If only she knew which cave they were in. The landscape would give them a clue, if she could convince them to let her outside for a moment.
“Slade,” she called, trying not to disturb Nugget. “I have to use the necessary.”
“So?” He slammed the book shut, and the men scattered.
“Could you please escort me out so I can take care of my needs?”
Her face was warm at the thought of discussing such a personal though fabricated matter with him.
“Nope.” His grin taunted her.
“Boss,” Tom whispered, “maybe you could get her to...”
She didn’t catch the rest of it as the two men put their heads together and began whispering furiously back and forth.
Nugget stirred. “Don’t leave me alone with them. They’re bad men.”
Annabelle shifted the little girl so she could whisper in her ear unobserved. “I want to look around outside so I can see if there’s a way to escape.”
“Don’t leave me.” Nugget’s wail nearly pierced her eardrum.
Slade looked in their direction. “Don’t worry, she’s not going anywhere.”
He sauntered over to them, Bible in hand. “But we might let her stop and do her business on our way to the silver.”
Or maybe they could find a way to escape at that time. “If Nugget tells you where it is.”
“Don’t need the brat.” He sneered in Nugget’s direction. “There’s enough clues here that we’ll find the silver.”
He held up the Bible, and at closer look, she realized that it was the one Joseph had taken from his father’s cabin. Slade had probably killed Joseph to get it.
“Then let us go.” She said the words with as much bravado as she could muster, but in reality, she knew that Slade no longer had any reason to keep either of them alive. Especially since he had to know that she’d turn him in to her father and the sheriff when they got free.
“There’s a few pieces we don’t understand. But between you and the little one, we’ll get it faster. And I owe a guy, so I’d rather get the money quick-like, if you know what I mean.”
She looked down at Nugget, whose eyes had widened. Slade, too, drew his attention to the little girl.
“Where’s Nugget’s secret house?”
At Nugget’s indrawn breath, Annabelle knew once that location was revealed, Slade would have the silver.
So close. But she wasn’t going to give up. Not until the last breath had been ripped from her. She was done with letting evil take everything from her. Done.
“By the monkey rock,” Nugget said in a quiet, shaky voice.
The monkey rock. Completely not helpful in the description, since many of the rocks looked like shapes of other things. They were like clouds. People saw different shapes in all of them.
“Which is where?” He pulled Nugget out of her arms and shook her.
“Leave her alone!” Annabelle jumped up and reached for Nugget, but Slade was just as quick to keep her away.
He looked at the other men. “Get them ready to travel.”
Slade kept hold of Nugget, tying her to his saddle. Tom grabbed Annabelle.
“Be a good girl and don’t fight.”
Not likely, considering Slade was ready to leave with Nugget. She couldn’t let him take her. Hopefully on the way, she’d figure out how to get them both free. Right now, though, it wasn’t worth fighting, or even wasting her breath on screams no one would hear. Best to save her energy for when she could get Nugget.
As Tom dragged her outside, he whispered, “You even think about trying to escape, and we’ll kill the brat.”
The rain had stopped, leaving puddles everywhere, and the kind of mud a person could sink in. Maybe she could use it to her advantage.
Annabelle pulled a pin out of her hair and let it drop to the ground. Though tiny, the small rhinestone on the end would hopefully be a clue to anyone looking for them.
Once Tom had hoisted her onto his saddle, she managed to get another pin loose and dropped it into the grass nearby. Maddie had called those pins an unnecessary vanity, but at least they were distinctive to anyone who knew her. Slade hadn’t been around enough lately to know they were hers.
They headed east, and Annabelle memorized every bit of terrain. When she got out of this, she would be sure that the sheriff searched every inch for anyone else linked to Slade’s gang.
If someone spotted one of her hairpins.
As they turned out of the canyon, Annabelle recognized the landscape. Not too far from the cabin, and an easy journey to the camp.
“Can we stop for a moment?” She looked over her shoulder at Tom and gave him her most pleasant smile. “You never did let me use the necessary.”
Her skin crawled as she batted her eyelashes at him, trying to appeal to him in a feminine way. If Polly was mad at her because she thought he’d been flirting, then maybe she could use it to her advantage.
Tom gave a half smile back. Shy, like her being nice to him was an unexpected treat. Annabelle tried not to gag.
“Boss!” he yelled. “We need to stop.”
Gloating would only ruin her chances at this point. Though it would be easy for her to get away here, it still left the problem of getting Nugget free. She had no doubt that Slade would harm her in retaliation. Even in the fun games her family had played together, Slade was known to be a ruthless competitor.
Slade rode toward them. “What’s the problem?”
“The necessary.” Annabelle twisted her face into an expression that she hoped looked like she had to go really bad. Her mother would be horrified at how unladylike she was being, but if it saved her life, and that of a young child, surely it would be worth it.
He glared at her, then at Tom. “Now?”
“I’m afraid if I wait any longer, and all the jostling on the horse...”
Tom got off his horse. “Boss, if she ruins my saddle...”
“Fine.” Slade
