Chapter Eighteen

"You can't kill her, you idiot!" Rene exclaimed as he shoved Petey's hand and caused his shot to go wide.

"Why the hell not? Huh? Huh? She wants to die," Petey replied, nodding his head up and down quickly.

Elizabeth couldn't seem to stop screaming Brody's name as she looked down at him on the ground. She couldn't tell if his chest was rising and falling as his blood continued to soak into the hard, dry dirt. His rugged face was pale. His firm lips were hanging open. His legs were crumpled beneath him and his arms were spread wide.

Tears ran down her cheeks. The fat droplets falling to the ground and splattering in the dust. The one person she had left in her life that she knew she could count on and trust was lying dead in the dust. Her husband. Not even a full day did they get to spend as husband and wife before she'd been made a widow. It wasn't fair... God had not given them enough time. Not nearly enough time.

"Shut up!" Rene scolded and he backhanded her across the face, silencing her screams and bringing her attention back to the two men who were now her captors. She shook with her hatred of these men.

"Why can't we kill her Rene?" Petey demanded as he bounced around, "She wants to die just like her pathetic little husband there."

"We can't kill her because she's worth more to us alive. Just imagine what we can get Braxton to give us in order to keep our mouths shut and keep her away from her old man?"

"Money!" Petey replied with glee. "Lots and lots of money!"

"That's right. That Braxton man is foolish. He thinks I don't know who he is.. I always know who I'm working for before I ever accept a job," Rene replied as he holstered his revolver. "Now knock her out and come on, we ain't got all day. We wanna get away from that body before it starts stinkin'."

Something inside of Elizabeth snapped. She wanted to kill these men for what they'd done to Brody. Before Petey could hit her with his gun, she reached for the knife in the strap on his leg. She pulled it and then yanked herself from his arms and turned to face him, slicing the blade cleanly, and deeply, across his throat.

A gurgling sound filled the air as blood poured from the laceration. He reached out for her and grabbed onto the necklace Brody had given her. She tried to yank away but the string broke and he released his hold on it as it fell to the ground in the puddle of his crimson blood already forming at their feet.

"Petey!" Rene yelled. He saw the knife in Elizabeth's hand and watched Petey fall to the ground, lifeless at her feet. "You'll pay for killing my brother, bitch," he growled. He grabbed her wrist, squeezing so tightly she screamed and dropped the knife to the ground and then he brought his revolver down hard on her head and the last thing she saw was Brody lying in a pool of his own blood on the ground.

Rene tied her hands and ankles together and threw her over the back of his horse. He gathered up his brothers body and threw him over the back of the black mare that had always been Petey's favorite. He was going to miss his little brother but he couldn't lose sight of the goal and the goal was becoming rich. Elizabeth was worth more to him alive than she would be dead.

***

"Wake up, bitch," Rene snapped harshly as he kicked Elizabeth in the side.

She groaned and her eyes flew open, "Brody..." she moaned.

Rene rolled his eyes, "He's dead, bitch. Just like my brother." Elizabeth wanted to cry but she had no more tears left just now and she also didn't want to give this man the satisfaction of seeing her break down again, "I have a name, you bastard."

"I really don't care," he replied as he went about getting a fire going in the small patch of trees he'd chosen to stop in for the night.

Elizabeth realized it was nearly dark and she'd been unconscious all day. She licked her dry, parched lips and tried to stretch her muscles but her ankles and wrists were tied. She pulled herself into a sitting position and leaned against the tree behind her, "Where are we?" she asked.

"We'll be in town tomorrow. It'll be later than it would have been if I hadn't of had to bury Petey."

"What about Brody?" Elizabeth demanded.

"What about him?" he asked with a shrug.

Elizabeth exploded with rage, "You just left his body there for the buzzards! How could you do that?!"

"Your precious husband killed two of my best friends and left them to rot in the back of a wagon. Don't expect sympathy from me," Rene said as he sat down beside the fire, pulled some jerky from a bag and began to chew it loudly.

Elizabeth's broken heart shattered into even more pieces as she thought of Brody left lying out there for the coyotes to eat. She felt bile rise up in the back of her throat and she was helpless to stop herself as she vomited on the ground beside her.

"Stop that!" Rene yelled angrily. "I'm trying to eat."

Elizabeth looked at him pleadingly, "Kill me. Please, just kill me. Let me be with my husband," she begged.

