Unlawfully Yours

Chapter VIII



Paul was beginning to think they had vanished into thin air as he climbed the trail he had reached a while ago. When he got at the top, he almost went on, but something told him to look a little closer at the surroundings. Cautiously, he went to the cave that Cole and Phoebe had found earlier and the spectacle they made had him frown unhappily. They hadn't lost any time, he was thinking to himself, as he walked slowly toward them. At this point, Cole and Phoebe were both asleep in each other's arms and had not bothered to cover themselves. He guessed that the body heat had been more than enough to keep them warm he thought with a slight hint of envy. "She's truly remarkably pretty," he couldn't help thinking before he cleared his throat loudly.

His first try didn't get him any result, short of a slight movement on Cole's part. Coming closer, he practically barked in his ears:

"Hey!"

Cole almost jumped out of his skin, barely realizing that he was in fact naked at this point. On the other hand, he quickly thought of Phoebe's undressed state and eyed the newcomer unhappily as he brought the blanket over her. Only then did he speak, while Phoebe stirred at last.

"Well, took you long enough," Cole uttered uneasily.

"Hum, from where I stand, it doesn't seem like you missed me much…You know that if I'd been Reggie, you'd both be roasting on a stick by now. Maybe, he'd have her for supper…"

Cole couldn't help noticing the stare Paul was giving Phoebe and it irritated him even more. He was about to serve him a well felt comment about it, but Phoebe beat him to it with a wry remark.

"So McKail, I'm guessing that you haven't had a chance to dip it too much lately…?"

The comment actually made both men uneasy, and Paul kept his eyes on her, mostly to prove that she didn't bother him.

"Always the sweetheart, aren't we? Why don't I give you time to put a pair of… before I fill you in…not literally," Paul added with a smirk before he went out of the cave.

Cole turned unhappily toward Phoebe.

"Do you really have to be so blunt?"

"Hey baby, I may like to be with you, but I still can defend myself, thank you. Besides, you didn't seem to find my bluntness so unpleasant until now," she added, as she pushed the blanket away and stood up to lean against him. "Now did you," she purred.

"Hum," he simply uttered, already feeling the need for her that only Paul's presence outside the cave prevented him from acting upon. He still wrapped his arms around her; simply pleased to feel her there. For a while, before he had let himself drift to sleep out of sheer exhaustion, Cole had feared that she wouldn't be there when he woke up.

Phoebe obviously had an inkling about that because she looked up with a teasing smile and said:

"Hey…by the way, if you'd held me any tighter earlier, I'd have choked…I'm not going anywhere…at least for now," she added belatedly, reawakening his feeling of unease.

Cole wanted to question her about her feelings. He knew that was selfish, but the simple thought of not being with her was almost unbearable. Before he could however, she stopped him by gently pressing her fingers against his lips.

"Please baby, let's just enjoy what we have now…"

She saw the frown forming and wished that she could reassure him. However, there was no way she could make any long term plans; no matter how much she truly wished it was possible. There was too much that he didn't know, and even more that stood between them. For a short instant, she almost regretted giving in to those emotions, as it would have been so much simpler otherwise.

"Phoebe," he still tried, but she closed the gap between them and her lips came to replace her fingers, silencing him with a languorous kiss. "Please, Cole," she whispered afterward, "don't spoil it…"

He nodded half-heartedly and let her go with even more reluctance, wishing they were alone again.

When Paul came back, he found them clothed, but he also thought that Cole seemed sullen. Paul didn't ask about it right away, but he promised himself to see if he could use this to his advantage later. The fact that Phoebe and Cole had grown so close, so fast, made him uncomfortable. Paul knew that Phoebe didn't trust him… and much more than this, that he couldn't trust her at all. He also was aware that the next couple of days would be perilous for all of them; and if he couldn't count on either one, it would only make things worse.

"So," Cole interrupted his train of thought, "what happened?"

Paul summarized for them what had happened on the trail, and then told them of his plan.

"Hum, and you really think Reggie is gonna fall for it?" Phoebe questioned dubiously.

"I'm sure that one more push in the right direction will be enough. He's already half convinced as it is…"

"He didn't look like the gullible sort to me," Cole intervened.

