An Outlaw's Silence (manxman)(second story in The Crane Gang series)

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Twelve

Zachariah paced camp that night as if he were a wild animal, caged and desperate. He'd torn that town upside down but Eleanor had been nowhere and neither had Clint.

His sister was still out there somewhere with that bastard and it was all Zachariah's fault. Judging by the shape the woman they'd found had been in, Zachariah hated to think about what Eleanor would be going through out there...

A sudden idea came to Zachariah. He strode to the edge of camp and the make-shift tent that Wyatt had erected for the woman they'd found in that town. Wyatt had insisted they help her, and Zachariah hadn't argued. Now he hoped maybe the woman could be helpful.

He threw back the tent flap and stuck his torso inside. The woman was sitting at the back with her knees into her chest and, at the sight of him, she began to scream.

Zachariah's ears ached and began to ring. He hollered for her to stop, but if she heard him, she gave no indication. Her green eyes were wide and bright, her body trembling and her voice loud enough to peel paint from a wall.

Suddenly Zachariah felt a hand grip the back of his shirt and his body was yanked from the tent. He stumbled before catching his balance and turned to see Wyatt frowning at him.

'What are you doing?' Wyatt asked.

Zachariah ripped off his hat and tossed his long braid back. "I need to talk to that woman. She might know where Eleanor is."

Wyatt shook his head as his gaze softened. 'She's in no shape to talk just now. Give her time.'

Zachariah growled. "Eleanor doesn't have time!"

He turned to go back into the tent but Wyatt slipped around him and stood in his way. "Move Wyatt," Zachariah warned.

Wyatt's eyes rolled skyward before he crossed his arms over his chest and stared up at Zachariah stubbornly. 'Leave her alone.'

"She's going to talk to me, goddammit!" Zachariah bellowed. He reached out to shove Wyatt out of his way but the smaller man grabbed his arm, swooped in close and caught him with a hard punch in the gut before shoving him back.

The air was knocked out of Zachariah and he bent down with his hands on his knees as he waited for his lungs to work properly again. He glanced up at Wyatt with disbelief. "What the hell was that for?"

'You needed to calm down.'

"They have my sister, Wyatt...."

Wyatt nodded, his big brown eyes softening as he stepped forward and put his hand on Zachariah's shoulder. 'Walk with me?'

"Walk?" Zachariah glanced back toward the tent and thought about the woman inside and how she was the only one who might be able to provide any answers. Then he looked at Wyatt and the hopeful expression on his boyish face and nodded. "Sure, let's take a walk."

The two men walked side by side until they came to an outcropping of rocks. Wyatt gestured toward them and Zachariah sighed as he sat down. Surprise and shock alike filled him when Wyatt sat down beside him and laid his head on his shoulder.

Zachariah had never been shown tenderness and he had no idea how to react. So he simply sat there stiffly and focused on breathing. Wyatt lifted his head and Zachariah let his gaze drop to his lips. 'Tell me about Eleanor.'

Zachariah's first instinct was to refuse—he had lived a rough life. The kind of life that taught a man to never open up and allow himself to be vulnerable. "Wyatt, I don't know how to act... I've never ... I've never had..." He growled as he struggled to put his thoughts into words. "That hug you gave me back at the saloon? That happened to be my first one."