Free Deadly by Sylvia McDaniel Page A

with you two.”
    Simon poked the gun into her ribs, while Frank removed her gun from its holster. He gave her a big ugly grin, blew her a kiss, and strolled down the street, leaving them behind.
    “Where’s he going?” she asked, fear spiking through her like a big gulp of whiskey.
    “He’ll be back,” Simon reassured her. “He wants to join our party tonight.”
    She’d kill them both before she let them touch her.
    Simon tugged on her arm, pulling her down the street. “You’re not dragging me across the country again. You’re not going to keep me tied up, while you and the sheriff play tag. No. This time, you’re going with me, and we’re leaving town now,” Simon said. “Where’s your horse?”
    “I’m not going anywhere with you. And I don’t have a horse.”
    “Good try! But that’s your horse there. I recognize him from our last adventures together,” Simon said, yanking her with his gun poking in her ribs.
    There was still something about this man. A twinge that tugged at her and made her think she was missing an important detail, but she didn’t know what. They stopped in front of her horse, and Simon pointed to the saddle. “Get on and don’t try anything funny, or I’ll shoot your horse.”
    She shook her head, knowing she couldn’t let him see her attachment to the animal, or he was just as good as dead. “It’s not my horse’s fault you’re an outlaw.”
    He smiled. “No, but it would be your fault if I were to shoot him.”
    “Nah, horses can be replaced. But you…your heart is black, and I’d not have a second thought about putting a bullet in you.”
    “That’s not very ladylike,” he said.
    “I’m not a lady,” she responded.
    Simon smiled and taunted, “True, but you don’t have a gun, do you?”
    “Not yet,” she promised.
    “Shut up and get on your damn horse,” he commanded, poking the gun in her ribs again.
    Slowly she climbed on and considered gigging her horse and taking off, but he held her reins. She wouldn’t have minded dragging his body behind her if she’d known he would lose the pistol.
    Frank rode back down the street with Simon’s horse. He handed the reins to Simon, and he climbed on. Without a word, Frank turned and rode off, leaving them alone.
    “Where’s he going?” Meg asked, despair choking her, her pulse pounding, knowing she had to put up a brave front or she’d be lost.
    “You sure are a noisy bitch. Guess you’ll just have to wait and see. Let’s go,” he said.
    Simon rode beside her as they headed out of town, her fear escalating with each passing mile. This was why her sisters hadn’t wanted her to go off on her own. This was why they’d agreed to always have a second person. Now she wondered if they would indeed be burying her body or if Ruby and Annabelle would ever know what had happened to her.
    And what would Simon do when they stopped? Kill her?
    Meg sighed. She wouldn’t give up without a fight. She had too much to live for. Too many dreams she’d yet to accomplish. A town full of people she needed to show that she truly was a woman. A woman with feelings.
    They passed tall pine trees, the birds calling from the branches, and a cool breeze blew against her neck. The sun slid down the sky, and darkness would soon surround them. When they stopped, she would make some kind of move. She had no choice, but to try to escape.
    “Where are we headed?” she asked.
    “To a place where we can dispose of the body,” Simon told her, smiling.
    Her stomach tightened as revulsion rose, leaving her nauseous. He was trying to frighten her, and though she had on her brave face, her insides were quivering like she was cold.
    “Why aren’t you at home, married with a man of your own, and raising a passel of kids?” Simon asked.
    “Not many men want to marry a woman who dresses in pants and can outshoot and out ride them,” she said, trying to make herself unattractive in his mind. “You men want the pretty, petite women who