Chapter 3

Gabriella

Gabriella spent the next few days of the trip sleeping and reading in her cabin. At mealtimes, she met Kenzie in the dining car, and they talked and laughed about anything and everything. Although Gabriella hadn't told Kenzie who she was, she enjoyed having made a friend on the long journey. Without their little quiet chats at what had become their table, the three-day ride would have been unbearable. Gabriella's natural sense of flight seemed to calm when she relaxed with Kenzie.

Over those days, she wondered if the train would arrive on time, or if they would be snowed in somewhere along the way. Outside the huge windows, the snow piled along the banks in towns the train passed through, but miraculously, the tracks had stayed clear.

Just when Gabriella thought it could snow no more, the wind would conjure up more of the white fluffy puffs. She wondered where it all came from. It had snowed while she was in New York, but the wild country in the west gave a new meaning to the word snowstorm.

"Ladies and gentlemen!" the steward announced on the third day. "Gather your belongings! We will arrive in Laramie, Wyoming, shortly!"

Gabriella's heart pounded as she wondered what adventures the Wild West had in store for her. It was an odd time of year to begin a new life, a new adventure, that was certain. But Gabriella wasn't worried. She had plenty of money shoved safely in her corset to sustain her until the time came for her to go back home and face her responsibilities. Gabriella left only what little she would need for the day in her reticule, not wanting to take any chances.

"Well, this is it!" Kenzie announced as she linked arms with Gabriella after they stepped off the train. "Perhaps we will see one another again in Whiskey River."

Gabriella chuckled. Images of whiskey flowing freely in rivers and drunken men cavorting about immediately came to mind at the name, but she shrugged. "Maybe. You never know where fate will lead us."

Kenzie nodded as her bright strawberry-blonde locks bobbed. "You never know."

Gabriella kissed both of her cheeks, the custom in Monaco.

Kenzie's eyes were wide with shock, but she quickly recovered.

Blush colored Gabriella's cheeks, realizing that she may have made a faux pas. "I'm sorry. It's a habit. The custom… where I'm from."

Kenzie waved her hand in front of her face in dismissal. "Oh, not to worry. When you get settled, be sure to send a note to me in Whiskey River so we can keep in touch."

"How will I know your address?" Gabriella knew she had a lot to learn about the customs and classes in America.

Kenzie smiled as she gave her hand a gentle squeeze. "Just label it with my name and Whiskey River, and I'm sure I'll get it. After all, I'm sure there aren't many people named Kenzie Baker there."

Gabriella smiled. "You're right. I'm sure there's no one else quite like you."

Kenzie chuckled, pulling her in for a quick hug. "Will you be all right? Would you like me to take you somewhere?"

Gabriella returned the warm smile… and it was genuine. For once, she didn't have to plaster on a fake smile to keep up appearances, like she often did in Monaco. "No, I'll be fine. But thank you for the stimulating company on our journey."

Kenzie laughed. "The pleasure was mine." With one last wave, she headed to a waiting buckboard, driven by a nice-looking man with long hair, wearing a cowboy hat and a black leather jacket.

Gabriella shrugged as she picked up her carpet bag and headed toward the hotel, hoping they had a vacancy. She never had to arrange for her own place to stay before. In Monaco, everything had just been done for her, arranged for her. It just was, something she didn't have to think about. Gabriella sighed as she looked up at the hotel. It wasn't what she was used to, but it was as good a place as any to start. Surely, Mr. Carlo wouldn't find her there.

Suddenly, two men grabbed her arms, one on each side, causing her to drop her bag.

"What's the meaning of this?" Gabriella gasped. When she looked up, two of the three scruffy men from the train had her. The man with the long beard gave her a toothless smile. "Let go of me!"

She heard a click and felt the cold steel of a gun push against her back. "If you know what's good for you, miss, you'll keep it down. Don't attract any attention, or I'll be forced to shoot you right here."

Gabriella turned to look in his eyes. "Then go ahead and shoot! I'd rather be dead than go with the likes of you!"

He grabbed a handful of her dark brown hair and jerked her head back. "Listen, bitch! I'm warning you!"

"Get off me!" she demanded, but the younger man on her right shoved his dirty hand over her mouth and pulled her quickly down an alley. "Help! Let go of me, you brute!" she mumbled around his hand.

"Shut up!" the man with a gold tooth, who had been standing behind her, growled through gritted teeth. The young man threw her over his shoulder and carried her toward a wagon where another scruffy-looking man with red hair and a beard waited.

"It's about time you got here." The man looked at Gabriella, kicking and screaming, and leered. "Hey! What do we have here?"

"Payday," the younger man replied, trying to keep Gabriella on his shoulder.

