Wanted by Outlaws
Natalie Acres
Chapter One
“Evenin’ ma’am.” A short, pudgy man with a muddy star didn’t wait for an invitation. He stepped inside the minute Emily Masterson opened the rickety door.
“Marshall.” She lowered her eyes and tilted her head to the side trying to escape the stench of whiskey before she moved out of his way. Might as well step aside, the man with the notorious and rude reputation almost plowed right over her.
“What brings you out here this evening?” She forced a smile but with the rumble in her belly, she knew his visit wasn’t what she’d classify as a social call.
Marshall Coe never bothered to answer. He took his own sweet time looking around her small cabin. One step here and another over there, he peeked into a bedroom before he climbed a short ladder located in the corner. He turned his head to the left and then snapped it to the right. He gave the place a good suspicious once-over.
With a huff, he inched back down the same way he went up. His gaze drifted over Emily with particular time spent at the neckline of her nightdress. She nervously tugged at the thin collar.
With a leap backwards, he leaned outside the cabin, careful to keep his hands on the doorframe. “Boys, they’ve been here. Come on in and let’s have a chat with Ms. Masterson.”
“Who are you talking about?” She didn’t raise her voice but the alarm sounded out when she hit a higher note. “No one has been here. No one at all.”
The other men traipsed inside and never bothered to wipe their feet. No one made eye contact or provided a polite introduction. The Marshall slammed the door so hard it shook and then nodded toward the men who joined him.
There were four of them, none looking particularly friendly. Two of them took her arms and quickly pinned them to the wall right beside her hips. The other two made themselves at home. One went through her personal things while the other disappeared into the narrow loft.
“Stop this! Please! Take your hands off me!”
One of the Marshall’s bandits smacked his lips while the other ran his index finger over her collarbone. “Coe, you were right. She’s just what I’ve been a wantin’.”
The Marshall’s lopsided smile made her stomach churn. He nodded and rolled back on the chair legs. He further studied her for himself. “Been havin’ all sorts of complaints in Central City.
“This one doesn’t know how we handle whores here in Colorado. Ain’t no way for a woman to know these things if she lives all the way out here in the middle of nowhere. She lives by her lonesome and waits for her no-good outlaws. Ain’t that right, Ms. Emily Masterson?”