Travis shook his head. "No. I want them all caught, but if you finish, leave him tied up somewhere if he's alive and ride to join me."

Roy smiled. "I'll do that. Maybe once I save this young lady, I'll have me three wives." His eyebrows danced up and down. "Women can't resist a hero."

Travis frowned and Roy changed the subject. "You know that burned-out mission due south of here?"

"I know it," Travis answered. "I was thinking the same thing. Our last kidnapper will feel safe in there with rock at his back. It would be the place I'd head to if I planned to hold up for the night, and if he's riding double, he'll have to stop soon."

Roy saluted and kicked his horse. "I'll catch up to you."

Travis put the cap back on his canteen and headed due south toward the remains of a mission. The ground was damp, making the tracks easy to follow. His left leg had started to swell. His boot felt tight, but there was no time to stop.

He reached the remains of a mission just before the sun set. Jagged white rocks lined the perimeter of the grounds like broken teeth no longer useful. He circled, keeping the sun at his back, and rode between the walls that had once held trouble at bay. Anyone at the mission would have to be staring at the setting sun to see him.

On the east side, where the walls were almost ten feet high, he found a horse tied to the last pole standing in what once had been a corral. Travis knew he'd found them. He pulled his knife and cut the leather holding his leg still, then slid slowly from the saddle. He wasn't surprised when his left leg wouldn't hold his weight. He pulled his cane and walked across the rocky ground knowing that if he stumbled and fell, he'd never be able to get to his feet. The ride had undone weeks of healing, but it couldn't be helped. He had to find Rainey.

First, he unsaddled the outlaw's animal, consuming valuable time, but delaying the outlaw's escape if he returned to the horse. Then he walked his horse and the extra mount he'd brought several feet away and tied them out of sight. His gun belt held two weapons, but he pulled the rifle from the sheath tied to his saddle. What he lacked in mobility, he might need to make up for in firepower.

He limped his way slowly through the maze of rocks as the sky blackened. Time was running out for Rainey. He needed to find her fast.

With each step he tested his weight against his left leg. He felt like he was counting down until he took one final step and the leg would no longer take any of his weight. He held to the wall when he could and moved as silently as the rocks would allow. He knew even if he fell and had to crawl, he'd find Rainey.

She was near. He could feel it.

Every few steps he'd stop and listen, hoping to hear voices, afraid he'd hear her scream.

Half an hour passed and the night blackened. Travis felt like he was lost in a maze made of stones.

He crossed between two rock walls. His boot struck against something that wasn't rock hard… something that gave when he shoved slightly. Travis almost tumbled as he tried to move forward again. Placing his rifle on a crumbled wall, he carefully felt his way in the darkness.

Travis brushed something furry and velvet bundled at his feet. Sage's coat? He'd held it for her a dozen times. Now there was no doubt Rainey was near. Also no doubt that Seth Norman knew he had the wrong woman.

Reaching again, Travis heard the sound of his own heart pounding. Something lay beside the coat. He spread his fingers wide and moved across it.

Blood, warm and sticky, wet his hand as the smell of it filled his lungs.

He lay his hand flat, feeling flesh, but no life beneath it. With careful circles, he tried to find the wound. Beneath the jacket, the body was too hard, too thick to be a woman's. Travis took a deep breath of relief and continued searching.

In the center of a man's chest he found a small knife planted as deep as the blade would go. Judging from the small hole and the great amount of blood the man had been bleeding for some time before he died.

Travis leaned back away from the body. Come morning he'd take a good look at the body and make sure it was Seth Norman, but right now, in the blackness of the mission, he knew two things. The man was dead and Rainey had to be the one who killed him.

The only question remaining: Where was Rainey? The possibility crossed his mind that someone might have been waiting here for the outlaws. Maybe crazy Old Man Norman, or someone else who'd escaped with the brothers and had offered to help in their revenge. If someone had been waiting at the mission, Rainey may not have bought her freedom with the killing.

He struggled to stand and resume his search.

"Rainey?" he said in a low voice that carried several feet. He didn't want to frighten her even more in the dark, but if she was hiding, he might not find her until morning if she didn't make a sound. "Rainey, it's me, Travis."