"Help, someone!" Gabriella shouted, kicking and screaming as she beat on the man's back.

When she looked up, the man with long hair who had been waiting for Kenzie was standing at the end of the alley on the street.

"Help me! Please!"

"Hold it right there," the man ordered as he pushed his coat aside, revealing two sidearms, one on each side, tied down to his legs. "Let her go!"

The man with the scruffy beard drew his pistol and fired, but the man with the long hair was quicker, and shot him right between the eyes. He fell against the wagon, and then onto the ground.

The younger man threw Gabriella into the back of the covered wagon, drew his gun, and fired at the long-haired man. "Go, go!" he shouted at the driver and then climbed in, too.

Gabriella tried to push her way past the men, but the man with the gold tooth pushed her down into the wagon as he shot once more. Then the wagon jolted forward as the horses pulling it launched into a full run. People screamed as the wagon nearly ran them over. The wagon weaved back and forth through town, throwing her across the back.

"Great, Clayton!" the redheaded man with the scruffy beard growled as he urged the team on. "You just got Pop killed! And for what? Her?"

"She's a princess, Harley!" Clayton, the man with the gold tooth, shouted.

"He's not kidding!" the younger man agreed as he shot out the back of the wagon.

Gabriella slid back against the edge of the covered wagon and wrapped her arms around her knees, pulling them to her chest, trying to stay out of the way. She should have known better than to run away like that, unattended.

"Tell him, girl," Clayton ordered.

Gabriella cleared her throat. "I have no idea what you're talking about. Stop and let me out! If you don't let me out, I'll kill you myself!"

"Shut up!" He backhanded her across the face, jolting her backward, causing her to see stars. Then he turned to the younger man. "Blake, tell him! Tell him that she is too a princess!"

Gabriella bounced around in the back of the wagon, and then Harley suddenly made a sharp turn to the left, into some woods. She scooted as far back into a corner of the wagon as she could, trying to think of ways to defend herself if one of them came toward her.

"I think we lost 'em," Blake announced as he looked out the window. "And, yes, she's a princess."

"Like hell I am!" Gabriella lied.

"Shut up, girl!" Clayton growled as he reared back his hand again but lowered it and turned his attention to the younger man instead. "Tell 'im, Blake! Tell him what we heard!"

Blake let out a deep breath. "Yes, she's a princess."

"I'm not—"

"Shut up." Blake bit his lower lip. "She's a princess."

Harley looked behind him as he slowed the wagon. "How the hell do you know that?"

"Tell 'im, Blake!" Clayton urged, clearly excited.

"Well, after we robbed the bank, we decided to splurge and ride in style in first class. Who would know? Also, I thought we could steel some jewelry from those hoity-toity women on the train. Anyway, this here girl boarded the train and walked past us like everyone was beneath her." Blake glared at Gabriella. "Then a man with a mustache, wearing some kind of military uniform, comes on board, yelling that he isn't going to leave until he finds the Princess of Monaco." He pointed at Gabriella. "And there she is."

"Where is Monaco anyway?" Clayton's eyebrows pulled together, looking as if he was thinking so hard that it hurt.

Gabriella shrugged. "I have no idea what he's talking about."

"That's enough out of you," Blake bit out.

Harley smiled a toothless grin. "So, what's the plan?"

"Tell 'im, Blake!" Clayton insisted, his eyes wild.

"Shut up, Clayton!" Blake ordered, and then turned to Harley. "We're going to hold her for ransom. She has to be worth at least $100,000, I'm sure." He grabbed her by the hair and pulled her head back abruptly, forcing her to look into his eyes. "Maybe then she won't be as quick to turn up her nose to everyone when she walks by."

Gabriella glared at him. "I'd still walk past you like you were dirt beneath my feet."

"Why, you little bitch! My father was killed because of you!" Blake growled as he slung her onto the floor by the hair.

Gabriella screwed up her courage. Never would she show fear in front of men such as these. "Your father died because of this idiotic plan."

Blake glared at her, his eyes black as he clenched his fists by his side. "Harley, pull over. We have to ditch this wagon. Someone's going to recognize us."

"We're almost to the cabin," Harley announced as he made another turn. "Look out the back and see if we were followed. I don't want anyone knowing where our hideout is."

"We can't stay there now," Clayton reasoned. "They'll find us for sure. That man back there with long hair looked like a lawman. He'll have us tracked down in no time."

Blake nodded. "We'll have to take her to California. We can contact her people from there."

"In this weather?" Harley scoffed. "There's a blizzard headed this way."

"We have no choice," Blake replied, suddenly the voice of reason. "We'll close down the cabin, and then we'll head out."

"But the blizzard!" Harley wailed.

"Harley's right," Clayton agreed. "We'll freeze to death before we reach California."

