By Kirsten Page
Copyright 1999
As it came into view, Cole felt his heart skip at beat at the sight of the station. He couldn’t let his guard slip or his courage fail him now, not at the height of his mission. It really wasn’t going to be as difficult as he was making it, or so he tried to convince himself. He’d just stroll inside and act natural.
When he opened the door and stepped inside the faces of everyone the room turned to greet him. He mustered a weak smile, “They never warn you how saddlesore riding for the Express can make a man.”
Nobody responded to his comment. Instead they went back to their work. Cole shrugged to himself and set his things down on the floor. He didn’t even bother to kick off his boots before he stepped up to climb up onto the bunk that Lou had once occupied.
Kid stood up and firmly planted his feet on the ground. “Mind telling me what you think you’re doing?” His eyes which were a pale blue now glowed of fury and contempt. It was one thing to have another rider already take her place, but it was another ordeal all together to have that new rider confiscate the area where she had resided so quickly.
Cole was slightly surprised at the question, but then once he had discovered that Lou was a girl, the attitudes of the others started making more sense. “Yeah, I just thought I’d get some rest,” he answered flatly, before starting to climb back up to the bed.
With a speedy grip, Kid pulled him down and turned Cole around so that they were face to face. “Then I suggest you find a different place, because that one’s taken,” he spoke with all anger seething through is voice.
Cole had just about reached the end of his rope. He was sick of this game, ready to go home, and it all boiled down to the fact that he wasn’t even sure why he was here anymore. “I’m taking this one,” Cole’s outward countenance was growing rapidly tenser with each passing second. “And I think maybe you better fess up to the fact that your little girl friend is dead.”
Kid didn’t even pause between breaths before he went straight for his throat, “I ought to kill you for that!” He growled as Jimmy, Buck, and Noah quickly rushed to his side to pull him back. His adrenaline was beyond control and he broke free of their grasp only to regain control of himself, still eyeing Cole with rage.
Jimmy took the things that Cole had placed on the top bunk and threw them to the other free bed across the room. “I suggest you take that one, now.”
It wasn’t a request, it was an order, and with the way that his luck had been this past day, Cole decided that he better do as he was being instructed. He deliberately brushed past Kid, “If you want to kill me, I’d be willing to settle this outside.”
Cody, who had been watching the scene, spoke up, “Kid...don’t do it,” he warned.
Kid seemed to ignore the statement and he looked deeply into the eyes of the man he was growing to despise with every pulse in his body. “Don’t pressure me into doing something that I’ve got half a mind to anyway,” he paused, speaking between a clenched jaw and narrowed eyes, “Because it won’t take much prompting for me to shoot you right here.”
Hate, maliciousness, and even a murderous anger had now made their way into the heart of the gentle man. He had never felt rage until this day, nor had he had such a desire to take his pain out by killing someone...especially that someone who brought him news of the worst possible torture. It would have been so easy. Yet, when he turned away sharply from Cole’s piercing eyes, he saw something that changed him.
The picture of Lou and the other riders still rested against the wall where he had tacked it above his bed. A faint smile traced her lips, and she had stared directly into the camera...making it look as if she were grinning at him. Kid couldn’t help but find his own lips forming into a mirroring expression.
Suddenly, an amazing transformation took place...the anger was gone, the feeling of sadness was comforted, and the reality of where he needed to go from here had sunken in. The answers were written right there in front of him. It was almost as if she were smiling at him through her picture, telling him that everything was going to work out fine...as she had so many times when they were spending time alone together.
Lou thought about running to the door, but with the shape that she was in there was no way that she would have made it any further than a few feet. Instead she began to scan the entire room looking for anything that might serve as a tool of protection from her attacker.
If he was going to come after her, or even try to kill her, she had her mind set to make it as hard as she possibly could, or die trying.
Wayne took large steps as he came to the front door and opened it. “Lou...or should I say Louise?” He called out from the entryway, a smug look spread across his face. “I think you and I have some talking to do.” Wayne knew that there wouldn’t be too many places that she could hide in that tiny house, so he began peaking around every corner and each door.
Lou positioned herself inside one of the larger closets and held her breath. She could see his contemptible face through the slats in the wood. It was one of the most terrifying moments of her life. There had only been one other man who had ever come after her with an expression like that...and she swore to herself that it would never happen again.
As he began searching more extensively, she could almost feel the heat emanating from his body. He was growing closer to finding her with each step. She cringed as she quietly reshifted herself back further into the closet, trying to stifle the groan from the pain that came naturally.
Then, without probable cause or reason, he opened the door to where she was hidden. Lou didn’t have even a second to react before he grabbed her arm and pulled her out with one strong tug.
“Ow!” She cried, as he threw her roughly into one of the chairs.
Wayne put himself in her face and Lou could smell the foul odor of his breath. The scent of stale whiskey and old cigars caused her to choke. “Now, you’ve got two choices here...either you can cooperate, or you can die.” Lou turned her head away from him, refusing to look into his eyes. Instantly, he grabbed her chin and forced her to stare at him. “So, what’s it going to be?” He clicked back the hammer to his gun, placed the tip of the barrel against her neck, and she closed her eyes...just waiting for him to shoot.
On to Chapter Eleven
