Chained Apache Woman Begged Him to Do Anything — The Cowboy Did the Unexpected Thing
Chapter 5
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"I said no. To the marriage, to the alliance, to being treated like property to be traded. And my father..." She touched her swollen face gingerly. "...he doesn't take no well. Neither does the family I was supposed to marry into.""So they did this? Your own family?""My father's men did the beating. The Carver family—that's who I was promised to—they ordered me chained to your fence. A message to me, to my father, to anyone who might think about crossing them.""What kind of message?""That I'm worthless now, ruined. That I chose wrong and this is the consequence."Caleb felt something cold settle in his chest. He'd seen evil in the war: men who killed for sport, who tortured for pleasure. But there was something especially dark about this kind of calculated cruelty."How long were you out there?""Three days, maybe four. I lost track.""And they just left you?""They brought water once—enough to keep me alive, not enough to give me strength. I think they wanted me to suffer as long as possible before I died.""But why my fence?"She shrugged and immediately regretted it, pain flashing across her face. "Remote, unlikely to be found quickly. And when someone did find me, it would be a warning to them, too: This is what happens when you cross the Vances or the Carvers. Stay out of it.""Well," Caleb said, moving to the stove to heat up some broth, "I never was good at following warnings.""You're insane.""Possibly. But you're alive, and that counts for something." He poured the broth into a tin cup and brought it to her. "Drink this, slow. You haven't eaten in days. Your stomach won't handle much."She took the cup with shaking hands and sipped carefully. "You still don't understand what you've done.""Then explain it to me.""By freeing me, you've made yourself part of this. You've taken a side, whether you meant to or not. The Carvers will see it as an insult. My father will see it as interference. And both of them..." She took another sip. "...both of them have the resources and the ruthlessness to make you disappear.""Let them try.""You say that now. But you haven't met them, haven't seen what they're capable of."Caleb pulled a chair over and sat beside the bed. "I've seen plenty. And I've learned that running from bad men just means they catch you from behind. Better to face them head-on.""That's not courage. That's suicide.""Maybe. But it's my suicide to commit."She studied him again, that intensity returning to her gaze. "You're serious. You actually intend to fight them.""If it comes to that.""It will come to that. The only question is when.""Then I'll be ready when it does."Ayla shook her head slowly. "You're either the bravest man I've ever met or the stupidest.""Can't it be both?"Despite everything—the pain, the fear, the hopelessness—she smiled. Just a little, just for a second, but it was there."I don't understand you, Caleb Roark.""That makes two of us." He stood and moved to the window, looking out into the darkness. "Get some rest. We'll figure out the next step in the morning."