Once a Hero Read online

  And they were coming for him.

  Kee had had his back against the wall before. Not quite so physically, he thought, ready to shoot the first person through the opening.

  But instead of a body, smoke came drifting into the cavern. Within minutes he was coughing. Seconds later, he braced himself for the climb. They’d given him no choice but to run.

  He had trouble from the first. The distance between the steps had been carved for shorter people. Kee had to stretch his arm to find a handhold; twice he almost slipped off the ancient rock steps.

  And the smoke was drifting up right after him.

  Kee couldn’t see worth a damn. He hoped he’d called it right and this was an escape hole, not a grave. Not that it mattered now. He had pushed himself and Isabel into a course from which there might be no escape. But without taking this chance, there would certainly be none.

  Kee reached upward for another handhold and found emptiness. He had climbed as far as he could. The edge crumbled beneath fingers.

  “Hell,” he whispered.

  “Here, Kee. Take my hand.”

  The smoke had not come up this high yet, and he took a few deep breaths and handed her his rifle.

  “Stay back, Isabel. The edge’s unstable. I’m not taking you with me if I go down. Not after all this.”

  “Stop being a man,” she whispered back, latching on to his wrist.

  Kee didn’t think he’d have reason to smile, but that is just what he did. “Honey, in case you ain’t noticed, a man is what I am. Kinda hard to just up and quit in the midst of things.”

  Her furious mumbling served to distract him from the growing pain in his shoulder as he hoisted his body over the edge, then scrambled for all he was worth to roll his long legs over as pieces of the rock fell below.

  Kee scooted back a little. His breathing was harsh and heavy, but in minutes he was ready to blister her a new hide.

  “You don’t listen worth a damn. I told you to keep going. Talk about me being just like a man about accepting your help. Hell, you got me beat six ways to Sunday with a woman’s stubbornness.”

  On her knees beside him, Isabel, like Kee, did not think she would have reason to smile. She touched his cheek, thankful that he had not been shot again, thankful, too, that he was with her. She handed him the canteen and while he drank sparingly, she packed her folded shirt against his wound.

  “If you would stop talking, Kee, you would see I cannot go farther without you.”

  “See? Can’t see my hand in front of my face.”

  “There are two tunnels leading off from here. I had no way of leaving you a sign to follow me. And, if you must hear it, I feel better that you are with me.”

  In the dark cavern he heard the underlying fear in her voice. “Come here, Isabel.”

  “I am here.”

  “Closer. I can’t see you, remember?”

  “Yes.” But the word came out all soft and hesitant as she leaned forward. For the moment they were safe. For a few minutes she could pretend there were no men down below ready to kill Kee and capture her again. For a stolen bit of time she could indulge this man who risked his life for her.

  By some sure instinct her hand found the thick lock of his hair that fell over his forehead. It was damp with sweat and she gently brushed it aside.

  She wished for light to see the cause of the sudden change in his breathing. She knew the cause of hers.

  This close she could smell him, the animal heat of his body, dark and potent. A strange, frightening excitement knotted her stomach and set her heart pounding.

  The danger that surrounded them extended to Kee. A tremor rippled through her. Then another. Not from cold. Not when Kee cupped the back of her neck and drew her face closer to his. Not when she felt his warm breath fan across her cheek.

  “I don’t know what’s ahead for us, Isabel,” he whispered. “But I’m a man who wants to die happy. And I need one thing from you.”

  “What?” The shudder that ran through him acted like a caress to her body. She could feel what he was doing to her, but Kee was not hiding how he felt in return. Her breathing became labored as if she had run a long way. She cupped the side of his face, felt the roughness of his unshaven skin and then came the first brush of his lips over hers.

  Temptation.

  Everything she had been warned against from the time she was too young to understand. But there was no thought of sin when she wanted to taste the reckless slant of his mouth against her own. For without a word desire was there, between them, sizzling the very air they breathed, heating blood and skin and the lips that met and clung as if to the very essence of life itself.

