The Stallion

Chapter Five

Chapter 5 – Emma & Autumn

Emma looked at Elizabeth's retreating back, and sent up a small prayer to keep her safe. She turned her attention back to Sam and Autumn, and they rode hard towards the forest.

Several hours later, they reached a small cabin in the middle of the woods. Autumn and Emma were on high guard as the area did not look safe. Sam took off his gun belt and left it on his horse but Emma kept her gun on her for safety. When they entered the cabin it stunk, the smell of mold and dead flesh. Autumn looked around and noticed a dead body sitting in the corner. She gasped loudly and backed away towards the door. Suddenly a rope came out of nowhere and tied her up. Autumn began fighting her way out of it, and a man entered the doorway. Emma trained her gun on him, and Autumn stopped moving, paralyzed by fear from the man with his gun pointed at her.

"Drop your gun," he tells Emma in a heavily accented voice. Mexican if Autumn guessed correctly. She took the moment to observe him. Dark hair, full beard, and mustache, and a very muscular body. Autumn had been with many men, being a whore but this man was the most handsome man she had ever seen.

Emma drops her gun to the ground and Sam begins explaining their situation to the man, who still refuses to release Autumn.

"Why should I trust you?" he asks Sam.

"Well, because you can either join us or I can just serve this warrant for you, and take the money. The truth is I would rather have you, you're an amazing marksman, and could really bring something to the team." Sam tells him.

The man looks at Sam and then Emma, till his eyes finally land on Autumn. "What about the chicas?" he asks.

"They are your employers, and I suggest you let her go if you really want to join the team." Sam tells the man gesturing to Autumn.

"I'm in." he tells Sam moving down to remove the rope from Autumn's arms and legs. The man helps Autumn up from the floor. "What is your name senorita?" he asks her.

"Me llamo Autumn," she replies in Spanish shocking the man and the rest of the group.

"Excuse me," the man starts, "but do you speak Spanish?" he asks surprised.

"Yes, fluently, my mother was Spanish, my father was white. She taught me." Autumn tells him, "What's your name?"

"Vasquez, Antonio Vasquez. I would appreciate just Vasquez though."
Autumn looks thoughtfully at the man, "I will call you Tony" she tells him walking back towards the horses. Vasquez looks at the other two members of the company dumbfounded, Emma just walks past him snickering.

"Women," Sam replies capping him on the shoulder as her follows the two women outside.

Vasquez follows the group outside as they are mounting their horses readying to leave. At that moment Vasquez stops to see Autumn. Her lightly curved body marred with bruises, her pale skin, and dark hair, and those blue eyes. She is looking at him now, wondering what he's staring at. In disgust she throws a shawl around her shoulders to cover the scars and turns away.

"I do not have a horse," Vasquez tells Sam, walking over to Autumn, "May I ride with you senorita?" he asks looking up at her.

"Get on," she tells him, "but if you touch me in any inappropriate way then I will feel free to promptly throw you off my horse, and I mean that Senor." Vasquez looks at her impressed, he hasn't had a woman stand up to him since his own madre.

Vasquez raises his right hand, "I promise senorita I will not touch you in any way that will make you uncomfortable but, just in case my hands may roam how about you sit behind me and I will lead the horse, that way the only hands you need to worry about are your own." Autumn glares down at the man and removes herself from the horse.

When she is ground level, Autumn waits for him to climb up but he doesn't he just continues to stare at her, "What do you want?" she asks him.

Tony moves his hand to the shawl wrapped tightly around her shoulders, and moves it down. Autumn breathes deeply as his hands run down the large scar on her right arm, "Your scars are beautiful senorita, you should not hide them," he tells her. Vasquez lifts himself into the saddle and reaches a hand down to Autumn pulling her up behind him.

Autumn places her hands gently on Tony's waist, and they take off after the others.

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