Hannah Howell by Stolen Ecstasy Page A

instant later. Then Tom suddenly appeared, walking toward them with his usual unhurried stride.
    “We’d better ride,” Tom murmured as he strolled towards his mount.
    “Why?” Luke stood up and brushed himself off. “They’re gone. Ain’t no need to hurry now.”
    “No? What if that fool stops running for a minute? He might just think he’s got some chance of picking us off one by one. He could dog our heels every inch of the way, maybe even over the border into Mexico. I’ve got no liking for dodging bullets all across the Rio. Do you?”
    “Nope,” Hunter answered for Luke. “We’re heading out.”
    Leanne had no chance to protest. She had barely finished brushing the dirt from her clothes, when Hunter grabbed her by the waist and swung her up into her saddle. It was not until she straightened up and glanced his way that he paused.
    “You’re hurt.” His first thrill of fear faded as he saw that the blood on her cheek, though well mixed with dirt, was neither plentiful nor flowing very freely.
    Touching her cheek with her fingers, she winced, then frowned at the muddy bloodstains on her fingertips. “I think it happened when the bullet hit the rock. I recall the stinging now.”
    “It needs cleaning.” Even as he spoke, Hunter fished a handkerchief from his pocket and dampened it with water from his canteen.
    “Thought we was in a powerful hurry and all.”
    Hunter ignored Luke’s sneered words as he gently bathed Leanne’s cheek. He hated seeing her hurt, minor as the injury was. It brought home to him, all too starkly, the danger she had been dragged into.
    Once cleaned, the abrasions looked unsightly but not in need of much care. He felt an urge to kiss her injured cheek but restrained himself. Revealing such softness was not the way to keep the men in line, especially not men like Luke who already thought him too soft.
    As Hunter led the group toward the rapidly nearing Mexican border, he thought about how good it would be to be rid of Luke. In Mexico they would part, and Hunter decided he would do his best to be sure the parting was permanent. He did not trust the man, nor did he like him.
    Glancing covertly at Luke, he caught the man staring at Leanne with an expression on his homely face that had Hunter aching to shoot him. The ferocity of his distaste surprised Hunter, but no amount of inner scolding could turn it aside. He forced his attention to the land they were crossing.
    The scrub growing out of the hard, dry earth was slowly thickening, turning greener. It was a clear sign that there was a steady, large source of water nearby. Soon they would be at the river that formed the border between Texas and Mexico. Soon he would be one large step closer to achieving his goal. He still had to fight the urge, however, to turn around, to stay in Texas and go home.
    When they finally halted at the edge of the Rio Grande, Leanne was so tired she swayed in the saddle. Hunter quickly reined up beside her. Even as Charlie took the reins of her horse, Hunter pulled her from the saddle and set her before him. She slumped against him as she stared at the water.
    “It does not look all that grand to me,” she murmured.
    Looking over the wide but shallow river, Hunter smiled faintly. “It can be. Reckon it looked pretty grand to the Spaniards who found it after dragging themselves over a long, dry stretch of land.”
    “Be dark soon.” Tom lounged in his saddle and slowly rolled a cigarette.
    Hunter glanced idly at the sky. “Real soon. Still, we’re so close it seems dumb to stop and camp now.”
    “How close?” All Leanne was interested in was how soon she would be able to dismount and rest.
    “Across the Rio then six, seven miles to the southeast. Think you can make it?”
    Even one mile was going to feel like fifty to her, but she nodded. “Is there a proper bed where we’re going?”
    “Soft and big.” He covertly pressed a kiss to the top of her head, his mind filled with images of the