Page 38 of A Whiskey River Princess

Dirk looked between them in disbelief.

Colton looked only at Gabriella, his eyes filled with concern. “Are you all right, miss?”

She nodded nervously and then her shoulders slumped in defeat. “Yes, I am. Thank you for coming to my rescue.”

Dirk stood with his mouth open in disbelief.

Colton didn’t notice. “How did you get away from them?”

Gabriella sighed. “I waited until they fell asleep and then I ran through the woods….” She looked over at Dirk. “Until I quite literally fell at Dirk’s door. He found me and took me in. He saved my life.”

Dirk seemed to recover himself. “Actually, Buster found her.”

Gabriella smiled sheepishly. “I stumbled onto Dirk’s porch and collapsed. Buster found me and pawed at the door until Dirk came.”

Colton smiled. “Well, I’m glad you’re okay. I was so worried. Daxton and I’ve been working with the U.S. Marshal in Laramie to try and find you and your kidnappers, but I didn’t get a good enough look at them.” He placed his hand on her arm and gestured toward the sheriff’s office. “Would you mind giving us a description and looking through some Wanted posters to identify them?”

Gabriella looked up at Dirk. A look of disappointment clouded his features, but he nodded. “Yes, I’d be glad to,” she answered as she took his arm and let him guide her toward the sheriff’s office. Gabriella heard Dirk’s footsteps crunch in the snow as he followed behind, but she didn’t dare look back at him, not wanting to see the disappointment in his eyes again. She should have told him before he found out like this. The last thing she wanted was to hurt him. It would have been better coming from her.

Colton led her across the street and opened the door to the sheriff’s office. Inside, a man with dark brown hair was sitting at a desk and rose to his feet. “Colton?”

“Daxton, do you remember the girl I told you about that was kidnapped in Laramie?” Colton’s eyebrows raised.

The sheriff nodded as his eyebrows pulled together in concern. “Is this her?”

Colton nodded. “This is—”

“Gabriella,” she supplied as she extended her hand, palm down out of habit.

Daxton shook it as he looked at her in disbelief. “It’s a pleasure. How did you escape?”

“It’s a long story,” Colton supplied. “She agreed to give us a description of the men and to look through some sketches and Wanted posters.”

Daxton was quick to hold the chair for her to sit down at his desk. “Yes, please sit down. Did you get a good look at them?”

She nodded. “Yes, and so did Dirk.”

Daxton looked quickly at Dirk, who was expressionless.

“But he didn’t know it,” Gabriella quickly added. “The next day after Dirk found me, the men knocked on his door and told him that they were in search of their sister who wandered off.”

Daxton’s eyebrows pulled together in concern. “Why did they kidnap you?”

Gabriella let out a deep breath but sat up straight in an effort to maintain her composure. She looked up at Dirk, but his expression was cold. “They wanted to hold me for ransom. My family is very rich.” She didn’t want to tell them how rich just yet and there was no point in telling them that she was a princess. For the moment, she just wanted to be treated as normally as possible.

“Did they succeed?” Daxton asked.

She shook her head. “No, they didn’t have enough time to send a telegraph to demand it.”

Daxton let out an exaggerated breath. “Very well, then. Here are some Wanted posters. Tell me if you recognize them. Do you know their names?”

She nodded. “Yes, but just their first names. Harley, Blake, and Clayton. They never said their last names.”

Daxton’s eyes opened wide in recognition. “Not the Dougherty Boys!” Daxton flipped through some Wanted posters and pulled one out and laid it on the desk. “Do you recognize any of these men?”

A chill ran through her body. For staring up at her from the Wanted poster lying flat on the desk before her… were the faces of her captors. “Yes, these are the men.”

She felt Dirk looking over her shoulder.

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