Page 67 of A Dangerous Heart
Clare took aim.
“No!” But Isaac’s warning came too late. She fired. Victor jerked but spurred his horse into a gallop. Within seconds, Victor and Eli were gone.
Chapter 17
Isaac stood motionless, his eyes locked on the far-off horizon where Victor had disappeared.
Isaac!
Eli’s desperate plea echoed in his mind.
He turned at Clare’s frustrated cry. Her hands shook as she desperately tugged at the leather straps, trying to unhitch the horse from the wagon. Bullet’s massive frame shuddered, and the horse exhaled with an agitated snort. He should help her, but the adrenaline that had furiously pumped through his veins a moment ago had drained out, leaving him powerless. It had happened again. Played out a little differently, but the result was still the same. He’d failed Eli.
Clare whirled around to face him. “Why are you just standing there?” she demanded, tears streaming down her cheeks. “We have to get Eli back. We can’t let him take Eli.”
Isaac drew in a long breath, shoved his palms into his eye sockets. Red and black spots danced before his eyes. He dropped his arms to his sides. She wasn’t thinking straight.
“We can’t go after him,” he said. “Victor has at least four men with him. You said yourself, Quade’s men are in on this too. There are too many.”
She turned her back on him. But not before he saw the fire in her eyes and the resolute set of her jaw. This was the Clare who had fired on her own brother, who was angry and desperate to get Eli back.
He stepped toward her, needing to find a way to get through to her.
“Clare, if we go after Eli, Victor will try to kill us. Maybe his men will finish the job. Then who will be here for Ben?”
She ignored him, still fumbling with that strap. His eyes went to the gun she’d tucked in the back of her skirt waist. If only he could have taken the shot at Victor when he’d had it.
Suddenly her shoulders slumped. She let out a muffled sob that ripped his gut.
“Clare…”
Whirling, she rushed at him. “Stop standing there!” she railed. “Stop looking at me as if I’m out of my mind!” One fist beat against his chest. “I know you’ve lost trust in me. I don’t care. Help me get Eli back.”
“We need to go back to the main house,” he said. Victor had meant that threat against the family. Isaac was sure of that much.
“Do something!”
She was shattering, and there was nothing he could do to help her. He stood there, rigid and silent, and let her pound her fists against his heart.
She collapsed against him, forehead against his chest, sobs racking her slim body. He clasped her shoulders but couldn’t bear to hold her closer.
“I can’t. Clare…I can’t save him,” he choked out. He wasn’t her hero. He closed his eyes against the scene that played in his head. The street, the blood. This time it was Eli who lay unmoving.
You killed him.
“I should have known Victor would come here,” he said in a rough whisper.
And now his failure would put the whole family in danger. He should have stayed away—never come home. Never married Clare. He wasn’t like Drew or Ed. He wasn’t a man who could nurture and protect a family.
The sound of horses’ hooves drummed in the crisp air, and Drew and Ed eased into the clearing.
“We heard the shots!” Drew said as he reined in. “What happened?”
Clare turned from Isaac, arms around her middle, holding herself together. “Victor was here. He snatched Eli.”
Ed’s eyes flew to Isaac. His mouth was tight, but his eyes held compassion. Isaac cut his gaze away. He didn’t deserve it.
“Victor knows Ben’s at the main house,” Clare said.