He'd moved about twenty feet when he heard someone crying softly. He hurried toward the sound.

"Rainey," he whispered when he saw the outline of her tiny form balled up in a corner near the opening. "Rainey?"

He knelt beside her but didn't touch her. "Rainey?"

She stopped crying and for a long moment remained as still as the rocks around her. Then she raised her head and whispered back, "Travis, I knew you'd come find me."

He sat beside her and wrapped her in his arms. She cried on his shoulder as he moved his hands slowly along her body, making sure she wasn't hurt. He didn't tell her to stop crying, or ask any questions, he just held her.

Finally she grew quiet and he felt her body relax next to him. After a while she whispered as if someone might hear them. "Travis, I killed a man today."

"I know," he answered. "Now go to sleep, Sunshine. We'll talk about it tomorrow. You're safe now." He didn't want to add that he doubted he could get to his feet if he tried. He needed time to rest and so did she.

She pressed against him as he covered them with his coat. He pulled both his guns from their holsters and placed them on either side, then he wrapped his arms around her. He wanted to tell her how he felt… like a part of him had been ripped away when he'd learned of the kidnapping… but he wasn't sure she'd understand. She thought they were friends. Deep down, he'd realized that she was his. Whether they ever married, or admitted it, didn't matter. She was his and he was hers.

Her breathing slowed and he knew she was asleep, but he stayed awake, listening to the sounds of the night just beyond the mission. Nothing would hurt her, now that he'd found her.

She moved in the night, shifting against him. He'd whisper that she was safe and she'd return to sleep.

She didn't seem to notice as he moved her fingers through her hair, loving the way it felt.

Finally he relaxed and closed his eyes.

Just after dawn, her wiggling woke him. He opened one eye to find green eyes watching him.

"Morning," he mumbled.

"Morning," she answered, as if she'd responded that way a thousand times. "You awake?"

"I am now." He stretched his back, but didn't remove the arm that had grown numb from being around her. "How are you this morning?"

"I think I'm all right."

He held her at arm's length and studied her. "There's a bruise on your cheek."

She nodded.

"Anywhere else?"

She lifted her chin. "There's probably one on my backside, but I'm not going to show it to you. My ribs are sore, my feet are freezing, and I'm hungry."

He looked down and saw her stocking feet tucked against his calf. "Where are your shoes?"

"Upstairs in my bedroom, I think. When I left yesterday to warn the others, I didn't have time to put them on. I had no plan of leaving the house at the time."

Travis touched her cheek gently. "Why'd you put Sage's coat on? You must have known they were storming the house to kidnap her."

"It was the first thing I thought of to help. I couldn't let them take her. She's your sister. You love her." She pushed away from him and stood suddenly. "Are you arresting me for killing that disgusting man?"

"No. If you hadn't done it, I probably would have. Want to tell me what happened?"

Rainey ran her fingers through her hair and brushed the dust from her dress. "We made it to this place before dark. He pulled off a bag they'd tied over my head and arms. When the hood fell back, he knew I wasn't Sage. That fact made him furious. He hit me hard, knocking me down and swearing in two languages at me like it was all my fault. When I fell, I stayed down. He must have thought he knocked me out, but I reached for my knife tucked away in my pocket. He grabbed the coat in one hand and tried to pull me to my feet with the other. I knew I would only have one chance to fight and I had to hit his heart. If I missed, he'd kill me." She took a breath, shaking at her own words. "He was screaming about different ways he planned to kill me when he was finished with me. He said the sight of how he planned to cut up my body would give you nightmares the rest of your life."

Travis stretched his leg and slowly rose from the ground using only his right leg for support. The swelling in his left leg had gone down some.

"I took a step back and held the knife with both hands. When he came at me, I fell toward him using my whole body to propel the knife." She covered her face. "I couldn't look. He stumbled backward and fell first to his knees, then forward without saying another word. I think I must have cut open his heart."

Travis tugged her hands away from her face. "You did what you had to do. Don't ever think of it again, it's over."

"How did you find me so fast?"

"I followed your trail. The guy you killed left tracks Duck could probably keep up with. I must have got to the house within minutes after you left. Sage had bolted the doors and was watching for help to arrive. She ran out as we neared."