Ruthless Heart Read online

  “My family’s name is Hollingsworth. Why have you started calling me Liz?” Eliza frowned at him. “Do you dislike my given name?”

  “I don’t feel one way or another about it, just think Liz is easier to say.” Grady mulled over her answer about her family’s name. She didn’t hesitate a second, which might mean she was telling the truth. For the moment he’d give her the benefit of the doubt.

  “I suppose that’s true. I’ve never been called anything but Eliza. It sounds, well, odd.” She frowned at him.

  “You’ll get used to it. It won’t hurt none to do something you never do.” He was pretty sure everything she’d done over the past few days were things she never did. “When’s the last time you heard from these folks?”

  “Almost a year ago.” She sounded wistful, an emotion he didn’t think he’d hear from the staid schoolmarm.

  “Where abouts were they living?” He would let Eliza think he was helping her find her family. However, his paying job was first and foremost on his mind. If they happen to find Eliza’s kin, then it would likely be a coincidence.

  “I believe it’s near Raymer Falls. They own a boardinghouse.”

  This time Eliza’s words didn’t ring true, and he wondered if this family was real or if she was just running from the supposedly dead husband. No doubt she would do what she had to. Wouldn’t be the first time a woman had to find a way to survive no matter what it cost.

  “It’s about two hundred miles to Raymer Falls. That’s a long way to be riding alone.” He watched her reaction from the corner of his eye.

  She glanced down at her hands on the saddle horn. “I’ll go as far west as you’re traveling. If you don’t make it the entire way to Raymer Falls, I can proceed the rest of the way alone.”

  After all the trouble she’d gone to wiggle her way into riding with him and she was acting meek? He snorted at the thought.

  “You are full of shit, Liz. You’ll stick to me like a damn cocklebur until you find what you’re looking for.”

  “I beg your pardon?”

  Grady shook his head. “You heard me. Just be good and I won’t leave you behind.”

  He was satisfied to hear her suck in a breath, but she didn’t say a word. He had a feeling she wasn’t used to being silent for any reason. It had been a while since he enjoyed anyone’s company, but he was enjoying sparring with the fancy-talking Eliza.

  It should have sent him riding in the other direction, but the memory of what she felt like in his arms stopped him. She was a combination of so many different and unusual things, he was challenged to find all of them.

  And his body ached for more of what was hidden beneath the little wren disguise.

  The sun was high in the sky before he spotted the edges of Bellman. It was a good time to stop for dinner, and he needed to get supplies. Now that he had a cook, they could actually eat more than stale biscuits and dried beef.

  When they rode into town, for once people either nodded or tipped their hats toward him. Usually he received dark looks and folks avoided his stare. Grady knew it was because of Eliza. She looked respectable, even travel weary and covered with dust.

  Until that moment, he hadn’t recognized he found a tool to help him in his own quest. With Eliza at his side he would gain access to places he’d been unable to breach in his business. Folks didn’t like gunslingers and made it clear he was unwelcome to even step foot in some places. She’d be a perfect companion for a man on the hunt who needed to find the scent of his prey.

  Grady didn’t pretend to be a good person, or a moral one for that matter. He shouldn’t feel guilty; he refused to feel guilty about keeping Eliza with him for his own ends. She was using him to find her long lost family, or something like that. He suspected she was running from a husband who smacked her around. Either way, she was using him just as much as he was using her. Or at least that’s what he told himself, then shut down the thought in his mind before it could go any further.

  “Are we stopping here?” She sounded like she’d been gargling sand.

  He tossed her his canteen, which bounced off her shoulder, but she caught it in midair before it fell.

  “Take a drink, would you? Yes, we’re stopping here for supplies and dinner. This will be the last time you don’t have to cook for a while.”

  She moaned as she took a swig of water. The sound went straight to his dick. When she looked over at him, drops meandered down her dusty chin and he had the urge to lick them off. He was going loco for sure.

