Free Savage Dawn by Cassie Edwards Page A

that he would not kill her as she slept?
    Eagle Wolf noticed Nicole looking at his weapons.
    Although he thought she did not see him as her enemy, he understood her hesitance.
    “Do not be afraid to sleep,” Eagle Wolf reassured her as he reached out and gently took one of her hands in his. “White woman, I understand why you might still be afraid to trust me, for it is rare that white people trust men with red skin. I assure you that you are safe while you are with me. When I look at you, I do not see the color of your skin, but the kindness of your heart.”
    He gently squeezed her hand. He saw that his words caused a flush to rise to Nicole’s cheeks. She now looked trustingly into his eyes.
    “I thank you for what you have done for me,” he said, then slowly eased his hand from hers.
    He nodded over the fire toward her blanket, then again gazed into her eyes.
    “Go now,” he softly encouraged. “Sleep in peace. I shall do the same. Tomorrow is another day, but tonight we must rest.”
    Nicole smiled sweetly at him, then rose and walked over to where she had spread the blanket for herself earlier. She stretched out on the blanket, sighed, and was soon fast asleep.

Chapter Eleven
    The moon scarcely showed through the smoke that continued to rise from the burned town of Tyler City. As Jeremiah and his friends rode toward the grayish haze that lay heavy in the air, he knew that he had found the city that had been erased from the map in a single day.
    As Jeremiah rode into what remained of the city, his horse’s hooves scattered ash on both sides of him. He gasped as his lungs were filled with the stench of burning wood and death.
    His eyes filled with tears as he looked from body to body. The glow of the moon pushed its way through the ash-filled air, showing Jeremiah and his friends just how horrendously the people of this new little town had died.
    They had not had a chance against those who had come with hate in their hearts. Not a soul had been spared. He mourned for these people who had surely risen from their beds for a new day this morning with hope and love, and dreams of tomorrow.
    Then Jeremiah recalled his purpose in comingto this horrific scene of death in the first place. For a moment the lovely woman had been forgotten in his horror at the bodies lying on the ground all around him.
    “Nicole Tyler,” he whispered to himself as he glanced over at a sign bearing the name Tyler City, which had somehow made it through the devastation intact.
    Yes, this had been Nicole’s destination. He had found out that much about her during their time together in the stagecoach. She had planned to join her parents there and become this small community’s schoolteacher.
    “A community bearing her family’s name, no less,” he said, looking over at Jacob, who sat on his horse beside Jeremiah. “Jacob, it seems there were no survivors.”
    “Unless those who did survive managed to escape without being seen,” Jacob said, wiping at his mouth with the back of his hand. “Lord a’mighty, Jeremiah, who could be so evil? How could anyone hate so much that they had no mercy on anyone?”
    Jeremiah swallowed down vomit as he again looked slowly around him. “It’s certain there are no survivors here,” he said hoarsely. “But still, perhaps some escaped the wrath of those madmen. Perhaps Nicole arrived here after the massacre was over and then fled for her life, fearing the killers might find her there, alone.”
    “They might even now still be near and see usgawking at what they left behind,” Jacob said, fear in his eyes and voice. “Jeremiah, we’d best head back for home. What if those who did this go to our little community and do the same? Lord a’mighty, Jeremiah, they might be there even now. Our women and children…”
    “Do not borrow trouble, Jacob,” Jeremiah said. “I believe the killers are far, far away now, avoiding being caught by the cavalry. Isn’t there a fort anywhere near