was well guarded with men who wore their guns in a way that said they knew how to use them. Short of walking up and knocking on the door, he couldn’t think of anything.
“We’ve been here two days,” Ace pointed out. “We haven’t seen a sign of her.”
“I know.”
“You think she’s still here?”
“I do.”
“Based on what?”
Caden put the spyglass in his pocket. “Based on my gut and the fact that Culbart hasn’t come out of that house for more than two minutes in two days.”
“I had that thought myself.”
Caden nodded and crawled back off the edge. “The only thing keeping me from charging in is the fact that Culbart doesn’t have the look of a satisfied man.”
Ace smiled. “You think he’s finding Maddie’s flights of fancy a bit draining?”
Caden stood, brushing off his pants. “For his sake, I sure as hell hope so.”
“How are you intending on getting her out of there? Storming the place isn’t exactly our best bet.”
“Yeah, I’ve come to that conclusion.”
Of course, Ace had to pin him down that first day to keep him from charging in, but now that he was a little calmer, he could see the foolishness of that plan.
“So what are you going to do?”
“First, we’re going to break up that romance.”
“Steal the horse?”
“Uh-uh. It’s not stealing if it’s ours to begin with.”
“Gonna be tough to prove to a judge if Culbart put his brand on Flower.”
“Let him be so stupid as to take me to court.”
“That man has a fierce temper and strong will. Rumors are, nobody crosses him and gets away with it. Reminds me a lot of Caine.”
“Caine doesn’t hold women prisoner.”
“We don’t know that Culbart is, either,” Ace pointed out with that reasonable side that grated on Caden’s nerves.
“Maddie’s the second woman he’s taken against her will.” He shifted his hat on his head.
“To be fair, Lin’s uncle sold her.”
“Doesn’t mean she didn’t say no.”
“True enough, but I got the impression she wasn’t raped.”
“Only because Fei slipped Culbart saltpeter.” Every man who heard that story cringed on the telling.
Ace chuckled. “She’s a resourceful bit of a thing.”
She was, but Maddie didn’t have Fei looking out for her. She just had him. “She is that.”
“Not to keep grating on your sense of vengeance without reason,” Ace drawled, walking that coin over his knuckles the way he did when he was thinking, “but Maddie’s been here two weeks, and Culbart’s not looking like the cat that ate the canary. Are you really so sure that he’s forcing her?”
Caden spun around and swung, his fist connecting with Ace’s jaw. The man stumbled back four steps before he landed on his ass. Instead of coming up swinging the way Caden wanted, he sat there and rubbed his face.
“You imply she’s a whore again and you won’t get up for a week,” Caden snarled.
Ace wiped the blood from his hand on his pants. “The only one who jumped to that conclusion is you. I meant she might be a welcome guest. Women are scarce out here, and Maddie is pretty enough for Culbart to overlook her past.”
“Maddie’s beautiful.”
Ace cocked a brow at him. “All the more reason for Culbart to be thinking marriage. A man building a spread like this will want someone to pass it on to.”
“Over my dead body.”
“Culbart’ll probably arrange that for her.”
“Like hell.”
Caden held out his hand to Ace. The other man didn’t take it.
“Feel better now?” Ace asked.
No, he didn’t feel better.
“You get up and take a swing back, and I’ll let you know.”
“I’m not fighting you, Caden. We both know I’d win anyway.”
“Like hell.”
“You’ve had too much coffee, too little sleep and too little food.”
“Whereas you’ve slept.”
Ace shrugged and took his hand, getting to his feet. “I always sleep. Best way to be ready for a fight. But yes, I’ve got my head straight on my shoulders and we’re about even matched in the best of conditions. You,” he said pointedly, “are not at your best.”
“Anybody ever tell you you’re damn irritating?”
Ace smiled, revealing even white teeth and a charm the ladies appreciated. “Nobody whose opinion mattered.”
“What do you think we’re going to do?”
“Culbart isn’t an idiot.”
“No, he’s not.”
“You’re going to have to do something.”
“I could just walk up to the front door. Say hello.”
“There’s a slight chance he’ll shoot you down before you get halfway across the yard.”
“Why? He won’t like the set of my hat?”
“He won’t like the fact that you’re Hell’s Eight. Don’t forget what Fei did to his men.”
“There’s always a chance he doesn’t know that Fei married up with Shadow.”
“A very faint chance.”
Yeah. News did travel fast. “Well, one way or the other, I’ve got to get into that house.”
“I could go.”
“Why you?”
“I’m more even-tempered.”
“Somehow I don’t see Culbart appreciating your even temper.”
“You