  “That sounds lovely. I’m looking forward to it. I’ve never eaten at a restaurant before.” She smiled, showing even, white teeth.

  Two things hit him with the force of a slap. Eliza had never eaten at a restaurant and her smile completely transformed her face. Grady didn’t let his reaction show even a tiny bit. If she knew how she affected him, he’d lose the power he wielded over their agreement.

  He couldn’t let that happen. He wouldn’t let that happen.

  Eliza was simply miserable. Every muscle in her body ached as if she’d been beaten with a thousand sticks. When Grady finally stopped in front of what appeared to be a mercantile, she almost wept with relief. He’d pushed her hard, to test her mettle, no doubt.

  She’d risen to the challenge and rode until she had to conjugate verbs in Latin over and over in her head as a distraction. If she was fortunate, they’d spend a good deal of time in town so she could have more than a few hours’ rest from riding a horse.

  When Melba actually stopped moving, Eliza still vibrated from the motion. She tried to pull her right leg over the saddle to dismount, but she found her limb unresponsive. Biting her lip, she attempted again but to no avail.

  She simply couldn’t get off the horse on her own power, and she was loath to admit it. Grady dismounted with his usual grace and secured his horse to the hitching rail. He looked up at her and scowled.

  “Are you planning on riding on without me? Or do you want to get down and get some vittles?”

  Eliza clenched her teeth. “I would like nothing more than to get down and find vittles, whatever they are.”

  “So get down and let’s get moving.” He turned and walked a few steps toward the sidewalk before he stopped. Without turning around, he spoke again. “You can’t get down, can you?”

  She counted to five while she wrestled with her pride and her fear he’d think her weak. Finally pain and hunger won.

  “No, I cannot. I would be much obliged if you would assist me, Mr. Wolfe.”

  “That’s a fancy way of asking me to pluck your ass off that horse.”

  She didn’t dare chastise him for his language, but the man used enough vulgarity for two people. “Yes, please.”

  He had her off in seconds, depositing her on the hard-packed ground on very shaky legs. When Eliza started to topple over, Grady pulled her against him hard. The impact startled her, then the feeling of his body pressed to hers took her breath.

  Eliza looked up, and Grady pushed her hat back until they were eye to eye. His gaze moved to her lips, and she realized that although his mouth had touched her skin, they’d never kissed. She couldn’t help but wonder what it would feel like if they did.

  “Don’t look at me like you want me to throw you down on the street right here and now.” His voice was strained, and she felt his body harden, sending another shiver through her. He was so incredibly firm, more than any man she’d ever met. Most LDS men she knew were older and therefore soft around the middle.

  Grady was nothing like those men. He was slender but muscled from top to bottom.

  “I-I’m doing no such thing. My legs are stiff, that’s all.”

  He put his finger on her chin and rubbed his thumb across her lips. She resisted the urge to encourage his behavior, even as his touch excited her, made her want more.

  “Should we move before we attract attention?” She attempted to move away from him, but he held her firm. Since her legs were still full of pins and needles as the blood
began moving through them, she was actually glad of the extra time in his arms. That’s what she told herself anyway, even if it were only a half-truth.

  “Don’t worry, Liz. We want people to think we’re married. If they do, folks are more willing to talk to us about things.” He studied her face as he spoke, likely trying to read her expression and figure out what she was thinking.

  “About things? Such as information we need?” She hadn’t thought of that possibility, but it was a definite advantage.

  “Exactly. You want to find someone, you have to blend in and make people trust you.” He cocked one brow. “You might not be a beautiful wife, but you’re a believable one.”

  The comment stung more than Eliza wanted to admit even to herself. She knew she was the plain, mousy dark-haired sister. A sharp contrast to the beautiful blond Angeline. She didn’t need a reminder from a hunter like Grady, even if he meant it to be informational rather than cruel. However, it completely destroyed her current fascination with his lips and the close proximity of his body.