"The circumstances are on our side. Trust me on this, in a few hours we'll be back on track and all the closer to find the gold…"

"Hope you're right…meanwhile, it still leaves the little detail of how you're gonna get around them and back without leaving a trail…"

"Leave that to me…We've done ok so far. I'm sure our luck's gonna hold." Paul replied confidently. "It's already dark, so it's time for me to go. Good thing I tore more than one piece of that fabric and kept it with me…once again, it should send them on a false trail…"

Paul immediately got up to leave.

"What's to keep you from leaving us behind?" Phoebe questioned suspiciously.

Cole glanced curiously at her. He had not even considered this possibility.

"Don't worry your pretty little head, Halliwell…even if I didn't think that I'm gonna need some help on this trek… I'd still prefer to keep my eyes on you than leave you behind to stab me in the back. Besides I'm leaving the horses with you… so I'll be back for them…"

Phoebe sneered, but neither she nor Cole added anything more before Paul went out into the night. However, after he was gone, Cole turned to Phoebe.

"Won't he risk breaking his neck in the dark like this," Cole questioned absently. By then, his main concern was Paul's suspicion of her, but he wasn't ready to confront her directly about it.

"He'll be fine…I wouldn't be surprised if he could see in the dark like a cat." Then she grimaced irritably. "He's just as treacherous as they are too…"

"I'm guessing you're not a cat person?" Cole tried to joke.

Phoebe answered very seriously this time.

"I'm not an anything person, Cole. I trust only myself," she declared.

She realized too late how it had sounded and the hurt on his face told her that she might have been too blunt this time.

"Sorry, I meant…"

"Don't bother; I know what you meant…I guess that you only relied on yourself for most of your life… so it's understandable…"

"Cole…"

Cole gathered her in his arms then, and pursued quickly:

"But you don't have to anymore. I'll help you with whatever it is that you wanna do."

"Maybe it's time for me to tell you exactly what that is," Phoebe said then.

"Yeah," Cole trailed, suddenly unsure.

Phoebe saw his uncertain attitude… but she hoped that it would help with what she had to say next. Mostly, she hoped that he was truthful when he said he'd do anything for her. She had to admit that his arms around her felt reassuring. She really wished that she didn't have to risk alienating him…yet, her goal was way too important for her not to risk it.

"Cole," she said again, while caressing his chest softly, "I know that you won't like what I've got to say, but trust me on this…if I didn't believe that I was right, I wouldn't say it…"

"What are you talking about," he questioned while looking directly at her with a frown.

"It's about McKail…"

"What about him?" Cole questioned again pointedly while the frown deepened.

Phoebe understood that she would have to be very convincing.

"Look, there are things you don't know about me and about McKail…"

"That's an understatement," Cole said, very circumspectly.

Phoebe pulled away from him and went to sit on the blanket still stretched on the cave floor. Then she indicated a spot beside her, inviting him to join her. However, Cole stood back this time, watching her with obvious wariness. Phoebe grimaced, apparently uncertain before she finally spoke again.

"I might've left some things out of our conversations…but that's because I didn't know what you truly were or wanted. I still don't…" she said while looking up questioningly.

"I told you," Cole replied although with a hint of hesitation, "I came here for the gold…but things have changed slightly…"

"They have?" She seemed surprised.

"Yes, they have," Cole affirmed then. "I…it doesn't seem so important anymore…"

"I'm so glad to hear that," Phoebe exclaimed, actually astounding Cole.

"What? I thought that everything you did was for the gold as well… wasn't it?"

"There's more to it than that…"

This time, Cole came to sit by her, obviously intrigued.

"Then by all means, enlighten me…"

"How can I be sure that I can trust you?"

Without hesitation, he grabbed her and kissed her deeply, with as much passion as he had showed earlier. When his lips left hers, she was slightly out of breath.

"Because you matter a lot more to me than any gold…"

She smiled uneasily, again wishing that things were simpler.

"Alright, I believe you… Well, you've got to know that McKail is really a Wells Fargo's hired man. He's at the head of a group of men who have been protecting the company's holdings for quite a while…"

"So in short, he's a law man? How is that supposed to make him untrustworthy?"

