not to hurt her," Jamie said.

"Then the Comancheros. Who the hell ever trusted a Comanchero?" He

strode to the sofa and stared at Jori.

"I've got to catch up with them before they get to this Nalte. Or I'll

have to try to talk to Nalte himself."

"Yes, you'll very definitely have to talk to him," Jon said gravely.

"And carefully, Jamie. Nalte will not be easy to deal with. He's watched

wars and treaties go by for years, and he is a law entirely unto

himself. He eschews everything white--except for the white men's guns,

horses and women.

He moved his people into the mountains when the white men took over the

plains, rather than have to deal with them.

"He keeps to the old ways. His women do not buy cotton for their

dresses, and his scouts do not wear cotton shirts. He moves about in a

breech clout as do his braves in summer, in winter he warms himself with

hides and furs.

He is also intelligent, astute and very dangerous--an Apache to the

core."

Hank had come in.

"You need the cavalry," he said. Jamie shook his head.

"No, Hank. No. If I do that, they might ?dll her. If I don't catch up

with them before they hand her over to Nalte, I'll have to speak with

him personally and convince him to give her back. I_t's our only

chance." Listen Hank, yon Heusen is going to think that he has both Tess

and me out of the picture. If anyone comes around, act as if you haven't

seen either of us. That lawyer will let out the information about the

will, and that will stall yon Heusen for a little while."

He paused, then strode over to the big desk, sat and drew out a piece of

paper. He wrote on it quickly.

"Now Hank, you make sure that this telegraph gets out today, you

understand?

It's real important."

"Yes, Lieutenant Slater, I understand."

"Good. Jon will be back soon, and if I've any luck at all, I'll bring

Tess home to you again." He paused.

"If not, Hank, you hold tight. Help will come. Von Heusen isn't going to

win this one." He stood again, gritting his teeth.

I'll be damned in hell a thousand times over before I let yon Heusen win

this one!" He strode around the desk again in his bare feet.

"Hank, I need a pair of boots that will fit me."

"Sure thing, Lieutenant.

I'll find you something." Jamie nodded.

"Jon--I need new guns."

In silence, Jon left to fulfill the request. They'd come with plenty of

guns, and he would know what Jamie wanted and what he needed.

Twenty minutes later the guns were assembled and Jon and Jamie were

ready to ride out. Dolly had made some coffee, and Jamie drank some

quickly, wincing as the hot liquid filled him. He felt a twitch at his

temple and felt the stitches there for the first time.

"You sewed me up, Dolly?"

"As pretty as a young girl's ball gown, Jamie."

"Thanks."

They moved outside. Jamie and Jon mounted with the others looking on.

"You bring Tess home now, you hear?" Hank said. "Please, please, bring

her home!" Jane added, her large doe eyes wide and damp.

Jamie smiled at Jane.

"I'll bring her home. I promise, Jane. I'll bring her home, or I'll die

trying."

He tugged on the reins, and he and Jon turned their mounts and started

off.

The sun was rising already. It was falling in orange and gold splotches

across the dry earth. Beyond them, it shimmered upon the mesas.

He'd been out a long time, Jamie reckoned. And von Heusen's men had

already had Tess for a long time.

His muscles clenched tight, his jaw locked, he damned himself again and

again for what had happened. He should have been more careful. They

never should have had the opportunity to sneak up on him. Hell, if he'd

been that careless during the war, he'd have been dead half a dozen

times over.

He'd always been so damned good: he could hear a twig drop in a forest,

he could hear the rustle of trees when it wasn't just the wind, he could

hear bare footsteps against the dry ~rth. But when it had mattered, he

had failed.

He'd failed Tess. He'd forgotten everything, staring into her

violet-hued eyes, feeling her against him, hearing the whisper of her

voice, the tremor of her words. He'd just had to prove something.

She'd been so aloof, and he'd been so angry, and he hadn't known why.

Because she'd tried to draw away, and he hadn't been about to tolerate

it.

