Free The Wrath of Iron Eyes (An Iron Eyes Western #5) by Rory Black Page B

golden
rays penetrated the ever-moving curtain of shimmering water. Within
the cave the light of the new day spread quickly over the seven
silent recumbent souls, yet two of their number had not closed
their eyes.
    Malverez still lay with his hand on the
handle of one of his prized Colts, watching the five other bandits
who continued to snore.
    Rosie Smith lay beneath the heavy velvet
drapes pretending to be asleep. She had not moved for nearly six
hours for fear of arousing her abductors and making them complete
the job they had already started.
    She knew that it must already
be dawn. The sound of singing birds had alerted her to the beginning of the
new day many minutes earlier.
    The warmth of the sun had filtered through
the never-ceasing curtain of water, falling from the
hundred-foot-high cliff in front of the cave entrance.
    The gentle heat touched Rosie’s exposed
cheek and she felt even more afraid than she had done since the
ruthless bandits had taken her by force from her home.
    For her entire life she had wondered what
being able to see might be like. But Rosie had nothing to compare
her blindness with as she had never had the gift of sight. To her
the world was filled with the aromas of things and people. Sounds
came from everywhere and she had learned to evaluate them as only
those denied a vital sense can. Touch had also been another of her
senses which meant more to her than those who had vision to assist
their journey through life.
    Lying beneath the makeshift
blanket, Rosie found herself wishing that she could actually see her enemies,
even if it were for only a fleeting moment.
    The sleeping bandits were all around her and
their snores gave her some idea as to their whereabouts but the
crashing noise of the waterfall made everything else confused.
    She knew that to escape the clutches of
these men, she had to be able to see. It was obvious to the
intelligent female that she had been carried down a steep slope and
brought into a cave and that it was behind a waterfall. She knew it
was impossible for her to negotiate the return route to the top of
the trail where the men had left their horses and the wagon.
    Rosie felt the hand of Malverez on her
shoulder for the umpteenth time and felt her entire being go rigid.
She had not been able to understand a single word that the Mexican
bandits had been saying to each other during the night, but she
knew they were heated.
    She had little if no knowledge
of life, and
had been protected from all who might have shown any interest in
her, but she felt that these men wanted something from her that she
was unwilling to give.
    The strong hand of the bandit leader pulled
her shoulder until she felt herself rolling over to face him. Her
heart began to thunder inside her chest.
    What did he want? her mind cried out.
    ‘ Do not make a sound, my
pretty one,’ Malverez whispered into her ear.
    Sheriff Tom Hardin had a big decision to
make. It was probably the biggest one of his entire life. Should he
tell Iron Eyes that the girl who had not turned away from his
ghastly scarred features had only not done so because she was
blind? Her beautiful pale blue eyes simply could not see the
hideous vision that made all others shun him.
    Or should he allow the injured bounty
hunter to continue under the delusion that Rosie Smith actually
liked what she had seen when she looked at him?
    With a man as unpredictable as
Iron Eyes, either choice might have devastating, if not lethal,
consequences. The sheriff knew that the bounty hunter was not a man
to mess with, even when he was fit. But he was far from fit. He was
like a wounded animal as he silently steered the gray
mount.
    What effect would the truth have on him?
Hardin did not want to take the risk of finding out but he knew
that he would soon have somehow to inform Iron Eyes that the girl
they were seeking was actually totally blind. To fail to do so
would put Rosie Smith in even more danger.
    But if Iron Eyes knew that the female he