"Well, then, let's stay here in Laramie, and we'll send a letter to Monaco in the morning," Blake reasoned, obviously the brains of the bunch.

"Where the hell is Monaco, anyway?" Harley raised his eyebrows, his eyes wide.

Blake rolled his eyes. "One thing's for sure, we have to get what we need and go."

"We'll have to find another place," Clayton announced.

Gabriella was surprised that he had actually thought of it on his own.

"We're here," Harley announced, pulling the wagon to a stop, bringing their planning to a halt. "Clayton's right. We'll have to find another place." He wrapped the reins around the front bar, and then stepped down out of Gabriella's view.

"Come here, woman!" Blake pulled her roughly from the covered wagon and into his arms.

Gabriella pounded her fists with all her might against his chest. "Like hell I will!"

Blake grabbed her shoulders and shook her hard, forcing her to look at him. "Look. We can do this the easy way or the hard way. It's your choice." He threw her over his shoulder and started toward the cabin. Clayton and Harley were already out of the wagon and led the team into a rickety old barn.

Gabriella looked up through the blinding snow. Before them was a one-room cabin. It was too small for more. She was surprised the men could have been living there. Who knew? Maybe it was just their hideout.

"Hold still, woman!" Blake ordered, carrying her through the door.

"Let me go." Gabriella kicked and screamed, not making it easy for them.

He shoved her roughly into a chair, turned away, and started rummaging through the kitchen drawers. Gabriella got up and ran for the door. But Blake was quicker. He grabbed her arm and thrust a knife to her neck. "You utter one more word and I'll slit your throat."

Gabriella took a deep breath. "Go ahead! At least then I won't have to deal with the likes of you!"

Blake slapped her hard across the face, sending her crashing to the floor. Then he grabbed her arms and tied her hands together in front of her with a thick rope digging into her wrists. Gabriella was dazed when he pulled her off the floor and then shoved her back onto the chair.

"Stay there, and don't you move!" He pointed a finger at her.

She looked around, trying to get her bearings as the room came into focus.

Blake went into the other room and brought out a heavy coat, an old cowboy hat, men's jeans, and a flannel shirt and threw them at her. "Here, put this on. You'll need it to keep warm."

Gabriella laughed. "So, you're taking care of me now?"

Blake laughed so hard that tears came to his eyes. "Not hardly. But you're no good to us if you die in this weather. Now, put it on."

"Not in front of you, you imbecile." Then she held out her hands. "And I can't dress with my hands tied."

He let out a deep breath, took out a long knife, and shoved her into a small closet. "You try anything at all and you're dead!" In one fluid motion, he cut the rope around her wrists and slammed the door closed. In the tiny closet, she couldn't see a thing, but quickly fumbled around, looking for something, anything that she could use as a weapon.

"Hurry up or I'm coming in there after you," Blake growled from the other side.

"You wouldn't dare!"

"Oh yes I would."

She let out a huff and slipped off her dress, leaving on her corset, but checked to make sure her money was still there. If those morons found out that she had as much money as she did, they'd probably take the money, kill her, and forget about the ransom. Satisfied, she slipped quickly into the jeans, which were two sizes too big, and buttoned up the oversized flannel shirt.

When she came out, Blake looked at her and wrapped the coat around her. He shoved the cowboy hat on her head and pulled it down over her eyes. "Now, that's better," he announced, and then looked down at her shoes. "We can't do anything about those right now, but it'll do." He grabbed her wrists and quickly tied them up again, tighter this time, pain shooting from her wrists and up her arms.

A moment later, he pulled her out of the house to where Clayton and Harley were waiting with four horses already packed and ready to go.

"You're giving her a horse?" Blake scoffed.

"Well, you have her tied up." Harley motioned toward her hands. "If we take the reins, how far do you think she'll get if she gets loose?"

Blake let out a deep breath. "You're unbelievable." Then, he turned to Gabriella and pointed at her. "If you try anything, anything at all, I'll kill you myself."

"If you kill me," she glared, her eyes unwavering, "then you won't get any money."

"Shut up and get on that horse!"

She paused for a moment, trying to figure out how she was going to ride. Back home, she had ridden sidesaddle, which was entirely different.

"Hells bells! You are one helpless woman." He picked her up and shoved her onto the horse, one leg on each side. He took her reins, and then mounted another horse with a bedroll strapped to the back of the saddle. She held onto the saddle horn and pulled her knees in tightly so as not to fall off.

They walked for what seemed like hours through the snowstorm, which was getting worse. Gabriella shivered from the cold as they plodded on when they came to what looked like a hunter's lean-to against a tree in the woods. Only two sides of the structure were covered, leaving the other two sides exposed.

"Blake?" Clayton drawled. "Don't you think it's time to stop?"

