Page 32 of The Bastard Heir
Bennett smiled and it looked gruesome. His teeth were red with blood and some trickled out the corner of his mouth. “You won’t find him until he’s ready.”
There was movement behind Castillo on his left side. Bennett raised his gun in a weak grip, but could barely get it off the ground to fire. Hunter didn’t even flinch as he came up beside Castillo. A moment later, Zane came up on his other side, drawing Bennett’s attention.
“How do the whores like the scar I gave you, savage?”
“Hasn’t had much effect,” Zane deadpanned.
Hatred flashed in Bennett’s eyes. “I should’ve killed you for what you did to her.” Whatever else he might have said was cut off by a series of deep coughs as he struggled not to suffocate in the blood.
Zane tensed. One look at his face and Castillo knew he was cursing the fact that Bennett’s death was depriving him of the retribution he’d planned. All those nights they’d spent out under the stars, eating their dinner around a fire and planning revenge, and this was how it ended for Zane. The man who’d cut his face, the man who’d taunted him and said that he’d rather see his own sister dead than married to a “half-breed savage” was now dying.
“Christine came to me, Bennett. She loved me,” Zane said, a muscle ticking in his jaw.
Blood flowed from Bennett’s mouth now, far more than the earlier trickle, but still he managed to spew his hatred as he slumped over, too weak to stay upright. “She’s married now—” his words were interrupted with a watery cough “—to a decent man.” His eyes fluttered and he coughed again. “Doesn’t change the fact that she’s a whore.”
Zane clenched his jaw so tight, Castillo could hear his teeth grinding. Bennett had found Zane and his sister together one night. They’d nearly come to blows, but Bennett hadn’t stood a chance against Zane’s bigger size. When Derringer had come back to burn down the hacienda, Bennett had come with him, intending to kill Zane. He’d only been able to disfigure him.
Castillo looked over at his friend, but a flash of movement from the corner of his eye caught his attention. Bennett had raised his gun in a surprisingly steady and strong grip and was pointing it at Zane. Before Castillo could adjust his aim and pull the trigger, a shot rang out.
The shot came from so close, it filled the air with the acrid burn of the ignition. Bennett’s eyes went blank and he slumped onto the ground. Zane didn’t say a word as he holstered his gun. Castillo rested his hand on Zane’s shoulder. “Let’s go get Derringer. Then it’ll be over.” Zane nodded and they made their way to their horses, ready to follow the trail of dust, hoping it was Derringer. Bennett’s words weighed heavily on Castillo’s mind.
Chapter Thirteen
It was nearing midnight by the time Castillo and Hunter made their way to the salon where piano music was being played by the deft hands of Mrs. Bonham. They’d only just returned, and Castillo was in no mood for socializing, but it couldn’t be helped. They were late, their plans to return by supper waylaid by the shootout. Hunter had said his mother and Carolina’s mother were due to arrive today along with another family, so it would be suspicious if he was absent. Emmy could put them off with the lie of an unexpected business meeting in Helena for only so long.
Castillo had been awake for almost twenty-four hours, and nearly all of those had been spent in the saddle. He couldn’t remember if he’d eaten anything aside from that hasty breakfast before taking watch before dawn, but his hunger had long since turned into an empty ache that had moved up to settle in his chest. Four more men, including Bennett, were dead today because of his quest for vengeance. In the past he’d consoledhimself with the knowledge that the dead were bad men and his vengeance had saved them from wreaking havoc on the world.
Somehow that reasoning wasn’t working tonight.
Tonight he simply felt angry, frustrated and uncertain, when he’d been so damn sure for so long that the path he walked was the righteous one. Even thinking of the hacienda, eventually rebuilt in all its splendor, didn’t help alleviate the doubt creeping up on him. Would it be worth the cost? The cost to his soul? His pulse galloped when he thought of Carolina, but he forced himself to stay calm. She was a hope that was out of reach. That life wasn’t for him.
Despite their giving chase, the lone rider had disappeared, or so it seemed. Castillo and Hunter had come back to the ranch to figure out what Bennett’s cryptic words meant.