Phoebe stared at him curiously then. She had already surmised that he wasn't an outlaw per say. Still, his primary goal had presumably been to steal the gold from Reggie, or so she had assumed. Now, she wasn't too certain anymore…

"Well, yeah…but that doesn't make him a choir boy…far from. See, a while back, I was scrounging again for a living in a brothel…well you know that already," she added when she saw his displeased expression. Yet, this time he didn't comment.

"Ok, so during that time, I came into contact with Reggie… and when he was rumoured to be frequenting the place, McKail and his men got wind of it…They were never able to see him, but one of the girls who didn't care enough about her health talked…"

"What could Reggie do to her?"

"You mean what he did," Phoebe replied darkly… "When they found her, let's just say that her pussy had been enlarged considerably. I always thought afterward that Reggie sent Carl after her. Both her breasts had been bitten savagely by human teeth… and then he cut her from front to back while she was still alive, Cole… She bled to death like this in the desert near Prescott…"

Cole's stomach twisted in his abdomen from utter disgust. He thought he would throw up at the horrible image.

"Oh my god…" Then he turned to her incredulously.

"How could you risk going with them knowing that?"

"I had strong motivations, Cole. I told you, I don't wanna owe anything to anyone, and I wanna make something of my life…so, when McKail came to me, he had a suggestion that could satisfy my need for retaliation and give me a chance to be independent at last."

"I don't understand…if you're not after the money…"

"I'm after the reward…and the promise that they will never come after me again."

"Didn't you pay for whatever crime you committed?"



Phoebe chuckled unhappily.

"Do you really think that it would stop a guy like McKail? If I hadn't helped him, they would've thrown me back in jail on some pretext and then…I could never have…"

There she stopped short and looked away.

"What is it," Cole questioned her as she kept silent

"I don't think you'd understand," Phoebe replied reluctantly.

"I want to…in fact I need to, Phoebe. If you want my help, I need you to tell me everything…"

Paul saw the signs of their camp when he was halfway down the slope. He hurried toward the desert floor; took off his boots and picked up a large dry twig before making his way around their camp and deeper into the desert. He walked for almost thirty minutes, zigzagging as if he had been unsure of his direction. There, he found a small rock mound with a few sharp edges. He put one of the blanket's pieces there, and even scratched the wound he'd inflicted on himself back at their camp to smear the rock and blanket with fresh blood. Then, he went on walking for another long distance, throwing himself heavily in the sand a few times, as if from exhaustion, leaving smears of blood there as well. Only when he was certain that Reggie would be absolutely convinced of her flight did he finally turn around, thankful to be able to don his boots again as his feet felt raw. Cautiously, he made a beeline while dragging the twig behind him and finally made his way back toward the mountain. All the while, he worried some more about what Phoebe might be planning to do. He resolved to keep a close eye on his companions from now on…

"A baby?" Cole exclaimed loudly. Phoebe had talked at length, but right now this was all he retained.

"You have a baby?" He still asked.

"Yeah, why? That surprises you?"

"Well yeah…I…I've got to admit, I didn't see you as a mom…"

"I didn't plan on it," Phoebe replied with a certain irritation. "So I guess that makes me even more of a bad apple in your eyes…all the more tainted goods…"

Cole was startled by her cynical tone of voice.

"No! I mean, I was just surprised, that's all. It doesn't change anything about the way I feel…"

"Really," Phoebe questioned dubiously.

"I swear…in fact, I think I understand now. Although I still don't know what your problem with McKail is…"

"Don't you see? I have nothing of interest for McKail now…in fact, I'm certain that once this is all over, he'll throw me back in jail along with Reggie…and you."

"Me?"

"Cole, you sprung me out of jail…that makes you an outlaw…"

Cole stood up and started pacing the cave while trying to put order to his thoughts. Phoebe observed him in silence, knowing that he had to make up his mind on his own. Therefore, she waited anxiously.

Cole had always believed that there was more to her than she was letting on. However this wasn't what he had expected. He went back over her tale, examining it from all angles while still pacing nervously. Apparently, sometime in the last six months, she had met up with Reggie and hit if off with him before she really knew who he was. He had made her a few promises then, but Phoebe had not been too keen on those, while still leading him on. That part of the tale had him very uncomfortable, as a matter of fact, but he still pursued his musings further.

