Tamsin fell as Ash's opponent whipped his pistol up. Powder and heat scorched Ash's cheek, but he came in hard with a strong right fist.
It caught the pistolero on the chin and dropped him like a poleaxed steer. Spooked by the pain and gunfire, the bay horse bolted away down the draw.
Tamsin sat white-faced and breathless, holding her bleeding upper arm. 'It's not my fault. I didn't go with them-'
'Come on!' he said, grabbing the fallen bandit's pistol. 'Before the reinforcements get here.'
He slipped an arm around her and helped her up. She leaned against him, struggling to stay on her feet.
The gunman was regaining consciousness. Ash knew that he should kill him. He lifted the weapon, but was stopped by the frightened look in Tamsin's eyes.
'That's murder,' she said.
With an oath, Ash lowered his aim, putting a bullet into the fallen killer's injured knee. 'Does that suit you, woman?'
She turned her face away. 'I'm all right. I can walk.'
'Like hell.' Gathering her in his arms, he plunged into the trees, ran a hundred yards, then stopped. Sitting her down, he pushed her to the ground and crouched over her, protecting her with his body. 'Don't make a sound,' he whispered.
Two horses trotted up the ravine and stopped. The rock walls echoed with curses.
'Jack! Carlos is dead!' Ash would have bet his daddy's spurs it was Boone's voice.
Ash had heard the story that Jack Cannon had tried to hang his brother Boone when the two were boys. Whatever the reason, Boone spoke in a harsh rasp.
A volley of shots peppered the trees.
'Save your ammunition!'
Ash wondered if that was Jack. It had been years since he'd heard the outlaw speak, and he couldn't be sure. He leaned close to Tamsin's ear. 'There were five of them, weren't there?'
She nodded, trembling under him like a wounded bird. 'Jack, his brother, and Carlos. You shot Carlos.'
'I killed two of them. Who was the fifth man, the one whose horse went lame?'
'I don't know. I never heard them call him by name.' She shuddered. 'The other one-the one who tried to rape me. He's Billy.'
'You should have let me finish him when we had the chance.'
She drew in a ragged breath. 'That would make you as bad as him.'
'It might make me alive.'
Her lower lip quivered. 'Jack said he was going to do things to me…' She jammed a hand against her mouth to keep from crying. 'I didn't think you'd come in time.'
'You're all right. I have you.' Tamsin's hair was tangled with twigs and leaves, but beneath the dust, she still smelled as sweet as he remembered.
Alone, he would have gone after the remaining three, but with Tamsin to worry about, it seemed wiser to run.
She twisted to look up at him. 'I didn't want to go with them. They threatened to kill me.'
He nodded. 'I guessed as much.'
'You did?'
'Shhh, darlin'.' He allowed himself to touch her cheek for just an instant. 'I'm going to get you out of here in one piece, but you've got to help me.'
'There's tracks from a single horse,' Boone called.
'Just one animal?'
'That's all I see, Jack.'
'You asshole! If there's only one horse, then there's only one shooter. Find him!'
Black hatred thickened Ash's throat, and he forced back the killing rage. When it came to besting human vermin like the Cannons, anger was a man's worst enemy. Ash knew he needed to use his wits. The odds were three to two, and Tamsin was weak from loss of blood. Jack was a crack shot. Given half a chance, he would kill them both.
Ash grabbed Tamsin and ran uphill, not stopping until he was out of breath. Then he drew her down into a hollow behind a rock. 'Keep your head low,' he told her. 'I'm going to get us a mount.'
She clung to him. 'Don't go,' she said. 'Dancer will find me.'
Ash brushed her mouth with his. 'You're hurt, darlin'. You need to lay still and let me worry about Cannon.'
'But Dancer-'
'He's scared. We can't wait for him to lead them to us.' He ripped off his scarf and bound it around her arm. 'It looks bad, but I think the bullet missed the bone.'
'No. Don't go. They'll kill you.'
'Be brave a little longer, darlin'. We can't get out of here without a horse.'
'Promise me you won't let them catch me?'
He tilted her chin and looked into her eyes as icy dread seeped through his gut. 'Did they abuse you?'
She shook her head. 'A slap or two, nothing more.'
'It doesn't matter. You can tell me the truth.'
'I am telling the truth, you idiot,' she snapped at him. 'You stopped them.' Tears filled her eyes. 'I'd rather be dead than have those monsters-'
'Alive is better, woman. Always choose life. But it won't come to that. I swear to you.' He stood up. 'Wait here, and don't make a sound.'
'Don't leave me.'
'I'll be within earshot. You just call out if you need me.'
Pistol ready, Ash moved from tree to tree, scanning the forest for any sign of movement. The shooting had stopped, and he could no longer hear voices below.
He'd turned Shiloh loose after he'd killed the first of Jack's gang with the rifle. The gelding wouldn't roam far, but the trick was to get him before Cannon's boys did.
He needed to get Tamsin safely away to wash her arm before it swelled with infection. And he needed to finish off Jack and his two remaining accomplices. If he didn't, he knew Cannon would track them down.
Maybe Tamsin was right, he thought. He should have brought along a posse. Maybe, for once, he'd bitten off more than he could chew.
Chapter 23
When Ash returned to the spot where he'd left Tamsin, he found Dancer standing beside her nuzzling her shoulder. 'I told you he'd come back.'
'If you don't mind, woman, I'm not in the mood for your reminders.'
'All right.' Her face was bloodless, but she smiled at him. 'Have they gone? The outlaws?'
'Maybe. Maybe not.' He looked at the sky, gauging the hour and how long it would be until dark. He didn't think they were far from Leon's cabin. He hoped Cannon would decide to go there rather than chase Tamsin through the woods all night.
'Dancer's hurt,' Tamsin said. 'I need to wash those cuts on his side and rump. I must have pulled out a dozen splinters. I hope they don't get infected.'
'What about you?'
'I'll be all right.'
She didn't look all right to him.
'You didn't find Shiloh.'
He shook his head. 'I did locate a spring higher up the ridge. We can camp there tonight.'
'And in the morning?'
