Jason saw the more than half dozen eyes swing towards him when he uttered the phrase they would find Elizabeth. He had no idea what possessed him to do it, he had never met the young woman and he had come to this city to lay low, not lead the search effort in finding someone whose fate had more than likely already been decided.
Luke nodded, "I'm in."
"I can lead everyone back to…" Lucky cleared his throat and looked away from his mother's intense blue gaze. He then felt the need to turn his back when he realized that Ric Lansing's eyes were still boring into him.
"I'm in as well," Ric said through gritted teeth.
"I'll go," Johnny shrugged as he came to stand next to Jason. He looked at the hardened gunslinger, "And I'm sure that you can count both Michael and Sonny in."
"I'm in as well," Lorenzo said speaking up from beside his wife, "Are you going to be okay here by yourself, love?"
Emily nodded, "I'd like to stay with Laura if she doesn't mind."
Laura reached out and took Emily's hands, "I'd really love the company."
"Alright," Jason nodded, "We meet back here in about twenty minutes," His gaze swung towards Ric, "We're going to need some supplies from your Mercantile. Is that going to be a problem?"
Ric shook his head, "I'll make sure that everyone is stocked up."
"Alright," Jason said, "Twenty minutes."
The gunslinger then turned on his heel and made his way back towards The Devil's Gate saloon. A place that he was beginning to feel he never should have left this morning. He turned his head when he felt someone beside him and noticed Johnny O'Brien matching him step for step, a question in his eyes.
"What?"
"You know her?" Johnny asked. "The Webber girl? The Spencer's?"
"I know the Spencer's," Jason said, "They've been here since Lu was still crawling but the Webber's I'm unfamiliar with. Laura visited back east more than her family came out here."
"You owe them something?" Johnny asked, "I'm not trying to get into your business I'm just curious why a man who is trying to hide out makes himself head of a search party for a woman he's never met."
Jason smirked as he shook his head, "I have no fucking idea."
Sam sighed as she felt Sonny's fingers dancing across her waist. She turned in bed and saw the man's dark chocolate eyes staring at her. His gaze intense as his hand made its way to her hip, naturally curving itself around it. She couldn't believe that she had spent the entire afternoon and some of the evening in bed with this man. He was insatiable and she wasn't complaining one bit. It was nice to be able to escape the rest of the world and pretend that she had a normal life and that Sonny Corinthos was very much a part of it.
"'Are you hungry?" he asked as her nimble fingers slide into his dark locks.
She nodded, "But not for food."
Sonny growled as he leaned forward and kissed her. For the first time he had let someone in, let someone step up and help him deal with the pain that he felt on the anniversary of his wife's death. Sam did nothing more but slide into his bed and comfort him and it helped the wealthy saloon owner forget about the memories and the tragedy that destroyed his life. He would stay in here forever if he could but he knew that reality waited as did his business.
They weren't going to interrupt the two lovers though until tomorrow.
"I was wondering," Sonny whispered as he slid his hand up her thigh, "If you'd be interested in learning…"
"Dad! Dad this is important!"
Sonny rolled over in bed and looked at the door that was being pounded on. He knew how his own son felt about this day and he knew that Michael would probably be locked up in some whore's room until the sun set, then he'd find some good liquor and a good game to help make the night disappear. If the sandy blond hair boy had emerged for any one reason it had to have been an emergency.
Grabbing his robe, Sonny turned back to the bed to make sure that Sam was discreetly covered with the sheets before he yanked the door open and saw his very pale son standing there fiddling with the buttons on his shirt.
"Dad, I'm sorry, I know that…" he stuck his head in the door, "Sam, I'm really sorry."
"Its okay, Michael." Sam said keeping the silk sheet pressed against her chest, "Is everything okay?"
"They found Lu's family," Michael said as his eyes reached his father's again, "Lucky, Kristina, they were out riding and they found them. They were…it's not good day. One of them is missing. Jason decided to head up a…"
"Jason?" Sonny asked with raised eyebrows.
Michael nodded, "I'm going. Johnny stopped by and told me. Told me to tell you about it too. I know that you are busy and that…"
"I need a few minutes to get dressed," Sonny said. "Will you get the mounts from the livery? Pack up any supplies that we have and if we need anything else head on over to the Lansing's."