  Kee incited a hunger to taste the forbidden, and she could not summon the will to fight him and herself.

  His hand splayed out, rubbing up and down her back, bringing her closer to his body until she was half lying on him. His fingers tangled in her hair, tilting her head toward his shoulder. She had never felt such a wild, exploding assault on her senses. The low hungry sound he made before his tongue swept her mouth, all hot and fierce desire as if he could not get enough of her, made her cling to him, trembling helplessly.

  As softly as the kiss began, it ended abruptly with a groan torn from Kee. It was not pleasure, but pain in his voice.

  Isabel pulled her body away from his and then to her horror realized her hand pressed against his wounded shoulder.

  He overrode every protest, every sound she made with soft, satisfied masculine laughter. “Honey, I’m going to die a happy man.”

  “You are not going to die at all, Kee Kincaid. Not if I have anything to do with it.” Realizing what she said, Isabel leaned back, tears helplessly falling. “Oh, Dios, what have I said? You were shot because of me. Only your skill saved you from being killed. How could you want to kiss the woman responsible for this and the loss of your horses?”

  “Guess you don’t look in a mirror much,” he said with a hint of laughter, then turned serious. “Isabel, I’ve wanted that kiss since I first saw you. And now, lovely lady, now I want to get the hell out of here.”

  With her help Kee stood up and braced part of his weight on the rifle.

  “Isabel, do you trust me?”

  “Yes,” she replied without hesitation.

  Kee knew that for here and now she told the truth. The other parts…no, that would have to wait.

  “I want you to pace off about ten feet since we can’t see anything. Go slow. While you’re moving, wet your finger and hold it high. If there’s air coming in from the outside, you’ll feel it stirring. Then count back and I’ll meet you here.”

  “Why must you move? Stay and rest. I will do this.”

  “No arguments. If you take a deep breath you’ll smell clean air. I was in a mine cave-in once and believe me, the air is stale. But I’ve caught the drift of smoke once or twice.” He sniffed. “Can barely smell it now. They must have discovered the cavern and the steps. Won’t take much for them to figure on smoking us out. ’Course, they don’t know if we have another way out.”

  “But Kee, we do not know that there is a way.”

  “Even odds, Isabel. When you’re up against a stacked deck, they’re the best you’re going to get.”

  Under their feet lay the dust of centuries. And without light, there was no way to tell where the walls were. What concerned Kee the most was stepping into another hole. He had matches, but had to save them. Thankfully, Isabel wasn’t afraid of the dark, enclosed place.

  Something rolled beneath his foot. Kee bent down to pick it up. The dust stirred and he coughed, but his hand closed over an ancient ear of corn. None of the kernels remained, but he could feel the individual rows with his fingers. Small cob, no more than ten rows. Yet the feeling persisted that this was not a place where people lived.

  “Kee, Kee, come here to me. I think I have found something.”

  He turned at the sound of her excited voice and hurried toward her. He could barely make out where she stood.<
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  “Kee, it is another opening.”

  “Clever woman. So it is.” Yet Kee hesitated to go forward.

  “What is wrong? This could be the way out.” Impatience marked her tone.

  “For all we know there could be a maze of these caves. Or you could be right and it’s a way out. I’m figuring the odds, that’s all. So keep your shirt buttoned.”

  “It is your shirt, Kee.”

  “Let me go back and get the bundle.” He did so, tossing the corn cob in the far corner where it bounced and rolled and then Kee heard it fall. “Sweet hell, I knew there had to be another one of those black holes around here. If you didn’t call out when you did, I’d likely stepped into it.”

  Taking hold of Isabel’s hand, and using the rifle in front to poke at the ground, Kee started off. They had gone about seventy feet from where they started when the walls narrowed enough that his shoulder brushed against one side. But it was the faint gleam up ahead that drove him forward.

  Within a few feet Kee felt the sudden openness around him. He stopped and looked at the rifle-barrel width of faint light that stretched across the floor. Above there was a crack in the rock roof. Kee judged it to be at least fifteen feet high, far too high for him to see out, far too high for them to climb up there. But the cool air stirred around them, and hope renewed itself. Hope that had been diminishing by the minute.