  This time, she stepped away from him and forced her legs to work, pain tucked away until she had the time to handle it. Eliza had become very adept at putting things into separate places, particularly pain, anger, and hurt. She could not allow them to show or things could always get worse, and had.

  “If you plan on posing as my husband, we should continue on with purchasing supplies and a meal.” She brushed at the dirt on her clothes. “It would be nice if there were a place nearby I could wash away some of the travel dust.”

  He held out his arm. “Then let’s find what we need, Mrs. Wolfe.”

  Mrs. Wolfe.

  The very idea made a chuckle burble up in her throat. The man was hired to hunt her sister and drag her back to the bastard she’d run from. Eliza was there to rescue Angeline and stop Grady Wolfe from collecting his bounty.

  Mrs. Wolfe indeed.

  “Of course, let’s proceed with our tasks.” She took his arm, ignoring the silly way her heart fluttered at the gentlemanly gesture. It was all false, and she had to remember that. It wouldn’t do for Eliza to confuse reality with a lie.

  “You might want to tone down that fancy talk while we’re in town. Folks don’t usually take to people who are too different from them. You sound like a schoolmarm who spent her life in books.”

  “Well, I have spent my life in books, or at least half of it. And I’m not a schoolmarm.” The very idea of wanting her to sound dumb insulted her, and the pride she’d already tucked away came roaring back. “You want me to sound unlearned?”

  “Yep, think you can do it?” He stared hard, as if challenging her to tell him she couldn’t, to quit and walk away.

  Eliza wasn’t giving up that easy.

  “I know I can do it. All I have to do is sound like you.”

  She swore she heard him swallow a chuckle, but he didn’t respond with words. Satisfied she’d gotten some of her dignity back, she walked stiff legged next to the man she was now going to pretend was her husband.

  It seemed the universe had a sense of humor.

  People never asked Grady why he did what he did, likely because they were afraid of him or his answer. Truth be told, he wouldn’t know exactly what to tell them if they did ask. He’d always done whatever he needed to survive. When he’d started hunting people for money, it had been just that to him—money.

  He buried what was left of his soul and his conscience at the ripe age of fifteen and faced the world alone. His natural skill for tracking developed into hunting, which ended up making his reputation.

  Grady felt nothing for the money he put in his pocket. It was pure survival, a task to complete that paid a hell of a lot more than plowing fields or slinging booze. He had only one vice, and he didn’t discuss that particular issue with anyone.

  As he walked down the street with Liz on his arm, people didn’t give him a wide berth as was the usual behavior. He didn’t ever remember a time when that happened. He’d been right about having Eliza on his arm. She gave him something he didn’t have—respectability. Without even trying.

  They stepped into the mercantile, and the smell of cinnamon washed over him. He closed his eyes against the memory that shifted deep inside, a tiny flash of his father and life before it had burned into cinders.

  “Looks as if the clothing display is, I mean, there’s the clothes. You can do what you need to while I shop over there.” She managed a tight smile and walked awkwardly toward the table laden with ladies’ fripperies. Eliza was sore and stiff, that was for certain, but it didn’t stop her from being bossy.

  Grady frowned at her retreating back as he recognized the fact she had somehow taken control of their time in town. It annoyed as much as it relieved him. In between his guns and her strange speech, they might run into trouble. She didn’t know a damn thing about getting out of trouble, but definitely knew how to find it.

  “Can I help you?”

  He turned to find an older man, balding on top with round spectacles perched on his hawklike nose. The sharp look in his brown gaze told Grady the man knew exactly who and what he was.

  “My wife needs some clothes. We need trail supplies, too. Coffee, flour, bacon if you’ve got it, apples, crackers, canned peaches, and whatever else she wants. Some ladies’ soap, too, something that smells good.” He looked over and spotted the ammunition. “And I need two boxes of bullets for a forty-five.”

  The shopkeeper glanced at Eliza, then looked back at Grady. “I take cash only. We don’t extend credit to strangers.”

  “That won’t be a problem.”

