Condemned

Chapter One

Laurel DeWalt sat alone by her campfire for the tenth straight day, the ache in her heart growing steadily by the minute. Her most recent lover had finished with her and sent her packing. It was different, yet was still in similar fashion as to how her husband, Arnold, had left her near Tumavaca three months earlier, only this time, she wasn't left penniless. Her pleading had worked on Rhett Coulson as she'd dropped her eyes to the ground, letting that one tear slide down her face. She looked back up at him, eyes moist and alluring, opened her mouth to speak, but when no sound emitted, he turned to walk into his house and returned with a pocket full of cash.

Rhett Coulson was a married man and had only entertained her while his wife was away visiting relatives. He had only just confessed that fact to Laurel when he received word his wife was on her way home. Laurel immediately despised him, telling him flat out that if he was any kind of man, he would leave his wife to be with her. But he wasn't man enough to do that, so he wasn't man enough for her.

As she rode away from him with her hand clasped firmly to the money, she kept repeating in her head how stupid and spineless he was. Just like Arnold. But then again, just like all the other men she'd toyed with in the last few years, except for maybe one. Yes, she knew without a doubt that there was one. Jess Harper.

Laurel added some fuel to the fire to get the flames going stronger. The night held a chill, but the loneliness made an iciness that only a man's arms could warm, but for now, the fire would have to do. She leaned back against a log, envisioning Jess Harper once again. He would reject her, she was certain, if she went to him. After all, he'd left her there alone outside Tumavaca with almost the same poignancy as Arnold had. He'd looked at her with those intense blue eyes that held a bitter glare that still made her shudder.

But there was something about Jess, not just his gorgeous looks that captivated her, it was his loyalty. He was a man that could be depended on, that's why when she found him at the relay station where he worked as she ran away from Arnold that she'd clung to him like he was her lifeline. Laurel had lied to him and had used him in every way she knew how to get what she wanted because she knew she had that power over him. It all would have worked if Arnold hadn't sent those men after them. Maybe Jess' deep, devoted loyalty would still be in effect now. There would be only one way to find out.

For now, however, she wasn't aiming for the Sherman Relay Station in Laramie where Jess lived, although a letter she had penned likely would soon be arriving there if it hadn't been delivered already. First, she was going to see Arnold and considering she figured she was only another day's travel away, she should meet up with him soon. There was a piece of unfinished business she had to settle with him. Once it was finished, she could finally be free to go after whatever man she chose without any leftover ties to keep her from getting what she truly wanted.

Laurel had many nights alone to think about what she needed, or more so, what she wanted, and her mind kept returning to Jess Harper. There was a time that she said she loved him, and then there was a time she hated him, but now, that emotion was back to the first, although to Laurel, true love didn't exist, but was more defined as lust. She wanted Jess and if she had her way, she would have him.

Jess wasn't stupid and spineless, despite how he treated her when he discovered her wickedness. He was honorable. He wasn't like Montero Rios or Rhett Coulson who didn't care that she was a married woman and even relished in the fact that they could conquer another man's wife. Jess had been torn with guilt, even in the midst of their intimacy, and in the end, had acted more on those feelings of his self and Arnold, than what he felt for her. If she really wanted to have Jess, to completely and wholly have him and have the same feelings returned, she would have to be a free woman. She had attempted to kill her husband before, but her shooting had been in haste and hadn't been accurate enough. She would plan it much more carefully next time. She had to, because she had to have Jess.

With a sigh, Laurel dropped her body lower to the ground, stretching her legs out in front of her. She was weary from what seemed like endless traveling from Rhett's ranch to get to the Diamond D and soon her eyes started to flutter close, but a sudden noise in the nearby brush had her eyes wide open as she waited for the intruder to come into sight. She didn't fear for long, since the man that entered her camp, although completely unexpected, was no stranger to her at all.

Laurel looked up at the man and smiled, but the expression wasn't returned. He looked at her, almost like she wasn't even there, the eyes were so cold, even cruel, but Laurel knew she had more that she could offer him than just a smile, even if he looked disinterested at the moment. Laurel had ways to change that, since she'd proven herself quite capable with many different men in the past. Laurel sat herself in an upright position, put the tip of her pinky finger in the corner of her mouth and chewed the nail slightly, as her eyes took in the man's entire body, reveling in his masculinity. Why not? After all, she had been so lonely all these days on the trail, but now she was no longer alone.

"I'm glad you're here," Laurel said, the words purring from her mouth in seductive notes.

There was no reply, although her guest took two steps closer to her and she took that as an acceptance to her open invitation. Laurel ran her hand through her long, golden hair and twirled it at the tips around her finger, as she barely glanced at the man enticingly through her thick lashes. She parted her lips, licking first the top, then the bottom, leaving a moist pout that no man in the past could resist. She then ran her finger around the top of her blouse that always cut down lower than most appropriate women wore, resting her finger on the top button, ready to spring it open. Laurel's breathing increased in excitement as the flames from the fire caught in her eyes matching the igniting blaze she felt in her core as she watched the man walk slowly towards her, knowing that her longings would soon be fulfilled.

Laurel raised her arms out to him, her smile spreading on her face. She looked up to see eyes that didn't share her passion, but she knew once their bodies touched, he'd find his ardor. The eagerness was there, she could sense it in his movements and she moved her body seductively to show him she was ready for him to claim her.

But what happened was not what she'd expected and came so suddenly, the shock wasn't registered on her face. A gun was pulled, aimed decisively, and then fired twice, sending Laurel flat on her back, gasping for air as the bullets did their damage.

"Never again," the man said through gritted teeth, "not ever again!"

The man gave one last scathing look at Laurel and then hurried his steps back into the bushes and was gone.