  “It is a good sign, Kee. This must be the right way,” Isabel said, squeezing his hand tight. She had not said a word of worry to him, but she thought of being entombed in this place, and it frightened her.

  Now he reached into his pocket and pulled out his match safe. He struck one and the tiny light was swallowed by the darkness around them. Kee lit another match and this time he smiled. The air stirred the flame.

  “Straight ahead now, Isabel. We’re getting out.”

  But straight ahead led into a tunnel where Kee had to bend low to pass. “Isabel, count our steps. I’ll give it to a hundred. If we don’t get into a wider passage we turn around.” He said nothing of the hot stale air that filled this tunnel. Hot and close, just the way a man wanted to be with someone like Isabel, but along with that went a feather-soft tick and sweet-smelling air that was easy to breathe. He swiped at the sweat beading his forehead, forgetting about his wound until his upward stretch pulled the flesh. Kee couldn’t stifle his groan in time. Behind him he felt Isabel’s free hand reach out to touch him.

  “It’s all right, Isabel. A stupid move on my part. Keep going.”

  There was no change in the tunnel. His breathing as well as Isabel’s was labored. As near as he could figure, they were a couple of hundred yards into the mountainside. How much farther did they have to go? Or was this another blind tunnel that would lead nowhere?

  “One hundred, Kee,” Isabel whispered, crowding closer to him as he stopped. Her breaths were gasps for oxygen.

  Kee’s were no better. He faced her. Touching her face, he found her cheek streaked with dust and sweat.

  “Isabel, we go on or turn back. Your decision.”

  She leaned her head against him. Her instincts were silent. “We can’t…stay here, Kee. I can hardly breathe.”

  “Let’s go on. Another hundred feet.”

  The tunnel narrowed almost immediately. Kee had to turn sideways to pass a few sharp protrusions of rock.

  “The tunnel is turning. Maybe this is the way.”

  “I am praying, Kee.”

  “That’s good. We need all the help we can get.”

  There was another tight squeeze for Kee as the tunnel took a hard, sharp turn. But he struggled, ignoring the rip to his shirt for he felt the cool air. Isabel’s soft cry told him she felt it, too.

  “Come on,” he urged, stumbling a little as once more he felt the vast space around him. He fumbled to get two matches lit and immediately cupped his hand around the tiny flame to protect it from being blown out. Cool, fresh air stirred against his heated face. “This way, Isabel. Hold on a little longer.”

  “I am with you no matter what.” She pinned her gaze on the dying flame, but hope flared, bright and hot, even as the matches burned out.

  Kee led her across the vast space. And there was moonlight spilling down upon them, revealing another set of ancient carved steps. Neither one urged the other, but both hurried outside.

  “Never saw such a pretty sight as that night sky,” Kee whispered. He cradled her against him, absorbing her shudders of relief. He felt a few of his own.

  “We made it, lady. I don’t know where the hell we are, or how we’re getting down, but we made it.”

  “Together, Kee. We make a good team.” Isabel hugged him around the waist. Her cheek pressed against his heart.

  “We’ll rest here tonight, and then,” he added in a soft, but warning voice, “and then, my sweet, tempting little liar, you—” he cupped her face with both his hands so there was no escape “—are going to tell me who the woman was that kept calling your name.”

  “Kee, I—”

  “No.” And he silenced her with a brief, hard kiss. “In the morning.”

  But in the morning, Isabel was gone.

  Chapter Ten

  The last thing Kee remembered was Isabel cleaning his wound. Luck had been with him. The bullet went clean through. He couldn’t recall just when he fell asleep.

  Now, in the cold gray light of morning he discovered that she had left him his rifle and canteen.

