Punished by Passion by Cara Nottingham Read Free Book Online Page A

frighten either of them.
     
    “Really Madison, did
you think I wouldn’t find out?” The marshal said through a clenched jaw.
    Madison tossed her
copper curls over her shoulder and gave the marshal her haughtiest stare. “In
all actuality, marshal, I never gave a thought one way or another about your
knowledge regarding whom I spend my time with.  I can’t imagine why it would be
any of your concern.”
    “Everything you do is
my concern,” he practically growled as he grabbed her by the shoulders. “From
the minute you rolled into town until the day you draw your last breath, your
safety is my primary concern.  And since you continue to play these childish
games, you will find yourself treated as child.”
    Madison struggled, but
his large hands were clamped around her like a vise. He placed her in a dining
chair without any effort.
    “Sit.” He ordered and
turned his back, walking, or more like stalking to her door.
    “If you dare to think,
sir, that I will be ordered about and then have you leave me here to consider
my actions, you are sadly mistaken.”
    “Oh Madison,” he
replied so softly she barely heard. “The time for thoughtful consideration has
long past.” He reached for the doorknob, but instead of opening the door, he
turned the key in the lock. The click of the tumbler locking into place seemed
louder than the hammering of her heart.  When he slid the key into his front
pocket, she jumped up from her chair.
    “What the…? You can’t
lock me in.  I am a free citizen of this town.  I will call for help and my brother
will alert the sheriff…”
    In less than three
strides, the marshal was directly in front of her. Madison tried to step back,
but fell back into the chair.
    “Your brother is in
just as much trouble as you are. Maybe more. I can probably keep you out of
jail, but I doubt I can convince any judge that your brother is just as
senseless as you.  If you thought to spite me by taking up with train robbers,
you thought wrong. Now I know just how much freedom to allow you. None. As for
the sheriff, he has already turned you over to federal custody so it can be
decided whether you should be charged as an accessory to both the bank
robberies. That means for the forseeable future you pretty little hide belongs
to me.”
    Madison paled as she
considered the position she had put both the marshal and her brother in. All
she had wanted was to help her Foster pay off his gambling debts, but instead
she had turned the entire town on its ear by allowing an entire gang of train
robbers access to the town’s businesses.
    “Now, you have two
choices,” the marshal continued. “Face up to your punishment like the mature
woman you should be or continue your childish charades and put up a struggle. 
Myself, I’m hoping for the struggle.  I have a lot of frustration to get out of
my system.”
    “Why would I struggle?
If you are going to hold me captive, I am hardly a match for a strong, wily
lawman as yourself.”
    “You’ve had my mind
going in circles since the moment you arrived in town. If I would have just
thrown you and your dimwitted brother in jail the first time you’d broken the
law, I could have saved myself and half the town a lot of sleepless nights.”
    “I never asked you to
come to my rescue. Not then and certainly not now. I would have found a
resolution to my dilemma eventually.” Madison crossed her arms and huffed.  If
the marshal didn’t leave, she was never going to be able to hide the bag of
money she’d pilfered form the train robbers as they were packing to leave town. 
If he knew what she’d really been up to, he’d implode with rage. She tried to
stand, but the marshal shoved her back down in her seat.
    “Sorry darlin’ but I’m
callin the shots now. And I specifically recall telling you to sit.” He leaned
down to whisper in her ear. “And I’d enjoy it for now, because it’s the last
time you’ll be able to do so for the next