Divine Deception by Marcia Lynn McClure Read Free Book Online Page A

Okay, devil,” one of the other men growled, pulling a large knife from its sheath at his thigh. Trader reached out as if the man intended to present it to him. Grabbing the man’s hand, Trader turned his own knife back on him. He held the knife at the man’s throat even though the villain used both his hands to try to push it back.
    Fallon gasped and covered her ears too late as she heard another bone break when Trader shoved his foot into the man’s knee, causing him to fall to the floor, moaning in pain. Trader then turned to the final villain, who pulled a gun from his boot and pointed it at the mighty, cloaked hero.
    “ I ain’t so clumsy,” the man said, smiling triumphantly.
    “ Oh, really?” Trader mumbled as his fist met the man’s jaw. The sound of another fracture resounded. Fallon stood paralyzed. “Mr. Thompson, will you fetch Sheriff Rigby, please?” Trader asked. Mr. Thompson closed his own gaping mouth and nodded before bolting for the door. Meanwhile, the leader of the degenerate group was trying to get to his feet.
    “ Ya dirty devil! Ya broke my arm!” he shouted.
    Trader walked to the man and pushed his head down against the floor with his foot.
    As the man’s face contorted with humiliation and pain under the sole of Trader’s boot, Trader growled, “I could’ve broken your neck as easily. How dare you touch my wife?” The pinned criminal began cursing. “Shut up! Or I will crush you completely!” Trader growled.
    Trader turned to Fallon then. “I told you to bring Ben with you today!” he growled at her. Fallon stared at him, too stunned to respond. He looked down at the man whose face was beneath his boot. “Well, it wasn’t her fault anyway, was it?”
    “ Ya dirty devil! How much did ya pay for her anyway?” the man shouted.
    Reaching down, Trader grabbed the man by the collar, pulling him to his feet in one swift, effortless movement. “What?” he growled into the man’s face.
    “ Well, ya’d have to have bought her. No woman worth nothin’ would want ya to—” The savage was silenced as Trader dealt a fierce-fisted blow to the man’s mid-face, no doubt breaking his nose in the process.
    The sheriff arrived in the next moment, and Trader’s hood focused on Fallon. She was still in a state of stunned horror, humiliation, and fear, and she dashed from the store. Dropping to her knees in front of the watering trough, she began to splash the stagnant water on her face, rubbing her flesh thoroughly where the man’s mucky, foul tongue had tasted her. She continued to scrub her tender cheek even as Trader took hold of her shoulders.
    “ Fallon, come along. I’ll take you home,” he said, almost softly. But Fallon continued to cup the water in her hands and bring it to her face, rubbing mercilessly.
    “ Help me! Help me wash it off!” she wept in a whisper.
    “ It is off. Now come along,” Trader commanded. She pulled away from him and began sobbing bitterly.
    “ It’s still there! I can feel it! It won’t come off!”
    Trader took hold of her arms and pulled her to her feet, turning her to face him. “It’s off! Come out of it, girl!” he ordered as she clawed at her face with her fingernails.
    “ I can feel it!” she cried, tears streaming over her cheeks.
    Trader firmly took her chin with one gloved hand, he said, “Fallon! Listen to me. It’s gone. He won’t try it again. He can’t. I’ve made sure of it.”
    But Fallon was still frantic. Taking Trader’s gloved hand in hers, she began rubbing her cheek with it.
    “ Take it away—that awful feeling! You touch my face! You touch me, and I can stand it. You touch me, and I’ll be all right.”
    Trader pulled his hand away quickly and paused only a moment before removing his glove. As he cupped her tender cheek firmly in his warm palm, Fallon covered his hand with her own, pressing it harder against her flesh.
    “ Trader,” she sobbed in a whisper, finally able to calm herself slightly.