Jasper shook his head. At least he got the answer to his unspoken question. They wanted to keep him alive long enough to use him as bait.
Which meant as soon as the bandits had their plan in motion, Jasper and Emma Jane were dead. Well, he wasn’t going to make it that easy for them.
“And what if I don’t write that letter?”
Rex turned his attention to Emma Jane, who clutched her Bible to her chest and was observing their interactions with wide eyes.
“It’d be a shame if anything happened to that pretty little wife of yours.”
Emma Jane’s face screwed into an expression he couldn’t read. For a moment, he thought she might start crying, but instead, she just stood there, looking like...
Like she did on their wedding day.
She hadn’t wanted to marry him any more than he’d wanted to marry her. And now she was a pawn in some sick criminal’s game, when all she’d wanted was to help others.
“What do you want me to write?”
He shouldn’t have caved so easily, but as Emma Jane’s posture relaxed, he knew it was the right decision, at least for her peace of mind.
Rex handed him a piece of paper. “And don’t think I won’t know if you’re trying to trick me. I can read and write just as well as any of those uppity teachers in the school.”
He gave Jasper pen and ink. “The only thing keeping you alive is your cooperation. That and Jimmy’s squeamishness. He might not want to leave a trail of dead bodies, but make no mistake. I will shoot you dead if I have to. And if that means killing Jimmy, I’ll do that, too.” Rex’s smile as he spoke verified the rumors Jasper had heard.
Rex liked killing. Chills pricked the back of Jasper’s neck.
Did Emma Jane understand now how lethal these men were?
He looked at her for signs of having understood the import of Rex’s words, but she was seemingly unaware, having opened her Bible and was now engrossed in its pages. Hands flexing at his sides, he strained to keep his temper in check. Maybe it wasn’t right to be mad at her for it, but it seemed wrong that while he was trying to keep them alive, she seemed more interested in her Bible.
What was the Bible going to do for them? It wasn’t as though God was going to reach down from Heaven to save them from these evil men. No, it was up to Jasper to find a way to get them out of this situation—before the gang decided they were no longer useful.
He picked up the pen and began writing the words Rex dictated. For now, he’d play the game and pretend to be just as agreeable as Emma Jane. But he’d be watching—and waiting. And he would find a way to save them both.
Chapter Ten
Emma Jane tried focusing on the words of the Psalms. David knew what it was like to be pursued by an enemy with greater might and power than his own. Surely God would give them a way out. If Jasper’s stubbornness didn’t get them killed first.
The baby started to cry. Again. Emma Jane sighed. If only Daisy would wake up and give her some idea as to how to take care of her son. At first, giving him the milk and some love had seemed to turn a baby who never stopped crying into a peaceful little thing. But now, all he seemed to do was cry, with a few moments of respite here and there.
She put her Bible down and went to pick up the baby. Fortunately, he always calmed down a little in her arms. His wails turned into whimpers, and she cradled him close as she went back to her chair to focus on her Bible again.
The bandits had gone outside, but the occasional shadows passing the window told Emma Jane that they were still standing guard. Jasper had tried the door once but found it locked tight.
Now he was pacing, walking the length of the cabin and back again. She should be grateful he didn’t appear to have any ill effects from the injury to his head, but right now, he was making her crazy.
His pacing, the baby’s whimpering and Daisy’s ragged breathing—it was enough to send a woman to Bedlam.
“Please, Jasper. Can you sit and rest? You don’t want to have a relapse.”
Selfishly, she’d admit that any concern over his health was secondary to her own need for peace.
“I don’t like being locked up like an animal.”
“We don’t have much of a choice in the matter, so you might as well make the best of it.”
She didn’t mean to sound so shrewish, but really...
“You’re good at that, aren’t you?”
Jerking her chin in his direction, she gave him a defiant look. Jasper’s words sounded almost like an insult. But he didn’t understand that, for most people, it was the only way to survive.
“Yes, I am. I’ve found that most of the circumstances of my life have been foisted upon me and are not of my choosing. But I can choose how I respond to them.”
Emma Jane took a deep breath. “In the past, I haven’t always done such a good job of that. Sometimes I am almost ashamed of how badly I’ve reacted in difficult situations. But I’ve learned that such behavior never makes things better.”
The baby had started to drift off to sleep. She looked down at him and wondered what choices he would have in this world. Born of a notorious criminal and a woman of the night, he would never live the kind of respectable life Emma Jane had. And her level of respectability had been marginal at best. All she’d ever wanted was respectability, and