"Jason said they already have it taken care of," Michael said, "I'll make sure to get the horses but I need to check on Lu first. I'll meet you at the Mercantile."
Then he was gone, running down the stairs with the whores hollering after him to be careful. Sonny closed the door to his bedroom as he ran his fingers through his hair and started to pick up the clothes that were strewn about the floor.
Sam slipped out of bed and walked towards him, taking the clothes from his hands and pulling him down for an intense kiss. He moaned and dragged her against him, his fingers pressing hard into her naked flash as his tongue danced with hers.
"I'll take care of everything here," she said quietly as she moved out of his reach and towards his fancy dresser where she pulled out a flannel shirt and a pair of jeans, "I'll pick up and make sure things are ready should you get back tonight. If not I'll make sure you have a hearty meal waiting for you," she bit her lip, "Would you like something before you leave?"
She wanted to pull him back into the bed, she wanted him to continue kissing her and torturing her and showing her new ways to make love but she couldn't do that. His son needed him, she could tell with on look on Michael's face and she could also tell that reclaiming the bodies of women who were brutally raped and mutilated was important. She had heard stories of what happened to Sonny's wife and she knew that the bodies would look all too familiar to the man in front of her.
But he was intensely private and he was not going to share any details with her. That was fine with Sam, because he let her in, and that was a step in the right direction. She had no fancy notions of settling down with Michael 'Sonny' Corinthos, she knew that she was a whore and would be nothing more to the people in this town but she wanted him to know that he was still capable of love, that he could find someone else who could make him happy.
"Don't work tonight," Sonny said quietly as he took slid into his jeans, "Stay here, wait for me."
"I'm not sure that…"
Sonny slid on the shirt and pulled her into another kiss, his bottom lip tugging on hers gently before pulling back to finish dressing himself. He yanked on his boots and searched for a hat before opting to go without one. It would be getting a dark in a few hours anyway and he had the tendency to bronze not burn.
"Will you be here?" he asked as he made his way towards the door.
Sam picked up the robe the he had discarded on the bed and slid it on, wrapping it around her and loosely tying it at her waist, "I'll be here. You be careful."
He winked at her, "A man has to when he has you to come home to."
Sam closed her eyes and sighed as she heard the door close shut behind him. Damn him for giving her all that false hope. With a groan she flopped back down on the bed and decided to count the hours before he walked through that door again.
Kristina sat up in her bed when she heard the sound of Lucky Spencer returning from the livery with a few extra horses. He was explaining to the men that were down there that he needed a few mounts for the wagon that Lorenzo had leant them. It was usually used for supplies that he carried from town to his ranch, now it was going to be used to bring the Webber's remains back to Charlesville.
She pulled open her window further and could see the young man motioning with his fingers what the site looked like. She couldn't imagine how he was feeling but she knew that he was doing a great job of hiding it. He had barely uttered a word on the way back to town and they were already halfway home before he mentioned that the people they discovered were his family. From then on in his concern was solely for her and her weak body which refused to work for her.
Right now as she watched her father and his, grill him with questions, Kristina couldn't help but feel saddened. No one was asking him how he was doing, no one seemed to care, they were more concerned about Laura who lost a brother, Emily who no longer had a doctor who could give her their opinion and poor Kristina who was merely dehydrated. No one gave a damn about the young boy who found his Aunt and Cousin raped and mutilated and his other one who seemed to have disappeared.
She gave a damn. She was concerned about what happened to him and how he felt. She was also head over heels in love with him.
"You think this will be enough?" Emily asked quietly as she helped Lorenzo load up the horse's saddlebags with supplies.
They made sure that the men had plenty of water along with biscuits that Alexis had made that morning and plenty of jerky. She also threw in a can of baked beans and some coffee grounds in case they wound up staying over night. This way they would have something in their stomachs when they headed back tomorrow morning.
"This is fine," Lorenzo said as he turned to his wife and pulled her into his arms again, pressing a kiss to her hair, "This isn't it. This isn't over. We can still go back east or we can head further west. There are doctors slowly moving towards California. Maybe there are some specialists there."