He let out a deep breath as he took in the lean-to. "Yeah. I guess we're far enough away." He pointed to a small clearing in the middle of a circle of trees. "This is as good a place as any. Let's set up camp."

"Well, it's about time!" Clayton dismounted his horse. "I'm tired from the train ride, and my ass is hurting from riding."

Harley grabbed him by the collar. "Well, if you two hadn't had the bright idea to kidnap her—"

A shot rang out from the other side of Gabriella, claiming the two men's attention. Gabriella turned around, and Blake's gun was smoking. "That's enough! What's done is done. Let's just get through this."

Within minutes, they had laid out the bedrolls in the lean-to and started a fire. Soon, coffee was brewing sending the tannin scent through the air. Gabriella scooted to the base of a tree as far away from the men as she could manage, shivering in the cold as they warmed themselves by the fire.

"I say let's take the ransom and then kill her." Clayton took a swig of his coffee.

"Now, you want us to be murderers?" Harley's voice lifted several octaves as he poured more coffee into his cup. "First, you idiots get the idea to kidnap her. Now, you want to kill her?"

"Shut up!" Blake growled, pointing his gun at him. "It wasn't our idea. It was Pop's… and he died for it."

Harley held out his arms. "So, you're going to kill me now?"

"If I have to." Blake pulled back the hammer on his six-gun revolver, taking aim.

"You'd kill your own brother." Harley shook his head. "Well, if that don't beat all."

Blake pointed the gun at his brother for a moment, and then released the hammer and slid the gun back in its holster. "Don't say a word about this idea anymore. Pop's dead, and we can't even bury him. It was his idea, and out of respect for him, we're going through with it."

Clayton stretched out on a bedroll and fluffed his pillow, ignoring the others as he rolled over onto his side. He was snoring within minutes.

"Well, it looks like you have the first watch," Harley announced as he slid down into his bedroll and turned over before his brother could object.

Blake leaned back against a tree and watched the fire. Soon, his gaze fell on Gabriella.

She let out a deep breath and turned over, hoping he would stay away from her. She knew that she had to get away from these awful men before they killed her… or something much worse. As she lay on the bedroll, shivering, she started making plans.

Perhaps she would take one of their guns for protection, or she could wait until Clayton took watch. She felt that he would be easy to knock out. Or maybe she could reason with him, play on his sympathies, and he would release her. He didn't appear to be as bright as the others, which wasn't saying much.

To her amazement, she heard snoring coming from Blake's direction. Slowly, she looked around, and sure enough, Blake was leaning against a tree with his arms folded across his chest and his head was bent. He was asleep.

It was her chance.

Slowly, she looked around, but none of their guns were visible to her—except Blake's, which was lying across his lap. And there was no way that she was going to chance waking him to get it. No, it was best if she got away as quickly as possible… alive.

The embers of the fire were dying, and she was sure that Blake would wake once it grew cold. She had to act now. Slowly, she stood up on the bedroll, but froze when Clayton smacked his lips together loudly and turned over. She looked over at Blake and Harley, and they were still fast asleep.

Gabriella stepped behind a tree as silently as possible and waited. When no one woke, she stepped backward as quietly as she could manage into the forest through the blinding snow. When she was a safe distance away, she ran. She had no idea where she was running to, but anywhere was better than with the likes of those three criminals.

As she ran, she stumbled and fell, scraping her hands. She got up and worked to untie her hands, and then she started running again. Gabriella would have taken off her shoes so she could run faster, but her feet would surely freeze.

As she ran, the snow blew harder against her coat. When Blake had wrapped it around her, she'd thought it was hideous, moth-ridden, and smelled musty. But now, it might just save her life.

She ran through the forest, illuminated by the moonlight shining across the snow, for what seemed like hours. Her hands and feet were freezing. If she didn't find shelter soon, she was going to die.

Just when she thought she couldn't take another step, candlelight streamed from a window, casting a golden glow over the snow from a house.

Gabriella thought she was hallucinating at first. But as she stepped closer, the bark of a dog told her that she wasn't. She looked behind her and, miraculously, no one was following her. Blake and Clayton were probably exhausted from the three-day train ride and wouldn't wake for a while. But Harley was another matter.

She quickly pushed the thought aside and stumbled up the wooden stairs to the door. She just hoped that whoever answered was better than the three criminals she left behind. She collapsed on the front porch, and ice pressed against her cheek as her eyes began to close. All of a sudden, a warm, wet tongue licked her cheek. She opened her eyes, and a golden retriever was panting and smiling, licking her face. He scratched at the door, barked, and licked her face again. Then the golden light and warmth from inside the house flooded the porch. And for a moment, Gabriella wondered if she was in heaven.