Beyond The Horizon Read Free Page A

as young and pretty as you. I suggest you find yourself a husband, Miss Branigan, if you want to travel West.”
    His dark face was stern and unrelenting, but undaunted, Shannon pressed on, forced to resort to the feminine wiles she abhorred. But desperate times called for desperate measures.
    “I have no home, Mr.—Blade, that is your name, isn’t it?”
    Blade nodded warily. “I am known as Swift Blade among the Sioux, but Blade will do.”
    “My family left two months ago for Idaho. I remained in Atlanta to care for an elderly aunt who died unexpectedly and left me all alone in the world.” She batted feathery eyelashes, managing to squeeze out a tear from the corners of her eyes.
    “So you can see how desperate I am to leave.” Her voice assumed a tremulous quality few men could resist. But Shannon had already guessed that Blade was not like most men. “If I joined your wagon train, I’ll be able to meet my family in Idaho.”
    “Spare me your tears, Miss Branigan,” Blade said, unmoved. “A beautiful young woman like you on a wagon train would only cause trouble. Big trouble. My answer is still no. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’ve some last minute purchases to make.”
    Blade’s refusal unleashed Shannon’s famous Irish temper and she lashed out viciously at the handsome half-breed whose language sounded far too refined for an Indian, even while his bold, dark features spoke eloquently of his savage ancestry.
    “Somehow I doubt you have the final say on this wagon train, Mr.—er, Blade,” Shannon observed, her lip curling derisively. “What civilized man would trust his life to a wild Indian? You might speak like a white man, but you are pure savage. What poor soldier did you steal that jacket from? Let’s hope he still has his scalp.”
    Stunned by her scathing insult, Blade stood stiffly aside as Shannon pushed past him and out the door, her skirts swaying in angry motion around her shapely ankles. It was the first time he could remember being rendered absolutely speechless by a female!
    “Damn infuriating woman,” Blade muttered beneath his breath as he approached the counter to make his purchases. When he passed a woman customer lingering nearby, she deliberately swept her skirts aside, her face a mask of disgust and fear. With Sioux uprisings now threatening the frontier, few if any decent citizens had any truck with savages.
    Outwardly, Blade exhibited no reaction to the woman’s insult, but inwardly he seethed with impotent rage. How ironic that he was good enough to fight for equality for all men, yet was treated like an outcast for the very reasons that persuaded him to join the war. Having lived as a white man for so many years had spoiled him; he had grown unaccustomed to being openly shunned and ridiculed. He felt shamed, for he had nearly forgotten his proud heritage and the noble people whose features he bore.
    As Blade Stryker, handsome, mysterious army officer, women were drawn to him like bees to honey. He was sought most diligently by some of the loveliest ladies in Washington. But his transformation from army captain Blade Stryker to Sioux half-breed Swift Blade changed him overnight into a loathsome creature unworthy of respect. Even Clive Bailey, who needed his expertise on the trail, treated him with barely concealed contempt.
    Blade had been in Independence nearly a month, snooping and secretly searching each wagon train for hidden weapons as they formed outside the city. Thus far he had found nothing incriminating, which was why he had narrowed his sights on the wagon train Clive Bailey had organized. Blade thought Bailey a wily scoundrel. He was damn slick—a dishonest type who probably cared little that providing guns to Indians could result in the loss of countless lives to both whites and Indians. If the man was a gun smuggler, Blade intended to find out. As special agent to the president, he took his duty seriously. No woman, no matter how beautiful, was going to