Free The Tracker by Mary Burton Page B

worry.”
    She twisted the cuff. “I never said I was going to run.”
    “You didn’t have to.” His voice was whisper soft. “I just knew.”
    “You can’t do this to me.”
    He shrugged. “I believe that I have.”
    Panic welled inside her at the thought of lying beside him in bed all night. “No!”
    Her outburst startled the baby and Rose began to cry. Automatically, Ellie reached for her, but she found her right wrist immobile.
    “I can’t care for my daughter if I’m shackled to you!”
    His gaze pinned her. “We will have to work together, I suppose.”
    The baby continued to wail.
    “But what about my chores during the day? And my visits to the necessary?”
    “We will be shackled only for the nights. In the day, I can watch you.”
    “No, no, no.”
    “The baby needs you,” he said.
    His complete control only stoked her temper. She pulled her fist back, ready to hit him square in the jaw.
    Nick’s reflexes were too fast for her. He caught her hand easily. “Do not try that again, Ellie.”
    The glint of steel in his eyes sent a chill down her spine. “I should have let you die.”
    Sadness and regret flickered in his eyes. “Pick up the baby. She needs her mother.”
    Swallowing, Ellie reached for her child. Nick moved with her, giving the chain the slack she needed. His hard shoulder brushed hers and she could feel his warm breath on her neck.
    As she rubbed the baby’s back, she prayed for the courage to get her child out of this mess safe and sound. Finally, Rose’s eyes drifted shut and she fell back to sleep.
    “She will sleep the night through, I think,” Nick said. “That is good. We will need the rest.”
    Ellie faced Nick. “It’s not practical for us to spend all night sitting up.”
    “We won’t. We will lie in the bed together.”
    “But the bed isn’t big enough for the two of us. I could accidentally kick you in my sleep and reopen your wound.”
    “I run a greater risk of injury chasing you through the night on horseback than sleeping with you.”
    Her cheeks flushed with anger. “Don’t bet on it.”
     
    N ICK DECIDED Ellie had more spirit in her than many of the soldiers he’d served with in the army and the outlaws he’d tracked. He understood her desperation and he’d liked to have accommodated her. But he could not afford to lose her now.
    She probably didn’t know where the money was. A practical woman, she would have used the money to get as far away from Montana as she could if she’d had the means.
    It pleased him that she didn’t have anything to do with the money. He wanted to believe she was an innocent in all this—that she’d never lied to him. She had pride and honor and he admired that.
    But Frank Palmer didn’t know that. He’d never believe that the gold’s location had most likely died with Jade. Frank would believe that Ellie knew where it was. And soon he would come.
    “I am tired,” he said truthfully.
    She glanced from his face to the bedroom door. “I’m not sleeping with you.”
    He lifted his wrist shackled to her. “You don’t have much of a choice, do you?”
    “I’m not going.”
    He reached for the baby. “She’ll want to sleep with her ma.”
    Ellie brushed his hands aside and picked the baby up.
    He picked up the cradle with his free arm, held out his arm and nodded toward the door. When she didn’t budge, he took her arm in his and half dragged, half pushed her to the bedroom.
    She stumbled over the threshold. He set the cradle down and she laid the baby in it. She faced him as if ready to fight, but he saw the panic in her eyes. “What if I need to go to the outhouse?”
    “I’ll go with you.”
    She looked mortified. “You wouldn’t dare.”
    “Try me.”
    “This is awful!”
    They could argue all night. Nick sat on the bed, forcing Ellie to sit. She tried to remain on the edge, her feet planted on the ground, but as he scooted toward the center, she had no choice but to follow.
    The small mattress,