She had not lived with two brothers, she had not grown up at Riley’s side without learning a thing or two about brawling. She would use every single dirty tactic she could recall.
The thought of Riley, surviving far worse than this at the hands of unknown enemies, gave her strength for one last valiant battle. She kicked and cursed and screamed, spurred on by her captor’s hoots of derisive laughter.
She fought, because there could be no excuse for giving up. Riley had taught her that.
Riley.
CHAPTER TWELVE
She was fighting like a She-devil, Riley thought, as he struggled to calm Abby. Whatever torment she had been dreaming this time had terrified her. He knew as he held her that no matter how desperate he was to leave, he couldn’t go as long as she seemed to be having these nightmarish dreams. For all he knew she was remembering the attack that had sent her to the hospital, the attack he should have been there to prevent. He vowed then and there to find the men who’d hurt her and see that they paid for what they’d done.
“Hey, Abby, it’s me,” he soothed as she tried to break free of his embrace. For once the sound of his voice had no effect. It was as if she couldn’t hear him. She continued to struggle as if for her life.
Manuel, allowed out of his bed for the first time since Jared had brought him to the hospital, watched the scene with obvious dismay. His darkly tanned forehead was creased with worry, his brown eyes wide with concern.
“It is like she is fighting the bandidos once again,” he said. “Like she remembers.”
“So she did fight them,” Riley said. “I thought as much.”
“Like a cat,” Manuel confirmed proudly, a faint suggestion of a grin on his lips as he gazed down at the still-restless Abby. “They will never forget her, that is for sure. The worst of them will surely have a scar the length of his cheek because of her.”
The grim satisfaction in his eyes died. He turned to look at Riley, his expression filled with concern. “She will recover, s;aai?”
“So the doctor claims.”
The old guide crossed himself. “I will say many prayers for her.” He shot a look of irritation at Riley. “She would never have done anything so foolish if it were not for you. You drove her away.”
“You can’t accuse me of anything I haven’t already accused myself of doing,” Riley responded wearily.
Manuel gave a curt nod of satisfaction. “When she is well, you will tell her so?”
“I will tell her.”
“You will not try to send her home?”
Riley balked at that. “Manuel, she belongs back in Phoenix, where she will be safe.”
The old man waved off the explanation. “You are not man enough to keep her safe when she is with you?” he taunted deliberately.
Riley scowled at him. “That’s a low blow.”
“But it is the real question, is it not? Either you believe in yourself or you do not. It is clear to me that Se;atnorita Abby believes in you. She wants only to stay by your side. It is not so very much, I think.”
“You don’t take your wife with you,” Riley pointed out, desperate for an ally in his bid to make Abby see reason. He had a hunch from the immediate disdain on Manuel’s face that he’d picked the wrong person to try to win over.
“It is not the same. My wife does not care to go,” Manuel insisted. “It is enough for her to be at home with our children and grandchildren. That is not so of your Abby. She is too much like you, Se;atnor Walker. She has the brave soul of an adventurer. It would be wrong to try to tame her.”
Riley started to argue, but he could see it was pointless. Manuel was clearly on Abby’s side in the matter, as muddled in his thinking on this as he had been when he’d allowed her to convince him to leave the camp with her. As Jared had said at the very beginning of this disaster, Abby had wound Manuel around her finger.
“Isn’t it time you were back in your own bed?” Riley asked irritably. “Your wounds aren’t healed yet. I’d hate to see you have a relapse.”
Manuel shook his head. “My going or staying does not matter,” he said with some amusement at Riley’s blatant attempt to dismiss him. “Your conscience will remain with you.”
Naturally, because he’d made the declaration with such quiet certainty, Manuel’s words stayed with Riley long after the old man had gone back to his room. Even as Abby continued to stir restlessly, those words haunted him.
He absently reached for her hand and held it. “It’s Riley,” he murmured, though his thoughts were elsewhere.
For a time he allowed himself to imagine keeping Abby by his side always. The temptation was huge to do just that. But each time he allowed the image to grow strong, he chided himself that he was merely being selfish again. No matter what Manuel said, it would be wrong to let Abby take such terrible risks with her life.
As if she could sense his decision, she mumbled what might have been a protest, stirring restlessly.
“You’re okay,” he said automatically as his own thoughts swirled. “You’re just having a very bad dream. Shh, sweetheart. It’s okay. It’s just a nightmare.”
* * *
Just a nightmare, hell! Abigail thought, as she continued to struggle. She wasn’t sure where the reassurance had come from, but it was hogwash. If this were a nightmare, then she could bloody well wake up from it.
She’d been so certain that her troubles were finally over, that she had been safely home again. She’d been looking forward to seeing her family, getting back into her old routine, boring though it had