  He supposed he should be grateful that he still wore his money belt. But Kee wasn’t feeling grateful at all. A little betrayed, a whole lot foolish, maybe downright surly. Grizzly mean sort of surly. The one thing he wasn’t, was worried about Isabel. Still he felt ready to shoot the first one of that bunch that crossed his path.

  Sure he would, he laughed to himself. With his arm so stiff, he’d be lucky to hit the broad side of the mountain if he tried to fire his rifle.

  Kee stood and looked at the rock ledge that spread wide from the cave mouth. He saw where Isabel had found the way down.

  It was a good thing they had not tried to leave in the dark. The way was steep, loose rock and overgrown brush made for slow going, but Kee was determined. He ignored hunger and pain, just about everything to get himself down below.

  Well, not everything. He made plans. Plans that made him argue with himself over how pilgrim-green he was to even think about going up against men ready to kill him.

  And he couldn’t forget the other woman.

  Or Isabel. Sweet—trembling—lying—blue-eyed witch.

  He couldn’t seem to bury thoughts of her.

  Do you trust me?

  And her Yes said without a moment’s pause.

  A smart man would find his horses and head for home.

  To hell with gold, women and shooting men.

  Every ounce of horse sense told him to cut and run, but he found himself studying the earth to find Isabel’s tracks.

  He just couldn’t leave her alone with that pack of wolves. Walking away from her just wasn’t in him.

  Kee spent most of the day following Isabel’s tracks. A part of him knew that she hadn’t tried to hide them. It was almost as if she knew he would come after her.

  What did surprise him was where the trail led him.

  Right to the base of the cliff dwelling. He found where horses had been tied, and scuffed footprints of men moving around. He found one perfect smaller boot print, too. The deeper heel impression told him this belonged to the other woman who had called Isabel by name.

  Dusk covered the land. He wasn’t going to find them by trying to track in the dark. Not afoot. He looked upward. It was worth a chance to see if his gear was still up there.

  The stench of burning brush filled the stone room. He was surprised to find his saddle and bags intact. What he needed was his horse.

  Kee settled for a small fire, just enough to make coffee and fry bacon. It was a quick supper, but a welcome one.

  He needed sleep, but his mind wouldn’t let
him rest.

  Had Isabel gone willingly with them? Or had she been taken against her will?

  And where would they have gone? That question plagued him the most. Plagued his restless sleep when it finally came. Plagued his first thought upon awakening in the morning.

  Kee sorted through his pack, taking only what was necessary since he would have to haul his saddle with him. He swore and cursed as he worked, knowing why they still hung horse thieves. A man on foot in the middle of nowhere needed every skill he possessed to survive.

  Then he remembered the springs where he’d last seen horse tracks. Odds were with him that the horses would come back there. It meant wasting a day at best, two or three at the worst, but he wasn’t going to catch up to that bunch without a horse.

  Even taking only what he needed, the saddlebags and rifle proved a chore to carry with his bad arm. He walked, drank sparingly from his canteen, rested and then walked on.

  Late afternoon found him at the spring. There were fresh tracks, all right, including those of Outlaw. Kee almost smiled. If that mustang caught his scent, that horse would bring those mares and his packhorse right to him. Kee refilled his canteen, washed his wound and then hunted a spot to wait.

  He found a thick slab of rock tilted just enough to provide a hollow shelter for his fire. But after he’d eaten, he doused the fire, scattered the ashes and settled himself on the warm earth. Once the sun went down, the temperature fell right along with it.

  While he waited, Kee’s thoughts kept returning to the story Isabel had told him. When he came right down to sifting through everything, the facts weren’t much.

  If they had a little more time, he might have had a more solid picture of what had happened. He had a gut feeling that the Apache woman Ken-tee was involved somehow with Isabel’s grandfather.

  Kee took that idea apart and it kept coming back together like the perfect fit of gun to hand, man to saddle.

  He racked his mind for any talk he’d heard over the years about the old Dutchman. But then, he’d not been interested in the mining end of the Kincaid holdings.

  Give him his horses, and cattle if he had to. But breeding stock was his first love and one he’d been lucky enough to indulge.