the trap door about to fall, but you played it smart.”
“Maybe we’re just guessing what he wanted. Maybe he just came to thank me for helping with the birthing.”
“Maybe,” Clark answered. “My guess is he didn’t know about McCord or he wouldn’t have even been hinting.”
She stopped walking and looked at the kid. “What about McCord?”
“He’s your man. All the enlisted men know it. I’m surprised the officers don’t.”
Anna had to ask. “How do they know it?” She couldn’t imagine McCord talking about their time together.
“McCord told us before he left. He said every one of us better keep an eye on his Anna or there’d be hell to pay when he got back.”
Anna started walking again, pulling the private along beside her. “I’m not his Anna and he’s not my man.”
“Yes, ma’am,” Clark said as he fell into step beside her. “He also said not to argue with you no matter what crazy thing you said.”
“Oh, he did,” Anna said, more to herself than the kid. She wanted to get home and think about what Clark had told her, then decide whether to kill McCord when he came back. A few kisses and touches did not define ownership, even if those kisses still filled her dreams at night and the memory of his touch still warmed her each time she thought of it.
When they stepped back into the infirmary, she noticed Clark’s rifle was missing beside the door, a moment before she saw two men standing in the shadows. Clark’s muscles beneath her hand tightened, and she prayed the kid wouldn’t go for his Colt. Maybe they should have locked the door before leaving, but they’d both felt safe inside the circle of the military.
“Evening,” one stranger said as he stepped forward, a rifle pointed at Clark’s chest. “We’ve come to ask you, lady, if you’d like to take a ride with us.” He smiled, showing rotting teeth in a face weeks past needing washing. “There’s a gambler who says he has a little game to finish with you. He says you ran out on him before all the cards were on the table.”
The stranger laughed as if pleased with his politeness, then glared at Clark. “I guess you’re coming too. If we kill you it’ll draw attention, and I’d like to ride out of here the same way I rode in. Unnoticed. A soldier riding along with us will make us look all the more legal.”
Anna panicked. “No. Tie him up and I’ll go with you without a sound.” She guessed they’d kill Clark when they were far enough away from the camp that no one would hear the shot.
“No,” Clark answered calmly, his eyes staring at the man without any fear showing. “I go with her. I’m her guard. If I’m not outside someone will come check on her, but if we’re both missing they’ll think we’re somewhere in camp.”
Anna closed her eyes, wishing he wouldn’t be so logical. He was signing his own death warrant.
The second stranger, a bookend of the first outlaw, moved out from the shadows. He had the same wide-rimmed hat that his partner wore, but his clothes were buckskin, not wool. If possible, he looked even meaner than the first, with a touch of insanity flickering in his whiskey-colored eyes. Both were men who would not be welcome in anyone’s home. Something about them seemed more animal than human.
Clark raised his hands as the men took the Colt at his side and tied his hands.
“That’s the way, boy,” the first outlaw whispered. “Come with us nice and easy and we’ll make the end quick for you.”
The mad twin tied her, spitting out a giggle when his hand kept slipping to brush against her. He was having so much fun, he didn’t notice when she twisted her wrist wide as he pulled the knot.
“Where are you taking us?” Anna demanded.
“Luther and me ain’t got no orders to kill you, if that’s what you’re asking. We’re just planning on delivering you.”
Anna decided the smart one was dumb as a cow patty and his partner, Luther, smelled worse than one. When she opened her mouth to ask more, Luther wrapped a dirty bandanna across it.
“Make a sound,” the leader added, “and we kill your bodyguard. We weren’t told to bring him along anyway, so if one of our knives happens to slip between his ribs we know it won’t matter one way or the other to the boss.”