Unexpected Hope (Book 2 in the Red Valley series)

Chapter 27

"Please let me go. I promise I won't tell anyone anything. Just please let me off at the next stop."

Philip looked over at the woman lying on his bed as the train clacked down the track. It had been less than a day and already she had pushed his patience to the limit. "Fine, if you will just shut up!" He got up and walked over to the bed removing his silk robe as he went. Even with this woman begging to be let go, he could still see the lust for his body in her eyes. That only excited him more.

He had not allowed her to dress, and had kept her hands tied since the first time he'd had her. Within seconds he began to take the whore. He had thought about keeping her a little longer, but he couldn't help himself. The tension was building in his body, begging to be released. Her hands were still tied behind her back, so it was easy for him to slide his fingers around her throat and squeeze until she passed out.

Unlike the last three times he'd had her, once she was unconscious; he continued the pressure until his release consumed him just as her last breath left her lungs. It was really almost a pity to kill her, she seemed to like sex the same way that he did, hard, fast, and violent. But in the end, she was just a whore and they were a dime a dozen. He rolled over onto his back, panting as he stared at the glossy wood ceiling.

He found her! By God he found her! He knew he would, it was just a matter of time. His hands itched to beat her for what she'd put him through. After he married her, she wouldn't be able to leave the room without his permission. His only concern was about the man she had married and the brat she was carrying. Fury coursed through him as he thought about what that man had taken from him. He should have been the first and only man to ever touch her! He had to have her though, there was just something about her, and now no other woman would do. At least he would be able to get a virgin from Miguel Gonzales any time he wanted a new one.

As for as the man Hope was married to and the child she carried, well, he was feeling generous. He would give her a choice, she could divorce the man and leave the child, or he would simply kill them. Then, after the two of them were on their way back to Savannah, he would have them killed. A deep rumble of laughter erupted from his chest, filling the silence of the room.

He turned his head to see the whore still sprawled out on his bed. Jumping to his feet, he slid back into his robe, then picked up her lifeless body, throwing it over his shoulder. He then opened the door at the back of his rail car. Philip stepped out onto the platform, tossing her over the railing. In the dusk, he could see her creamy body bounce and roll along in the grass beside the train tracks. Excitement filled his body all over again. God, he loved killing!

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Levi had decided not to send one of his men to talk with Andy. This was something he wanted to do himself. He left Hope asleep in their bed and instructions to have breakfast taken up to her a little later. Ellie was in the kitchen with Claire cooking when he left.

The ride to town went faster than usual. Levi's mind was spinning in a million different directions. All he could think about was the man at the diner yesterday. Was the man someone Hope knew? Was it the man she was to have married? Was it someone who knew her former fiancé? It hadn't bothered him that Hope had lost her memory, until now. He may have to hire a Pinkerton to go back to Savannah and do a little digging. Hope had never mentioned the other man's name to him, but now he really felt like it was time he learned as much as he could. They just had too much to lose.

As Levi rode in to town, he immediately noticed a commotion around the hotel. He pulled his horse up to the jail. Wrapping the reins around the hitching rail, he jumped on the boardwalk and headed into the jail. Just before he touched the door knob, his name was called out behind him. Levi turned to see Andy trotting across the street coming towards him.