Between the Marshal & the Vampire(2)

"It's a long train ride to Everton Fort," he said, his tone apologetic but with a glint in his eyes that belied his pleasure at having to spend so much time with her. "I'm sorry that you've been forced into this position and I admire you for handling the situation with the grace that you have."

Her lips twitched as she suppressed a smile. They both knew she hadn't accepted this trip with any grace at all.

"Most women I know would be too afraid to undertake this journey and help bring Rhody Beaufort to justice." He inclined his head at her with what she was mollified to see was genuine respect. "I'm indebted to you, as is the entire state of Mountain Sky, Miss Johnston. If it's within my power to make this journey—and my company—more bearable, I beg you to share it with me."

She doubted Marshal Carson had ever begged for anything. He'd undoubtedly been given everything he'd ever wanted. It was in stark contrast to her own life, in which she and her father had worked and struggled for everything. Maybe she was jealous, which was a sobering revelation. It wasn't Marshal Carson's fault that he'd had a comfortable, easy life.

Then again, if it was so easy, why had he become a Deputy Marshal of the Empire, one of the most dangerous occupations in the country? Maybe there's more to him than meets the eye, Mariel.

"I don't need anything from you, Marshal," she began.

"We're going to be traveling together for three weeks." He smiled. "We're going to be friends by the end so you may as well begin calling me Clay."

"Marshal, I didn't volunteer for this journey," she continued as if she hadn't heard. "I have a business to run. Every day that I'm here with you I'm losing money and money is scarce in Willowtown. All I want is to get through this ordeal as quickly and painlessly as possible so I can return to my life."

"I understand that, Miss Johnston, and you have my sympathies. But Rhody Beaufort is a man the Empire has been after for years now, and to finally have him in custody is a tremendous opportunity to break the crime network that's been running the length of Mountain Sky Territory. As the only living witness to his robbery of the Mint Hall Bank, your beautiful personage is the key to convicting him."

Mariel swallowed, but she refused to look away. "Because all the other witnesses are dead."

"Yes."

She gave him points for not shying from the truth.

"Killed by Rhody's gang."

A muscle rippled in his strong jaw. She could tell he wasn't happy with the plain fact. "I won't lie to you. His gang is motivated to keep him free. But those other witnesses weren't under the protection of the Marshals' service. They weren't watched over by me."

"You believe you're better than the other Marshals?"

He nodded soberly. "I know am. And I give you my word that I will get you to Everton Fort safely and return you to Willowtown to resume your life. That's my sworn duty and I will uphold it."

Mariel believed that he meant it—the Marshal had a very earnest and determined look about him when he wasn't trying to be charming—but she understood the danger very well. She was the key to ending a criminal network. She looked out the window, searching in vain for sight of the second Marshal who rode alongside the train by horseback. Would two guards be enough? Her gut feeling told her no.

"I'm the most important person in the world to Rhody right now," she said quietly. "If I were in his boots, I'd stop at nothing to kill me before I reached the fort."

She startled as a warm hand settled over her wrist. Clay's warm, brown gaze held her firmly.

"I won't allow anything to happen to you, Miss Johnston. I swear it on my life."

Mariel didn't want his life. She wanted her own back, but deep inside, she knew she wouldn't have been able to live with the knowledge that she'd allowed Rhody Beaufort to go free just because she didn't want to be inconvenienced. The gang leader was a terrible man, a known murderer and rapist. A lucky shot by one of the Mint Hall's bank guards, catching the gang leader in the thigh, was the only reason Rhody had been captured while the rest of his gang rode to freedom. And now she was the last of the bank's customers on that fateful day who could testify against him.

It wasn't any sort of an honor and, truth be told, she was afraid.

"I won't let him hurt you," Clay insisted. There was nothing playful at all about him. In fact, there was something dark in those whiskey-colored eyes that suggested the handsome Marshal had done terrible deeds in the past and had been scarred by them. He wasn't just a pretty face. He was a hardened law enforcement agent with the kind of experience beneath his belt that made even the most cynical and fearful person feel safe. To Mariel's surprise, because she'd told herself from the beginning of the trip that she would only tolerate the man, she felt comforted by his presence. Maybe, just maybe, she would survive this thing.

"I'm—I'm glad it's you," she heard herself say, and she meant it. Certainly there were worse ways to travel across the territory than with such a handsome and capable man by her side. Maybe it wouldn't hurt to let down her guard a little with him. After all, their acquaintance would be short. When again would she be able to share such intimate company with a man like this? At least for the time it took to travel to Everton, Mariel would be the focus of the Marshal's world. It was…rather nice, when put that way.