Lone Wolf's Woman

Julia burst ahead of him to lead the way across the back lawn. “I didn’t mean to take your bed last night,” she blurted out. “Old habit, I guess. Where did you sleep?”

“On the floor so I could keep an eye on you and Adam,” he replied as he grabbed her hand and sprinted toward the barn.

To his surprise she didn’t bother to saddle a horse, just grabbed a bridle and bit. Lone Wolf was willing to bet this wasn’t the first time Julia had galloped off bare-back. Not that he minded, of course. He had grown up in a Cheyenne camp, learning to ride expertly at a young age.

He grabbed her reins and led both horses through the back exit of the barn. “We’ll circle to the south so our friend won’t realize that he’s being tracked.”

“He’s no friend of mine,” Julia muttered bitterly. “He and Sol became my sworn enemies when they blew Adam out of the saddle last night.”

Lone Wolf winced inwardly. He couldn’t delay telling Julia about his connection to Sol Griffin. But considering her present frame of mind, he didn’t think now would be a good time.

After boosting Julia onto her horse, Lone Wolf swung onto his pinto. Giving Julia a direct order to follow behind him, he headed for the underbrush and willows that lined the creek.

“He’s still there,” Julia scowled, glaring at the silhouette that lurked in the trees. “Maybe we should just wing him a couple of times then fire a few questions at him.”

Lone Wolf swallowed a smile. “Don’t you think it would be wiser to figure out if the sniper is working alone first?”

She grumbled sourly, “I suppose you’re right.”

Julia simmered down a bit as they picked their way along the creek bank. Five minutes later the unidentified rider had disappeared completely from sight.

“There. You see? This is what comes of being cautious,” she muttered in disappointment. “He’s vanished again.”

“But he left tracks,” Lone Wolf said encouragingly. “Sometimes that’s better than the direct approach.”

“I would be a dismal failure in your profession,” Julia admitted. “Absolutely no patience.”

“Most of the deceased bounty hunters I used to know had the same flaw. This profession separates men from their mistakes. You have to learn to outwait and outwit your quarry.” He sent her a pointed glance. “If you can’t do that then go home where you should have stayed and let me handle this alone.”

She kept quiet while he slid from his horse to study the hoofprints. “He’s almost the same size as I am,” he informed Julia.

She blinked, baffled. “How do you know that?”

“Depth of the indentation and the stride of the horse. Your horse can manage long strides because of your smaller size. Mine can, too, because I selected this piebald pinto for his muscular strength, stamina and agility. White men don’t always take that into consideration.”

“You leave nothing to chance, do you? I’m impressed,” Julia murmured.

“Don’t be. I’m not telling you anything that any self-respecting Cheyenne warrior didn’t learn before he was ten years old.”

Lone Wolf swung onto his paint pony, then followed the trail that seemed too obvious, what with all the broken branches on small seedlings. The tracks led down to the creek bank, leaving deep indentations in the mud.

Lone Wolf’s senses went on alert.

“Trap,” he whispered as he snaked out his hand to push Julia down on her horse.

Chapter Five

T hey barely had time to duck before a bullet whistled past the place where her head had been. The second shot sailed over Lone Wolf’s shoulder—missing him by mere inches.

But he found out what he wanted to know.

The sniper wasn’t working alone. The second shot had come from a different location in the thick grass that lined the winding creek.

Lone Wolf slapped Julia’s horse on the rump, then dug in his heels to send his mount racing back in the direction they had come. Two minutes later they emerged from the creek. Julia looked a mite bewildered. He figured it was the first time someone had taken potshots at her.

It was not his first time. He had been a target more times than he cared to count.

“Sol has finally lost his grasp on reality,” she said, and gulped. “He was serious when he said that he wanted to wipe the Preston name off the face of the earth. Doesn’t he realize that he’s going to turn his own daughter against him when she learns the truth?”

“Lesson number two,” Lone Wolf murmured as he circled behind a rolling hill for protection. “Do not jump to conclusions. We don’t have proof that either ambush is tied to your feud with Griffin, no matter how much you might want them to be.”

Julia gnashed her teeth. “Easy for you to give him the benefit of the doubt, but not for me. Your brother wasn’t warned away from his true love and he didn’t get shot. Nor have you been battling rustlers since your father’s death. This is another example of Sol trying to make our lives miserable so we’ll give up, sell out to him and move away.

“And why are you defending him?” She huffed. “Because you’ve developed an interest in Maggie?”

Lone Wolf gaped at her in astonishment. “Where in the hell did that come from?”

“Are you saying that you don’t find her attractive?” Julia demanded. “That would make you the first man I’ve met who doesn’t.”

Obviously getting shot at had rattled Julia more than she realized. This incident was reminiscent of the nightmare that left Adam bedridden. Suddenly she was spouting comments without thinking first, because her emotions were all over the place again.

“Of course I think Maggie is attractive.” Lone Wolf chuckled and shook his raven head. “But if you’re under the impression that I’m interested in her then you’re wrong.”

“Am I?” she challenged.

“Yes, you are,” he insisted.

He shifted uneasily on horseback and looked away. Julia frowned at his peculiar behavior and wished she knew exactly what he was thinking. But Vince Lone Wolf was a master of self-disciplined stares that gave away none of his emotions.

“There’s something you need to know.” He took a deep breath, which made his broad chest expand noticeably. “Sol Griffin is my uncle and Maggie is my first cousin,” he said in a hurried rush.

Her mouth dropped open and her eyes popped. “Your what?”

Julia had no idea what she had expected him to say, but that wasn’t even on the list! Well, that explained a lot. No wonder he was reluctant to pin the shooting on Sol.

She suddenly recalled that Lone Wolf had refused her request for help until after he learned that Sol was involved. Alarm flared inside her. “What is this? Some kind of double cross? Are you working with the snipers?”

She recoiled from him, staring at him as if he were a dangerous threat rather than a trusted ally. Her first thought was that he meant to kill her where she sat, and then claim that someone else had attacked her.

Just what was in this for him? she wondered suspiciously. Partial ownership in her ranch after she and Adam were dead?

The frightening realization that this was a trap and that Lone Wolf was part of the conspiracy sent adrenaline pumping through her veins. For one wild moment Julia wondered if the reason Lone Wolf had volunteered to accompany Maggie home last night was so he could consult privately with Sol.

Dear God, she thought frantically. They were in cahoots and she had blundered headlong into disaster.

Instinct demanded that she run for her life before Lone Wolf grabbed his pistol and aimed it at her. Frightened, Julia took off like a rocket, using the technique of sprawling atop her horse to reduce her chances of being shot.

“Damn it, Julia,” he growled as he chased after her.