"Laura's brother was a rare kind," Emily said quietly, "And I feel horrible for feeling horrible for myself and not feeling horrible enough for her," she groaned as she ran her fingers through her hair, "And that barely even makes sense. I just…I feel like I'm failing everyone. I feel like I'm failing Laura, you."
"Em," he whispered as he leaned down and pressed a soft kiss to her lips, "We're going to get through this. I know you. I know that as soon as we ride away you are going to become focused and make sure that Laura is taken care of. Lu is with her now but she can use all the friends she can get. You know and you are going to be there for her. As for me," he pulled her body close to his, "I couldn't ask for a better wife, a better friend, a better lover and if I have to go around the world to find a doctor that can tell us why we can't have children than I will do that because I want you happy. You make me happy."
"Thank you for keeping me sane," Emily said as she sighed against his chest and wrapped her arms securely around his waist. "And please be careful, Lorenzo. Lucky didn't say what happened but you know what it sounds like. They could still be around. I can't lose you. You're all I have left in this world."
"That's not true," Lorenzo said with a brilliant smile, "You have that wonderful family that just moved back east and I'm sure that Edward will gladly welcome you…"
Emily punched him in the stomach and tried to move out of his embrace, "No, no, let me go."
He laughed as he rubbed her back, "It's nice to see my feisty girl back, the one that stood up for me to her vicious family, the one that I married three years ago."
"She's here and she loves you," Emily smiled softly as she stood up on her toes and kissed him, "You will be careful."
Lorenzo nodded, "It took me twenty eight years to find you. I'm not going anywhere yet."
"Glad to here it," she smiled as she settled back into his arms.
Laura watched as her daughter picked her full skirt up and stepped off of the boardwalk, making her way halfway across the dirty street to meet Michael Corinthos as he hurried out of the saloon and towards her. Laura smiled as she remembered the boy from when he first came to Charlesville. His father had been devastated but managed to hide his grief in the successful business that he had built. Normally society would have shunned the man because of what he did for a living but Laura and Luke helped ease his way into society and helped Michael be accepted as a young boy who was being raised by a single father and a grandmother.
Laura remembered how fast Lu and Michael had become friends. Her daughter had been a tom boy at the age and she wanted nothing more to do than hang out with the young boys. While Kristina tried her best she was still very much a girl and Lu fit right in with her brother and Michael Corinthos, trousers and all. Laura was grateful at how Lu helped Michael adjust and she was proud of the young man that he had turned out to be. He was always helpful around town and went to school on a daily basis finishing at the top of his class. He had the opportunity to go back east but instead chose to stay with his father and decide what he wanted to do close to him. She had thought that time and distance would have kept the old friends apart but when Lu hugged Michael she knew that absence did have a way of making the heart grow fonder and she wondered if there was a chance of Michael being a permanent fixture in the Spencer household.
She tore her eyes away from her youngest and moved them to her son who was in discussion with Jason Morgan and another man who she was unfamiliar with. She knew that he had been staying at Sonny's saloon but she had yet to have the opportunity to meet him. She knew that Lucky had been spending a lot of time there as well, more than she would have liked, but it was something that she was going to have to adjust to. Her son wanted no part of the eastern opportunity that she and Luke wanted to provide him with. He was firmly set on becoming a foreman and eventually starting up his own ranch. He didn't want to be a doctor like his Uncle and he didn't want to be a businessman like her father. She was grateful that he didn't want to be a gambler or bartender like his father but that was seemingly how he was saving his money to purchase some land. He wanted no parts of the trust fund that she had set up for him.
She looked up when she felt arms come around her waist and saw her husband smiling sadly down at her. He was trying to read her thoughts and she knew that eventually he would figure it all outl. Luke had a way of probing her mind like no other and only he would know and understand what was really in the back of her mind, the thing that terrified her the most, the one piece of the puzzle that she had kept hidden to herself for the past twenty two years of their lives.
"It was a raid," she whispered quietly as she turned in his arms, "I know that Lucky didn't say. I'm sure that he wanted to spare me the details but when I see the bodies I'll know. Everyone will know."
"You don't have to identify the bodies," Luke said as he brushed some blond curls from her face, "I know Jeff and Mary. I can make sure that they are the ones that we found. Besides," he sighed, "I think Lucky has already confirmed it. The boys that we are taking, they aren't going to talk."