She didn't want to live without Brody. Strange that he had been a part of her life for such a short time but had somehow become the only part of her life that mattered. Without him she had nothing. She would never feel his warm touch. Never feel those rough, calloused hands touching her body the way that only he could. She would never hear him scolding her, whispering to her, laughing with her. She would never again hear him bossing her around or sighing with exasperation when she bossed him.

No, life without Brody wasn't any kind of life that she wanted to live.

"Quit being so damn dramatic," Rene replied harshly. He held out a canteen of water and Elizabeth curled her nose and jerked her head away. "Get a drink," he insisted and he pressed the canteen to her lips.

She glared at him as he poured the warm water into her mouth. He pulled the canteen away and she spit every bit of the water back at his face, "You bitch!" he exclaimed and he slapped her across the face, causing a stinging pain, that she refused to show.

Rene smiled as he wiped his face with his shirt. "You're going to wish you hadn't done that when you start dying of thirst."

"I want to die, you piece of shit," Elizabeth spat back.

"You won't want to after you feel those first pains of dehydration," he assured her. "Now shut up and go to sleep."

Elizabeth laid down with her back to Rene. She closed her eyes and didn't know how long she lay there before drifting off to sleep.

She nearly cried out when Brody's ruggedly handsome face was suddenly there, inches from hers. His green eyes were shining with love as he smiled and ran his hand over her cheek.

"You're too tough to be saying you want to die, Mrs. Atkinson. I didn't die for you, just to have you give up on living," he scolded.

"You shouldn't have died for me, Brody. I only asked you for one thing and you promised you'd give it to me. We were supposed to have forever."

"Well, sorry the world didn't abide by your wishes, boss, but there wasn't no way in hell I was just going to let those men get their hands on you. You should have run when I told you to."

Elizabeth smiled despite the pain in her heart. She loved that hard, arrogant, demanding tone that he got in his voice when he was angry at her.

"You knew damn well I wasn't that kind of woman, Brody. I'm just like your mama. I wasn't going to leave my husband to die alone."

"I did die alone, Elizabeth," he countered sadly, "You didn't and now you have to find a way to keep yourself alive. Don't let my death be for nothing."

"I love you, Brody."

"I love you too," Brody replied as he kissed her forehead. Elizabeth sighed at the feel of his warm firm lips on her skin and she closed her eyes. "Go to sleep. You need your strength," he urged.

"No, I like being here with you," Elizabeth argued stubbornly and he chuckled.

"I'll be right here holding you. No matter what. No matter where you go. No matter what happens later in your life, I'll be right there with you," he promised.

Satisfied that he was telling the truth, Elizabeth curled up against his warm, hard body and fell asleep.

***

"What are you doing with that?" Elizabeth demanded of Rene the next day as he walked toward her with a red bandana.

"I'm gonna make sure you can't holler for help when I take you into town," he replied and he tied the bandana tight around her head and over her mouth roughly. The fabric was dirty and sweat covered and the taste of it against her thirst swollen tongue made her want to vomit. And she would have vomited if there had been any food left in her stomach. He untied his own bandana from his neck and tied this one around her face, leaving only her eyes visible. He took off his hat and placed it on her head in an effort to make her even harder to recognize.

"That should work. I can't risk anybody recognizing you before I get you locked up nice and safe in the hotel."

Elizabeth hated the feel of Rene's hard hands on her as he lifted her back onto the saddle. He had untied her feet so she could sit properly but he had left her hands tied and he hid that fact by placing his duster coat over her lap.

As they rode into town, she looked around nearly empty streets and suddenly wished the ranch was closer to a big city. Somewhere that would have plenty of law officers and witnesses to see her and recognize that she needed help. Fewer than fifty people even lived in town here and the good for nothing sheriff would probably piss himself if he had to deal with something as serious as kidnapping and murder.

Elizabeth didn't fight against Rene as he hitched the horse outside of the hotel and paid for them a room before taking her up to the second story and throwing her down on the bed. All of her fight was gone. It had died in the dirt with Brody. She didn't really care what happened to her now. All she wanted to do was go back to sleep so she could see his handsome face again.

"You're going to stay here," Rene said as he took the bandana off her face. "I'm going to leave that gag in your mouth so you aren't tempted to scream for help and I'm going to tie your feet back up."

Elizabeth didn't fight him as he tied her ankles together and then pulled her arms and her legs behind her back and hogtied her on the bed, "I'll be back in a few hours and hopefully I'll be coming back a rich man." Elizabeth watched him leave and prayed that somehow, someday, he'd die a very painful death for what he'd done to her husband.