A short while before McKail had come to her, Phoebe had received distressing news from her cousin Piper, who had been keeping her baby girl for her. According to Phoebe, Piper and her husband Leo were very religious people, who had taken the baby when Phoebe gave birth in jail. Afterward, they had agreed to keep her until Phoebe could put her life together. In the end, however, they had come to see this baby as a shame to their own family. A baby born of a very shady creature and with no known father…the letter she received announced to Phoebe that they were planning to give her baby up for adoption. Phoebe had pleaded with her cousin through a reply. She'd asked her to be patient and told her that she'd be getting her daughter back soon. That's when McKail had come to her and suggested that if she could help him nail Reggie the Slick, he would give her the reward and never go after her again. She would have a clean slate… Phoebe even told Cole that at the time, she had been torn between Reggie and McKail's offers. That was another dark point for her, but her apparently honest revelation gave some credit to her story. In the end, she'd told him, Phoebe had seen the advantage of freedom, rather than being stuck in a gang, which she could probably never leave and that most certainly would never accept her daughter… This had weighed heavily in her choice when she had agreed to help McKail. At the time it had seemed simple enough. Paul had even given her some info about the next transport of gold, but with the specific instruction to wait until only part of the full amount was left. From there, Paul was supposed to follow at a distance and eventually get to the hideout. Reggie hadn't seen things her way however. That was how she had ended up on that cliff near Prescott; and eventually, been arrested for the theft on the Wells Fargo coach.

Of course, she had said, McKail didn't trust her anymore, but he still believed that she could be of use, keeping her under constant surveillance just in case Reggie showed up again. By now, Cole knew that he had been the one showing up instead, which in turn had made him a part of this crazy adventure. However, Cole was now having some doubts about her story. It was all so convenient. He couldn't help worrying that she was playing him again, although he didn't know what good it would do her. Suddenly he turned back to her.

"That's all nice and good, but again what does it have to do with what's happening now and McKail?"

Phoebe took a deep breath before answering.

"Cole…first I need to know where you stand. I need to know if you're gonna play me once we have the money or if you're with me on this."

Cole's jaw dropped at this. It was the world upside down. Now she was questioning his loyalty.

"Hey, I said I was on your side!"

"You have to admit that five hundred thousand dollars in gold are tempting…even for you…" She hesitated at length, but he didn't speak, although his expression was a mask of rightful outrage.

"Although," she then ventured, "I got the feeling that you weren't without means…"

This actually seemed to startle him.

"What makes you say that?"

"Reggie found a big amount of cash in your pack…I don't know many people who have that kind of money. At first, I thought that maybe this wasn't your first coup, as unlikely as it may have seemed, but…"

"You don't believe I could do that?"

"Frankly, not anymore…"

Cole didn't know if he should be flattered or insulted. In doubts he chose neither.

"All right, you got me there. I do have some money to my name…"

"Now then, why in the hell are you here?"

"I thought you understood…I had something to prove and this seemed the best way to do it."

"Sounds rather foolish to me…"

"More than you risking your life to prove that you can be a good mother…? Or you refusing help from anyone?"

"Well see," Phoebe answered with irritation, "I'm proving you wrong right now, because I'm asking for your help…I can't do it alone and I can't trust McKail anymore…"

Cole came back to sit by her with an unhappy expression.

"Is that the only reason you asked me? Because you can't trust him…?"

Phoebe couldn't look at him right away. This was a tricky question to answer. In truth, she did ask him because she knew he was most certainly the one she could trust above anyone else. Yet, what she was about to propose might change all of this…She had come to understand that he was a decent man, full of noble sentiments. Nobility had little place in her plan. It came to her that maybe a little incentive was in order. What's more, it didn't hurt that she would like it as much as he would…

Instead of answering him, she cuddled closer, knowing the effect she had on him. Indeed, he almost forgot what he'd asked her when she put her hand on his thigh and began caressing him.

"You don't believe that I'd think you second best, now do you," she purred, while her hand moved up to his loins and he couldn't help a little groan.

Hoarsely, he said:

"Phoebe, giving me a hard on won't stop me from asking…I won't follow you blindly," he barely managed, as her grip tightened deliciously on him.