"And keeping me from it is not going to stop the memories," Laura said, "It happened Luke and it will always be there no matter how hard I tried to push it out of my mind."
"Your safe and your happy," Luke said, "That should be the only thing that matters, Laura. The past is the past and we can't revisit it. We can't correct the wrongs we did back then."
"I'm not even suggesting that we should try," Laura said.
"I'm not sure then what you are talking about," Luke said, "We can keep this very private. We don't have to…"
"Most of the town already knows that Lucky and Kristina made a discovery," Laura said, "Alexis and Ric practically flogging our son in public didn't help. People will be wondering and there will be questions asked and I'm sure that once the undertaker sees them…" she shook her head sadly. "If we find Elizabeth alive Luke…"
"We will deal with it when it comes, Laura."
"I have to deal with it now," she said firmly, "I know what she has suffered through. I have been there and we need to find her. You have to make sure that you search everything, everything," Laura emphasized. "You cannot leave Elizabeth with those animals, you cannot. And if by some sick twist of fate she's…" Laura covered her mouth to prevent herself from crying out as Luke gathered her back in his arms.
"We'll find her Laura, I promise you."
"Don't let them have her," she whispered as she clutched at her husband's shirt, "Don't let them have her and keep her and then take away her baby like they did mine."
"This is the first time I've had a chance to really speak to you since I've been home and you're running off to the rescue like you've always done," Lu sighed as she clasped Michael's hand, "Oh please be careful Michael, this isn't like the time you rescued those desert animals."
"You're speaking like a proper eastern woman as well Lu," he grinned as he lifted both of her hands to his lips and placed a kiss on the back of them, "Have we lost the girl in pigtails forever?"
"Michael," she pouted, "That isn't very fair. I loved Philadelphia and I simply cannot understand why you would chose to live here of all places. Don't you miss Boston? I mean there are such wonderful things to do back east. All you can do here on a Saturday night is come outside and count the stars. Where's the fun in that?"
"It depends on whether or not a beautiful woman is on your arm," Michael smiled, "And Lesley Lu you are a very beautiful woman."
"I do believe you are flirting with me, Mr. Corinthos," she said as she blushed.
"I might say I was surprised when I saw you step off of that wagon," he said. "We sent away a scrap of a girl that was skin and bones and back came you, one of the most beautiful women I have ever seen and trust me, I've seen a lot," he winked. "I fear that if you would have approached me before this moment I wouldn't have been able to get out a single sentence that made sense."
Lu giggled, "I declare you are your father's child. Will you promise me that you won't take any unnecessary risks in order to recover my family?" she asked sadly, "And do look after my brother, please Michael. Lucky hasn't had it easy the last few years and he and Papa are always at each other's throats." She frowned when she looked in the direction of her brother who was standing in the middle of the group talking to the men, "I haven't had a chance to speak with him since I returned either."
"I'll be careful and I'll make sure that Lucky is too," Michael said.
Lu gave him a big smile, "Did you receive the invitation to the party my parents are throwing for my return? I think it's silly really but I do hope that you can come. I'd love to be able to spend some more time with you without having horrible circumstances intervene."
"I have your invitation and I will be coming with my dad," Michael smiled, "I wouldn't miss it."
Lu smiled and batted her eyelashes, "Instead of coming with your father do you think that you might come as my guest?"
"As in you're…"
"First and last dance," Lu smiled, "We do have so much to catch up on Michael."
"I'd be honored, Lu," Michael smiled as he leaned down and hugged her, "I have to go. My father has joined the group and it looks like we're ready to move out. You take real good care of your Ma while we're gone."
"I will," she smiled as she leaned up and kissed him on the cheek, "It was so great to see you again, Michael and remember to be safe."
She sighed as she watched him walk off, heading towards the men who were gathered out in front of the Mercantile. Her hands were clasped in front of her as she smiled. He had grown into such a handsome young man and she had the biggest crush on him when she was a child. If she could convince him to move back east with her it wouldn't matter what his father did for a living. Smiling happily she turned around towards home and collided into something.
"Do we all get those happy little sendoffs or is that reserved just for the rich folk in this town?"
Lu planted her hands on Johnny's chest and pushed herself away from him, adjusting the bonnet on her head and glaring up at the man who was making a habit of running into her. She could swear he enjoyed it.
