Harper George - An Outlaw To Protect Her

The book Able referred to was notorious for having outrageous bets. They ranged in scope from the size of a heifer’s first calf to the price of gold at some specified date in the future to the color of a particular lady’s undergarments. Zane had heard of the particular bet Able referred to. A few fine upstanding men of Helena had wagered on which one of them would be the first to bed Glory. He didn’t doubt it was real. Anger burned in his belly as he thought of them betting on her. “Let me ask you something, Able... You ever seen that book yourself?”

Able gave him a stony look. Zane held his hand up against the window. Dim light streamed in from the street, backlighting his hand so that his skin appeared very dark, though not as dark as Able’s. Neither of them would be welcomed in that particular club. “I don’t have a bet in that book.”

“You don’t have to have a bet in that book to see her as a challenge,” Able countered.

“I’ve known her for years and I’ve never once been disrespectful to her. Why would I start now?”

“Like I said, I see how you look at her and I can guess your thoughts. Keep your hands to yourself and we won’t have any problems.” With those words, Able walked away to rejoin Hunter and Glory’s conversation.

Zane stayed at the window, trying to get his racing heart under control. He wanted to tell Able that it wasn’t like that, but it would be a lie. He wanted to bed her just as badly as any of those other men. As he stood there, seething from Able’s rebuke, he was having a hard time figuring out what exactly separated him from those other men. He couldn’t have anything with her aside from a quick tumble in bed.

He was an outlaw. While the gang would likely disperse because they’d found the enemy who’d brought them all together to start with and Castillo and Hunter were both recently married, it didn’t change the fact that Zane was still a wanted man. While it was unlikely he’d be tracked down all the way to Helena, it was always possible. He had nothing to offer her.

Aside from that, loving Christine had taught him a harsh lesson that he would never forget. There wasn’t enough love in the world to keep a person from betraying another. Eventually love ran out, or something more important came along. He didn’t want any sort of relationship that involved anything more than physical pleasure. Once had been enough. It wasn’t worth the eventual pain.

So no, he couldn’t offer her more than any of those men planned to offer her. But he could respect her. None of those gentlemen would give her that. It wasn’t much, but it was enough of a distinction that he felt a little better. He would keep his hands to himself, but only if she wanted him to. It would always be her choice, and if she chose to spend a night or two with him, then Able would have to accept that.

Chapter Five

Glory didn’t know how it had happened, but she’d somehow reverted to the role of thirteen-year-old schoolgirl. Zane stood across the room, leaning against the window molding as he watched her. Hunter and Able had just left, so they were very much alone. Butterflies fluttered in her belly, and her hand went to her stomach to calm the wild beatings of their wings. He wasn’t moving, wasn’t talking, wasn’t doing anything but looking at her, and she couldn’t seem to keep hold of the thoughts wandering around her head.

Gripping the solid edges of her desk, she tried to keep her hold on reality. This was still her home and she was still in charge. “Thank you for staying,” she said, doing her best not to look directly at him. Her hands as flighty as her thoughts, she shuffled some papers around on her desk until they were all precisely lined up.

Zane took his time walking back over to the chair across from her. The man moved as if he wasn’t well over two hundred pounds. He was all sinew and strength, but without the lumbering that sometimes came with that muscle. “Can I see the letter for myself?” he asked when he’d taken a seat in the wingback chair across from her.

She nodded and handed it over without touching him. If he thought her behavior odd, he didn’t mention it as his gaze skimmed over the letter. She couldn’t help but watch him as he did so. He wasn’t classically handsome like Hunter, but his ruggedness and quiet intensity, combined with his even features, somehow made him even more attractive. At least to her. She’d never cared for the look of a polished gentleman. She’d had that before and knew the treachery often hidden in the perfect package.

Zane was real. Her gaze touched the high arch of his cheekbones, the tiny lines around his eyes, and the strong line of his jaw. For the first time she wondered how old he was. He didn’t have the deeper lines that came with age, but his eyes seemed intelligent in a way that made her think he’d seen a lot in his life. She respected that. Most of the men who came into Victoria House had struck it rich because they’d gotten lucky with a claim to a mine. They thought luck and money somehow translated to being clever and knowledgeable.

Zane was different. Something told her that he’d lived more than almost all of them. He glanced up from the letter, and she wasn’t able to look away before he caught her watching him. She offered him a slight smile in the hopes that he thought her interest was only casual. But when he spoke, she couldn’t stop herself from watching his full lips shape each word. “You’re sure that no one here knows who you are?”

She shook her head. “I’ve never told anyone. Only Able knows.”

“What about Clara? Would he have told her?”

She realized now why he’d waited for Able to leave to begin this line of questioning. “No, Able knows how important it is to keep our secret. He wouldn’t tell her.”

Zane raised a brow, looking doubtful. “She’s his wife. Don’t you think she’d want to know about his past?”

It wasn’t an illogical question, but Zane didn’t know why they’d run or what was at stake. If he did, he’d understand that no one could know. Able stood to lose just as much as she did. “I trust Able. Besides, he doesn’t want our secrets to get out any more than I do. The consequences are...too much.”

His jaw clenched and she wasn’t certain if it was because he was angry at her or the situation. She didn’t know him well enough to say, a detail that was as fortunate as it was regrettable. Some long-buried part of her wanted to know him. To really know who he was as a person, as someone she could trust...as a man. That last thought made her belly flutter again, forcing her to look away. He was so astute, she had no doubt he would know what she was feeling.

“You don’t think Able would—”

“No!” Despite herself, she met his gaze fully, determined to extinguish any suspicion against Able. “He wouldn’t betray me.”

“I wouldn’t think so, but we have to consider all options.”

She shook her head more firmly. “He wouldn’t do this. He’d have no motive anyway.”

“Five thousand dollars is a lot of motive.”

She scoffed. “Trust me, Able doesn’t need the money.”

“No? He’s married now and has a baby on the way. He might not have needed the money but things change.” He paused, adding in a softer voice, “Love has a way of changing people.”

He looked so resolute when he said that, that she wondered from what sort of experience he was speaking. He had a quiet, almost dangerous appeal that would attract many women, but she couldn’t imagine the hard man across from her being tender enough to have ever experienced an emotion as sentimental as love. She’d seen his loyalty to Hunter and Castillo and conceded that it was a type of love. A brotherhood. But it wasn’t romantic love and she couldn’t see him ever allowing himself to experience that.