The Outlaw and the Lady Read Online Free Page A

studied the cards she’d laid out. Red. Black. Red. Black. Red. Black. The ones showing were in order. Queens on top of kings. Jacks on top of queens. “How do you manage to do that when you cannot see?” he asked, mystified.
    “My father marked the deck and taught me how to read it.”
    He raised a brow. “So your influential father is knowledgeable in the ways of cheating.”
    “He’s a gambler. Right now, I imagine he’s wagering on whether or not you’ll beg for mercy before he kills you.”
    Anger rolled through him. “I do not beg, señorita . Not for any man or any thing.”
    She angled her chin and, with irritating calm, moved a card. “We’ll see.”
    Her hands weren’t even shaking. How could she not be terrified? She was the captive of the notorious Lee Raven, and she acted as though she were merely attending a Sunday afternoon picnic. Although he wanted only to instill terror in Shelby’s heart, he thought this woman should show him a measure of respect and have a slight tremor in her voice. But no, she exhibited no signsof fear…but then, what did a person who lived in darkness fear? The light?
    He touched her hand. With a grimace, she snatched it back. He barely acknowledged the insult because to do otherwise would force him to open himself up to hurt, and that he could not afford to do. “I have some food for you.”
    “I’m not hungry.” She placed the four of spades on the five of hearts.
    He sighed deeply with frustration. “You need to eat, señorita .”
    “I need to go home.”
    “I will take you home. Just not today.”
    She closed her eyes as though to shut out the world. He wondered why she did that when she couldn’t see. She opened her eyes. Such a brilliant green. It was a sin that they could not see the beauty that surrounded them. “What were you doing walking the streets at midnight?” he asked quietly.
    “None of your business.”
    He set the plate on her lap. “Eat. If you do not, I will. I would think you would prefer I know hunger rather than the satisfaction of a full belly.”
    He watched as she set the cards aside before gingerly touching her fingers to the plate, searching cautiously until she found a strip of meat. She brought it to the most luscious mouth he’d ever seen. He imagined her smile, how glorious it would look. And how she would never know.
    “Stop staring at me,” she ordered.
    “How do you know I’m staring?”
    “Because I didn’t hear you leave and there’s nothing else to look at.”
    “You are wrong, señorita . There are many things to gaze at: the sky, the trees, and the mockingbird in the nest with her babies.”
    “Three babies,” she said, while a small smile played at the corner of her mouth.
    Something unfamiliar tightened in his chest. “How do you know there are three?”
    “Am I right?” she asked hopefully, and even if she were wrong, at that moment, he knew he would have lied.
    “ Sí .”
    “Each one sounds a little different.”
    “They sound the same to me.”
    “Because your world is bigger than mine,” she said without any self-pity. She slipped another strip of meat into her mouth.
    “What is your name?” he asked.
    She hesitated, and he could see the battle raging as, like him, she tried to determine how much she could reveal and still remain safe. “Angela Bainbridge.”
    “Angela,” he murmured, testing it out. Something flickered in his mind. “Angel.”
    Her good humor fled. “Don’t call me that.”
    “But you look like an angel.”
    “I’m not an angel.”
    “You are right. You may look like one, but you do not sound like one. You have a temper.”
    She scoffed. “I was abducted. I think I have a right to be angry.”
    “You have the right to be angry, but not stupid.You must realize that you have no choice but to come with us.”
    “I can stay right here and take my chances.”
    He dug his elbows into his thighs and clasped his hands into an aching grip. “With us you will not be