"I wouldn't spit on you let alone wish you well," she huffed as she moved around him.
"Does that mean no invite to your fancy party?" he grinned as he pulled his hat lower on his head.
"Sir I'd hate to put you out by asking you to take a bath for little old me," she laughed as she fanned herself with her hand, "And it's a formal dinner so that means you would have to own something other than a pair of jeans and a sweaty cowboy hat."
Johnny took a step towards her with a grin, "You'd be amazed at how well I can clean up even for a snot nosed bitch like yourself."
Lu gasped and raised her fist, shaking it in his fist, "If I weren't a lady I would…"
"If I weren't a gentleman I'd throw you down here right now in the middle of town and show you a good time," he stepped back as he crossed his arms across his chest, "But I wouldn't want to ruin your eastern reputation."
"You made an enemy with the wrong person sir," Lu said through gritted teeth.
"Johnny O'Brien," he said, "I hate the name sir."
Lu smiled sweetly as she turned and started to walk away from him, "Go to hell Mr. O'Brien."
Johnny watched those enticing little hips sway just as her skirt flared out. He caught a lovely glimpse of an ankle as she lifted the puffy material and stepped up onto the boardwalk, nodding to the neighbors who greeted. He was dying to show Ms. Spencer what kind of gentleman he really was.
Elizabeth did her best to push the branches and bushes out of her way but some still managed to poke at her skin and smack her in areas that were inappropriate. She was having a difficult time trying to catch up with White Bear as he led her towards the river where she would be bathing this morning. When she asked what was wrong with last nights bathing area of choice he told her that was a rare occasion for her to clean up from the incident.
She nearly laughed at the word incident. It was something that would be used to describe rape and abuse back east. It made her almost feel like she was home.
Home. She wondered if this hidden Cherokee village was her new home. White Bear never made any mention of releasing her back into the white world and Elizabeth knew that even if she were to return people would know what had happened to her family. Being raped was frowned upon in society, some men still blamed it on the woman, but being kidnapped by Indians was far worse, that meant you became one of them.
Elizabeth gasped startled when she smacked right into White Bear's body and she jumped back when the warrior turned to her with raised eyebrows. She blushed and then ran her hands up and down her body, wanting to get the goose bumps to go away. Ever since that horrible night when her wagon was attacked she had barely been able to accept something from the man in front of her, let alone let anyone else touch her.
"This is where you clean," he grunted as he motioned to the small river in front of them.
Elizabeth's eyes widened as she noticed naked women cleansing themselves in the river, children running around laughing and some getting their baths as well. Thankfully there was no man in sight but still, the idea of jumping into a river, stark naked with other people left her heart thundering.
"I can't…no…" she said shaking her head.
"I will not have a smelly woman in my tipi."
"Then get me my own damn tipi," Elizabeth snapped, "I am not climbing into that river with no clothes on and washing myself. No."
"White woman," he growled.
"I apologize that I wasn't raised to be a savage," she bit out and then smacked her hand over her mouth when she saw the anguish flicker in his eyes.
Her mother had always told her that she had a habit of speaking before thinking and this was one of those moments that her mother was actually right. Elizabeth knew that White Bear struggled with his heritage and she was making it worse by claiming that his tribe, the people that didn't abandon him, were the ones who were savages.
"I didn't mean that," she said quietly as she tried to reach out and touch his arm but she couldn't, "I'm still in this state that…I didn't mean that White Bear and I apologize. I'm…" she felt her entire face flush as she stared at her moccasin covered feet, "I still feel very uncomfortable being naked let alone naked with so many other women around."
He grunted as he turned around, leading the way back to his tipi, "We will wait until after the morning bath and then I will take you to bathe. Tomorrow I will find someone to go with you and you will learn to bathe with the other women. If you are to live here, Fiery Spirit, you need to learn the rules of the tribe."
Elizabeth bit her lip and tried to prevent the tears from falling as she followed his steps back to the place he called home. She was grateful that he was willing to help her and teach her how to do things his way but she wanted to scream, to shout out that she didn't want to learn any of it, she didn't want to live here. She wanted to go back to her own home in her own bed. As horrible and as wretched as it was at times Elizabeth wanted nothing more than to go back into the white world.