The first group of soldiers swept by Ty and then the MacKenzie brothers. Neither group broke pace. Not until the brothers were within sight of the larger Army column did they overtake Lucifer.
Knowing that it was finally safe, Ty slowed the stallion to a walk, stroked the mustang's lathered neck and praised him over and over. The biggest of the MacKenzie brothers reined in alongside.
"That's one hell of a horse you're riding. Am I to presume he's the fabled Lucifer?"
Ty's flashing grin was all the answer that was needed.
"Then that must be your famous silken lady riding postilion," the man said dryly.
Janna flinched and looked away from the tall rider's odd, golden-green eyes. She knew instantly that this man must be Ty's brother, for surely no two men could look so alike and be unrelated. Tall, powerful, dark haired-on first glance he was Ty's twin. A second glance showed the differences; a hardness of feature, a sardonic curl to the mouth, eyes that summarized what they saw with relentless pragmatism.
"Janna Wayland, meet Logan MacKenzie, my older brother," Ty said.
Janna's arms tightened around Ty's waist. She didn't speak or turn her face from its hiding place just below his shoulder blades.
"Sugar? You're all right, aren't you?"
"Yes," she said, her voice muffled. "Can we go back for Zebra?"
Logan's black eyebrows lifted at the husky, tantalizing, feminine voice issuing from such a disheveled creature.
"No. Cascabel won't keep running. He'll split his forces and double back to pick off scouts, stragglers or anything else he can get in his sights before the sun sets."
"But-"
"No," Ty said roughly, interrupting. Then, more gently, "I'm sorry, sugar. It's just too dangerous for you. Zebra will be all right. Mustangs are tough. They have to be. She was limping off to cover before you even got to your hands and knees."
"Zebra?" Logan asked mildly. "Were you keeping a zoo?"
When Janna didn't answer, Ty said, "Zebra is a mustang. Janna talked her into becoming a friend."
Logan gave Ty a slanting green glance. "'Talked her into it?"
"That's right, big brother. Talked. No ropes. No saddle. Not even a bridle or stirrups. Just those soothing hands and that sweet, husky voice promising all kinds of things…and then delivering each and every one of them."
Logan's eyes narrowed at the seething mixture of emotions he heard in Ty's voice-affection, anger, bafflement, passion.
"Seems she caught herself more than a zebra mustang that way," Logan muttered.
If Ty heard the statement, he ignored it.
A renewed clash of rifle fire came from behind. The second column of soldiers had just come within range of the fleeing renegades. A bugle's wild song rose above the sound of shots.
"Hope whoever is leading those soldiers knows his business," Ty said. "Cascabel had an ambush laid that would have wiped out the first column before reinforcements could arrive."
"So that's why the two of you came down like your heels were on fire. Case heard something and put the glass on the cliff. He knew right away it was you."
"Surprised Blue didn't spot me first. He's got eyes that would put an eagle to shame."
"Blue was talking with the lieutenant at the time, trying to convince the damned fool that we might be galloping into an ambush."
"And?"
"Blue was told that when the lieutenant wanted a breed's advice, he'd ask for it."
Ty shook his head in silent disgust. "Well, at least he'll keep Cascabel busy long enough for Janna to get clear. Cascabel made some strong vows on the subject of her hair."
Logan looked from his brother to the auburn-haired girl who had refused to face the MacKenzies after that first brief look. Logan remembered the flash of pain he had seen in Janna's face before she turned away. He reined back slightly, leaned over and slid his hand beneath her chin. Gently, firmly, he turned her face toward himself.
"Easy, little one," Logan said soothingly. "No one's going to hurt you. I just want to be sure you're all right. That was one hell of a header you took."
Reluctantly Janna turned toward Ty's older brother. Long, surprisingly gentle fingers touched the bruised spot on her cheek and the abrasion along her jaw.
"Feeling dizzy?" he asked.
"I'm all right. No double vision. No nausea. I didn't land hard enough to get a concussion."
"She knows what she's talking about," Ty said. "Her daddy was a doctor."
Black eyebrows rose again, then Logan smiled, softening the harshness of his face. "You'll do, Janna Wayland. You'll do just fine." He turned toward the other three riders. "Listen up, boys. This lady is Janna Wayland. Janna, the big one is Blue Wolf."
"Big one?" Janna asked, looking at the men surrounding her. "Are you implying that one of you is small?"
One of the riders tipped back his head and laughed, reminding her of Ty.
"The laughing hyena is Duncan," Logan said. "The dark-eyed, mean-looking one on the chestnut horse is Blue Wolf."
"Pleased to meet you, Janna Wayland," Blue Wolf said in educated tones, and his smile refuted the very idea of "mean." He tipped his hat to her and went back to scanning the countryside for danger.
"The quiet one is Case. He's the baby of the family."
Case nodded slightly to Janna. A single look at his pale green eyes told her that Case might have been the youngest in years but not in harsh experience. There was a darkness in him that transcended words. A wave of overwhelming sadness and compassion whirled up in Janna as she looked at Ty's youngest brother.
"Hello, Case," she said softly, as though she were talking to an untamed mustang.
Ty heard the emotion in Janna's words, smiled rather grimly to himself and said in a voice too low to carry to Case, "Save your sweetness for something that appreciates it, sugar. Except for blood family, Case has all the feelings of a stone cliff."
"Why?"
"The war."
"You went to war, too."
Logan looked over at Janna. "All the MacKenzie men fought," he said. "Case is the only one who won't talk about it. Not one word. Ever. Not even with Duncan, who fought at his side most of the time. Duncan doesn't talk much, either, but it's different somehow. He still laughs. Case doesn't." Logan shook his head. "Damned shame, too. Case used to have the most wonderful laugh. People would hear him and stop and stare and then smile, and pretty soon they'd be laughing, too. No one could resist Case. He had a smile like a fallen angel."
The clear regret on Logan's face changed Janna's opinion of him once more; despite his hard exterior, Logan was a man who cared deeply for his family. Rather wistfully, Janna wondered what it would have been like to grow up with that kind of warmth surrounding her. Her father had loved her, but in a rather distracted way, never really stopping to discover his daughter's needs and yearnings, always pursuing his own dreams and never asking about hers.
"What a sad smile," Logan said. "Is your family back there?"
"Where?"
"In Cascabel's territory."
"Not unless you could call Mad Jack family," Janna said. "Besides, he ran off rather than hang around and be dragged to the fort. He knew how mad we would be about the gold."
"Gold?" Logan asked, looking at Ty.
"More than a hundred pounds of it."
Logan whistled. "What happened?"
"He gave us half and we promised to take half to his kids."
"Where did you leave it?"
"We didn't," Janna said. "It's in those saddlebags in front of Ty."