Hunter pushed the double doors to the salon open, and Castillo instinctively reached out to push the left one, but grimaced when the movement tugged at his bullet wound. He’d taken a look at it during his hasty bath, but hadn’t been able to dress it. And he was pretty certain he’d opened it up when he’d shrugged into his coat, but hadn’t had time to see to it with Hunter knocking on his door. It didn’t matter. He’d stay downstairs for half an hour, long enough to meet everyone, and then he’d head upstairs to bed. Warm, wet blood trickled down his arm beneath his coat and he modified the timeline. Perhaps a quarter hour would be enough time to say hello.
The music kept playing, but Tanner saw them as soon as they entered and called out to them. Emmy rose from the chair at his side, “Hunter! Castillo!” She hurried over to greet them, her face a beacon of relief and happiness as she tried to hug Hunter as if he’d just come back from a business meeting and not a brush with death. Her fingers tightened around him, though, in a white-knuckled grip. Castillo murmured a greeting, but his gaze sought one person. He found her perched on a settee nearthe piano holding a glass of wine and talking with one of the newcomers.
Carolina. She was perfect in a dark blue gown with her golden hair done up in soft curls. She belonged here in a room just like this, with soft music and fine things. Not back at his hacienda surrounded by decay and failure. Their eyes met. She didn’t smile or offer a greeting, but her direct gaze nearly leveled him. Her brow furrowed as she looked him over, as if she knew the hell that had been his day. It seemed as if she could see so much more than everyone else. A part of him wanted to go to her and confess everything that had happened, to bring her into his world. But he couldn’t put her in danger.
Tanner drew his attention and introduced him to his wife, Isabelle. She gave him a cold, blue stare, barely managing to utter a greeting or give a tilt of her head. Castillo could only imagine how awkward the encounter was for her, but the way she looked at him reminded him that he didn’t belong here. Not really. He wasn’t one of them. No matter how he dressed, his life would set him apart.
Kathleen Hartford was next, Carolina’s mother. The woman was shorter than her daughter, with a pleasantly plump face, and she smiled at him warmly. Castillo looked carefully, but he didn’t see anything of Carolina in her features. He couldn’t help but remember the breakfast conversation from the day before, and only barely managed to restrain himself from asking her why she was being so unreasonable when it came to Carolina’s profession.
Next were a Mr. and Mrs. Cunningham, some distant relatives on the Hartford side, and their two adult sons, one of whom had brought a wife—the woman Carolina was talking to. He said hello to them all, and social custom dictated that he greet Carolina as well. “Good to see you again, Miss Hartford. How are you this evening?”
He wanted to drag her out to the porch and ask her, while he smoothed out the worried furrow between her brows with his lips, How are you? Did I take too much last night? Can I hold you and pretend that things are different?
“Good to see you again, Mr. Jameson.” She offered him a small smile, a social smile that didn’t reach her eyes. “I’m doing well. How are you?” Her gaze flicked down to the still noticeable cut under his eye from where Johnson had punched him. Thankfully, it hadn’t bruised too much. Then she took in the rest of his body in a glance that was so fast no one seemed to notice. But she didn’t look reassured when she met his gaze again.
Castillo wouldn’t lie to her, not anymore, but he couldn’t tell her everything that had happened. “Well enough,” he said, instead.
Come with me, Carolina. Come and let me hold you.
Did she regret her decision to call off their plan? Had she missed him today? Damn. He was tired if he was wondering if she’d missed him. It didn’t matter. She was too sensible to become besotted with him, while he, apparently, wasn’t sensible enough. He wondered if she’d mentioned anything to Prudence, and his gaze shifted to the older woman who sat in the chair adjacent to the settee. She didn’t bother to smile at him and just raised a disapproving brow. Apparently, her niece had explained that he wouldn’t be a suitor to her anymore. He’d probably hear an earful once Prudence could get him into a corner alone.
With a final nod, he moved to the table next to the open double doors that led out to the porch and poured himself a whiskey. Now that exhaustion was setting in, his shoulder was starting to throb. It had pained him the entire ride, but the movement had kept him distracted. The liquid warmed his belly as it went down, so he went ahead and poured himself another, hoping the next one would dull the edges of the pain.
“Are you hurt?”
