Shadow's Stand by Sarah McCarty Read Free Book Online Page B

left his office and felt the gazes of the men who always hung around outside, she had realized her mistake. Any one of the hard-eyed men would have taken her gold from her. So instead of hurrying home, she’d lowered her eyes and slumped her shoulders. No one had followed her home. And no one had followed her since, but she couldn’t continue to hide. She needed the gold. She needed help. Shadow was what she had. An outlaw. A thief. A man who said he would kill for her.
“Yes.”
Shadow let go of the reins and sat up. “How much? A sprinkle in the pan or enough to build a mansion?”
Reaching into her pocket, she wrapped her fingers around the heavy nugget. Since the day she’d found it in her father’s secret claim, her life had changed. Revealing it now would make it change again. For good or for bad, there was no telling.
“Fei?”
She eyed the breadth of Shadow’s shoulders. By all her ancestors, there was nothing to keep this man from killing her and taking the nugget.
“I am afraid.”
The truth hung there between them.
“Why?”
“I cannot stop you.”
“No, you can’t.” He moved his horse closer. “But you can trust me.”
“Swear on your ancestors that you will not hurt me.”
“I’ll do you one better.”
She waited. His fingers skimmed up her arm, grazing the black silk of her tunic, skimming the sensitive skin of her neck before cupping her cheek in his palm. She was vividly aware of how easily he could hurt her. A tightening of his fingers, a twist of his wrist and her worries would be over. Her cousin’s face flashed in her mind—angry, resentful and determined. She’d told Lin to wait, not to do anything impulsive. She’d told her to trust in her and their plan. If she died now, her cousin would be alone with no plan and only her reckless nature to sustain her. That couldn’t happen.
Shadow’s thumb stroked over her lips. Fei should be scared, but she wasn’t. She couldn’t look away. Not as his fingers caressed her cheek. Not as eyes narrowed and his gaze dropped to her mouth. Not as his grip tightened ever so slightly. And certainly not as he said, “Fei Ochoa, I make you this promise. As your husband, I will protect you.”
As her husband. If she accepted his promise, she was accepting the marriage. It would not be honorable to deny it. She swallowed, searching his face for any sign of deception. There was none. He was giving her what she wanted. In exchange for what?
“Why should I believe what you say?”
“You’re my wife. Your troubles are mine.”
“Why?”
“Because I want it that way.”
Could he truly be a man of honor?
“You are a horse thief.”
“Only if you consider taking back what’s yours as stealing.”
“These are your horses?”
She expected him to smile. He didn’t. If anything, his expression got harder. “What’s mine stays mine.”
It was a warning. She would do well to pay heed, but in that moment, she could see the man behind the calm. He was intense. He was angry. And…he could be trusted.
She took the nugget from her pocket. Catching his free hand in hers, she placed the gold in his palm, holding his gaze as she wrapped his fingers around it.
“I accept your promise.”
T HE STONE WEIGHED HEAVILY in Shadow’s palm. He’d held enough gold to recognize what that weight meant. Son of a bitch, if there was more, she really had struck it rich. And she was right. There was no telling where her enemies would come from. But they would be coming.
“You no longer want to promise?”
There was no censure in Fei’s question. Just an acceptance that rubbed Shadow the wrong way. He’d been fighting for others all his life. First for his mother, then his brother and then Hell’s Eight. But now he had a wife, something of his own to fight for, and she wanted to deny him his right? Hell, no.
“I promise you this, too. As long as I live, no one will hurt you.”
She shook her head. “That is too much. We only agreed on protection, not your life.”
He