No, he hadn't been about to let it happen.

He had just wanted her, and he hadn't wanted her to escape him.

He was falling in love with her.

So what? he mocked himself. He hadn't wanted to do so. He hadn't

suggested that she marry him--he'd just wanted to touch her. To sleep

with her. To feel her beneath him, her breath coming in a desperate

rush, her hips and thighs moving, her eyes, those eyes, so wide and

still, sultry upon his. But he hadn't been able to let her walk away

from him. He just hadn't been able to give her time.

And so she was gone.

He felt his jaw lock anew. She had infuriated him. No matter how he

touched her, she could hold herself aloof.

And his anger and determination had brought them both down.

Damn!

He didn't know that he had cast back his head and cried the word aloud

with anguish until he saw that Jori was watching him. Until he saw the

pity on his friend's bold features.

"It's too late for recriminations, my friend," Jon said quietly.

"Yeah. Too late."

"If you want her back, you'd better forget your feelings. You can't make

any more mistakes." "I won't," Jamie said.

"You should let me go alone."

"A half-breed Blackfoot? The Apache won't like you any better then

they're going to like me."

"Nalte isn't going to be fond of either of us." "I can deal with Nalte,"

Jamie said. He spun'ed his horse forward, calling to Jon to follow him.

He would deal with Nalte. One way or another, he would get Tess back.

One way or another.

Comancberos.

They lined the dry, dusty hilltop that overlooked the desert, seeming to

go on forever, covering the horizon. A hundred of them, at least.

Her hands tied before her, Tess sat in her buckskins in front of

Jeremiah on his big horse. She didn't know how long or how far they had

ridden that day, but they had finally come to this desert that stretched

to the mountains-- a beautiful area, with myriad colors, a barren,

forbidding area where the vultures sat upon the branches of the few

scrawny trees, where cactus eked out an existence, where most life was

lived in the cool that settled over the golden landscape by night. Soon,

the terrain would change again, as they entered the mountains.

They were already in the land of the Apache. And Tess was realizing how

little she knew of this feared tribe. She knew they were fierce, and

that they did not go to reservations. She had read that President Grant

had initiated a "peace policy" toward the Apache this year, but that

meant one thing in Washington, quite another here. Apache. it took an

Apache to track an Apache, so they said. Once Cochise had been a captive

of the American Army, but the trap had infuriated him. He had drawn his

knife, slit apart the tent--and disappeared. An entire cavalry company

had 199 been unable to find him.

She shivered. Perhaps more so than any other Indian on the Western

frontier, the Apache could strike terror into the hearts of the people.

But nothing could be more fearsome than the Comancheros who faced her

now, staring down at their small group of three from the hillside and

the horizon.

Tremors tore at her heart. She had ridden with Jeremiah and David for a

day and a night and through much of this day as well, and she had done

her very best with Jeremiah.

She had looked for eve~ possible opportunity to escape, but David had

taken great care never to give her a chance. She was never alone. Even

when she relieved herself, he was not more than a few steps away, and

his promises of what he would do if she even tried to move made her

weigh her circumstances very carefully. As long as she was with them,

she was safe. Jeremiah wasn't going to let David touch her, and David

was frightened enough of von Heusen to listen to Jeremiah.

Hour by hour she had dreamed. Jamie had to come for her. If he was

alive, he would have to come for her. HIS sense of honor would let him

do no less.

But he had to come while she was still with David and Jeremiah. The odds

would have been pretty even then, he could have ridden in with the sun

and carried her away into the sunset. But he had not come, and although

she could not allow herself to believe that he had been killed, she knew

the odds were no longer even. Not even Jamie Slater could come riding

into a throng of a hundred Comancheros, guns blazing, and carry her

away. She was indeed here, and. The Comanchcros were all staring down at

her. Suddenly, wild screams and shrieks filled the air, and the army of

Comancheros came galloping toward them. The cries made her heart

flutter, and as they came nearer and nearer, Tess felt an even greater