  The older man nodded. “I’ll get the goods together.”

  Grady walked over to Eliza as she peered at a purple dress. Her gaze was wide and her expression could only be called shocked.

  “Never seen purple before?”

  She shook her head. “I didn’t know this existed outside of wildflowers. What an incredible scientific wonder! Whoever dyed this fabric is very skilled at what they do.”

  Grady again wondered exactly what cave Eliza had been hiding in all her life. “How old are you?”

  “Hm? Nearly twenty-one. My birthday is October ninth.”

  Next week this woman-child would turn twenty-one. By the time he was that age, he’d already become hardened and lived in a world without innocence. At thirty, Grady was too much of a cynic to not be amazed at how much this book-learned creature didn’t know.

  “Have you been locked in your house for long?” He meant it as a joke, but judging by the stricken expression on her face, he wasn’t far off the mark.

  “I wasn’t locked in. I, um, attended church and helped with sick neighbors in the, uh, town.”

  If there was one thing Grady knew it was when someone was lying. Eliza wasn’t very good at it.

  “You’re lucky we’re in this store, Liz, or I’d leave you behind in a second.” He leaned in close, noting how blue her eyes changed, and were now the color of a winter sky. Then there was her scent, clean air and woman, that tickled his nose. Damn her anyway. “I’m letting you tag along, but that’s temporary. If I wanted to you’d never find me again.”

  Never mind the fact she’d tracked him already.

  “Grady, I-I was embarrassed by the fact I lived my life in books. There was nothing outside of my family except for Ephraim, and after he passed away, I couldn’t be there a moment longer.” Her voice cracked. “The last few days have shown me exactly what it means to live. Even with discomfort, pain, hunger, frustration, there was also passion, joy, and triumph. I-I couldn’t imagine ever going back after this adventure is complete.”

  This time, Eliza’s sincerity was apparent. Although miserable and apparently in pain, she wouldn’t trade this adventure of hers for the safety and security of her life up until she took off on the ancient nag of hers. Grady wondered exactly what she’d experienced that would send her out into the world unprotected and unprepared, for the most part anyway.

  Then again, her past w
as her business. There was no way he’d be telling her about his mother and her crimes. Or his own for that matter.

  “Fine then, you either be honest with me or we will part ways.” Before he thought about what he was doing, he grabbed the back of her neck and kissed her hard. Her lips were full and so damn soft beneath his, made him wonder what they’d feel like on other parts of his body.

  Her initial surprise didn’t give way to anger, so he softened the kiss, then pulled away. He didn’t dare look her in the eye, so he focused on her red lips, which proved to be another mistake because he wanted to feel them again. Damn, he knew they’d be distracting, but he let his dick take control of his head.

  “I’ll be outside; just get whatever you need or want.” For the first time in a very long time, Grady ran away from a challenge.

  He stepped outside and took a deep breath. No need letting her know he was attracted to her to the point of distraction. Grady reached deep inside for his iron control and clamped it down on his randy lower half. Eliza was a passenger, someone to cook for him, no more. The money for his current job wouldn’t mean shit if he lost focus over a woman.

  Grady wasn’t fooling himself for a minute. What he should have done was leave her behind, and he couldn’t explain why he didn’t.

  Chapter Five

  Eliza marveled at the colors of the fabric, wishing she had seen such wonderful materials before. Her clothing had always been brown or black, drab and drabber. She didn’t want to spend any of Grady’s money, but she simply could not leave the purple dress behind. It was well made and was delightfully just the right size for her.

  The shopkeeper wandered over as she looked at the shoes. He reminded her a bit of Josiah, Angeline’s horrible husband, and Eliza’s instincts were making the hairs on the back of her neck stand up.

  “Good afternoon, ma’am.”

  Eliza nodded at him. “Good afternoon, sir.”

  “You finding what you need? Your ah, husband said you was to get what you want.” He jerked his head toward the door. “He’s outside smoking.”