A Texas Sky (Yellow Rose Trilogy) by Lori Wick Page B

"You
    don't think I should blacken a few front teeth?"
    Dakota put his arms up in surrender.
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    'I'm not going to live that one down, am I?"
    "Oh, I don't know about that," Darvi said playfully. "If
    you happen to see a certain uncle of mine and perhaps
    mention to him that I was a perfect angel on this trip, I
    might see my way clear to forget what you said."
    Dakota laughed again.
    "I'll do it"
    Darvi smiled up at him. "Thanks for everything,
    Dakota. I can't tell you how good it was to see Merry and
    then hear of your revival as well."
    "I like that," Dakota decided. "My revival. That just
    about sums it up."
    Darvi didn't want to get teary again, so she said
    nothing. Not one who liked waiting for the train whistle to
    blow, she said goodbye right then. Dakota gave her a great
    hug, one that Darvi gladly returned, and then stood and
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    watched her get on board. He searched the windows and
    waved when he spotted her, but as soon as she looked
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    down at her lap, he turned away. It was going to be wonderful
    to get home, but he hated to see Darvi go. He walked
    back toward the hotel and livery, his heart a mix of emotions.
    Halfway to the hotel, Dakota stopped in midstride. He
    didn't know why he hadn't thought of it sooner, but he
    could keep in contact with Darvi. The whistle had already
    blown, but he knew if he hurried he could get her address.
    He arrived back in plenty of time, but she was not at the
    window. Thinking she might have moved, he quickly
    searched along the cars, surprised not to see her. When the
    train began to pull away, he comforted himself with the fact
    that he could get her address from Brace. Dakota turned
    again toward the hotel but froze before he'd walked five
    steps.
    Moving along between two men was a woman: strawberry
    blonde and wearing a navy suit. Dakota wondered if
    he was seeing things even as his feet began to propel him
    in that direction. He wasn't overly concerned. After all,
    why would anyone take Darvi from the train?
    His own teasing about trouble following her now came
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    to mind. With no definite plan, he picked up the pace just
    as they entered a crowded area of downtown Aurora.
    %r%r
    Darvi could not believe this was happening. Where the
    men had come from she couldn't say; she had looked up
    and there they were, one of them already taking the satchel
    from her side. Any protest she had died in her throat upon
    seeing the knife. The man hadn't pulled it from its sheath,
    but he'd made sure she saw it before their eyes met For this
    reason, Darvi instantly obeyed his order to accompany
    them from the train.
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    She now walked between them, much faster than she
    would have on her own, the town passing rather swiftly.
    She nearly lost her footing at one point. Starting to gasp/
    she felt something hard press against her side. That these
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    men meant business was more than clear.
    Darvi was working to keep her head when they suddenly
    turned down an alley. They were at the side and then
    the back of a building almost before she could think.
    Almost. Deciding that she wasn't going to comply any
    longer, Darvi began to pull on the hand holding her upper
    arm, just as she opened her mouth to scream. She didn't see
    the fist that came down on the top of her head, so when
    blackness crowded in she had no idea why.
    "3'"'3'"
    Dakota had spotted them again and even knew what
    alley they turned down, but to his amazement, there was
    no one in sight. He couldn't even find three distinctive sets
    of footprints in the gravel. Sure that he'd misjudged, he
    tried the next alley down but could see that it was too far.
    "I know this is where they went," he said under his
    breath as he continued to study the buildings. "I just don't
    know for sure that it was Darvi."
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    Dakota had a look around that brought him to a door in
    the back, but it was locked. Not a man given to flights of
    fancy, he wondered what to do next. Finding out if Darvi
    had actually left