you’re right.” He walked to the window. He was glad he did when he saw the sheriff walking down the street with Lou Bullins in handcuffs. That was probably a good thing. At least it would keep Ty from getting his hands on him. The way he felt at this moment, he wasn’t sure he could keep himself from tearing the man apart.

He then looked toward the general store and the doctor’s office. There was nothing to catch his interest, and he shifted his eyes toward the dress shop. He lifted a brow when he saw Seymour Longstreet coming out the door with a pink dress trimmed in black across his arm.

Was he was headed toward the hotel? Could he possibly be coming here to force Xenia to wear that fancy dress? Did he arrange for Bullins to kidnap his niece because he’d learned she was in town? But how could he know Xenia was in the hotel? Did he have spies all over Deer Meadow?
Ty knew he was on the right track when he noticed Seymour stop and watch as the sheriff and Lou passed by on the other side of the street.

Ty decided he was going to get to the bottom of what was going on or die trying. He just wanted to be sure Xenia was safe while he looked into the situation, and he figured she would only be safe at the ranch.              

The doctor’s voice interrupted his observations. “You can come back now, Ty.”

He hurried back to the bed. “How is she?”

“She’ll be coming around soon.”

“That’s good.”

“And the answer is no.”

Ty frowned. “What do you mean, no?”

“He didn’t rape her, Ty. The blood must have all come from her facial injuries and the cut I found on her arm.”

“Thank God,” he whispered. Ty felt a weight lift off his chest, though he knew he wouldn’t have thought less of her if Bullins had molested her. Nothing that had happened was her fault.

“Other than the cut on her arm, some small bruises and the rope burns where he tied her up, the big bruise on her hip and the facial injuries seem to be the extent of the wounds. But they’ll heal. Her nose caused most of the blood and it’ll be sore, but it’s not broken.”

Xenia moaned.

“Is she waking up?”

“Yes, Ty. I think I already told you she’d be awake soon.”

He ignored the doctor. Kneeling by the bed, he took her hand. “It’s time to come back to the living world, Xenia Poindexter. I don’t like seeing you helpless like this. You’ve got to get your sassy self back here to the present. I don’t have anyone to argue with when you’re not around giving me a hard time.”

Her mouth quivered and Ty knew she was trying to smile. He couldn’t help it. He smiled back.

“Keep talking to her, son. She seems to be responding to your voice.”

Ty nodded. “I mean it, Xenia. If you aren’t back at the ranch tonight and telling everyone what to do, Mea Ann will shoot me. She didn’t want you to come to town in the first place.”

Her mouth opened as if she was trying to say something, but no sound came out.”

“There you go. I can see you’re trying to tell me something. Do you realize I now have the advantage? I can do all the talking and you can’t snap back at me.”

“I… I…I…” Her eyes fluttered and she seemed to float away.

Ty frowned and looked up at the doctor. “When is she going to wake up and make sense, Jesse?”

“Don’t worry, son. She will. It’s just gonna take a little time. She had a hard bump to the head.” He tied off the bandage on her arm and sat back.

“Lou Bullins should be hung for this.”

“I agree, but you and I both know that’s up to the judge. Not you or me.” He began poking around in his bag. Pulling out a bottle, he said, “I’m going to give you this bottle of laudanum to give her if she’s in a lot of pain when she gets good and awake. I figure her head is going to hurt like hell and she’s going to need something.”