Smiling mischievously then, she found the opening in his shirt and started depositing light kisses on his chest while still massaging his loins. The sensations were making him dizzy but he tried his best to keep his mind on the subject at hand.

"Phoebe," he began in a voice that sounded much higher pitched than decisive to him.

"Look, you need to tell me about McKail…" He had to say it in one breath, because she'd already opened his pants and now had her hands firmly on his shaft.

"Well, baby," she said between kisses, "I need you to help me ditch him in the desert…"

"What?" Cole pulled away from her, for fear that if he let her continue, he might actually agree to anything she said. "You can't be serious!"

"Oh come on baby, you must've known what I had in mind…deep down…"

"Phoebe, that's what you did to me! Don't believe I'm gonna help you do that to someone else."

"You and he are worth each other. No guts!"

"What? You asked him to do that to me?"

This time, he actually became angry, which helped numb the lingering arousal.

"Now, you're saying that you wanted to ditch me again? And there, I thought we had something." He said, while getting up, oblivious to his pants almost falling off his hips.

"Stop it," Phoebe said, alarmed. She regretted her slip tremendously, but he had bugged the heck out of her. "Look, I didn't mean it like that. I wanted to protect you…"

"By dropping me in the middle of nowhere with probably not much more than you left me the last time…"

"Cole…Please you've got to listen to me. I was afraid you didn't have what it takes and…"

"And what," He growled, not in any way softened by her plea.

"And I believed that I might not be able to go through with it if you were around."

"What?" He felt the anger receding inside him, replaced by indecision. Sighing heavily, he looked back at her.

"Phoebe you confuse the hell out of me, you know that?"

Phoebe bit her lips uncertainly. Then, she pursued:

"Ok, will you let me tell you what I intend to do. Then, if you say that you don't wanna do it…I'll accept it." The last part was said with such reluctance, he knew that it had been hard for her to get out.

"You better have a good reason, Phoebe…A very good one. And I'm not gonna be part of causing him harm in any way…"

"He's just gonna get a little suntan, that's all. We won't drop him too far from a town. Besides he's a big boy and can take care of himself…"

"Talk," Cole said curtly.

Paul had finally arrived back at the mountain. He was getting really tired and hoped that the other two were not reserving him some bad surprises. However, he reflected that whatever Phoebe's intentions were, she would wait a little longer to put them into action. This would give him time to figure her out. Confidently, he resumed his climb.

When she stopped talking, Cole felt the need to sit down.

"Whoa…that's very risky, Phoebe…"

"I know…and if you think that you can't do it…"

"I haven't said that," he replied quickly as he came to sit by her side. "I'm just a little uncomfortable with the part about McKail…"

"You mean the rest is fine with you?"

"Fine with me would be an exaggeration. But hell, I came to this place to get to the money. I guess this is my chance."

Phoebe gave him another suspicious look at this.

"We're clear on what happens next, are we?"

An amused smiled spread over his lips.

"Very clear, baby…"

"And you won't bail on me?"

"Hey, I said I'm with you…"

Phoebe smiled.

"That doesn't mean I don't have a few butterflies in my stomach right now," he said again.

"Oh, that, I've got the medicine for…"

Cole turned toward her in puzzlement but didn't need another word to understand what she meant. In all honesty, by then, he thought that this would indeed help tremendously to calm his nerves. Phoebe had shed her shirt in the short time he had been looking away and then she moved closer, resuming her caresses of before as if there had been no intervening talk.

"You're the devil, you know that," he sighed while pulling her to him and helping her taking off the rest of her clothes.

"Better the devil you know…" she whispered against his mouth before parting her lips for his kisses. She then straddled him and soon she contentedly felt the length of him inside her. As she began moving on him, he caressed her neck, and then her breasts, and down to her hips. Then he moved to her buttocks, kneading them and more so helping her along while his mouth left hers and came to rest on her breasts. There he began toying with her erect nipples. By the time the first wave of pleasure shook her, as much from there as from her loins, she didn't think of plans or much of anything else.

Paul came to the entrance only to find that the newly formed couple were at it again. Dejected, he sat a little ways from there, and pulled his hat down on his face. From where he stood, the gangsters would be much too busy looking for Phoebe in the desert to come looking for them now…